Xuancheng () is a city in the southeast of
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 ...
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
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 ...
drainage basin and
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 ...
, it borders
Wuhu
Wuhu () is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Anhui province, China. Sitting on the southeast bank of the Yangtze River, Wuhu borders Xuancheng to the southeast, Chizhou and Tongling to the southwest, Hefei city to the northwest, Ma'ansh ...
to the northwest,
Chizhou
Chizhou () is a prefecture-level city in the south of Anhui province, China. It borders Anqing to the northwest, Tongling and Wuhu to the northeast, Xuancheng to the east, Huangshan to the southeast, and the province of Jiangxi to the southwes ...
to the west,
Huangshan
Huangshan (),Bernstein, pp. 125–127. literally meaning the Yellow Mountain(s), is a mountain range in southern Anhui Province in eastern China. It was originally called “Yishan”, and it was renamed because of a legend that Emperor Xuan ...
to the southwest, and the provinces of
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 ...
and
Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...
to the southeast and northeast respectively.
History
![Xie Tiao Tower 01 2021-03](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Xie_Tiao_Tower_01_2021-03.jpg)
Archeological digs in Xuancheng have found pottery and stoneware indicative of the
Liangzhu Culture
The Liangzhu culture (; 3300–2300 BC) was the last Neolithic jade culture in the Yangtze River Delta of China. The culture was highly stratified, as jade, silk, ivory and lacquer artifacts were found exclusively in elite burials, while pottery ...
.
During the
Spring and Autumn period
The Spring and Autumn period was a period in Chinese history from approximately 770 to 476 BC (or according to some authorities until 403 BC) which corresponds roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou period. The period's name derives fr ...
, the area belonged to the
State of Wu, although, upon the decline of Wu, the area was also ruled by the
State of Chu and the
State of Yue
Yue (, Old Chinese: ''*''), also known as Yuyue (), was a state in ancient China which existed during the first millennium BC the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods of China's Zhou dynasty in the modern provinces of Zhejiang, Sha ...
.
Under 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), ...
, the area was administered as Zhang Commandery (),
which became the in 109 BCE, under the
Western 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 war ...
.
During the Danyang Commandery, Wanling (, presently
Xuanzhou District
Xuanzhou District () is an urban district of the city of Xuancheng, Anhui Province, People's Republic of China. It has a population of and an area of .
Xuanzhou District has jurisdiction over five subdistricts, sixteen towns and eighteen townsh ...
, the site of the Xuancheng Municipal Government) served as the administrative center.
Xuanzhou has been the political, economic and cultural center of administration since then. In 281 CE, was established.
Xuancheng became a prefecture-level city in 2000.
Geography and Climate
![Txu-oclc-10552568-nh50-8](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Txu-oclc-10552568-nh50-8.jpg)
Its terrain is varied and complicated, basically sloping downward from the south to the north. Its
landform
A landform is a natural or anthropogenic land feature on the solid surface of the Earth or other planetary body. Landforms together make up a given terrain, and their arrangement in the landscape is known as topography. Landforms include hills, ...
can be approximately divided into five types:
mountain
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...
,
hill
A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct Summit (topography), summit.
Terminology
The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally con ...
,
valley
A valley is an elongated low area often running between Hill, hills or Mountain, mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers ...
and
basin,
hillock
A hillock or knoll is a small hill,[The Free Dictionary](_blank)
"hillock" entry, retrieved December 18, 2007 ...
and
plain
In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands ...
. The south and southeast regions belong to ranges of
Tianmu Mountain
Tianmu Mountain, Mount Tianmu, or Tianmushan () is a mountain in Lin'an County west of Hangzhou, Zhejiang, in eastern China. It is made up of two peaks: West Tianmu () and East Tianmu (). Twin ponds near the top of the peaks led to the name of ...
, while the southwest and west regions are respectively parts of ranges of Mt.
Huangshan
Huangshan (),Bernstein, pp. 125–127. literally meaning the Yellow Mountain(s), is a mountain range in southern Anhui Province in eastern China. It was originally called “Yishan”, and it was renamed because of a legend that Emperor Xuan ...
and Mt.
Jiuhua. is also located within Xuancheng.
