Research On The Changes In The Regional Political Centre Of Guangxi Since The Late Qing Dynasty

The regional political centre of Guangxi has changed several times since the end of the Qing Dynasty,a product of the political and economic evolution of Guangxi since the end of the Qing Dynasty,with modernisation factors acting as a catalyst throughout the process of change.The key points in the formation of the modern Chinese state-the founding of the Republic of China,the outbreak of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the establishment of the People’s Republic of China-were also key points in the transformation and eventual stabilisation of Guangxi’s political centre.Guangxi’s political centre changed in the context of the country’s geopolitical shifts,regime changes and social transformations.Around the time of the SinoFrench War in the late Qing Dynasty,the regional political centre of Guangxi began to waver,moving south from Guilin to Nanning in the early years of the Republic;reverting to Guilin again at the outbreak of the Resistance in 1936;and finally stabilising in Nanning after the founding of New China in1949.During the social transformation of Guangxi since the end of the Qing Dynasty,Guilin encountered a serious development bottleneck and,having lost its transport and economic advantages,lagged behind the historical trend of modernisation and its position as political centre was eventually shaken;Nanning,on the other hand,seized the opportunity of modernisation and leapt to become the military,economic and ultimately political centre of Guangxi by virtue of its proximity to the border fortress and water transport hub.The gap between Nanning and Guilin in terms of economic,cultural,educational and urban development is also a result of the change in the regional political centre.