10 Interesting Facts about Cantonese

3. In China, Cantonese is often used as a lingua franca

Thanks to its importance in parts of China, Cantonese is often used as a lingua franca between the speakers of other varieties of Chinese. This happens mostly in the southeastern parts, where Cantonese has the most prestige. It is spoken in the Guangdong area, which became the most populous province in China in 2005. Since 1989, it has also boasted the highest GDP of all the provinces in mainland China, enforcing the role of Cantonese as a major business language.