Xiyan () is a rural town in

Chengbu Miao Autonomous County Chengbu Miao Autonomous County (), usually referred to as Chengbu County () or abbreviated just as Chengbu, is an autonomous county of Miao people in the Province of Hunan, China. It is under the administration of Shaoyang City. Located on the s ...

Hunan Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. As of the 2015 census it had a population of 54,200 and an area of . The town shares a border with Jinzi Township to the west, Weixi Township to the east, Dengyuantai Town to the north, and Maoping Town to the south.

Name

The name of "Xiyan" derives from Xiyan Temple (), a

Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhism, Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat, khurul and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in B ...

located at the foot of Lion Rock ().

History

In March 2002,

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

s excavated a late

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

site in Chaoyuanli () of the town, unearthed pottery and stone tools, proving that human existence existed as early as 4000 years ago. In 1995, the five townships of Jinzi (), Ziyuan (), Sanshui (), Yongfeng () and Huaqiao () merged into Xiyan Town.

Administrative divisions

As of 2015, the town is divided into 2 communities: the 1st Community () and 2nd Community (), and 24 villages: Shilong (), Dengta (), Biyun (), Lianxin (), Jiangshi (), Liantang (), Chenshi (), Changkang (), Xingsong (), Yongfeng (), Zijiang (), Zishui (), Sanshui (), Pingtang (), Jinsha (), Taitang (), Luoshui (), Lianhe (), Sanhe (), Huaqiao (), Yangtian (), Xiaoshi (), Yuanshui (), Yangjiashan ().

Geography

The town is located in the northeast of

. It has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The Wei River () flows through the town.

Climate

The town has a subtropical humid climate and exhibits four distinct seasons, with an average annual temperature of . Summer is cool and winter is warm.

Demographics

In December 2015, the town had an estimated population of 54,200 and a population density of 361 persons per km2.

Miao people Miao is a word that the Chinese use to designate some ethnic minority groups living in southern China and Mainland Southeast Asia. Miao is thus officially recognized by the Chinese government as one of the largest ethnic minority groups that h ...

is the dominant ethnic group in the town, accounting for 34,000, accounting for 64.19%. There are also 12 ethnic groups, such as Dong,

Hui The Hui people are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the northwestern provinces and in the Zhongyuan region. According to the 2 ...

, Yao and

Li people The Hlai, also known as Li or Lizu, are a Kra–Dai-speaking ethnic group, one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. The vast majority live off the southern coast of China on Hainan Island, where th ...

. Among them, there are 11,500 Han people (21.40%) and 8,800 Dong, Yao, Hui and Li people (16.30%).

Economy

The region abounds with

zinc Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...

cadmium Cadmium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Cd and atomic number 48. This soft, silvery-white metal is chemically similar to the two other stable metals in group 12 element, group 12, zinc and mercury (element), mercury. Like z ...

manganese Manganese is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese was first isolated in the 1770s. It is a transition m ...

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol P and atomic number 15. All elemental forms of phosphorus are highly Reactivity (chemistry), reactive and are therefore never found in nature. They can nevertheless be prepared ar ...

and

molybdenum Molybdenum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mo (from Neo-Latin ''molybdaenum'') and atomic number 42. The name derived from Ancient Greek ', meaning lead, since its ores were confused with lead ores. Molybdenum minerals hav ...

Transportation

The town is connected to two highways: S86 Wugang-Jingzhou Expressway, which heads west to

Tongdao Dong Autonomous County Tongdao (the full name: "''Tongdao Dong Autonomous County''", ; usually referred to as "''Tongdao County''", ) is an autonomous county of Dong people in Hunan Province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Huaihua ...

and east to downtown Wugang city, and Provincial Highway S219, which heads south to Maoping Town, Jiangfang Township, Rulin Town, Dingping Township and east to downtown Wugang city.

Notable people

Yang Zaixing Yang Zaixing (, died 21 August 1140) was a Song dynasty general under Yue Fei, known for his ferocity in battles. He fought against the Jin dynasty in the Jin–Song Wars. His heroic death in the battle of Yancheng—where he led 300 cavalry to ...

(1081 - 1140), a

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

general under

Yue Fei Yue Fei (; March 24, 1103 – January 28, 1142), courtesy name Pengju (), was a Chinese military general of the Song dynasty and is remembered as a patriotic folk hero, national hero, known for leading its forces in Jin–Song Wars, the wars ...

, known for his ferocity in battles. * Gong Jichang (), a general in the late

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

. * Duan Menghui (; 1907 - 1981), a journalist.

References

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