Haizhu District is located between 113°14' to 113°23' east longitude and 23°3' to 23°16' north latitude, surrounded by the front and rear waterways of the Guangzhou section of the Pearl River.

From 1856 to 1859, trading companies associated with foreign traders under the Canton System temporarily relocated to the district after the Thirteen Factories site was destroyed in a fire.

[6] The main campus of Sun Yat-Sen University is located in Haizhu, as well as the Guangzhou Fine Arts Academy.

Right across the street from the Sun Yat-Sen University is the South Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The Guangzhou No.6 High School alongside the university is one of the best in the city, containing programs that follow the American curriculum.