Loudi () 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 central

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...

province, China. It is situated about southwest of the provincial capital of

Changsha Changsha (; ; ; Changshanese pronunciation: (), Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is the capital and the largest city of Hunan Province of China. Changsha is the 17th most populous city in China with a population of over 10 million, an ...

and is considered a small to medium size city within the province. According to the 2010 Census, the population of Loudi is of 3,785,627 inhabitants in an area of . In 2007, the city is named China's top ten livable cities by Chinese Cities Brand Value Report, which was released at 2007 Beijing Summit of China Cities Forum.

Geography

Loudi has an area of . The western parts of the city borders mountainous regions while the east parts is generally considered hilly with gently sloping topography.

Climate

The climate is subtropical monsoon climate with humid weather and four distinct seasons.

History

Before the

Qin Dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first Dynasties in Chinese history, dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin (state), ...

(221BC-210BC) established a court, it belonged to the

Chu Chu or CHU may refer to: Chinese history * Chu (state) (c. 1030 BC–223 BC), a state during the Zhou dynasty * Western Chu (206 BC–202 BC), a state founded and ruled by Xiang Yu * Chu Kingdom (Han dynasty) (201 BC–70 AD), a kingdom of the Ha ...

, a

vassal state A vassal state is any state that has a mutual obligation to a superior state or empire, in a status similar to that of a vassal in the feudal system in medieval Europe. Vassal states were common among the empires of the Near East, dating back to ...

to the

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by th ...

Subdivisions

Loudi administers one

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

, two

county-level cities A county-level municipality (), county-level city or county city, formerly known as prefecture-controlled city (1949–1970: ; 1970–1983: ), is a county-level administrative division of the People's Republic of China. County-level ...

, and two counties. The information here presented uses data from 2010 national census.

Government

The current CPC Party Secretary of Loudi is Li Jianguo and the current Mayor is Yang Yiwen.

Notable Places

Ziquejie Terrace

Located in Xinhua County, Ziquejie Terrace features, layers upon layers of terraces are mapped like waves on the hills upon the mountains.

Boyue Cave

Boyue Cave Boyue Cave () is a karstic cave in Lengshuijiang, Hunan, China. Located at the foot of Mount dacheng (), it was one of the locations of 1986 shenmo television series ''Journey to the West''. It is now a popular destination for cavers, walkers, and ...

scenic spot is a comprehensive park with

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

as its main composition. It has an underground route of 1800 meters covering 40 thousand square meters.

Economy

The city is heavily dependent on industry. In 2011, Loudi's GDP reached RMB 83.79 billion ($12.9 billion). The biggest contributors come from the secondary industry where industry and construction amount to RMB 46.69 billion ($7.3billion USD), 55.75 of the city's GDP. The city has rich natural resources. Coal mining, dressing, metallurgy, power production and supply, agricultural products processing, ceramics and construction materials are among the major industries of the city.

References

External links

Government site
(Simplified Chinese)
China Tourist site
(English) Cities in Hunan Prefecture-level divisions of Hunan {{Hunan-geo-stub