Cities

Zhengzhou

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 12:42:26 -0700

Zhengzhou (郑州 pinyin: zhèng zhou) formerly called Zhengxian, is located 24 km south of Huanghe (Yellow River). It is the capital of Henan province in China.Population: 5.97 million.

History
Shang Dynasty established Aodu (see also: History of China). The pre-historical city had been long lost even before the time of the first emperor.

The name of Zhengzhou came from Sui Dynasty (581 AD) albeit it was located in Chenggao, another town. The government was moved to the contemporary city during Tang Dynsty.

Economy
The GDP per capita was ¥16028 (ca. US$1940) in 2003, ranked no. 117 among 659 Chinese cities.

Argriculture
Zhengzhou has a rural population of 3.97 million. Its main products include apple, paulownia, tobacco, corn, cotton, and wheat. Besides, Zhengzhou has something that can rarely be seen outside of this area. It also produces Yellow River Carp, Zhengzhou Watermelon, Xinzheng Date, dired persimmon, Guangwu Megranate and Zhongmu Garlic.
Industry

Zhengzhou has been one of the major industrial cities in China since 1949. The city's stample industry is textile. Others manufactures include: tractors, locomotives, cigarettes, fertilizer, processed meats, agricultural machinery, and electrical equipment
Transportation
Zhengzhou is a major railroad center as it is located in te crossroad of the Long-hai railroad (east-west) and the Jing-guang railroad (north-south).

Culture
Martial arts: Shaolin Monastery (Shao4 Lin2 Shi4) (Buddhist Monastery)
Chinese opera: Henan opera

Cities

Yinchuan

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 12:38:32 -0700

Yinchuan is the capital of Ningxia Autonomous Region, China.

Area: 4467 km
Population: 736,300

Geography
Longitude: east 105?49’ ? 106?35’
Latitude: north 38?08’ ? 38?51’

Climate
Not too cold in winter, not too hot in summer. The annual average temperature is 8.5.

Annual average rainfall: 200 ?
Annual frost time: 158 days

Economy
GDP per capita was ¥11975 (ca. US$1450) in 2003, ranked no. 197 among 659 Chinese cities.
Industry: produce bearing
Agriculture: Chinese wolfberry, wheat, apple, rice

Miscellaneous
Tourism: sand-lake, XiXia mausoleum
Building: mosque
Culture: minority does not eat pork, does not drink nor smoke
Colleges: Ningxia University

Cities

Xian

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 12:36:24 -0700

Click here to find hotels in Xi'an

Xi'an (西安; pinyin: xi an, Wade-Giles: Hsi-An, literal meaning: "Western Peace") is the capital of Shaanxi province, in China and a sub-provincial city. It was one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China because it has been the capital of 12 dynasties such as Zhou, Qin, Han and Tang. Xi'an is the eastern end of the Silk Road. The city has more than 3,100 years of history. It was called Chang'an, meaning "Perpetual Peace", in ancient times.

The city is surrounded by a well-preserved defensive wall.

The Tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi and his Terracotta Army are located outside the city.

It is the sister city with Kyoto, Japan and with Pau, France. Its GDP per capita was ¥15493 (ca. US$1870) in 2003, ranked no. 129 among 659 Chinese cities.

History
Zhou Dynasty established its capital in Feng and Gao between the late 11th century BC and 770 BC, both located west of contemporary Xi'an.

Qin Dynasty (221 BC-206 BC) constructed its capital in the north shore of Wei River, which was burned by Xiang Yu at the end of the dynasty.

202 BC: Liu Bang, the founding emperor of Han Dynasty establish Chang'an County as his capital; his first palace Changle Palace was built across the river from the ruin of the Qin capital. This is traditionally regarded as the founding date of Chang'an and Xi'an.

200 BC: Emperor Liu Bang built Weiyang Palace in Chang'an.

194 BC: Construction of the first city wall of Chang'an began, which did not finished until 190 BC. The wall measured 25.7 km in length, 12-16 m in thickness at the base. The area within the wall was ca. 36 square km.

582 AD: Emperor of Sui Dynasty ordered a new capital to be built southeast of the Han capital, called Daxing. It consisted of three sections: the Palace, the Imperial City, and the civilian section. The total area within the wall was 84 square km, The main street Zhuque Avenue measured 155 m in width. It was the largest city in the world. The city was renamed Chang'an in Tang Dynasty.

7th century: Buddhist monk Xuan Zang established a sizeable translation centre after returning from India with Sanskrit scriptures.

701 AD: Construction of Da Yan Pagoda began. It measured 64 m in height. This pagoda was constructed for the storage of the translation of Master Xuan Zang.

707 AD: Construction of Xiao Yan Pagoda began. It measured 45 m in height. After the earthquake of 1556 AD, only 43.4 m remains.

