Yongkang (), formerly known as Lizhou (), is a
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 ...
located in the central part 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 ...
province, in the
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 ...
. It is southeast of the
Jinhua City boundary and approximately 180 km (111.8 mi) from
Hangzhou
Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...
. It has an area of and a population of 964,203 as of the 2020 census, including more than 100,000 non-resident workers. According to a 2010 census, its built-up (or metro) area of
Yongkang City and
Wuyi County was home to 1,426,659 inhabitants. Yongkang is known as the "hardware capital of China."
History
![清代永康公署图](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/%E6%B8%85%E4%BB%A3%E6%B0%B8%E5%BA%B7%E5%85%AC%E7%BD%B2%E5%9B%BE.jpg)
The Chinese name ''Yongkang'' means "eternal well-being." The city was formally established in 245CE in the
Wu Kingdom, during the
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...
(220280CE) period. In the last two decades, the city has become known for both its aggressive promotion of
tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
and its booming hardware
manufacturing
Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a r ...
industry. It is widely considered "the hardware capital of China," though Shenzhen has also been given the title. In 2003, Yongkang's
GDP
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 ofte ...
ranked 47th out of over one thousand counties nationwide.
Lizhou was the ancient name of Yongkang. According to legend, when the mother of
Sun Quan
Sun Quan (, Chinese: 孫權) (183 – 21 May 252), courtesy name Zhongmou (), posthumously known as Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of the Eastern Wu dynasty, one of the Three Kingdoms of China. He inherited control of the warlord regime es ...
, the
King of Wu
The King of Wu or Prince of Wu was a title referring to Chinese rulers of the area originally controlled by the Gou Wu tribes around Wuxi on the lower Yangtze, generally known as the Wu region. The title ''wang'' is written identically in Chinese ...
, was ill, she went on a pilgrimage to pray for "eternal well-being" at a temple in Lizhou. After she recovered, Sun Quan was very pleased and named the area Yongkang ("eternal well-being") after her speedy recovery. At that time, it was a part of
Wushang City; however, during the
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
, Yongkang was independently recognized under the name Lizhou, eventually becoming the general administrative area of
Yue Prefecture.
In 1992, the
State Council State Council may refer to:
Government
* State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of South Korea, headed by the President
* State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative auth ...
approved Yongkang as a
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 ...
.
Administrative divisions
Subdistricts:
*
Dongcheng Subdistrict ()
*
Xicheng Subdistrict ()
*
Jiangnan Subdistrict ()
Towns:
Economy
Since ancient times, Yongkang has been known for its hardware production. After 30 years of reform and modernization, Yongkang evolved from traditional to modern hardware, accelerating the pace of industrial upgrading and product branding. The county then became known domestically and abroad as a "hardware capital."
The city of Yongkang has always enjoyed the name "City of Metals," as metals and machinery are its flagship industry. Other industries in the city have grown consistently, including the production of electric tools, building materials, and automobile/motorcycle accessories. Additionally, the city is a national base for the production of anti-theft doors, electric bicycles, scooters, and thermal cups.
Due to fears of industrial theft, the Yongkang door industry, which has maintained its growth since 1997, has now become the eighth-largest Yongkang hardware industry. It has 454 enterprise portal products and produces four anti-theft doors every day, accounting for 1% of the national output of anti-theft doors. 52% of the national output of stainless steel tableware and 45% of the national output of the daily-use weighing apparatus come from Yongkang, along with a third of the national output of power tools. Packaging drums, non-slip case scales and other products accounted for more than 90% of the domestic market. Scooters, gas stove burners, pumps and saw blades are its primary exports.
Geographical
Yongkang is located in the central part 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 ...
province, in the
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 ...
. It is southeast of the
Jinhua City boundary and approximately 180 km (111.8 mi) from
Hangzhou
Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...
. It has an area of .
Climate
Cityscape
Image:Yongkang Night.jpg, Yongkang at night (2008)
Image:永康三江交汇.jpg, Confluence of Hua Brook () on the left and Nan Brook () on the right, forming the Yongkang River () in the middle (2010)
See also
*
Xijin Bridge
Xijin Bridge (), is an ancient Chinese covered bridge or ''lángqiáo'' (wikt:廊桥, 廊桥) located in Yongkang, Zhejiang, Yongkang, Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China. It is the largest covered bridge in Zhejiang Province, and one of the largest ...
, a famous
covered bridge
A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...
in China
*
Yongkang railway station
References
External links
The city of doors.china doors cityCity Map
{{Authority control
County-level cities in Zhejiang
Geography of Jinhua