Prestigious Cultural City

Shaoguan,known as "Shaozhou" in ancient times, has a history of more than 2,100 years. The legend has it that Emperor Shun, in his tour towards South China, visited a stone mountain and played Shaoyue (a kind of music) there, and the record says that "when Emperor Shun played the ninth movement of his Shaoyue, a phoenix was seen to dance to the music" , hence is the origination of the city name “Shao" .In the ninth year of Kaihuang of Sui dynasty, Shaozhou as the city name replaced the previous one-- East Hengzhou, which was followed by successive dynasties.During the Ming and Qing dynasties, three land and water customs were set up in the urban area of the city, thereafter  "Shaozhou" was changed into "Shaoguan" .
Shaoguan,with its profound historical and cultural heritage, demonstrates the influences of both Central Plains culture and southern Guangdong culture, which includes Shaoyue culture, Zen culture, Zhuji Lane culture, Migration culture, Revolutionary relics culture, Industrial and Mining culture, Hakka culture, Yao culture, etc, which constructs an open, inclusive and pluralistic "Shao Culture".
There are a total of 10 national key cultural relics protection units, 57 provincial cultural relics protection units, and there are 5 items on the national intangible cultural heritage list, 19 items on the provincial list, and 1 national historical and cultural village, all of which top the list in the province.