Houjie
Houjie () is a town under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city of Dongguan, Guangdong, China. The town spans an area of , has a registered hukou population of 95,055 as of 2008, and a permanent population of 368,038 as of 2000. Toponymy. When the area was first established during the Southern Song dynasty, it was known as Houjie (), since one well-known traveler chose to reside in a location behind a major building in town. Later, the town chose to change the first character, as another character pronounced "hou ("")" was used in words meaning honest and kind () and abundant  (). History. Houjie was built as a village in 1122. In 1957, Houjie became a township, but was changed to a people's commune one year later. In 1983, the Houjie People's Commune was abolished, and Houjie became a district. In 1987, it became a town, which it remains to this date. Geography. Located in the western portion of Dongguan, Houjie lies approximately from Dongguan's urban center, and 47 nautical miles from Hong Kong. The area is part of the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macau Greater Bay Area on the Pearl River Delta. The is located in Houjie. It borders  the town of Humen to the south, and Dongguan's urban center to the north. Administrative divisions. Houjie administers the following 24 residential communities: Demographics. According to the 2000 Chinese Census, 368,038 people were permanent residents of Houjie. However, in 2008, the town had a registered hukou population of just 95,055. This vast difference is likely a result of large-scale migration from more rural areas, resulting in large amounts of people with hukou registration in their previous residences. Economy. As of 2020, Houjie's gross domestic product (GDP) totaled 41.572 billion RMB. The same year, consumer retail sales in  Houjie totaled 7.246 billion RMB. Major companies with operations in Houjie include Samsung and Tyco. Major products produced in Houjie include furniture, electromechanical equipment, footwear, and jewelry. The town also produces Guancao (Dongguan Grass) and sausages. Due to reform and opening up, the town industrialized and urbanized. In recent years, it has been successfully honored as a "Town of Hygiene in China", "Famous Town of Exhibitions in China", "Town with the Strongest Education in Guangdong", and a "Civilized Town of Dongguan City". According to the town government, Houjie is home to more than 270 restaurants, and more than 130 hotels . Houjie is famous with for its shoe design and manufacturing center, mainly focused on branded shoes. In 1998, American labor activist Charles Kernaghan documented the scenes of the Liang Shi Handbag Factory, a sweatshop located in Houjie. He found that this factory paid wages as low as 0.13 USD per hour, made their employees work 10 hour shifts six or seven days per week, failed to fully pay employees, lacked any sort of fire exits, and housed their workers in cramped and dirty dorm rooms which were under 24 hour surveillance. The factory mostly employed young women migrant workers hailing  from rural regions. This expose received major attention in the American press, due to the fact that it was one of the sweatshops producing handbags branded by American celebrity Kathie Lee Gifford. Transportation. The Beijing–Hong Kong and Macau Expressway runs through Houjie. Tourism. Historical sites within Houjie include the , the Shenxianshui (), Aotai Academy (), and the Hetian Fang Ancestral Hall ().