904 AD: The end of Tang Dynasty brought destruction to Chang'an. Residences were forced to move to Luoyang, the new capital. Only a small area continued to be occupied after the destruction.

1370 AD: Ming Dynasty built a new wall to protect a much smaller city of 12 square km. The wall measures 11.9 km in length, 12 m in height, and 15-18 m in thickness at the base.

This city was the site of the Xian Incident in 1936 during World War II. Xi'an Incident brought the Communist Party of China and Kuomintang to a truce so the two forces could concentrate on fighting against Japan.

Cities

Xiamen

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 12:32:26 -0700

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Xiamen is a coastal sub-provincial city in Fujian Province, southern China.

Area: 1565.09 km² (300 km² water)
Population: 1,371,600 (late 2002)
GDP per capita: ¥38567 (ca. US$4660) in 2003, ranked no 9 among 659 Chinese cities.
Xiamen is also known as Amoy internationally, which is how "Xiamen" is spoken in Northern Min, the vernacular of the provincial capital Fuzhou. In the vernacular of Xiamen, known as Southern Min, it is pronounced E-mng. The placename means "The Gate of the Grand Mansion".

History
The place was made Tong'an District in 282, a sub-entity of Jin'an Prefecture. In 1387, the Ming Empire used it as base against pirates, and was part of Quanzhou. Koxinga stationed here in 1650, naming it Siming Island, or "Remembering the Ming", but the city was renamed by the Manchus in 1680 to Xiamen Subprefecture. The name "Siming" was reverted after the 1912 Xinhai Revolution and made a county. The following it was reverted to Xiamen City. In 1949, Xiamen became a provincial city, then upgraded to a vice-province-class city, or a municipality. It was made a Special Economic Zone in 1980.

Xiamen was the port of trade first used by Europeans in 1541. It was China's main port in the 19th century for exporting tea. As a result, the Amoy dialect had a major influence on how Chinese terminology was translated into English and other European languages. For example, the words "Amoy", "tea", "cumshaw", "ketchup", "satay" originated from the Amoy dialect.

Xiamen was one of the five Chinese treaty ports opened by the Treaty of Nanjing (signed in 1842) at the end of the First Opium War between Britain and China.

Administration
All six sub-municipal entities in Xiamen are districts, whereas other Fujianese municipalities have mixed districts and counties.

Haicang District
Huli District
Jimei District
Siming District
Tong'an District
Xiang'an District
Siming and Huli co-exist with the Special Economic Zone.

In May 2003, Gulangyu and Kaiyuan were merged into Siming. Xinglin District was renamed Haicang District. Xiang'an was created out of a section of Tong'an.

Geography
Xiamen Municipality comprises of Xiamen Island, Gulangyu Island, and a larger region along the mouth of Jiulong River on the mainland. Huli District and most of Siming District (except Gulangyu) are on Xiamen Island. The other four districts are on mainland.

Xiamen Island is geographically very close to the island of Quemoy, which is governed by the Republic of China (based on Taiwan).

Cities

Wuhan

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 12:29:47 -0700

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Wuhàn (Traditional Chinese: 武漢, Simplified Chinese: 武汉) is the capital of Hubei province, the most populated city in central China, lies at the confluence of the Yangtze and Han Rivers.

Geography
The city comprises three towns - Wuchang, Hànkou, and Hànyáng which face each other across the rivers and are linked by three bridges. It is simple in geographical structure - low and flat in the middle and hilly in the south, with the Chang Jiang (Yangtze) and Han rivers winding through the city.

Wuhàn (Traditional Chinese: 武漢, Simplified Chinese: 武汉) is the capital of Hubei province, the most populated city in central China, lies at the confluence of the Yangtze and Han Rivers.

History
The area was first settled more than 3,000 years ago. During the Han Dynasty, Hanyang became a fairly busy port. In the 3rd centuries AD, walls were built to protect Hanyang (206 AD) and Wuchang (223 AD). The latter event marks the foundation of Wuhan. In 223 AD, the Yellow Crane Tower was constructed on the Wuchang side of the Yangtze River. Cui Hào, a celebrated poet of Tang Dynasty, visited the building in the early 8th Century; his poem made the building the most celebrated building in southern China. Under the Mongol ruler (Yuan Dynasty, Wuchang was promoted to the status of provincial capital. By approximately 300 years ago, Hankou had become one of the country's top four trading towns.

In 1911, Sun Yat-sen's followers launched the Wuchang Uprising that led to the collapse of the Qing Dynasty and the establishment of the Republic of China. Wuhan was the capital of a leftist Kuomintang government led by Wang Jingwei in opposition to Chiang Kai-shek during the 1920s.

The first Yangtze Bridge was built in Wuhan in 1957, thus connecting North and South China by railroad for the first time in history. Including its approaches, it is 5,511 feet long, and it accommodates both the double-track railway and a roadway.

