Xiangyang is the second-largest prefecture-level city by population in northwestern Hubei province, China. It was known as Xiangfan from 1950 to 2010.[3] The Han River runs through Xiangyang's centre and divides the city north–south. The city itself is an agglomeration of two once separate cities: Fancheng and Xiangyang (or Xiangcheng), and was known as Xiangfan before 2010. What remains of old Xiangyang is located south of the Han River and contains one of the oldest still-intact city walls in China, while Fancheng is located to the north of the Han River. Both cities served prominent historical roles in both ancient and pre-modern Chinese history. Today, the city has been a target of government and private investment as the country seeks to urbanize and develop the interior provinces. Its built-up area made up of 3 urban districts had 2,319,640 inhabitants at the 2020 census while the whole municipality contained approximately 5,260,951 people.
Xiangyang
襄阳市 Siangyang, Siang-yang | |
|---|---|
 | |
.png) Location of Xiangyang City jurisdiction in Hubei | |
  Xiangyang Location of the city centre in Hubei | |
| Coordinates (Xiangyang municipal government): 32°00′36″N 112°07′19″E / 32.010°N 112.122°E | |
| Country | People's Republic of China |
| Province | Hubei |
| County-level divisions | 8 |
| Township-level divisions | 159 |
| Municipal seat | Xiangcheng District |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Qie Yingcai |
| Area | |
| 19,724.41 km2 (7,615.64 sq mi) | |
| • Urban | 3,672.9 km2 (1,418.1 sq mi) |
| • Metro | 3,672.9 km2 (1,418.1 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 71 m (232 ft) |
| Population (2020 census)[1] | |
| 5,260,951 | |
| • Density | 270/km2 (690/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 2,319,640 |
| • Urban density | 630/km2 (1,600/sq mi) |
| • Metro | 2,319,640 |
| • Metro density | 630/km2 (1,600/sq mi) |
| GDP[2] | |
| • Prefecture-level city | CN¥ 338.2 billion US$ 54.3 billion |
| • Per capita | CN¥ 60,319 US$ 9,684 |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (China Standard) |
| Area code | 710 |
| ISO 3166 code | CN-HB-06 |
| License Plate Prefix | 鄂F |
| Website | xiangyang |
| Xiangyang | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 "Xiangyang" written in Chinese | |||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 襄阳 | ||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 襄陽 | ||||||||
| Postal | Siangyang | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Xiangfan | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||||
| Chinese | 襄樊 | ||||||||
| Postal | Siangfan | ||||||||
| |||||||||
History
edit._Hubei_Province,_China,_1874_WDL2101.png)
Xiangyang is located at a strategic site on the middle reaches of the Han River, and has witnessed several significant battles in Chinese history. Xiangyang County was first established at the location of modern Xiangcheng in the early Western Han dynasty and the name had been used continuously for more than 2,000 years until the 20th century.
In the final years of the Eastern Han dynasty, Xiangyang became the capital of Jing Province (ancient Jingzhou). The warlord Liu Biao governed his territory from here. Under Liu's rule, Xiangyang became a major destination of the northern elite fleeing warfare in the Central Plain. In the Battle of Xiangyang in 191 AD, Sun Jian, a rival warlord and the father of Sun Quan, founder of Eastern Wu, was defeated and killed. The area passed to Liu Bei after Liu Biao's death. Two decades later, Battle of Fancheng, one of the most important battles in late Han-Three Kingdoms period, was fought here, resulting in Liu Bei's loss of Jingzhou.
During the early years of Jin dynasty, Xiangyang was on the frontier between Jin and Eastern Wu. Yang Hu, the commander in Xiangyang, was remembered for his policy of "border peace". Cross-border commerce was allowed, and the pressure on the Jin army was greatly relieved. Eventually, Xiangyang accumulated sufficient supplies for 10 years, which played a key role in Jin's conquest of Wu.
In Southern Song dynasty, after the Treaty of Shaoxing, Xiangyang became a garrison city on the northern frontier of Song. During Mongol conquest of the Song dynasty, Xiangyang together with Fancheng formed one of the greatest obstacles against the expansion of Mongol Empire. They were able to resist for six years before finally surrendering in the Siege of Xiangyang.
In 1796, Xiangyang was one of the centers of the White Lotus Rebellion against the Qing dynasty. Here, rebel leader Wang Cong'er successfully organized a rebel army of 50,000 and joined the main rebel forces in Sichuan. The revolt lasted for nearly 10 years and marked a turning point in the history of Qing dynasty.
