到洋務運動時期，廣州地區開始出現近代工業。同治十一年，暹羅（今泰國）華僑陳啟沅喺南海西樵首辦繼昌隆機器繅絲廠，係大中華近代第一間本土工業企業，革新咗廣州地區嘅繅絲業。同治十三年，兩廣總督瑞麟成立咗“廣州機器局”，製造槍炮、輪船；兩年後，買入英國人辦嘅黃埔船塢，用以修理艦艇。此外棉紡織、造紙、印刷、船舶修理等工業亦有發展。
By the time of the Westernization Movement, modern industry began to appear in the Guangzhou area. In the eleventh year of Tongzhi, Chen Qiyuan, an overseas Chinese from Siam (present-day Thailand, set up the first Jichanglong Machine Silk Factory in Xiqiao, South China Sea, which was the first local industrial enterprise in modern China and revolutionized the silk fishing industry in Guangzhou. In the thirteenth year of Tongzhi, Ruilin, the governor of Liangguang, established the Uranium Guangzhou Machinery Bureau to manufacture guns and ships; two years later, he bought the Whampoa dock run by the United Kingdom to repair ships. In addition, industries such as cotton textile, papermaking, printing, and ship repair have also developed.