Xianning () 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' ...
in southeastern
Hubei
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...
province, People's Republic of China, bordering
Jiangxi
Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...
to the southeast and
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 ...
to the southwest. It is known as the "City of
Osmanthus
''Osmanthus'' ''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607 is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae. Most of the species are native to eastern Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Indochina, the Himalayas, etc.),and was ...
".
Geography and climate
Xianning is located in southeastern Hubei province, just south of
Wuhan
Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...
, between the southern bank of the
Yangtze River
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...
in the north and the
Mufu Mountains
The Mufu Mountains () are a range of mountains located on the border of Jiangxi and Hubei provinces in China.
Some maps label the range as 幕埠山, which would be transliterated as Mùbù Shān (Mubu Mountains), but this apparently is a typo.
...
in the south. It borders
Jiangxi
Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...
to the southeast and
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 ...
to the southwest. It is called Hubei's southern gateway. Xianning is hilly and mountainous (especially in its southern part), with some flatlands (mostly in the north) and lakes. It was home to 2,462,583 inhabitants as of the 2010 census whom 512,517 lived in the built-up (''or metro'') area made of Xia'nan District. Its area is , 56% of which is forested.. Its proximity to Wuhan is transforming the city into an outer suburb of the Hubei's capital.
Xianning has a
humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
''Cfa''). The normal monthly mean temperature ranges from in January to in July; the annual mean temperature is and annual precipitation is just below .
History
Xianning was under the jurisdiction of Nanjun County during 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), ...
. At the end of the
Han dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
, Xianning became a strategic point where conflict occurred; Xianning is a likely site for the
Battle of Red Cliffs
The Battle of Red Cliffs, also known as the Battle of Chibi, was a decisive naval battle in the winter of AD 208–209 at the end of the Han dynasty, about twelve years prior to the beginning of the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history. T ...
. During the
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...
, it was an important area for the Hunan, Hubei and Jiangxi Revolutionary Bases.
Administration
Xianning has 1
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 ...
, 4
counties
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 ...
, 1
county-level city
A county-level municipality (), county-level city or county city, formerly known as prefecture-controlled city (1949–1970: ; 1970–1983: ), is a Administrative divisions of China#County level (3rd), county-level administrative divi ...
and 1 other area.
District:
*
Xian'an District
Xian'an () is a district of the city of Xianning, Hubei, People's Republic of China.
Xian'an District includes Xianning's central urban area (thus, it usually is not marked separately from Xianning on less detailed maps) and nearby villages.
Adm ...
() (location of Xianning's main urban area, i.e. the place that low-resolution maps would label as "Xianning")
Counties:
*
Tongshan County
Tongshan () is a county of Xianning City, in the southeastern part of Hubei province, People's Republic of China, bordering Jiangxi to the south.
The county is located along Hubei's mountainous south-eastern border with Jiangxi. Its best known ...
()
*
Chongyang County
Chongyang County () is a county of southeastern Hubei province, People's Republic of China, bordering Hunan province to the west and Jiangxi province to the southeast. It is under the administration of Xianning City.
Administrative Divisions
Eight ...
()
*
Tongcheng County
Tongcheng () is the governmental seat and the name of a county in Xianning City, Hubei, People's Republic of China, bordering the provinces of Jiangxi (to the east) and Hunan (to the south and west).
History
The Red 16th Army, stationed at th ...
()
*
Jiayu County
Jiayu County () is a county of southeastern Hubei province, People's Republic of China, located on the southeast (right) bank of the Yangtze River. It is under the administration of Xianning
Xianning () is a prefecture-level city in southeaste ...
()
City:
*
Chibi City ()
Other Area:
*
Xianning Advanced Technology Industry Area
Xianning () is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Hubei province, People's Republic of China, bordering Jiangxi to the southeast and Hunan to the southwest. It is known as the "City of Osmanthus".
Geography and climate
Xianning is located i ...
()
Demographics
As of the
2020 Chinese census
The Seventh National Population Census of the People's Republic of China (), also referred to as the 2020 Chinese Census, was the seventh national census conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China. Census w ...
, Xianning has a total population of 2,658,316 people, of whom 657,590 lived in the built-up (''or metro'') area made of Xian'an District. Most of the inhabitants of Xianning are
Han
Han may refer to:
Ethnic groups
* Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group.
** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...
; only 4,785 are from other ethnic groups including
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 ...
,
Tujia,
Zhuang,
Miao Miao may refer to:
* Miao people, linguistically and culturally related group of people, recognized as such by the government of the People's Republic of China
* Miao script or Pollard script, writing system used for Miao languages
* Miao (Unicode ...
,
Manchu
The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...
, and
Dong. The place with the largest ethnic minority population is in Chibi City.
Economy
![Xianning-scenery-9741](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Xianning-scenery-9741.jpg)
Agriculture and forestry are two of Xianning's biggest industries. It is known by the three names, "City of Osmanthus", "City of Nan Bamboo", and "City of Tea". There are more than 1 million
mu (~151,822 English acres) of "Nan" Bamboo, 30,000 Chinese acres of osmanthus, and more than 150,000 Chinese acres of tea.
Mineral resources are also an important part of Xianning's economy.
Niobium
Niobium is a chemical element with chemical symbol Nb (formerly columbium, Cb) and atomic number 41. It is a light grey, crystalline, and ductile transition metal. Pure niobium has a Mohs hardness rating similar to pure titanium, and it has sim ...
, gold,
magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ta ...
