Zhaotong () is a

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' ...

located in the northeast corner of

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...

province, China, bordering the provinces of

Guizhou Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to t ...

to the south and southeast and

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

to the northeast, north, and west.

History

Zhaotong has historic and cultural links to the Shu (Sichuan basin) region.

Yi people The Yi or Nuosu people,; zh, c=彝族, p=Yízú, l=Yi ethnicity historically known as the Lolo,; vi, Lô Lô; th, โล-โล, Lo-Lo are an ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with eac ...

consider Zhaotong to be their homeland (called Zizipuwu). Zhaotong was part of Zhuti County (朱提縣) during Han to Tang dynasties. Zhaotong belonged to the Nanzhao then Dali Kingdom until the Mongols destroyed the latter in the 13th century. During the Yuan Dynasty, it became the Wumeng Commandery (乌蒙路), during which many

Hui The Hui people ( zh, c=, p=Huízú, w=Hui2-tsu2, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Хуэйзў, ) are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the n ...

Muslims settled in the area. During the Qing dynasty, local

tusi ''Tusi'', often translated as "headmen" or "chieftains", were hereditary tribal leaders recognized as imperial officials by the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties of China, and the Later Lê and Nguyễn dynasties of Vietnam. They ruled certain et ...

chieftains were removed, and the region was renamed Zhaotong Prefecture.

Climate

Influenced by the low latitude and moderate elevation, Zhaotong has a temperate subtropical highland climate ( Köppen ''Cwb''), with cool, dry winters, and warm, humid summers. Temperatures frequently drop below freezing at night in winter, though the days warm up to around . Conversely, in summer, average highs rise to . A great majority of the year's rainfall occurs from May to September.

Population

Demography

The prefecture, almost exclusively

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

, is one of the poorest in China, which led the authorities to encourage young people to

migrate Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

to eastern and southern parts of China to find work. For the year 2003, the number of emigrants was 650,000. The government wanted the number to increase by 50,000 in 2004.

Religion

It is the seat of the Latin Catholic Apostolic Prefecture of Zhaotong.

Economy

The main industries in the prefecture are mining, tobacco and cement manufacturing Zhaotong has some of the largest

lignite Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...

sources in China. The 18,000-capacity Yuanbaoshan Stadium is also located in the city. It hosts many events, for example athletic events such as soccer matches.

Transport

* Zhaotong Airport (ZAT), flight destination to

Kunming Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively Romanization of Chi ...

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

Guiyang Guiyang (; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), historically rendered as Kweiyang, is the capital of Guizhou province of the People's Republic of China. It is located in the center of the province, situated on the east of the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau, ...

*Train service to

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

*Zhaotong is connected to the

-Kunming National Highway network. * China National Highway 213 *

G85 Yinchuan–Kunming Expressway The Yinchuan–Kunming Expressway (), designated as G85 and commonly referred to as the Yinkun Expressway () is an expressway in China that connects the cities of Yinchuan, Ningxia and Kunming, Yunnan. It is in length. It passes through the follo ...

Zhaotong has several bridges over the Jinsha River, an upstream section of 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 ...

Administrative divisions

References

Zhaotong Community Development Program
- Norwegian Embassy

External links

Zhaotong Official Official Website
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