Guangdong music, also known as Cantonese music, is a folk music with strong local characteristics of Lingnan that is developed and perfected based on Guangdong folk tunes, some Cantonese opera music and brand songs. Cantonese music, like Cantonese opera, is also a Lingnan cultural wonder 6s that is very influential at home and abroad. In the mid-to-late 19th century, Guangdong music was gradually nurtured and formed among the people in the Pearl River Delta area centered on Guangzhou. The timbre and style produced by the use of decorative sounds and "fills" in Guangdong music are obviously different from folk music in other places. It has the characteristics of Lingnan culture of "compromising Chinese and Western styles, blending ancient and modern times", as well as strong openness and compatibility. As soon as the genre of Guangdong music was formed, it developed rapidly with its fresh, bright, beautiful melodies and its strong vitality.

Over the past century, many Cantonese music composers, performers and works have emerged in Guangdong. The mid-to-late 19th century was the formative period of Guangdong music, with the emergence of composers and performers such as He Bozhong and Yan Laolie. His works include "Rain Beats the Plantains", "Hungry Horse Rattles", "Linked Buttons", "Dry Weather Thunder", etc. These works all show unique colors and styles in terms of melody, mode, tonality, musical structure and temperament, marking the formation of this genre of music. The 1920s and 1930s were the mature and heyday period when Guangdong music developed rapidly and became widely spread. The "Three Masters of the Ho Family" emerged, including He Liutang, He Yunian, and He Shaoxia, as well as Lu Wencheng, Yin Zizhong, He Dasha, and He Langping. "Four Heavenly Kings", as well as a number of composers and performers such as Qiu Heqian, Yi Jianquan, Chen Deju, Chen Wenda and so on. He has created hundreds of works such as "Dragon Race to Win the Gold", "Entertainment to Promote Peace", "Autumn Moon on the Flat Lake", "Back to Back", "Birds Throwing into the Forest", "Hearing the Curse in the Willow Waves", "Triumph", and "Terrifying Waves". Most of these works were recorded and broadcast on radio stations, docks, stations, trains and ships. At that time, there were dozens of amateur concerts (or private partnerships) in Guangzhou, and there were also Guangdong music concerts in Shanghai, Tianjin, Hong Kong, Macau, and even in Chinese settlements in Southeast Asia and America. According to incomplete statistics, among hundreds of Cantonese music, at least 50 are still circulating overseas, which shows its vast and far-reaching influence. It is said that "wherever there are Chinese, there are Guangdong music friends."

After the founding of New China, Guangdong music ushered in a bright spring, and a number of outstanding composers and performers emerged, such as Liu Tianyi, Chen Zhuoying, Yi Jianquan, Chen Deju, Huang Jinpei, Yu Qiwei and so on. In 1953, the Guangdong Music Research Group was established, mainly composed of famous Guangdong music masters such as Liu Tianyi, Chen Zhuoying, Yi Jianquan, and Tongzhuang Pei. In 1956, the first professional orchestra of Guangdong music, the Guangdong Folk Music Troupe, was established on the basis of the research group. Since the 1960s, they have represented their motherland and performed in the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, Japan, the United States, Western Europe and other countries and regions, spreading Guangdong music, a wonder of Lingnan culture, far and wide and winning honor for the motherland.

Guangdong music sprouted in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, formed in the late 19th century, and matured and developed in the 20th century. Over hundreds of years, generations of passionate musicians in Guangdong have condensed their love and hate, joy and sorrow, joy and pain into notes and pieces of music. With their sensitive hearts and dexterous hands, coupled with some modern techniques, they express their passion freely and vividly, reaching the lofty state of "this music can only be found in heaven, and is rarely heard in the world".