,
antimony
Antimony is a chemical element with the symbol Sb (from la, stibium) and atomic number 51. A lustrous gray metalloid, it is found in nature mainly as the sulfide mineral stibnite (Sb2S3). Antimony compounds have been known since ancient time ...
,
monazite
Monazite is a primarily reddish-brown phosphate mineral that contains rare-earth elements. Due to variability in composition, monazite is considered a group of minerals. The most common species of the group is monazite-(Ce), that is, the cerium- ...
, coal,
manganese
Manganese is a chemical element with the symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of industrial alloy use ...
,
vanadium
Vanadium is a chemical element with the symbol V and atomic number 23. It is a hard, silvery-grey, malleable transition metal. The elemental metal is rarely found in nature, but once isolated artificially, the formation of an oxide layer ( pas ...
,
mica
Micas ( ) are a group of silicate minerals whose outstanding physical characteristic is that individual mica crystals can easily be split into extremely thin elastic plates. This characteristic is described as perfect basal cleavage. Mica is ...
, and marble are all mined or quarried in Xianning.
Xianning Nuclear Power Plant
The Xianning Nuclear Power Plant (), also named Dafan Nuclear Power Plant (大畈核电站), is planned in Dafan Town, Tongshan County, Xianning, Hubei Province, China. It is planned to host at least four 1,250-megawatt (MW) AP1000 pressurized w ...
is under construction near Dafan Town, Tongshan County. On 17 August 2010, the Shaw Group announced an agreement with State Nuclear Power Engineering Corp. Ltd., a subsidiary of China's State Nuclear Power Technology Corp. Ltd. (SNPTC), to add two new AP1000 units at the Xianning Nuclear Power Plant.
Transportation
Xianning has major rail lines, including the
Beijing-Guangzhou line, many national highways, and a large stretch of the
Yangtze River
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...
, making it an important transportation and shipping center.
As of 2015, four different train stations located in or near Xianning's main urban area have "Xianning" in their name; several other stations are located elsewhere within the prefecture-level city.
There are two passenger train stations on the "conventional"
Beijing-Guangzhou line within the Prefecture-level city of Xianning - the Xianning Railway Station in urban area itself ( from Wuhan's
Wuchang
Wuchang forms part of the urban core of and is one of 13 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, China. It is the oldest of the three cities that merged into modern-day Wuhan, and stood on the ri ...
train station), and the one in
Chibi ( from Wuchang) - are usually the first and the second stops for the slower trains leaving Wuchang toward
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
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 ...
. Typical travel times from Wuchang is 40-50 min and 1 hour 20 min, respectively.
The new
Wuhan–Guangzhou High-Speed Railway
The Wuhan–Guangzhou high-speed railway, also called the Wuguang high-speed railway and short for Beijing–Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong high-speed railway, Wuhan–Guangzhou section, is a high-speed rail line, operated by China Railway H ...
has
Xianning North Railway Station, which is located on the northern outskirts of the city's main urban area, about of Xianning Railway Station.
The
Wuhan–Xianning Intercity Railway
Parameters
The Wuhan–Xianning intercity railway (), commonly abbreviated as ''Wu-Xian intercity railway'', is a high-speed commuter railway line in Hubei Province of China with double tracks. It connects the provincial capital Wuhan with the ci ...
(part of the future
Wuhan Metropolitan Area Intercity Railway system), opened in December 2013, provides direct rail service from Wuhan's
Wuchang Railway Station
Wuchang railway station is a major railway station on the Beijing–Guangzhou railway, the Wuhan–Jiujiang railway and the Hankou–Danjiangkou railway, located on the east side of Zhongshan Road in Wuchang District, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
Fou ...
to Xianning city center. It has two stations in the city's main urban area:
Xianning East Railway Station in the downtown Xianning, and Xianning South, the end-of-line (dead-end) station in the industrial area south of downtown. When the system was under construction, the expected travel time from Wuchang to Xianning was stated to be 28 min, but as of 2015, the typical scheduled time from Wuchang to Xianning South () is more like 70 to 100 min.
Tourism
![Flussufer Xianning](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Flussufer_Xianning.JPG)
Xianning's biggest tourist draw is its natural scenery. There are many sites including Taiyi Cave (), Star Bamboo Sea (), Mount Jiugong (, in
Tongshan County
Tongshan () is a county of Xianning City, in the southeastern part of Hubei province, People's Republic of China, bordering Jiangxi to the south.
The county is located along Hubei's mountainous south-eastern border with Jiangxi. Its best known ...
), Lushui Lake (), as well as the historical site the Chibi Ancient Ruins ().
At the "
Underground Project 131" site, some southeast of downtown Xianning (within
Xian'an District
Xian'an () is a district of the city of Xianning, Hubei, People's Republic of China.
Xian'an District includes Xianning's central urban area (thus, it usually is not marked separately from Xianning on less detailed maps) and nearby villages.
Adm ...
, tourists can visit a system of tunnels that were built in 1969-71 to accommodate national military headquarters in the case of a war, but never used. The Xianning Sports Centre Stadium is located in the city. It has a capacity of 12,000 and it attracts many football fans from the region.
Sister city
*
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
,
Labuan
Labuan (), officially the Federal Territory of Labuan ( ms, Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan), is a Federal Territory of Malaysia. Its territory includes and six smaller islands, off the coast of the state of Sabah in East Malaysia. Labuan's capit ...
, Malaysia.
References
External links
Xianning City People's Government, Official Website
{{Authority control
Populated places on the Yangtze River
Prefecture-level divisions of Hubei
Wuhan urban agglomeration
Cities in Hubei