Nanchong

Nanchong
—  Prefecture-level city  —
Nickname(s): The fruit City
Coordinates: 31°15′00″N 106°14′00″E / 31.25°N 106.2333333°E / 31.25; 106.2333333
Country	China
Province	Sichuan
Officiated	1993
Government
- Party Secretary	Liu Hongjian
Area
- Total	12,479 km2 (4,818.2 sq mi)
Elevation	340 m (1,115 ft)
Population [1]
- Total	7,300,000
- Density	585/km2 (1,515.1/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC (UTC+8)
Postal code	637000
Area code(s)	0817
Website	http://www.nanchong.gov.cn/

Nanchong (Chinese: 南充; pinyin: Nánchōng; Wade-Giles: Nan-ch'ung ) is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of Sichuan Province of the People's Republic of China, with an area of 12,479 kilometers^[2]. and the home to 7,300,000 people. It has the second most populated area and suggested to be one of the eight largest cities of Sichuan Province. The administrative center is Shunqing District.

History

Nanchong was in the territory of the state of Ba before it was conquested by the Qin dynasty in 314 BC. The Qin set up a government at Langzhong city. Anhan city was established in Shunqinq district at the beginning of the Han Dynasty.

The name of Anhan city was changed to Guozhou (fruit city) in 621 AD (Tang dynasty), and then to Nanchong in 742 AD.

Subdivisions

• Nanbu County 南部县 Nánbù Xiàn
• Xichong County 西充县 Xīchōng Xiàn
• Yingshan County 营山县 Yíngshān Xiàn
• Yilong County 仪陇县 Yílǒng Xiàn
• Peng'an County 蓬安县 Péng'ān Xiàn
• Langzhong 阆中市 Lángzhōng Shì
• Shunqing District 顺庆区 Shùnqing Qū
• Gaoping District 高坪区 Gāopíng Qū
• Jialing District 嘉陵区 Jiālíng Qū

Geography

Nanchong is located in the north-east of Sichuan Province. To the east of Nanchong is Dazhou, to the west are Mianyang and Suining and to the north is Guangyuan.

The vast majority of this area is hilly. The woodland coverage is 25%.

The Jialing river, a Yangtze tributary, crosses Nanchong from north to south, and there are another thirty rivers with a drainage basin of more than 30 sq kilometers.

Demographics

The Han people is the largest ethnic group in this area, contributing to 99.88% of its total population, another 48 echnic groups can be found in the city. Langzhong has a large Hui Muslim community.

As other cities in China, population in Nanchong is divided to two level, upper urban population and lower rural population, the registered urban population is about 1.2 million.

Shunqing District is the most dense area in Nanchong.

Economy

Agriculture

Agriculture is the pillar of Nanchong’s economy, with 80% of Nanchong’s population sited in rural area and committed to traditional agriculture activities. Nanchong’s manufacturing industry also relies on raw materials which is provided by agriculture. Nanchong’s main agricultural product is food. A large quantity of orange, silk worms, and pork are produced to support related manufacturers. ^[3]

Manufacturing

Nanchong’s main manufacturing outputs are petroleum products, automobiles and parts, mechanical equipment, textiles, and building materials. ^[4]

Natural Resources

There is a large quantity of rock oil and natural gas found in Nanchong, and it has the largest slate mine in the west of China. The Dames on Jialing River and its branches have large potential to expand its electric power generation. But the largest resource of Nanchong is "Human", and Nanchong is one of the main providers of Chinese cheap migrant workers. ^[5]

Transport

Transportation in Nanchong is quite convenient compared with other cities in Sichuan province because of its extensive express railway network, shipping, and air service.

Nanchong is a transport hub of the northeast Sichuan Province, it is crossed by the strategic China National Highway 318 and China National Highway 212 national highways and several newly built expressways, Cheng-Nan, and Nan-Guang expressway which link the city to Chengdu, and another prefecture-level city Guang'an. The expressway to the provincial-level municipality of Chongqing is under construction.

The Da-cheng Railway which crosses Nanchong links Chengdu and Dazhou. Another proposed railway, Lan-Yu raiway, links Lanzhou in Gansu Province and Chongqing city will make Nanchong a railway hub in northeast Sichuan province. The Nan-Chong railway station provides passenger and cargo services to several regional and national enconomic centres such as Chengdu, Shanghai, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Shenzhen, and Dongguan.

Old Nanchong airport was built in the 1950s and closed in 2003, The new Nanchong Gaoping Airport which has capacity to land bigger planes, provides regular air services to Beijing and Guangzhou.

Nanchong is suggested as a tradition shipping hub in ancient time, ships from Gansu could reach Chongqing through Jialing river, but the river is not suitable for modern shipping.

Higher education

There are five academic institutions in Nanchong which provide higher education.

• Southwest Petroleum University (www.swpu.edu.cn)
• China West Normal University
• North Sichuan Medical College (www.nsmc.edu.cn)
• Nanchong Professional Technic College (www.nczy.com)
• Hope College of Southwest Jiaotong University(www.swjtuhc.cn)

Notable persons

• Chen Shou, historian in the Western Jin Dynasty，the author of San guo zhi (the record of Three Kingdoms)
• Luo Ruiqing, General of the Chinese Army, former minister of Public Security of People's Republic of China
• Zhang Lan, former Vice-President of People's Republic of China
• Zhang Side, a soldier of the People's Liberation Army of the People's Republic of China. He was posthumously honored by Chairman Mao and became an icon of self-sacrifice and noble character.
• Zhu De, one of the leaders of the Chinese Communist Party, Chinese communists government and People's Liberation Army

References

External links

• Government of Nanchong

v • d • e Sichuan Province History • Politics • Economy • Music Sub-provincial cities Chengdu Prefecture-level cities Bazhong • Dazhou • Deyang • Guang'an • Guangyuan • Leshan • Luzhou • Meishan • Mianyang • Nanchong • Neijiang • Panzhihua • Suining • Ya'an • Yibin • Zigong • Ziyang Autonomous prefectures Ngawa • Garzê • Liangshan See also: List of Sichuan County-level divisions