In 1950, Xiangyang and Fancheng were merged to form Xiangfan City. In later 20th century, it became a major transport hub as Handan, Jiaoliu, and Xiangyu railways intersect in Fancheng. The city's current boundaries were established in 1983 when Xiangyang Prefecture was incorporated into Xiangfan City. The city was renamed to Xiangyang in 2010.
Geography and climate
editXiangyang has a latitude range of 31° 14'−32° 37' N, or 154 km (96 mi), and longitude range of 110° 45'−113° 43' E, or 220 km (137 mi), and is located on the middle reaches of the Hanshui, a major tributary of the Yangtze River. The urban area, however, has a latitude range of 31° 54'−32° 10' N, or 29 km (18 mi), and longitude range of 112° 00'−112° 14' E, or 21 km (13 mi). It borders Suizhou to the east, Jingmen and Yichang to the south, Shennongjia and Shiyan to the west, and Nanyang (Henan) to the north. Its administrative border has a total length of 1,332.8 km (828.2 mi).
Xiangyang has a monsoon-influenced, four season humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), with cold, damp (but comparatively dry), winters, and hot, humid summers.
| Climate data for Xiangyang (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1981–2010) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 21.8 (71.2) |
23.6 (74.5) |
29.7 (85.5) |
34.0 (93.2) |
37.4 (99.3) |
38.0 (100.4) |
39.6 (103.3) |
39.0 (102.2) |
39.3 (102.7) |
33.4 (92.1) |
27.7 (81.9) |
21.7 (71.1) |
39.6 (103.3) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 7.4 (45.3) |
10.7 (51.3) |
16.0 (60.8) |
22.5 (72.5) |
27.3 (81.1) |
30.4 (86.7) |
32.0 (89.6) |
31.4 (88.5) |
27.4 (81.3) |
22.2 (72.0) |
15.6 (60.1) |
9.6 (49.3) |
21.0 (69.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 3.3 (37.9) |
6.1 (43.0) |
11.0 (51.8) |
17.0 (62.6) |
22.0 (71.6) |
25.6 (78.1) |
27.6 (81.7) |
26.9 (80.4) |
22.7 (72.9) |
17.3 (63.1) |
11.0 (51.8) |
5.4 (41.7) |
16.3 (61.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 0.1 (32.2) |
2.5 (36.5) |
7.0 (44.6) |
12.7 (54.9) |
17.7 (63.9) |
21.8 (71.2) |
24.3 (75.7) |
23.6 (74.5) |
19.2 (66.6) |
13.7 (56.7) |
7.4 (45.3) |
2.0 (35.6) |
12.7 (54.8) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −8.8 (16.2) |
−7.9 (17.8) |
−2.7 (27.1) |
−0.1 (31.8) |
8.4 (47.1) |
12.6 (54.7) |
17.2 (63.0) |
14.9 (58.8) |
10.5 (50.9) |
0.0 (32.0) |
−3.4 (25.9) |
−6.8 (19.8) |
−8.8 (16.2) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 22.4 (0.88) |
25.4 (1.00) |
44.3 (1.74) |
64.9 (2.56) |
98.9 (3.89) |
107.3 (4.22) |
132.4 (5.21) |
137.1 (5.40) |
83.0 (3.27) |
68.3 (2.69) |
40.3 (1.59) |
16.4 (0.65) |
840.7 (33.1) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 5.8 | 7.4 | 8.9 | 9.7 | 11.0 | 10.2 | 11.9 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 8.1 | 5.9 | 110 |
| Average snowy days | 4.3 | 3.3 | 1.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 | 2.4 | 12.1 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 71 | 70 | 70 | 71 | 71 | 76 | 81 | 80 | 76 | 74 | 74 | 71 | 74 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 107.2 | 112.6 | 143.7 | 171.6 | 184.5 | 174.6 | 185.2 | 183.0 | 147.9 | 143.3 | 127.2 | 117.9 | 1,798.7 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 33 | 36 | 38 | 44 | 43 | 41 | 43 | 45 | 40 | 41 | 41 | 38 | 40 |
| Source: China Meteorological Administration[4][5] | |||||||||||||
Administration
editThe prefecture-level city of Xiangyang administers 9 county-level divisions, including 3 districts, 3 county-level cities and 3 counties.[6][7]
- Xiangzhou District (襄州区)
- Xiangcheng District (襄城区)
- Fancheng District (樊城区)
- Zaoyang City (枣阳市)
- Yicheng City (宜城市)
- Laohekou City (老河口市)
- Nanzhang County (南漳县)
- Gucheng County (谷城县)
- Baokang County (保康县)
These are further divided into 159 township-level divisions, including 106 towns, 29 townships and 24 subdistricts.