59.34% of the city's area is
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' ...
ed.
The city has a subtropical humid
monsoon climate
An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ...
, with four distinct seasons and abundant precipitation. Of the four seasons, summer is the longest. Its annual average temperature falls round 15.6C (60.1F). Most of the rainfall occurs in summer. The plum rain season lasts from mid-June to early July.
Travel in Anhui
/ref>
Administration
Xuancheng City administers seven county-level divisions, including 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 five 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 ...
.
*Xuanzhou District
Xuanzhou District () is an urban district of the city of Xuancheng, Anhui Province, People's Republic of China. It has a population of and an area of .
Xuanzhou District has jurisdiction over five subdistricts, sixteen towns and eighteen townsh ...
()
*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 ...
City ()
*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 ...
City ()
*Langxi County
Langxi County () is a county in the southeast of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China, bordering Jiangsu Province to the north. It is under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city of Xuancheng
Xuancheng () is a city in the southeast ...
()
* Jing County ()
* Jixi County ()
*Jingde County
Jingde County () is a county in the southeast of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China, under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city of Xuancheng
Xuancheng () is a city in the southeast of Anhui province. Archeological digs suggest t ...
()
These are further divided into 115 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 ...
, including 61 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 ...
, 44 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 ...
and ten subdistrict 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, In ...
s.
Language and culture
In Xuancheng, Jianghuai Mandarin
Lower Yangtze Mandarin () is one of the most divergent and least mutually-intelligible of the Mandarin languages, as it neighbours the Wu, Hui, and Gan groups of Sinitic languages. It is also known as Jiang–Huai Mandarin (), named after th ...
and Wu Chinese
The Wu languages (; Romanization of Wu Chinese, Wu romanization and Romanization of Wu Chinese#IPA, IPA: ''wu6 gniu6'' [] (Shanghainese), ''ng2 gniu6'' [] (Suzhounese), Mandarin pinyin and IPA: ''Wúyǔ'' []) is a major group of Sinitic languag ...
are spoken as well as Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin.
Xuancheng is a city with 2,000 years of history and cultural relics. It has a profound cultural heritage and rich tourism resources. There are many scenery resorts, such as the country's largest captive breeding bases—Chinese Crocodile
Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to inclu ...
Lake, one of the four unique scenes – Taiji Cave, Peach Blossom Pool, Jing Ting Mountain
The Jing Ting Mountain (), with the ancient name of Zhao Ting Mountain (), is in the northern suburbs of Xuancheng City, Anhui province, China.
History
Before the Jin Dynasty, the mountain was known as Zhao Ting Mountain. In 266 AD, its na ...
, Zhangshan Canyon, and cultural sites of the New Fourth Army
The New Fourth Army () was a unit of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China established in 1937. In contrast to most of the National Revolutionary Army, it was controlled by the Chinese Communist Party and not by the ruling Ku ...
, the Ancestral Hall of the Hu Family in Jixi, the former residence of Mr. Hu Shih
Hu Shih (; 17 December 1891 – 24 February 1962), also known as Hu Suh in early references, was a Chinese diplomat, essayist, literary scholar, philosopher, and politician. Hu is widely recognized today as a key contributor to Chinese libera ...
, the Jiang's Village in Jingde, and so on. Since reform and opening up, the city has achieved a lot of progress, and is accelerating the development of municipal services, transport, tourism and other infrastructural facilities. Xuancheng, as a new city with pleasant environments of living, enterprising, sightseeing, is on the rise. The Ningguo Stadium is located in the city. The 12,000-capacity stadium is used mainly for association football matches.
Demographics
Its population was 2,500,063 as of 2020 census whom 774,332 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of Xuanzhou District.
The city is home to 45 ethnic minorities
The term 'minority group' has different usages depending on the context. According to its common usage, a minority group can simply be understood in terms of demographic sizes within a population: i.e. a group in society with the least number o ...
, whose population totals about 13,000 people. Xuancheng administers one ethnic township
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star.
Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...
: . Xuancheng also administers two ethnic villages: Hucun Hui Ethnic Village () in , Xuanzhou District
Xuanzhou District () is an urban district of the city of Xuancheng, Anhui Province, People's Republic of China. It has a population of and an area of .
