Ezhou () 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 Chi ...

in eastern

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 p ...

Province, China. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 1,079,353, of which 695,697 lived in the core Echeng District. The Ezhou -

Huanggang Huanggang is a prefecture-level city in easternmost Hubei Province, China. It is situated to the north of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and is bounded in the north by the Dabie Mountains and is named after Mount Huanggang. It borde ...

built-up (''or metro'') area was home to 1,152,559 inhabitants made of the Echeng and Huangzhou, Huanggang Districts.

Geography

Ezhou lies on the southern bank of the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...

east of the southern section of

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 ...

, across the river from the city of

, to which it is connected by the Ehuang Bridge. Lying between the cities of Wuhan and Huangshi, Ezhou has a relatively small area of . There are many lakes in Ezhou, including the Liangzi Lake in Liangzihu District and Yanglan Lake, along with more than 133 lakes and pools. The city is the origin of Wuchang Bream and as a result is nicknamed "city of one hundred lakes" and "the land of fish and rice".

Climate

History

The name "Ezhou" dates to the

Han Dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...

(206BCE220CE) and derives from the nearby ancient

Zhou Dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by th ...

(1046256BCE) vassal

State of E The State of E (IPA:/ ɤ̂/), whose Middle and Old Chinese name has been reconstructed as Ngak (IPA:/ŋˤak/), was an ancient Chinese state in the area of present-day Henan and Hubei in China from around the 12th century BCE until its overthrow ...

. Although the administrative seat of the city changed several times, the name remained unchanged until 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 Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...

era (220−280) at which time it became the capital of the state of

Eastern Wu Wu (Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' <

Eastern Han Chinese

: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in hi ...

ruled by

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 ...

and was renamed "Wuchang". This name remained in use as late as 1915, which proved confusing to travelers, as it was also applied to the much larger city of Wuchang, itself shortly to become part of Wuhan. Throughout China's history Ezhou has remained an important city politically, economically, and militarily with its strategic position along the middle part of the Yangtze River. It is also an important location in the history of the Pure Land Sect of Buddhism.

Administration

Ezhou has three

districts 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 ...

Economy

Ezhou has six ports on the Yangtze including one than can handle up to vessels. Many important rail lines and national highways cross the area. This infrastructure make it a major logistics and distribution center. Important industries include metallurgy, construction materials, textiles, chemicals, and machinery.

Transportation

Ezhou is served by the E-Huang Expressway,

China National Highways The China National Highways (CNH/Guodao) () is a network of trunk roads across mainland China. Apart from the expressways of China that are planned and constructed later, most of the CNH are not controlled-access highways. History The ...

106 and 316, the Wuhan–Jiujiang Railway, the Wuhan–Huangshi intercity railway of the Wuhan Metropolitan Area Intercity Railway and

Ezhou Huahu Airport Ezhou Huahu Airport () is an airport serving the city of Ezhou, Hubei, China. The airport was developed by SF Express and the Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part o ...

. Ezhou has two bridges over the Yangtze. The Ezhou railway station (), located southwest of downtown, has an interesting layout, somewhat similar to that of the Secaucus Junction in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

. Until 2014, there was just one rail line there: the north–south Wuhan–Jiujiang Railway, which is served by a large number of trains traveling from Wuhan to

Nanchang Nanchang (, ; ) is the capital of Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China. Located in the north-central part of the province and in the hinterland of Poyang Lake Plain, it is bounded on the west by the Jiuling Mountains, and on the east ...

and points further east and south (Fujian, Zhejiang, etc.). Until 2013, there were no commuter trains in per se in Hubei, but it took only about one hour (usually, with a stop at Huarong) to reach one of Wuhan's train stations (such as Wuchang railway station) train station from Ezhou using any of those trains. The distance from the Ezhou railway station to Wuchang by rail is . In 2014, the Wuhan-Huangshi intercity railway of the Wuhan Metropolitan Area Intercity Railway, the region's new commuter line system, was opened. This line, which runs east–west in the area, has crossed the Wuhan–Jiujiang Railway tracks at the right angle just south of the previously existing Ezhou station. To accommodate the new line, the Ezhou Station was expanded in 2013–2014, with platforms constructed on the new commuter line, providing a possibility for an easy transfer between the two lines. This is said to be the first station in China with this layout. The trains on the commuter line travel to the Wuhan Railway Station (, 30–40 min from Ezhou). The commuter line has one more station in Ezhou, farther to the east. It is Ezhou East, from Wuhan Railway Station.

Tourism

Ezhou has several tourism sites, including the West Hill (which is in the center of the city), and the nearby Lotus Hill. There are also three lakes, Liangzi Lake, Yanglan Lake () and Honglian Lake.

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Hubei Populated places on the Yangtze River Prefecture-level divisions of Hubei Huanggang Wuhan urban agglomeration Former prefectures in Hubei Prefectures of the Sui dynasty Prefectures of the Tang dynasty Prefectures of the Song dynasty Prefectures of the Yuan dynasty Prefectures of Yang Wu Prefectures of Southern Tang Prefectures of Later Zhou