| Map |
|---|
Economy
edit
Xiangyang possesses large water energy resources whilst its mineral deposits include rutile, ilmenite, phosphorus, barite, coal, iron, aluminum, gold, manganese, nitre, and rock salt. The reserves of rutile and ilmenite rank highly in China. Textile production is the mainstay industry of Xiangyang followed by machinery manufacture, chemical processing, electronics, and manufacture of construction materials. Agricultural resources are significant with Xiangyang's chief farm products including grain, cotton, vegetable oil crops, tobacco, tea and fruit. As the home of Dongfeng Motors, Xiangyang is a well known automobile hub and partners with foreign manufacturers to produce Nissan and Infiniti models for domestic sales. In addition, there are a number of chemical fibre enterprises in the city including Birla Jingwei Fibres, a member of the Aditya Birla Group. The city has also invested in many industrial, technology and clean energy parks.
Hubei Free Trade Zone at Xiangyang
editWith a total planned area of 21.99 square km, Hubei Free Trade Zone at Xiangyang is one of the three Hubei Free Trade Pilot Zones, a national opening-up platform and a new height of leading opening-up, enjoying preferential policies of free trade zone and national high-tech zone and giving priority to high-end equipment manufacturing, new energy autos, big data, cloud computing, business logistics, inspection and testing.[8]
Transportation
editXiangyang is a railway junction for the Xiangyang-Chongqing (Xiangyu), Hankou-Danjiangkou (Handan), and Jiaozuo-Liuzhou (Jiaoliu) Railways. Xiangyang East railway station opened in 2019 and is connected to multiple high-speed lines. Three National Highways including Route 207 pass through the city. The Han River and four other rivers are open to commercial transport year-round. The Xiangyang Liuji Airport has commercial airline services to major cities throughout China including Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.
With Xiangyang-Ningbo Port International Sea-railway Combined Transportation, "Xiangyang-Wuhan-Europe" Central Europe Freight Trains, three-dimensional international logistics channels have been established. Economic ties with countries and areas along the "Belt and Road" are getting closer and closer.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "China: Húbĕi (Prefectures, Cities, Districts and Counties) - Population Statistics, Charts and Map". www.citypopulation.de. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
- ^ 湖北省统计局、国家统计局湖北调查总队 (August 2016). 《湖北统计年鉴－2016》. 中国统计出版社. ISBN 978-7-5037-7847-6. Archived from the original on 2017-03-01. Retrieved 2017-06-05.
- ^ 湖北省襄樊市更名为襄阳市(图). 163.com (in Chinese (China)). 2010-12-02. Archived from the original on 2015-01-10. Retrieved 2010-12-03.
- ^ 中国气象数据网 – WeatherBk Data (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Archived from the original on 5 September 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
- ^ "Experience Template" 中国气象数据网 (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
- ^ 襄樊市更名为襄阳市，襄阳区更名为襄州区 [Xiangfan City Changes Name to Xiangyang City, Xiangyang District Changes Name to Xiangzhou District] (in Simplified Chinese). XZQH.org. 2 December 2010. Archived from the original on 7 December 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
行政区划调整后，襄阳市辖襄城、樊城、襄州3个市辖区以及南漳、谷城、保康3个县，代管老河口、枣阳、宜城3个县级市。
- ^ 2017年统计用区划代码和城乡划分代码：襄阳市 [2017 Statistical Area Numbers and Rural-Urban Area Numbers: Xiangyang City]. National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China. 2017. Archived from the original on 7 December 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
统计用区划代码 名称 420601000000 市辖区 420602000000 襄城区 420606000000 樊城区 420607000000 襄州区 420624000000 南漳县 420625000000 谷城县 420626000000 保康县 420682000000 老河口市 420683000000 枣阳市 420684000000 宜城市
- ^ "中国（湖北）自由贸易试验区襄阳片区简介". 襄阳自贸区官网 (in Simplified Chinese). Retrieved 2021-07-30.
External links
edit
