Amah—a Chinese nursemaid, generally in service of a Western or wealthy Chinese family
Bendi (Puntai)—a word meaning “local,” used by Cantonese speakers to refer to themselves in the context of Guangzhou
Cooley (coolie)—a word in general use in the nineteenth century for any Chinese laborer
Chunam (also chunampo)—a lime-based cement, sometimes used as paving material
Dongshan (also Tungshan)—an eastern suburb of Guangzhou developed around the Canton-Kowloon Railway during the early twentieth century
Fati (in Mandarin, Huadi)—“flower grounds,” a suburb of Guangzhou southwest of the main part of the city and due west of Honam, historically famous for its flower nurseries
Feng shui—literally “wind and water,” the traditional Chinese art of geomancy and numerology involved in questions of siting and arrangement of buildings and cities
Godown—a warehouse
Hakka—“visitors,” an ethnic/linguistic subgroup of Chinese from the north who moved into areas of Guangdong and Fujian provinces during the period from the Song Dynasty to the early Qing, as defined by their traditional rivals, the bendi Cantonese
Honam (Henan, Henam)—the island south of the Pearl River from central Guangzhou, a suburban district, the name meaning literally “south of the river”
Huanghuagang—the park containing the tomb and monument for the seventy-two martyrs of the April 1911 Guangzhou uprising against the Qing Dynasty imperial government
Lingnan Daxue—Lingnan University (in Cantonese, Lingnaam Hok Hau), founded as Canton Christian College
Shisanhang—Thirteen Businesses/Thirteen Factories
Thanka—a Cantonese word for the “boat people” ethnic group, no longer in general use due to a negative connotation
Xiguan—western suburbs
Yamen—an official residence or office of a Chinese government official
Zhongshan—“middle mountain,” the Mandarin version of Sun Yat-sen’s given name
Zhenhai Lou—a five-storied tower built on the northern tip of Guangzhou’s city wall by a Ming Dynasty marquis, probably partially for feng shui purposes
Zhujiang—the Pearl River