Yongding () is a
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 county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...
under the jurisdiction of
Longyan
Longyan (; Hakka: ''Liùng-ngàm''; Longyan dialect: ''Lengngia'') is a prefecture-level city in south-western Fujian Province, China, bordering Guangdong to the south and Jiangxi to the west.
History
In 736 AD, (the Tang dynasty), the prefec ...
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 the southwest of
Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...
Province, People's Republic of China. The district is a center for
Hakka culture
Hakka culture ( zh, t=客家文化) refers to the culture created by Hakka people, a Han Chinese subgroup, across Asia and Americas. It encompasses the shared language, various art forms, food culture, folklore, and traditional customs. Hakka cul ...
, including the traditional Hakka ''
tulou
A tulou (), or "earthen building", is a traditional communal Hakka people residence found in Fujian, in South China, usually of a circular configuration surrounding a central shrine, and part of Hakka architecture. These vernacular structur ...
'', and a local dialect of the
Hakka Chinese
Hakka (, , ) forms a language group of varieties of Chinese, spoken natively by the Hakka people throughout Southern China and Taiwan and throughout the diaspora areas of East Asia, Southeast Asia and in overseas Chinese communities aroun ...
called the . As of 2015, Yongding has a permanent population of about 361,000,
of which more than 99% are Hakka, the rest being She people. In December 2014, the Fujian government signed legislation converting Yongding from a
county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
to a
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 county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...
.
Yongding is the hometown of many overseas Chinese immigrants that came to south-east Asia and Burma during the
British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was him ...
.
History
Yongding County was established in the 14th year of Chenghua (AD 1478) in the
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...
. It was originally part of
Shanghang County
Shanghang (; hak, Sông-hông-yen) is a county in southwest Fujian Province, China, bordering Guangdong Province to the southwest. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Longyan.
Transportation
Part of Shanghang County i ...
. The governor of
Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...
province proposed to separate this south-eastern part of the Shanghang County to form a new county and name it Yongding, literally meaning peaceful forever, after suppressing a riot in that particular region.
On December 13, 2014, the Fujian government passed a law converting Yongding from a
county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
to a
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 county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...
.
The law came into effect on February 9, 2015.
In March 2015, was upgraded from a
township
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, C ...
to a
town
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 ...
, and was upgraded from a town to a
subdistrict.
Geography
Located in the southwest of
Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...
province, Yongding District is situated on the Fujian-
Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
border.
Yongding District is bordered by
Nanjing County
Nanjing County () is a county under the administration of Zhangzhou City, in the south of Fujian province, People's Republic of China.
Administrative division
Nanjing County is administratively divided into several towns:
* Shancheng () - the cou ...
in
Zhangzhou
Zhangzhou (), alternately romanized as Changchow, is a prefecture-level city in Fujian Province, China. The prefecture around the city proper comprises the southeast corner of the province, facing the Taiwan Strait and surrounding the prefect ...
to the east,
Pinghe County
Pinghe County () is a county of the prefecture-level city of Zhangzhou, in southern Fujian province, PRC, bordering Guangdong province to the west.
Administrative Division
The administrative centre or seat of Pinghe County is Xiaoxi ().
Towns ...
in Zhangzhou to the southeast,
Dabu County
Dabu County () is a county in Meizhou City, in the east of Guangdong Province, China. A center of Hakka culture, it has a population of 375,000.
Famous natives
This is the ancestral hometown of 1st Guyana President Arthur Chung even though the ...
and
Meixian District
Meixian (, Hakka: Moiyen), formerly Meihsien, is a district of Meizhou City, in northeastern Guangdong Province, China. The county is an important Hakka settlement and is the ancestral home of many Hakka descendants living in Taiwan.
History ...
of
Meizhou
Meizhou (, Hakka Chinese: Mòichû) is a prefecture-level city in eastern Guangdong province, China. It has an area of , and a population of 3,873,239 million as of the 2020 census. It comprises Meijiang District, Meixian District, Xingning Cit ...
