Zhaoyuan (simplified Chinese: 招远市; traditional Chinese: 招遠市; pinyin: Zhāoyuǎn Shì) is a county-level city within the prefecture-level city of Yantai, Shandong Province, China, located on the Bohai Sea.[1] Zhaoyuan is well known for its abundant gold deposit and production, and is occasionally nicknamed "China's gold capital" (simplified Chinese: 中国金都; traditional Chinese: 中國金都).[2][3]

Zhaoyuan
招远市
Chaoyuan
Location in Yantai
Location in Yantai
Zhaoyuan is located in Shandong
Zhaoyuan
Zhaoyuan
Location in Shandong
Coordinates: 37°21′32.40″N 120°23′45.60″E / 37.3590000°N 120.3960000°E / 37.3590000; 120.3960000
CountryPeople's Republic of China
ProvinceShandong
Prefecture-level cityYantai
Area
 • Total
1,432.32 km2 (553.02 sq mi)
Population
 (2019)
 • Total
560,234
 • Density390/km2 (1,000/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+8 (China Standard)
Postal code
265400
Websitewww.zhaoyuan.gov.cn
Zhaoyuan
Traditional Chinese招遠
Simplified Chinese招远
PostalChaoyuan
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZhāoyuǎn
Wade–GilesChao1-yüan3

The city spans an area of 1,432.32 square kilometres (553.02 sq mi),[4] and has a population of 560,234 as of 2019.[5]

History

edit

The area was first incorporated under the Han dynasty as Qucheng County (simplified Chinese: 曲成县; traditional Chinese: 曲成縣).[6]

Gold was discovered at Zhaoyuan in the Tang dynasty.[citation needed] The myth accompanying the city's discovery of gold is that a giant tortoise named Ao once told villagers struggling with famine to dig, and upon digging, they struck gold.[2]

The county was named Zhaoyuan County (simplified Chinese: 招远县; traditional Chinese: 招遠縣) in 1131.[6]

People's Republic of China

edit

Five townships in Zhaoyuan were upgraded to towns on September 1, 1988.[6]

On December 21, 1991, Zhaoyuan was upgraded from a county to a county-level city.[6]

Throughout the mid-1990s, three more townships were upgraded to towns.[6]

On January 11, 1999, the town of Zhaocheng (simplified Chinese: 招城镇; traditional Chinese: 招城鎮) was divided into three subdistricts: Luofeng Subdistrict [zh], Quanshan Subdistrict, and Mengzhi Subdistrict [zh].[6]

The Fifth National Population Census of the People's Republic of China reported that Zhaoyuan had a population of 593,705.[6]

On December 19, 2000, Dahuchenjia Township (simplified Chinese: 大户陈家乡; traditional Chinese: 大戶陳家鄉) became the city's last township to be upgraded to a town.[6]

2014 murder of Wu Shuoyan

edit

In late May 2014, five members of The Church of Almighty God, an outlawed new-age cult, entered a McDonald's in Zhaoyuan and began soliciting customers' phone numbers.[7] When 37 year-old Wu Shuoyan refused to give her phone number to the group, they claimed she was an "evil spirit", and began beating her with chairs and a metal mop handle, ultimately killing her.[7] In February 2015, two of the attackers were executed, and the other three received jail sentences ranging from seven years to life.[8]

Geography

edit

Zhaoyuan's city center is located approximately 90 kilometres (56 mi) southwest of Yantai's urban center.[4] The city's terrain is higher in the northeast, middle and west, and lower in the northwest and southeast[4]

Climate

edit

The city's annual average temperature is 11 °C (52 °F), and its annual average precipitation is 607.3 millimetres (23.91 in).[4]

Climate data for Zhaoyuan (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1981–2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 14.4
(57.9)
20.5
(68.9)
28.1
(82.6)
33.7
(92.7)
36.8
(98.2)
40.6
(105.1)
37.8
(100.0)
35.6
(96.1)
34.4
(93.9)
30.1
(86.2)
24.5
(76.1)
18.2
(64.8)
40.6
(105.1)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 2.3
(36.1)
5.4
(41.7)
11.8
(53.2)
18.9
(66.0)
24.9
(76.8)
28.8
(83.8)
30.5
(86.9)
29.8
(85.6)
26.3
(79.3)
19.9
(67.8)
11.8
(53.2)
4.5
(40.1)
17.9
(64.2)
Daily mean °C (°F) −2.2
(28.0)
0.0
(32.0)
5.5
(41.9)
12.5
(54.5)
18.7
(65.7)
22.9
(73.2)
25.7
(78.3)
25.2
(77.4)
20.9
(69.6)
14.1
(57.4)
6.6
(43.9)
0.1
(32.2)
12.5
(54.5)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −5.9
(21.4)
−4.2
(24.4)
0.5
(32.9)
6.9
(44.4)
13.1
(55.6)
18.0
(64.4)
21.9
(71.4)
21.5
(70.7)
16.4
(61.5)
9.3
(48.7)
2.5
(36.5)
−3.5
(25.7)
8.0
(46.5)
Record low °C (°F) −16.5
(2.3)
−15.1
(4.8)
−9.8
(14.4)
−4.4
(24.1)
3.4
(38.1)
9.9
(49.8)
14.3
(57.7)
12.9
(55.2)
7.1
(44.8)
−1.4
(29.5)
−6.6
(20.1)
−12.5
(9.5)
−16.5
(2.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 7.3
(0.29)
10.9
(0.43)
13.0
(0.51)
28.5
(1.12)
53.2
(2.09)
68.6
(2.70)
180.6
(7.11)
158.5
(6.24)
53.1
(2.09)
27.3
(1.07)
24.6
(0.97)
12.1
(0.48)
637.7
(25.1)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 4.2 3.8 3.3 5.1 7.3 8.2 11.4 11.4 6.7 5.6 5.0 5.9 77.9
Average snowy days 7.8 4.7 1.8 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.3 7.3 24.1
Average relative humidity (%) 66 62 55 54 60 69 79 81 73 69 68 67 67
Mean monthly sunshine hours 169.3 174.4 229.2 243.0 270.1 239.7 202.4 204.1 213.7 211.8 170.9 160.5 2,489.1
Percent possible sunshine 55 57 62 61 61 54 46 49 58 62 57 54 56
Source: China Meteorological Administration[9][10]

