() is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in the

prefecture-level city A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure. During the Republican era, many of China' ...

of Huzhou in northwestern

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

province,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. The county spans an area of , with a population of 461,800 as of the end of 2013. Located within the

Yangtze River Delta The Yangtze Delta or Yangtze River Delta (YRD, or simply ) is a triangle-shaped megalopolis generally comprising the Wu Chinese-speaking areas of Shanghai, southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang. The area lies in the heart of the Jiangnan reg ...

, Anji County is a short distance from

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...

, and

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

. Anji County is known for its lush natural environment, with over 70% of the county's area covered in

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

and other vegetation. In particular, Anji County is known for its

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...

production. The county has of bamboo groves containing over 40 different species of bamboo. The county is home to the

Tianhuangping Pumped Storage Power Station The Tianhuangping Pumped Storage Power Station () is a pumped-storage power station in Tianhuangping, Anji County of Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. The power station has an installed capacity of utilizing 6 reversible Francis turbines. Construc ...

Toponymy

Anji County is named after a verse from the ''

Classic of Poetry The ''Classic of Poetry'', also ''Shijing'' or ''Shih-ching'', translated variously as the ''Book of Songs'', ''Book of Odes'', or simply known as the ''Odes'' or ''Poetry'' (; ''Shī''), is the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry, co ...

.''

History

The , a

paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...

archeological site, is located within present-day Anji County. Anji County was established in 185 CE. During the 1990s, it took more than two hours to travel to Hangzhou by bus. Poor transportation isolated Anji from the rest of Zhejiang Province, and for many years its economy remained underdeveloped. From 1997 to 2000, highways were built to Hangzhou and Huzhou, and from 2000 to 2002, highways connecting to National Highway G318 were constructed. The provincial highways within its boundary were also widened. Now the highway system traversing the entire boundary has been completed, and it takes less than three hours to reach Shanghai, Nanjing or Suzhou, and less than one hour to get to Hangzhou and Huzhou.

Geography

Anji County is located within the

Yangtze Delta The Yangtze Delta or Yangtze River Delta (YRD, or simply ) is a triangle-shaped megalopolis generally comprising the Wu Chinese-speaking areas of Shanghai, southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang. The area lies in the heart of the Jiangnan reg ...

, where the

Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...

meets the

East China Sea The East China Sea is an arm of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. It covers an area of roughly . The sea’s northern extension between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula is the Yellow Sea, separated b ...

. The Tianmu Mountains run through southwest portion of the

, with the county's highest point, , reaching in elevation.

Xitiao River The Xitiao River or West Tiao River () is located in Zhejiang Province, China. It flows through Huzhou before entering Lake Tai Taihu (), also known as Lake Tai or Lake Taihu, is a lake in the Yangtze Delta and one of the largest freshw ...

, the county's longest river, flows from the southwest mountains northeast, before eventually emptying into

Lake Tai Taihu (), also known as Lake Tai or Lake Taihu, is a lake in the Yangtze Delta and one of the largest freshwater lakes in China. The lake is in Jiangsu province and a significant part of its southern shore forms its border with Zhejiang. With ...

. Anji County is bordered by

Changxing County () is a county of the prefecture-level city of Huzhou, in the northwest of Zhejiang province, China. Situated on the southwest shore of Lake Tai, it borders the provinces of Jiangsu to the north and Anhui to the west. It has a total area of an ...

to the north,

Wuxing District Wuxing District () is the central district of the prefecture-level city of Huzhou, Zhejiang, China. Administrative divisions As of 2020, Wuxing District has 13 Subdistricts and 5 Towns and 1 Townships under its administration. Wuxing District's ...

and Deqing County to the east,

Yuhang District Yuhang is one of ten urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, East China. Its 2013 population was estimated at 1.17 million. Its inhabitants speak both Mandarin and a variety of Hangzhounese, ...

and

Lin'an District Lin'an District () is one of ten urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, East China. It is located in northwest Zhejiang as a separate urban area of Hangzhou, and borders Anhui province to the ...

(both in

) to the south, and by

Ningguo Ningguo () is a county-level city in the southeast of Anhui province, People's Republic of China, under the administration of Xuancheng City and bordering Zhejiang province to the south and east. It has a population of 380,000 and an area of . Ni ...

and

Guangde Guangde is a county-level city in the southeast of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China, bordering the provinces of Jiangsu to the north and Zhejiang to the east. It is the easternmost county-level division of Anhui and is under the jurisdi ...

to the west (both in

Xuancheng Xuancheng () is a city in the southeast of Anhui province. Archeological digs suggest that the city has been settled for over 4,000 years, and has been under formal administration since the Qin dynasty. Located in the lower Yangtze River drainage ...

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

). The county is located north of Hangzhou's urban core, and to the west of Shanghai's.

Climate

Administrative divisions

As of 2021, there are the following 4

subdistricts A subdistrict or sub-district is an administrative division that is generally smaller than a district. Equivalents * Administrative posts of East Timor, formerly Portuguese-language * Kelurahan, in Indonesia * Mukim, a township in Brunei, Indon ...

