The following is a timeline of the history of the Chinese city of Guangzhou, also formerly known as Panyu,^{[citation needed]} Canton, and Kwang-chow.^[1][2]

Nanyue

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• 214 BCE – Panyu established as a Qin base during Zhao Tuo's first failed invasion of the southern lands of the Baiyue
• 204 BCE – Panyu becomes the capital of Zhao Tuo's kingdom of Nanyue.

Imperial China

• 111 BCE – Panyu becomes a provincial capital of the Han Dynasty after the Han–Nanyue War as the Han expands southward.
• 226 CE – Panyu becomes the seat of Guang Prefecture ("Guangzhou").
• 401 – Guangxiao Temple first established as the "Baoen Guangziao" Temple.^[3]
• 537 – Temple of the Six Banyan Trees built.
• 878–879 — Guangzhou massacre instigated by forces loyal to Huang Chao
• 1350 – Huaisheng Mosque rebuilt.^[4]
• 1380 – Zhenhai Tower built.^{[citation needed]}
• 1516 – Portuguese merchants arrive.^[5]

• 1600 – Pazhou Pagoda built.
• 1619 – Chigang Pagoda built.
• 1684 – British East India Company in business.^[6]

• 1821 – Xigutang literary society formed.^[7]
• 1822 - Fire.^[8]
• 1827 – The Canton Register, an English-language newspaper, begins publication.^[9][10]
• 1832 – Jardine, Matheson and Co. in business.
• 1834 – Wetmore & Co. in business.^[11]
• 1835 – The Canton Press, an English-language newspaper, begins publication.^[9]
• 1840 – Augustine Heard and Company in business.^[11]
• 1841
  • February 27: Battle of First Bar.
  • March 2: Battle of Whampoa.
  • March 18: Battle of Canton
  • May: Second Battle of Canton.
• 1842 – City designated a treaty port under the Treaty of Nanking.^[6]
• 1848 – Apostolic Vicariate of Guangdong-Guangxi established.
• 1856
  • British/French occupation begins.^[6]
  • Thirteen Factories set on fire.^[11]
• 1859 – Shameen Island divided into French and British concessions.^[6]
• 1861 – British/French occupation ends.^[6]
• 1863 – Sacred Heart Cathedral built.
• 1866 – Yu Yin Shan Fang garden laid out.^[12]
• 1879
  • City area: 6.5 square kilometers (approximate).^[13]
  • Population: 400,000 (estimate).^[13]
• 1894
  • Plague (3rd Pandemic).
  • Chen Clan Academy built.
• 1895 – First Guangzhou uprising
• 1908 – Guangzhou North Railway Station opens.
• 1911
  • Kowloon–Canton Railway begins operating.
  • Second Guangzhou Uprising

Republic of China

• The Shakee Massacre on June 23, 1925 resulted in over two hundred casualties due to gunfire by British, French and Portuguese forces in Shaji (called Shake in Cantonese)
• 1918 – Urban council established.^{[citation needed]}
• 1923
  • June: National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party held in Guangzhou.^[14]
  • Kuomintang in power.^[15]
• 1924
  • Peasant Movement Training Institute and Whampoa Military Academy open.
  • Canton Merchant Volunteers Corps Uprising.
  • National Kwangtung University established.
• 1927 – December 11–13: Communist uprising.^[16]
• 1931 – Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall built.
• 1932
  • Guangzhou Baiyun Airport opens in Baiyun District.
  • Guangzhou Conservatory of Music founded.
• 1933 – Haizhu Bridge constructed.
• 1936
  • Canton–Hankou Railway begins operating.
  • Population: 1,122,600 (estimate).^[6]
• 1938 – October 21: Japanese occupation begins.^[6]
• 1945 – September 16: Japanese occupation ends.^[17]
• 1949
  • Nationalist government under the acting president Li Zongren relocates to Guangzhou.
  • Nanfang Daily newspaper begins publication.

People's Republic of China

• 1949
  • October: Communist forces enter city.
  • Radio Guangdong begins broadcasting.
• 1952 – Guangzhou Daily newspaper begins publication.
• 1954
  • Guangzhou Evergrande Football Club formed.
  • South China Institute of Botany active.^[18]
• 1956 – Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine founded.
• 1957
  • Beijing–Guangzhou Railway in operation.
  • Canton Fair begins.
  • Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra founded.
  • Population: 1,840,000.^[19]
• 1958
  • Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts in operation.
  • Jinan University relocates to Guangzhou.
• 1959 – Guangdong Provincial Museum founded.
• 1964 – Population: 3,031,486.^[20]
• 1967 – Renmin Bridge built.
• 1981 - Sister city relationship established with Los Angeles, USA.^[21]
• 1982
  • Guangzhou Library and Liyuan Poetry Society established.^[22]
  • Population: 3,181,510 city; 5,669,640 urban agglomeration.^[23]
• 1983 – Mausoleum of the Nanyue King discovered.^[24]
• 1984
  • Guangzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone established.
  • City designated sub-provincial city administrative status.
  • Southern Weekly newspaper begins publication.
• 1985
  • Zhujiang Brewery begins operation.
  • Guangzhou Bridge built.
• 1988
  • Haiyin Bridge built.
  • Museum of the Mausoleum of the Nanyue King opens.
• 1990
  • Guangdong International Building constructed.
  • Avon begins hiring ladies in Guangzhou.^[25]
  • Population: 6,299,943.^[26]
• 1991
  • Guangzhou TV Tower erected.
  • November: 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup held.
• 1992 – Guangzhou Free Trade Zone established.^[27]
• 1996 – Guangzhou East railway station opens.
• 1997
  • Guangzhou Metro begins operating.
  • CITIC Plaza and Humen Pearl River Bridge built.
  • Southern Metropolis Daily begins publication.
  • Xiangjiang Safari Park opens.
• 1998 – Hedong Bridge, Jiangwan Bridge, Jiefang Bridge, and Huanan Bridge open.^{[citation needed]}
• 2000 – Yajisha Bridge opens.
• 2001
  • Guangdong Olympic Stadium opens.
  • November: Chinese National Games held in Guangzhou.
• 2002
  • Vitamin Creative Space founded.^[28]
  • Population: 10,106,229.^[26]
• 2003
  • Zhang Guangning becomes mayor.
  • Pazhou Bridge opens.
• 2004
  • Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport opens in Huadu District.
  • Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center built.
  • Guangzhou International Women's Open tennis tournament begins.
• 2006 – Chime-Long Paradise amusement park in business.
• 2008 – Huangpu Bridge and Xinguang Bridge open.
• 2009 – Liede Bridge opens.
• 2010
  • Canton Tower and Guangzhou International Finance Center built.
  • November: 2010 Asian Games held.
  • Guangzhou Opera House, Guangdong Museum, and Guangzhou South Railway Station open.
  • Wan Qingliang becomes mayor.
  • Guangzhou Television Cantonese controversy.
  • Guangzhou Bus Rapid Transit system launched.^[29]
• 2011
  • Guangzhou–Zhuhai Intercity Railway begins operating.
  • Pearl River Tower built.
  • Chen Jianhua becomes mayor.
• 2012 – Leatop Plaza and The Pinnacle built.
• 2013 - Air pollution in Guangzhou reaches annual mean of 48 PM2.5 and 72 PM10, more than recommended.^[30]
• 2021 - 2021 Guangzhou bombing.