Zoucheng () is a
county-level city in the south of
Shandong province, China. Before it became a city, it was known as Zou County or Zouxian.
Zoucheng is located about 20 km south of the city of
Qufu, and like Qufu, is administratively under the
prefecture-level city of
Jining
Jining () is a prefecture-level city in southwestern Shandong province. It borders Heze to the southwest, Zaozhuang to the southeast, Tai'an to the northeast, and the provinces of Henan and Jiangsu to the northwest and south respectively. Jinin ...
. Its population was 1,116,692 at the 2010 census even though its built-up (''or metro'') area is much smaller.
Administrative divisions
Three subdistricts:
*
Gangshan Subdistrict (),
Qianquan Subdistrict (),
Fushan Subdistrict ()
Thirteen towns:
*
Xiangcheng (),
Chengqian
Chengqian () is a town in Zoucheng, Jining, in southwestern Shandong province, China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, mos ...
(),
Dashu (),
Beisu (),
Zhongxindian
Zhongxindian () is a town in Zoucheng, Jining
Jining () is a prefecture-level city in southwestern Shandong province. It borders Heze to the southwest, Zaozhuang to the southeast, Tai'an to the northeast, and the provinces of Henan and Jiangsu ...
(),
Tangcun (),
Taiping (),
Shiqiang
Shiqiang () is a town in Zoucheng, Jining, in southwestern Shandong province, China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most ...
(),
Yishan (),
Kanzhuang
Kanzhuang () is a town in Zoucheng, Jining, in southwestern Shandong
Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region.
Shandong has played a m ...
(),
Zhangzhuang (),
Tianhuang (),
Guoli ()
Historical sites
The philosopher
Mencius was born in Zoucheng, then within the feudal
State of Zou Zou (), originally Zhu () or Zhulou (), was a minor state that existed during the Zhou dynasty of ancient China. p. 144
History
King Wu of Zhou granted Cao Xie (曹挾) control of the small state of Zhu as a vassal ruler under the State of Lu wit ...
. His descendants lived in Zoucheng all the way to the present. Some of them migrated to Taiwan after the Chinese Civil War. In the present day, there are four major sites in the city relating to Mencius: the Mencius Temple (), the Mencius Family Mansion (), the Mencius Forest (, ), and Mencius' Mother's Forest (, ).
The Mencius Temple, which covers an area of more than on the south side of town, has five courtyards and sixty-four halls and rooms. Its history dates back to the year 1037 in the
Northern Song dynasty
Northern may refer to the following:
Geography
* North, a point in direction
* Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe
* Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States
* Northern Province, Sri Lanka
* Northern Range, a ...
. The Mencius Mansion, where his descendants lived, is adjacent to the temple, and has 116 halls and rooms.
According to the management of the Mencius Temple, the temple grounds house over 270 stone
steles and sculptures, some of which dating from as early as the
Song dynasty. Among them are some
Yuan dynasty stelae with inscriptions in
'Phags-pa script.
Immediately to the north of Zoucheng lies the tomb of the King of Lu of the
Ming dynasty (). It is the tomb of Zhu Tan (1370-1389), the tenth son of the
Hongwu Emperor of the Ming dynasty. There is also a royal tomb from the
Han dynasty ().
Climate
Transportation
*
Zoucheng Railway Station on the
Beijing-Shanghai Railway
* Frequent bus service to the nearby
Qufu and
Yanzhou
Yanzhou ( postal: Yenchow; ) is a district in the prefecture-level city of Jining, in the southwest of Shandong province, People's Republic of China. It was also the name of one of the Nine Provinces in ancient China, where Yu combated floods by ...
.
Monorail
A , 12 station monorail to connect
Qufu and Zoucheng began construction in the first half of 2017, however construction was halted. A section was due to be completed in January 2018 to allow for testing to commence. The complete line was originally due to open in 2018. As of July 2021 the local government hopes to complete the line.
References
External links
Zoucheng municipal website
{{Authority control
Cities in Shandong
Jining
County-level divisions of Shandong