, 8

towns A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

and 3

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

in Anji County: File:Division of Anji County.png, A map of

township-level divisions The administrative divisions of China have consisted of several levels since ancient times, due to China's large population and geographical area. The constitution of China provides for three levels of government. However in practice, there ...

in Anji County ★ Seat of the Anji County People's Government These township-level divisions then, in turn, administer 215 village-level divisions.

Economy

As of 2021, Anji County has a total

gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a money, monetary Measurement in economics, measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjec ...

(GDP) of 56.63 billion

renminbi The renminbi (; symbol: ¥; ISO code: CNY; abbreviation: RMB) is the official currency of the People's Republic of China and one of the world's most traded currencies, ranking as the fifth most traded currency in the world as of April 2022. ...

(RMB), an increase of 10.8% from 2020. Urban residents have a

per capita ''Per capita'' is a Latin phrase literally meaning "by heads" or "for each head", and idiomatically used to mean "per person". The term is used in a wide variety of social sciences and statistical research contexts, including government statistic ...

disposable income Disposable income is total personal income minus current income taxes. In national accounts definitions, personal income minus personal current taxes equals disposable personal income. Subtracting personal outlays (which includes the major c ...

of 65,750 RMB, while rural residents have a per capita disposable income of 39,495 RMB. In 2001, Anji County received $50 million

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

in foreign investment.

Tourism

Tourism is an important part of Anji County's economy. As of 2013, the

received 10.44 million tourists. In 2001, Anji received 1.4 million tourists, earning it 310 million yuan, which made up 6.1% of the county's GDP. The ecological tour area covers one-tenth of the county's total area. Anji produces 12 million commercial bamboo poles annually, ranking first nationwide. It also has China's largest bamboo nursery. The Anji Bamboo Garden is acknowledged by scholars within and outside China as containing the widest variety of bamboo to be found. It was formerly a bamboo grove research base that combined scientific research with teaching, and has received many foreign experts and scholars and officials from the

International Bamboo and Rattan Organisation The International Bamboo and Rattan Organization (INBAR) is an independent intergovernmental organization established in 1997 to develop and promote innovative solutions to poverty and environmental sustainability using bamboo and rattan. Histor ...

. At the Longwang (

Dragon King The Dragon King, also known as the Dragon God, is a Chinese water and weather god. He is regarded as the dispenser of rain, commanding over all bodies of water. He is the collective personification of the ancient concept of the '' lóng'' in Ch ...

, deity of

Chinese folk religion Chinese folk religion, also known as Chinese popular religion comprehends a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. Vivienne Wee described it as "an empty bowl, which can variously be filled ...

) Mountain Nature Reserve, lies the source of the

Huangpu River The Huangpu (), formerly romanized as Whangpoo, is a river flowing north through Shanghai. The Bund and Lujiazui are located along the Huangpu River. The Huangpu is the biggest river in central Shanghai, with the Suzhou Creek being its maj ...

, and the 800-hectare primeval forest there contains numerous flora and fauna under national protection;

Amji's Salamander Amji's salamander (''Hynobius amjiensis'') is a species of salamander in the family Asiatic salamander, Hynobiidae. This species is Endemism, endemic to China, or more specifically to Zhejiang Province; its breeding habitat consists of five small ...

is only known from this reserve. The Huadong Pumping Storage Power Station, located in the Tianhuangping Scenic Area, is the largest in Asia and second largest worldwide. It is meant to blend in with the surrounding environment, and is a Chinese industrial demonstration project. A feasibility plan recently commenced on the British designed Huxi Ecological Garden.

Agricultural products

Local agricultural products include bamboo shoots,

white tea White tea may refer to one of several styles of tea which generally feature young or minimally processed leaves of the ''Camellia sinensis'' plant. Currently there is no generally accepted definition of white tea and very little internationa ...

, alpine vegetables, and flowers. Production bases for green products have been opened, and specialized markets for agricultural products and comprehensive wholesale markets built. In order further to supplement ecological tourism, agricultural sightseeing gardens that provide leisure activities have also been constructed. Pollution-free products currently make up 40 percent of the market, and the per capita income of farmers has increased steadily, from 3,708 yuan in 1998 to 4,556 yuan in 2001. Chain production is a characteristic of Anji's industry; bamboo, for instance, can be made into food, handicrafts, and building materials, and its remnants can also be utilized. Anji products are now exported to more than 20 countries and regions, and about one-fourth of the county's gross output value of agriculture and industry comes from bamboo-related industries.

Notable people

Wu Changshuo Wu Changshuo (, September 12, 1844 – November 29, 1927, also romanised as Wu Changshi, ), born Wu Junqing (), was a Chinese calligrapher, painter, and seal artist of the late Qing Period. Life Wu was born into a scholarly family in Huzho ...

References

External links

Anji County People's Government Website (Chinese)2004 archive of the Anji County People's Government Website (Chinese)2016 archive of the Anji Government Regulations & Forms Website (Chinese)2008 archive of the Anji Local Directory (Chinese)
{{authority control County-level divisions of Zhejiang Huzhou