Administrative divisions

edit

Zhaoyuan administers five subdistricts and nine towns.[11]

Subdistricts

edit

Zhaoyuan's five subdistricts are Luofeng Subdistrict [zh], Quanshan Subdistrict, Mengzhi Subdistrict [zh], Wenquan Subdistrict [zh], and Daqinjia Subdistrict [zh].[11]

Towns

edit

Zhaoyuan's nine towns are Xinzhuang [zh], Canzhuang [zh], Jinling [zh], Biguo [zh], Linglong [zh], Zhangxing [zh], Xiadian [zh], Fushan [zh], and Qishan [zh].[11]

Economy

edit

The city has a significant amount of gold deposits, largely concentrated in its northeast.[4] Zhaojin Mining has its headquarters located in the city.[12] Additionally, Linglong Tire is headquartered in the city.[13]

Transport

edit

National Highway 206 runs through Zhaoyuan.[1]

Tourist attractions

edit

A large golden statue of Ao, a Chinese mythical giant turtle is located in the village of Oujiakuang (Chinese: 欧家夼村; pinyin: Ōujiākuǎng Cūn), in the town of Linglong [zh].[14][15] Located in Luoshan National Forest Park (simplified Chinese: 罗山国家森林公园; traditional Chinese: 羅山國家森林公園),[14] the statue is Asia's largest statue of Ao, and is located at 37°27′36″N 120°28′22″E / 37.46000°N 120.47278°E / 37.46000; 120.47278.[citation needed] The statue is 15 meters tall and 20 meters long.[16][17][better source needed]

The Qucheng Ancient City Site [zh] is located in Zhaoyuan.[1]

Notable people

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c 招远市概况地图. xzqh.org (in Chinese). 2012-10-09. Archived from the original on 2020-12-07. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  2. ^ a b 黄金文化 (in Chinese). Zhaoyuan People's Government. 2019-09-09. Archived from the original on 2020-12-07. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  3. ^ 招远年产黄金超百万两,招金集团占据半壁江山. gold.org.cn (in Chinese). 2013-01-05. Archived from the original on 2020-12-07. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  4. ^ a b c d e 自然环境 (in Chinese). Zhaoyuan People's Government. 2019-09-04. Archived from the original on 2020-12-07. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  5. ^ 人口民族 (in Chinese). Zhaoyuan People's Government. 2020-05-14. Archived from the original on 2020-12-07. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h 招远市历史沿革. xzqh.org (in Chinese). 2012-10-09. Archived from the original on 2020-12-07. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  7. ^ a b Kaiman, Jonathan (2014-08-18). "McDonald's murder in China: 'evil cult members' face trial for woman's death". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  8. ^ "China executes two cult members for McDonald's murder". BBC News. 2015-02-02. Archived from the original on 2020-11-08. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  9. ^ 中国气象数据网 – WeatherBk Data (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  10. ^ 中国气象数据网 (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  11. ^ a b c 2020年统计用区划代码(招远) (in Chinese). National Bureau of Statistics of China. 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-12-07. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  12. ^ 联系我们. zhaojin.com.cn (in Chinese). Zhaojin Mining. Archived from the original on 2020-12-07. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  13. ^ "About Us". www.linglongtire.com. Linglong Tire. Archived from the original on 2021-11-27. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
  14. ^ a b 欧家夼村 [Oujiakuang Village]. shiqing.zhaoyuan.cn (in Chinese). Zhaoyuan People's Government. 2014-09-23. Archived from the original on 2021-11-27. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
  15. ^ Els, Frik (2014-06-07). "China's top gold firm talking to Barrick, has Friedland 'hotline'". www.mining.com. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
  16. ^ 招远罗山《金鳌》[permanent dead link]
  17. ^ "Golden Ao". Panoramio. Archived from the original on 2017-06-11. Retrieved 2020-12-06.