, Guangdong to the southwest,
Shanghang County
Shanghang (; hak, Sông-hông-yen) is a county in southwest Fujian Province, China, bordering Guangdong Province to the southwest. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Longyan.
Transportation
Part of Shanghang County i ...
to the northwest, and
Xinluo District
Xinluo District (; Hakka: Sîn-lò-khî) is a district of Longyan, Fujian Province, China, with a population of approximately 842,000.
It was formerly named Longyan County ().
As Xinluo is a part of the Minnan Hokkien territory, the Longyan ...
to the northeast.
Both Dabu and Shanghang are
Hakka
The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...
-speaking counties;
Longyan Centre, Nanjing and Pinghe are predominantly
Minnan-speaking.
Yongding District is in area.
Like other counties of Fujian province, Yongding is 80% hills and mountains, 10% water or rivers, and 10% fields. Two major rivers run through the district: Yongding River () and Xiayang Creek (). Both are tributaries of the
Ting River
The Ting River () flows from Ninghua County in western Fujian south to the port and Special Economic Zone of Shantou, Guangdong. It is a main tributary of the Han River and is also referred to Hakka Mother River ().
The former prefecture of ...
(, the name by which it is known in Fujian territory) or
Han River (, the name by which it is known in Guangdong province).
Climate
Located in a sub-tropical area and subject to
typhoons
A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...
, Yongding has high annual precipitation of about per year.
Administrative divisions
Yongding District current administers 1
subdistrict, 14
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 ...
, and 9
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, C ...
.
divided into twenty-four township-level divisions: one
subdistrict, twelve
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 ...
and eleven
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, C ...
.
Subdistrict
The district executive, legislature and
judiciary
The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
are in (), formerly the town of Fengcheng (), together with the
CPC and
PSB branches. Fengcheng Subdistrict is the
district's sole subdistrict,
and had a population of 48,048 as of 2015.
Towns
The district is home to the following 14 towns:
Townships
The district is home to the following 9 townships:
Demographics
As of 2015, Yongding District has a
hukou
''Hukou'' () is a system of household registration used in mainland China. The system itself is more properly called "''huji''" (), and has origins in ancient China; ''hukou'' is the registration of an individual in the system (''kou'' li ...
population of 504,520, but has approximately just 361,000 permanent residents.
44.3% of the
district's permanent residents live in
urban areas
An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, ...
.
The district's urban residents have a
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 ...
of 29,952
renminbi (RMB) as of 2015, a 7.1% increase from 2014.
In 2015, this figure stood at 14,136 RMB for the district's rural residents, a 9.8% increase from 2014.
The , a part of the
Tingzhou dialect of
Hakka Chinese
Hakka (, , ) forms a language group of varieties of Chinese, spoken natively by the Hakka people throughout Southern China and Taiwan and throughout the diaspora areas of East Asia, Southeast Asia and in overseas Chinese communities aroun ...
, is spoken in the district.
Culture
Yongding District is famous for its ''
tulou
A tulou (), or "earthen building", is a traditional communal Hakka people residence found in Fujian, in South China, usually of a circular configuration surrounding a central shrine, and part of Hakka architecture. These vernacular structur ...
'', large multi-family adobe buildings. Out of the 10 tulous or tulous clusters inscribed on the
World Heritage List
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
(as
Fujian Tulou), 5 are within Yongding District:
*
Chuxi Tulou cluster, in Chuxi Village (),
*
Chengqi Lou and adjacent buildings (the ), in Gaobei Village (),
Gaotou Township
* Hongkeng Tulou cluster including
Zhencheng Lou, in Hongkeng Village (),
Hukeng
* Zhenfu Lou, near Xipian Village (), Hukeng
*Yanxiang Lou, in Xinnan Village (), Hukeng
Economy
Yongding District recorded a
gross domestic product
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary 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 subjective nature this measure is oft ...
of 19.12 billion
renminbi (RMB) in 2015, an 8.2% increase from 2014.
Industry
Yongding District has a sizable
automotive industry
The automotive industry comprises a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industries by revenue (from 16 % such ...
, which achieved an output of 3.151 billion RMB in 2015, a 0.8% increase from 2014.
