Fuling District () is a district in central

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...

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 ...

. The area is known for '' zha cai'', a hot pickled mustard tuber, as well as serving as the location of former U.S. Peace Corps teacher Peter Hessler's best-selling memoir '' River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze''. The district spans an area of , and has a population of 1,115,016, per the

2020 Chinese Census The Seventh National Population Census of the People's Republic of China (), also referred to as the 2020 Chinese Census, was the seventh national census conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China. Census w ...

. The district's area spans from latitude 29°21' to 30°01' north, and longitude 106°56' to 107°43' east.

History

According to the district's government, the area comprising contemporary Fuling District has been inhabited since approximately 3000 BCE. 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 was inhabited by the . From the middle and late part of

, through to the middle of the Warring States period, the area belonged to the

State of Ba Ba () was an ancient state in eastern Sichuan, China. Its original capital was Yicheng (Enshi City), Hubei. Ba was conquered by Qin in 316 BC. The historical Bo people and the modern Tujia people trace some of their origins back to the people of ...

. The area was at some point the site of one of the Ba's capitals, and a Ba king is buried within the area. During the middle and latter part of the Warring States period, the area belonged to the

State of Chu Chu, or Ch'u in Wade–Giles romanization, (, Hanyu Pinyin: Chǔ, Old Chinese: ''*s-r̥aʔ'') was a Zhou dynasty vassal state. Their first ruler was King Wu of Chu in the early 8th century BCE. Chu was located in the south of the Zhou hea ...

. Following the State of Chu, the area was incorporated into the Qin dynasty as the . The area reorganized in 227 BCE, under the rule of

King Zhaoxiang of Qin King Zhaoxiang of Qin (; 325–251 BC), or King Zhao of Qin (秦昭王), born Ying Ji (, was the king of Qin from 306 BC to 251 BC. He was the son of King Huiwen and younger brother of King Wu. King Zhaoxiang reigned as the King of Qin for 57 ...

, as . During the Eastern Han, Zhi County was merged into . In the Three Kingdoms period, the area was ruled by the

Shu Han Han (; 221–263), known in historiography as Shu Han ( ) or Ji Han ( "Junior Han"), or often shortened to Shu (; pinyin: ''shŭ'' <

Hanping County (). Hanping County was subordinate to the , whose capital was located in present-day in the nearby Pengshui Miao and Tujia Autonomous County, to the southeast of Fuling District. In 347 CE, under the Eastern Jin, the area was again reorganized as Fu Commandery (), which was also known as Zhicheng Commandery (). The area's administrative divisions were reorganized dramatically during the Northern and Southern dynasties. The

Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty (, ) was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China that lasted from 581 to 618. The Sui unified the Northern and Southern dynasties, thus ending the long period of division following the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, and layi ...

would reorganize the area into three counties: Fuling County (), which belonged to the Ba Commandery, Fengdu County (), which belonged to the , and

Dianjiang County Dianjiang County () is a county in the northeast of Chongqing Municipality, China, bordering Sichuan province to the northwest. As of 2015, it has two subdistricts, two townships, and 22 towns under its administration. History Dianjiang Count ...

(), which belonged to the . In 618 CE, during the Tang dynasty, the area was reorganized as , which governed , Fuling County, and . Under the Northern Song, Longhua County was changed to . During the Southern Song, Fu Zhou was reestablished to govern the area, and administered Fuling County and Wulong County. Fu Zhou remained intact during the Yuan dynasty and the Ming dynasty, and governed Wulong County. Fu Zhou would continue intact during the Qing dynasty, but was not divided into counties. During this time, Fu Zhou was under the jurisdiction of . In 1913, shortly after the establishment of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

, Fu Zhou was reorganized as Fuling County. Fuling County initially fell under the jurisdiction of , then directly under the jurisdiction of Sichuan , and finally under the Eight Administrative Inspectorate of Sichuan. Following the establishment of the People's Republic of China, the area saw administrative reforms in early 1950. Fuling County was reorganized as , under the jurisdiction of . Fuling Area governed seven counties: Fuling,

Nanchuan Nanchuan () is a district and former county of Chongqing, China, bordering Guizhou Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, i ...

, Fengdu,

Shizhu Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County (), or Shizhu County for short, is located in southeastern Chongqing, China. It is south of the Yangtze River, and borders the Chongqing divisions of Pengshui County to the south, Fengdu County to the southwest, ...

