Shizuishan, formerly Shizuizi, is a
prefecture-level city in the
Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of the
People's Republic of China. It is the northernmost prefecture in Ningxia and the second most populous, after the regional capital
Yinchuan, bordered by
Inner Mongolia to all directions except the south. Shizuishan sits on the western bank of the
Yellow River on the western side of the
Ordos Loop
The Ordos Plateau, also known as the Ordos Basin or simply the Ordos, is a highland sedimentary basin in northwest China with an elevation of , and consisting mostly of land enclosed by the Ordos Loop, a large northerly rectangular bend of the Y ...
. It was formerly a center for
caravans traveling the northern routes to and from
Beijing across the
Ordos Desert.
Name
Shizuishan was
formerly romanized
Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...
as Shetsuishan
[.] and Shihchu Shan.
[.]
It was also formerly known as "Shizuizi", which was romanized Shihtsuitzu
[ and Chetsouidze.
]
History
Shizuishan used to be a center of local trade and eventually became a mining town.Sun Dianying
Sun Dianying (; 1889–1948) was a Chinese bandit leader, warlord, and National Revolutionary Army commander who fought in the Warlord Era, Second Sino-Japanese War, and Chinese Civil War, earning notoriety for changing sides multiple times in co ...
during his attempt to conquer Ningxia from the Ma clique. Sun set up a rival provincial government in the town, but he was eventually defeated by Ningxia's official governor Ma Hongkui. Shizuishan was consequently returned to Ma's control.
Administrative divisions
Geography and Climate
Shizuishan is located on the western bank of the Yellow River between latitudes 38° 21′ and 39° 25′ N and longitudes 105° 58′ and 106° 39′ E, spanning from east to west and from south to north.
Environmental issues
In 2005, the Chinese government blacklisted the city for its pollution problem and told local leaders to shut down the worst polluting industrial plants. Recently, the city has attempted to reinvent itself by initiating eco-friendly programs to reduce pollution, improving medical services, increasing tourism, and improve certain industries but pollution is still taking its toll on the people.
Economy
The economy of Shizuishan is mainly based on coal mining, coking
Coking is the heating of coal in the absence of oxygen to a temperature above 600 °C to drive off the volatile components of the raw coal, leaving a hard, strong, porous material of high carbon content called coke. Coke consists almost ent ...
, and metallurgy. Agriculture, tourism, and viticulture also contribute to Shizuishan's economy.
Education
* Ningxia University
References
Citations
Bibliography
* , reprint.
*
* .
* .
* .
External links
- Shizuishan City Government Website
{{Authority control
Prefecture-level divisions of Ningxia
National Forest Cities in China
Cities in Ningxia