Fujian Motors Group
The Fujian Motors Group is based in the Fujian Province, China and was founded in 1992.
Group companies include Fujian Benz (50% joint venture with Daimler AG), Soueast Motors (50%), King Long (a bus manufacturer) (15%) and Higer Bus.
Brands Fu ...
has sizable operations in the
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 county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...
, where it produces engines for its New Longma () brand, and
multi-purpose vehicles for its Keyton () brand.
As a result of abundant precipitation and mountainous terrain,
hydroelectric power
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...
is abundant. There are numerous hydro plants in the district, one notable one being the provincial Mianhuatan Hydroelectric Power Station. The plant has a water storage capacity of 2.035 billion cubic meters and is able to generate 1.52 billion kilowatt hours of electricity a year. The Mianhuatan hydrodam contributes greatly to the rapidly growing economy of Fujian and neighboring Guangdong province.
Agriculture
In agriculture,
rice
Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...
is the main crop for the district. Most low-lying fields can yield two rice crops per year, while in high land fields, because of the earlier frost, only one harvest can be assured.
Persimmons
The persimmon is the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus ''Diospyros''. The most widely cultivated of these is the Oriental persimmon, ''Diospyros kaki'' ''Diospyros'' is in the family Ebenaceae, and a number of non-pers ...
,
plums
A plum is a fruit of some species in ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are called prunes.
History
Plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans. Three of the most abundantly cultivated species are not found i ...
, and
tea leaves
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...
are grown in the district.
Cattle
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...
are raised in Yongding District, and various
beef
Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus'').
In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantit ...
products are produced in the district.
Yongding is an important
tobacco
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
producer. The cultivation of tobacco started in
Wan Li
Wan Li (1 December 1916 – 15 July 2015) was a Chinese Communist revolutionary and politician. During a long administrative career in the People's Republic of China, he served successively as Vice Premier, Chairman of the Standing Committee of ...
era of the
Ming Dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...
. Yongding was honored as the "home of tobacco" in the early 20th century. Although its significance has declined in recent years, Yongding is still one of the most important tobacco producing areas in the region. Many top brand Chinese cigarettes contain Yongding leaf.
During the 2010s, the local government began partnering local farmers with
Taobao
Taobao () is a Chinese online shopping platform. It is headquartered in Hangzhou and is owned by Alibaba. According to Alexa rank, it is the eighth most-visited website globally in 2021. Taobao.com was registered on April 21, 2003 by Alibaba ...
, a large Chinese
e-commerce
E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the activity of electronically buying or selling of products on online services or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain managem ...
website, to create a wider market for local agricultural goods.
As of 2015, the district is home to 200 million RMB in e-commerce sales.
Mining
Yongding is rich in mineral deposits, most notably
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when ...
. Most of the district's coal is shipped to Guangdong, where economic growth has created huge demand for energy. This in turn has created demand for heavy trucks. As a result, Yongding is one of the top districts for the number of trucks.
Tourism
In 2015 alone, 5.252 million tourists visited Yongding District, generating 4.029 billion RMB in income.
Common tourist destinations include the district's many ''
tulou
A tulou (), or "earthen building", is a traditional communal Hakka people residence found in Fujian, in South China, usually of a circular configuration surrounding a central shrine, and part of Hakka architecture. These vernacular structur ...
'' clusters, such as
Chuxi Tulou cluster, and
hot springs.
Transportation
The
Zhangping–Longchuan railway runs through Yongding District, stopping at .
, , and the are among the many
expressways in Yongding District.
Notable people
There have been many famous
overseas Chinese with their roots in Yongding.
Aw Boon-Haw
Aw Boon-Haw (; 1882 in Rangoon, British Raj – 1954 in Hawaii), OBE, was a Chinese entrepreneur and philanthropist best known as founder of Tiger Balm. He was a son of Hakka herbalist Aw Chu-Kin, with his ancestral home in Yongding Coun ...
() was one of the most famous overseas Chinese in the 1930s and 40s.
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
County-level divisions of Fujian
Longyan