, Wulong, Changshou and

Pengshui Pengshui Miao and Tujia Autonomous County () is an autonomous county for the Miao and Tujia people located in southeastern Chongqing, China, bordering Guizhou province to the south and southwest and Hubei province to the northeast. It is away from ...

. In 1952, was merged into Fuling Area, adding the counties of

Dianjiang Dianjiang County () is a County (People's Republic of China), county in the northeast of Chongqing municipality of China, Municipality, China, bordering Sichuan province to the northwest. As of 2015, it has two subdistricts, two townships, and 22 ...

, Qianjiang,

Youyang Youyang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County, or Youyang County for short () is located in southeast Chongqing Municipality, China, bordering the provinces of Hunan to the east and Guizhou to the southwest. The county spans an area of , and has a popu ...

, and Xiushan. Changshou County was absorbed into

, which then had a prefecture-level status instead of its present provincial-level status, in 1958. Fuling Area was replaced by in 1968. Fuling County became a county-level city in 1983. The prefecture became a Three Gorges provincial planning region () the following year. In 1988, Qianjiang, Youyang, Xiushan, Pengshui, and Shizhu counties were transferred to the jurisdiction of the newly-organized . Nanchuan County was re-designated as a county-level city in 1994. On November 5, 1995, 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 ...

passed legislation to abolish the county-level city of Fuling and replace it with two

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 o ...

: Zhicheng District () and Lidu District (). This change would come into effect in January 1996. In March 1996, Fuling Prefecture was re-designated as a prefecture-level city, which governed Zhicheng District, Lidu District, Nanchuan City, Dianjiang County, Fengdu County and Wulong County. On September 15, 1996, legislature passed by the State Council placed the prefecture-level city of Fuling under the administration of Chongqing. On March 14, 1997, the National People's Congress changed Chongqing to become a direct-administered municipality. This was followed by legislation by the State Council on December 20, 1997 which abolished Fuling's prefecture-level status, revoking Zhicheng District and Lidu District, and placing Nanchuan City, Wulong County, Fengdu County, and Dianjiang County all under the direct jurisdiction of Chongqing. The now-defunct Zhicheng District and Lidu District became contemporary Fuling District.

Geography

Fuling District is located on the southeastern edge of the Sichuan Basin, between latitude 29°21' to 30°01' north, and longitude 106°56' to 107°43' east, covering an area of . The easternmost point is Baijibao () in the town of , the westernmost point is Dachayuan () in the town of , the southernmost point is Jinjiadian () in the town of , and the northernmost point is Hongqiangyuan (). Fuling District spans from west to east, and from north to south. Fuling City is located at the confluence of the Wu River and the Yangtze, in the heart of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region. Located in the central part of

, Fuling District is bordered by Fengdu County to the east,

Wulong District Wulong District () is a district of Chongqing Municipality, China, bordering Guizhou province to the south. Administration Climate Education There is a central elementary school in Baiyun Town. Transportation The district is served by C ...

and Nanchuan District to the south, Banan District to the west, and

Changshou District Changshou () is a district in Chongqing, China, located by the Yangtze river, with a history spanning several thousand years. Changshou is from the Yuzhong District of downtown Chongqing. Administrative divisions Changshou District administ ...

and

to the north.

Climate

Fuling District has a monsoon-influenced

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

( Köppen ''Cwa''), with four distinct seasons and ample rainfall: winters are short, mild, and comparatively dry, while summers are long, hot, and humid. Monthly daily average temperatures range from in January to in August, while the annual mean is . The diurnal temperature variation is and is especially small during winter. Around 87% of the annual precipitation falls from April to October.

Demographics

Fuling District has a population of 1,115,016, according to the

. This represents a 4.53% increase from the 1,066,714 recorded in the

2010 Chinese Census The 2010 Chinese census, officially the Sixth National Population Census of the People's Republic of China (中華人民共和國第六次全國人口普查), was conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China wi ...

. As of 2020, 71.85% of the district's population is urbanized, up from 55.80% in 2010.

Age and household structure

14.93% of the district's population is 14 years old or younger, 63.91% is between 15 and 59 years old, and 21.16% is 60 years old or older. 18.02% of the district's population is 65 years or older. Compared to 2010, the proportion of people age 14 or younger dropped 0.96%, the proportion of people age 15 to 59 fell 2.10%, and the proportion of people age 60 or older rose 3.06%. The proportion of people age 65 or older rose 5.63% from 2010 to 2020. The average household size in Fuling District totaled 2.44 people, a decrease from the 2.91 size recorded in 2010.