Xuanzhou District has jurisdiction over five subdistricts, sixteen towns and eighteen townsh ...
, and Qianqiu She Ethnic Village () in Yunti She Ethnic Township, 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 ...
.
Economy
As of 2020, the city's 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 ...
is estimated at ¥160.75 billion, its inflation rate
In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reductio ...
was 2.4%, and its urban unemployment rate
Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the referen ...
was 2.7%. Total consumer retail sales in 2020 reached ¥62.66 billion, and foreign trade
International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (see: World economy)
In most countries, such trade represents a significant ...
totaled ¥13.44 billion.
Xuancheng's 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 ...
is ¥30,746 as of 2020, and stood at ¥42,134 for urban residents, and ¥18,928 for rural residents.
Xuancheng's major industrial products include beverages
A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothies a ...
, cloth, concrete, electronics components, fertilizer
A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...
, paper and cardboard.
Xuancheng is known for its production of high quality Xuan paper (), Xuan writing brushes (), and Xuan ink stones (), all of which are used in traditional Chinese calligraphy and painting. These products make up a large proportion of the city's exports.
Notable people
* Hu Shih
Hu Shih (; 17 December 1891 – 24 February 1962), also known as Hu Suh in early references, was a Chinese diplomat, essayist, literary scholar, philosopher, and politician. Hu is widely recognized today as a key contributor to Chinese libera ...
(1891–1962): philosopher
A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
, essayist
An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...
and diplomat
A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...
, one of the leaders of China's New Culture Movement, former president of Peking University
Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education.
Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charter ...
(in 1939 Hu Shih was nominated for a Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
in literature)
* Wang Jiaxiang
Wang Jiaxiang (, also known as Wang Jiaqiang) (August 15, 1906 – January 25, 1974), was one of the senior leaders of the Chinese Communist Party in its early stage and a member of the 28 Bolsheviks. Wang held a variety of high-level posts in the ...
(1906–1974): the first Chinese Ambassador to Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
after the establishment of People's Republic of 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 ...
* Wu Zuoren
Wu may refer to:
States and regions on modern China's territory
*Wu (state) (; och, *, italic=yes, links=no), a kingdom during the Spring and Autumn Period 771–476 BCE
** Suzhou or Wu (), its eponymous capital
** Wu County (), a former county ...
(1908–1997): painter, former principal of the China Central Academy of Fine Arts
The Central Academy of Fine Arts or CAFA is an art academy under the direct charge of the Ministry of Education of China. The Manila Bulletin calls the school "China’s most prestigious and renowned art academy". It is one of the most selecti ...
* Ren Xinmin Ren or REN may refer to:
Abbreviations
* Orenburg Tsentralny Airport, IATA code REN, civil airport in Russia
* Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN), Portuguese company
* Renanthera, abbreviated as Ren, orchid genus
* Ringer equivalence number ( ...
(1915–2017): aerospace engineer and a specialist in astronautics and liquid rocket engine technology
* Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin (17 August 1926 – 30 November 2022) was a Chinese politician who served as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1989 to 2002, as chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2004, and as pr ...
(1926– ): former General Secretary of the Communist Party and President of China
* Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao (born 21 December 1942) is a Chinese politician who served as the 16–17th general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012, the 6th president of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from 2003 to 2013, an ...
(1942– ): former General Secretary of the Communist Party and President of China
* Mei Yaochen (1002–60), a major poet of the Northern Song Dynasty
Education
* Hefei University of Technology
Hefei University of Technology () is a key university in China, with particular strength in Engineering and Management Science. Located in Hefei, the capital of the Anhui Province, it is also a Chinese state Double First Class University Plan u ...
Xuancheng Campus
* Xuancheng High School
The Xuancheng High School of Anhui Province (), commonly referred to as Xuancheng High School or Xuanzhong (), is a public high school located in Xuancheng, Anhui Province, China. It was established in 1906 as Secondary School of Ningguo Prefectu ...
* XuanCheng Vocational & Technical college
Transportation
Rail
Xuancheng is served by the Anhui–Jiangxi Railway and Beijing–Taipei High-Speed Rail Corridor.
References
External links
Xuancheng Government website
(in Simplified Chinese)
{{Authority control
Cities in Anhui