Foshan, Wade-Giles romanization Fo-shan, city, central Guangdong sheng (province), China. It is situated in the Pearl (Zhu) River Delta 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Guangzhou (Canton), on a spur of the Guangzhou-Sanshui railway. From the time of the Qin dynasty (221–207 BCE) to that of the Southern Dynasties (Nanchao) period (420–589 CE), Foshan was a village subordinate to Panyu county. During the Sui dynasty (581–618) the village, then called Jihua Xiang, was subordinate to Nanhai county. In 628, during the Tang dynasty (618–907), when three bronze Buddha statues were unearthed by local villagers, the site of the current city began to be called by its present name of Foshan, which means “Buddha’s Mountain.”