Guangzhou,as the capital city of Canton Province now, with its population of 6.56 million, is one of the oldest port cities as well as a important trade center. It continually taken full advantages of its southern periphery location at the edge of the empire - far from the influence of the capital to build its own sphere of influence on the cutting edge of modern-day regional and international trade. When Guangzhou first opened to Western traders in 1685, business was restricted to Shamian Island in the Pearl River, which later developed into a foreign stronghold after the Opium Wars in the mid-19th century. The Cantonese, savy and outward-looking, continue to capitalize on their commercial talents as well as their longstanding business and family connections in Hong Kong, Macau and abroad.