Panyu, formerly romanized as Punyü,[b] is one of 11 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, China.

Panyu lies at the heart of the Pearl River Delta, its boundary straddles from latitudes 22.26' to 23.05', and sprawls from longitudes 113.14' to 113.42'.

Facing the Lion Sea in the east and the estuary of the Pearl River in the south, its eastern border is separated from Dongguan by a strip of water, and the western border of Panyu is adjacent to the cities of Nanhai, Shunde and Zhongshan, while it abuts the downtown of Guangzhou in the north.

The Chinese settlement at Panyu was established by the Qin armies under Zhao Tuo during their first failed invasion of the Baiyue in Guangdong in 214 BC.

[3] Upon the fall of the Qin, Zhao Tuo established Panyu as the capital of his kingdom of Nanyue in 204 BC.

Archaeological evidence shows that it was a burgeoning commercial center: among the present material object remnants, there are those of Southeast Asian, Indian, and even African origin.