Gaoyao, alternately romanized as Koyiu, is an urban district of Zhaoqing in western Guangdong, China. Its population in 2020 was 741,591.
Gaoyao () is a former name of the Lingyang Gorge on the Xi River. It was originally the name of the surrounding land but came to be used for the area's seat of government. Gaoyao is the pinyin romanization of the Chinese name, based on its Mandarin pronunciation; the former Chinese Postal Map spelling was based on the local Cantonese pronunciation of the same name. Gaoyao has also sometimes been romanized as KaouYaou.
Gaoyao is located on the southern bank of the Xi River, opposite central Zhaoqing. Both are about away from Guangzhou, the provincial capital.
Gaoyao was a county of the Qin and Han and its eponymous county seat was the principal settlement of the area. Under the Sui, the administration relocated across the river to Duanzhou, which was renamed Zhaoqing under the Song. Gaoyao continued as a separate county in Zhaoqing Commandery. It was promoted to a county-level city in 1993 and later to urban district status.
Notable figures include:
Places of interest include the Red Mansion and Gaoyao Xuegong Pavilion. There are also three pagodas that can be seen in Gaoyao.
Gaoyao has jurisdiction over one subdistrict and several towns: