唐代的嶺南西道地區，大致為今日的廣西壯族自治區西半部、越南北部地區，幅員相當遼闊。嶺南西道地區的交州有良好的手工業基礎，加以是秦漢至魏晉南北朝時期主要的國際貿易港，商業貿易發達，因此相當繁榮。邕州則因位於嶺南地區主要河流鬱水（西江水）支流的會合點上，擁有良好的交通條件，因此有一定的發展。除上述地區之外，嶺南西道的大部分地區在唐代仍是開發較遲之地。嶺南西道部分地區因地處偏遠及交通不便等因素，而與交州及邕州等地的發展，存在著差異。然而即使是這些經濟發展較落後地區，也因嶺南西道地區交通路線的開闢，以及伴隨著交州、邕州等地經濟發展的帶動下，在五代以後有進一步的發展。
Lingnan West Area in Tang Dynasty, roughly located in the western half of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and northern Vietnam nowadays, covered quite vast areas then. Jiaozhou in this area had a great handicraft foundation, which was also the major international trading port from Qin and Han to Southern and Northern Dynasties, with prosperous commercial trade development. Yongzhou was located in the tributaries meeting point of the major river Yu water in Lingnan Area (Xijiang River), so had been developed due to the great transportation. Except for the mentioned areas above, part of Lingnan West Area was still the least developed areas in Tang Dynasty. The development of these areas was different with Jiaozhou and Yongzhou, due to their remote location, inconvenient traffic, and other factors. However, even these relatively economic backward areas had further development after Late Tang and Five Dynasties, because of the traffic route expansion in Lingnan West Area and driven by the economic development in Jiaozhou, Yongzhou, and other places.