Educational attainment

12.85% of the district's population had attained a tertiary education, according to 2020 figures. An additional 16.97% of the district's population had attained a secondary education, an additional 34.88% attained a

junior high A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

education, an additional 28.44% attained a

primary education Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first ...

, and the remaining 6.86% of the population had no formal education. People above the age of 14 in the district have attained an average of 9.68 years of formal education, an increase from the 8.73 years average recorded in 2010. Fuling District had a literacy rate of 98.57% as of 2020, an increase from 94.82% in 2010.

Administrative divisions

Fuling District administers 11 subdistricts, 14 towns, and 2 townships. These township-level divisions in turn administer 719 administrative villages and 80 residential communities.

2010 divisions

Economy

Fuling District had a total gross domestic product (GDP) of 140.274 billion

renminbi The renminbi (; symbol: ¥; ISO code: CNY; abbreviation: RMB) is the official currency of the People's Republic of China and one of the world's most traded currencies, ranking as the fifth most traded currency in the world as of April 2022. ...

(RMB) as of 2021, an 8.7% increase from 2020. The district's primary sector accounted for 6.48% of total GDP in 2021, and grew at a rate of 6.4% from 2020; the secondary sector accounted for 55.80% of GDP, and grew 6.7% from 2020; the tertiary sector accounted for 37.72% of GDP, and grew 12.0% from 2020.

Transportation

Historically, Fuling was primarily served by Yangtze river boats, as the development of ground transportation was slow, due to the difficult terrain. Railways arrived to the Fuling area only in the 21st century. First was the

Chongqing–Huaihua Railway Chongqing–Huaihua railway or Yuhuai railway (), is a single-track, electrified railroad in southwest China between Chongqing Municipality and Huaihua in Hunan Province. The line is long and was built between 2000 and 2005. Cities and towns al ...

, completed in 2005. Its Fuling Railway Station is located a few kilometers west of town (). The high-speed Chongqing−Lichuan Railway, opened on December 28, 2013, serves Fuling as well, with its Fuling North Railway Station. This railway crosses the Yangtze near the city over the

Hanjiatuo Bridge The Hanjiatuo Yangtze River Bridge is a cable-stayed railway bridge over the Yangtze River in the Fuling District of Chongqing, China. The bridge carries the Chongqing-Lichuan Railway and was completed in 2012.(Chinese世界首座双线铁路� ...

. The railway's Caijiagou Bridge (; ), located in Fuling District, is said to be the world's tallest railway bridge, as measured by the height of the bridge's tallest pillar (139 m). The Nanchuan–Fuling Railway, completed in 2012, forms part of Chongqing's outer railway ring. As of 2015, Fuling had five Yangtze River bridges.

Education

Yangtze Normal University Yangtze Normal University () is a full-time, comprehensive university under the administration of the Chongqing Municipal Government of the People's Republic of China. The campus is in Fuling District, at the conjunction of the Yangtze and Wu Ri ...

(formerly Fuling Teachers College) is in Fuling. The university hosted Peace Corps volunteers from 1996 until 2020, when the last volunteers were evacuated from the Peace Corps China program in the wake of COVID-19.

Culture

The

White Crane Ridge Baiheliang () is a rock outcrop in Fuling District, Chongqing, People's Republic of China, that parallels the flow of the Yangtze River. In the past, Baiheliang served as an ancient device for measuring water levels of the Yangtze in China, th ...

(Baiheliang), a rock outcrop on the Yangtze River, has been used as a

hydrological station Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is calle ...

recording water levels since the Tang Dynasty. It includes many rock carvings. With the flooding of the Yangtze as part of the Three Gorges Dam project, the White Crane Ridge Underwater Museum was opened in 2009 to protect the carvings and allow viewing by visitors under the new water level of the river.

Cuisine

Fuling is well known for its Wu River brand '' zha cai'' pickled mustard tuber. The Fuling Zhacai company is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, and in 2021 celebrated selling 15 billion packets. According to Peter Hessler, as of 1998, most residents of Fuling are genetically incapable of being alcoholics. When imbibing large amounts of alcohol many people became so sick and they could not drink heavily all the time. Therefore, according to Hessler, consumption of alcohol was not habitual but instead was a ritual, and therefore drinking patterns were "abusive with light consequences." Hessler, p. 80.

Notes

Bibliography

* Hessler, Peter. '' River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze'' (ebook edition).

HarperCollins e-books HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Corp ...

External links

Official site
{{authority control Districts of Chongqing