Bǎo'ān

Bao’an belonged to the Pearl River delta of Guangdong, with its centre at Nantou near the later boundary of Shenzhen and Hong Kong. Hills lay inland, tidal rivers entered the estuary, and the coast supported fishing, salt and shipping. Fresh water, fertile flats and sheltered bays made the district a meeting point between Guangzhou, the Dongjiang valley and the sea.

Bao’an County was established in 331, with its seat at Nantou. In 757 the Tang government abolished the name and replaced it with Dongguan County under Guangzhou. Nantou therefore still preserves the memory of the original administrative centre. Villages along the shore combined rice farming with salt making, oyster gathering and fishing. Rivers carried their produce toward Guangzhou, while boats linked the district with the sea. Local lineages built markets and temples around the administrative centre. For centuries, villages managed paddy fields, salt pans, oyster beds and coastal trade within the delta’s shifting channels.

In 1573 the Ming government split the southern part of Dongguan into Xin’an County, again seated at Nantou. Its territory included much of present Shenzhen and Hong Kong. The Qing coastal evacuation of the 1660s nearly emptied Xin’an; after the order was reversed in 1669, officials brought Hakka settlers from eastern Guangdong to reclaim fields. The older name Bao’an was later revived, but its early identity remained tied to Nantou, the delta and the sea.