Yichang

Yichang 宜昌市
—  Prefecture-level city  —
宜昌市
Chinese transcription(s)
- Chinese	宜昌
- Pinyin	Yíchāng
Yichang Yiling plaza
Location in Hubei
Yichang Location in China
Coordinates: 30°42′30″N 111°16′49″E / 30.70833°N 111.28028°E / 30.70833; 111.28028
Country	China
Province	Hubei
Seat of Government	Xiling District
Area
- Prefecture-level city	21,227 km2 (8,195.8 sq mi)
- Urban	828 km2 (319.7 sq mi)
Highest elevation	2,427 m (7,963 ft)
Lowest elevation	35 m (115 ft)
Population (2008)
- Prefecture-level city	4,039,000
- Density	190.3/km2 (492.8/sq mi)
- Urban	1,330,000
- Urban Density	1,606.3/km2 (4,160.2/sq mi)
Time zone	China Standard (UTC+8)
Website	http://en.yichang.gov.cn/

Yichang (Chinese: 宜昌; pinyin: Yíchāng) is a medium-sized city located in Hubei province of the People's Republic of China. Administratively, it is a prefecture-level city; its municipal government has jurisdiction over five counties, five urban districts, and three satellite county-level cities (Yidu, Dangyang, Zhijiang). The Three Gorges Dam is located within its administrative area, in Yiling District.^[1]

Administrative divisions

• Xiling District (西陵区) - includes the city center
• Wujiagang District (伍家岗区) - southeastern parts of the urban area, and suburbs
• Dianjun District (点军区) - the part of the urban area southwest of the Changjiang (across from the city ceter), and suburbs
• Xiaoting District (猇亭区)
• Yiling District (夷陵区) - northern part of the urban area, and suburbs
• Zhijiang City (枝江市)
• Yidu City (宜都市)
• Dangyang City (当阳市)
• Yuan'an County (远安县)
• Xingshan County (兴山县)
• Zigui County (秭归县) - a county whose counrty seat (Maoping Zhen) is some 50 km west of Yichang center city, next to the Three Gorges Dam
• Changyang Tujia Autonomous County (长阳土家族自治县)
• Wufeng Tujia Autonomous County (五峰土家族自治县)

Geography

As most prefecture-level cities, Yichang includes both an urban area (what's labeled on less detaield map as "Yichang") and the surrounding country area. It covers 21,084 km² in Western Hubei Province, on both sides of the Chang Jiang (Yangtze) River. The Xiling Gorge (西陵峡), the easternmost of the Three Gorges on the Yangtze River, is located within the prefecture-level city.

Within the prefecture-level city of Yichang, Chang Jiang's is joined by a number of tributaries, including the Qing River (Qing Jiang) (left), Xiang Xi and Huangbo Rivers (right).

The central urban area of Yichang is split between several districts. On the right (northeastern) bank of the Chang Jiang are located Xiling District (where the city center is located), Yiling District (neighborhoods north of the center) and Wujiagang District (southern area). The city area on the opposite (southeastern) bank of the river is included into Dianjun District. All these districts, with the exception of the central Xiling, also include a fair amount of suburban/rural area outside of the city urban core.

The temperature averages 16–18 °C (61–64 °F).

History

In ancient times Yichang was known as Yiling. There are historical records telling that in the year 278 BC during the Warring States period the Qin general Bai Qi set fire to Yiling. Yichang was also the site of a famous battle during the Three Kingdoms era, the Battle of Yiling.

In 1876, under the Qing Emperor Guangxu, Yichang was opened to foreign trade as a trading port after the Second Opium War with Britain. The imperial government set up a navigation company there. Wharves were built as well, but before 1949 the wharf area was only less than half a kilometer in length.After 1949, more than 50 wharves have been constructed at the port so that its wharf area is now over 15 km long. There are the shiplocks at Gezhouba Water Control Project.

During WWII when China was fighting with Japan, an encounter battle (Hui Zhan) happened in the area.

Transport

Roads and bridges

• China National Highway 318 runs east-west through most of the prefecture-level city, south of the center city
• China National Highway 209 passes through the northwestern corner of the prefecture-level city (Xingshan County)

Several provincial highways connect Yichang center city with most counties.

Several bridges span the Chang Jiang within the prefecture-level city of Yichang, including (upstream to downstream):

• Xiling Bridge, connecting Letianxi and Sandouping in Yiling District, downstream of the Three Gorges Dam.
• Yiling Bridge, downtown (below the Gezhouba Dam). It connects the urban Xiling and Dianjun Districts.
• Yichang Yangtze Highway Bridge, on the Hu-Rong Expressway, downstream of the center city

There are several ferry crossings as well.

Waterways

The Three Gorges Dam is located near to Yichang

Yichang is an important river port on the Yangtze river. Maoping Town (the county seat of Zigui County), has an active passenger wharf as well.

Railway

The eastern part of the prefecture-level city has railway service. The passenger station in Yichang center city has daily trains to Wuhan (both to Hankou and Wuchang stations), Beijing, and a few other major cities.

Demographics

Yichang has a population of 4,150,000 with urban population of 1,338,000.^[2] It is home of the Tujia ethnic group.

Yichang also formed the border between the cultures of Ba in the west (an ancient state in the eastern part of what is now Sichuan Province) and the Chu State in the east (an ancient state in what is now Hubei Province and northern Hunan Province).

Education

Since 2002, Yichang City has been home of the China Three Gorges University (the result of the merger of the University of Hydraulic & Electric Engineering, Yichang and of Hubei Sanxia University), the largest comprehensive university in Hubei Province outside Wuhan, with over 20,400 full-time students.

Economy

Yichang has long been a major transit port and distribution center of goods. It is fueled by the Gezhouba Hydra Project (Gezhouba Dam) and the Three Gorges Dam, which is 40 km upstream.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Yichang

• Official website of Yichang Government

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