The Yellow Crane Tower, which had been destroyed and reconstructed numerous times, was burned again in 1884. Reconstruction took place in 1981.

Economy
It is a sub-provincial city. The GDP per capita was RMB16,206 (ca. US$1,960) in 2003, ranked no. 114 among 659 Chinese cities.

Cities

Urumqi

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 12:25:42 -0700

Urumqi (乌鲁木齐 population about 1.6 million ) is the capital of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, in the northwest of the country.

It is the largest city in the western half of China. The GDP per capita was ¥17655 (ca. US$2130) in 2003, ranked no. 94 among 659 Chinese cities.

Cities

Tianjin

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 12:23:11 -0700

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Tianjin (天津; pinyin: tian jin, Postal System Pinyin: Tientsin) is a harbour municipality in China on the Hai He River (from Beijing) and Bohai Gulf of the Yellow Sea (Pacific Ocean). The placename literally means "the Heavenly Port".

Tianjin is one of four independent municipalities in the People's Republic of China with provincial-level status. Historically, the city was, for a time, the capital of Hebei Province.

History
The city was first settled in 1404 AD during Ming Dynasty as a fort, named Tianjin Wei (Fort Tianjin).

Tianjin County was established in 1731.

The city was opened to foreign trade in June 1858, at the end of the first part of the Second Opium War, when the Treaties of Tianjin were signed.

It has been municipality in 1927, except from 1958 to 1967, when it was reduced to a provincial city and capital of Hebei.

Geography
Tianjin is at the northern end of the Grand Canal of China, which connects with the Huang He and Chang Jiang rivers. Tianjin borders Hebei province, the municipality of Beijing and the Bohai Gulf of the Yellow Sea.

Economy
The GDP per capita was ¥20443 (ca. US$2470) in 2003, ranked no. 56 among 659 Chinese cities.

Political divisions
Tianjin is divided into fifteen districts and three counties The six districts close to the "urban region" ( Shì Qu) are
Heping District (Hèpíng Qu)
Hexi District (Héxi Qu)
Hebei District (Hébei Qu)
Nankai District (Nánkai Qu)
Hedong District (Hédong Qu)
Hongqiao District (Hongqiáo Qu)

The outer districts and counties:The "Seaside region" ( Bin Hai Qu):
Tanggu District (Tánggu Qu)
Hangu District (Hàngu Qu)
Dagang District (Dàgang Qu)

The "region around city" (Huán Chéng Qu) are:
Jinnan District (Jinnán Qu)
Dongli District (Donglí Qu)
Xiqing District (Xiqing Qu)
Baodi District (Baodi Qu, Baodi County before 2001)
Beichen District (Beichén Qu)
Wuqing District (Wuqing Qu, Wuqing County before 2000)

The counties:
Ji County (Jì Xiàn)
Jinghai County (Jìnghai Xiàn)
Ninghe County (Nínghé Xiàn)

Cities

Taiyuan

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 12:18:34 -0700

Taiyuan (太原, pinyin: Tàiyuán, Wade-Giles:T'ai-yüan) is a city in China, capital of the Shanxi province.

The GDP per capita was ¥12821 (ca. US$1550) in 2003, ranked no. 171 among 659 Chinese cities.

History
Taiyaun is an ancient capital, constructed by Zhaojianzi in ca. 500 BC, named Jinyang. It was renamed Taiyuan in Qin Dynasty.

A new city was built in 562 AD, which was later linked to the old city during Tang Dynasty (733 AD).

In 617 AD, Li Yuan and his son Li Shimin rebelled against Sui Dynasty, and founded Tang Dynasty.

The oldest existing building in the city is the Temple of Goddess inside the Jin Ci Complex; it was originally built in 1023 AD and reconstructed in 1102 AD.

The city had been deliberately flooded several times: 453 BC, 969 AD, and was destroyed by war in 1125 AD.

During Ming Dynasty, the city wall was reconstructed in 1568 AD.

Cities

Taipei

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 12:16:23 -0700

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T'ai-pei (WG), (台北, pinyin: Táibei, tai.: Tâi-pak), is the provisional capital of the Republic of China on Taiwan. It also was the capital of Taiwan Province until the 1960s when that was moved to Chung-hsing-hsin-ts'un. Its population in 2000 is 2,600,543.

Major industries include electrical and electronic equipment, textiles, metals, ship-building, and motorcycles.

Administratively in Chinese, "Taipei" can refer to Taipei City, which is a special municipality administered directly under the central government; or Taipei County, which is administered as part of Taiwan Province. This article focuses on the City.

Subdivisions
Taipei administers twelve districts.

History
Founded in the 18th century, Taipei began development only after 1885, when it replaced Tainan as the capital of the Chinese province of Taiwan. Much of the architecture of Taipei dates from the period of Japanese rule (during which the city was known in Japanese as Taihoku) including the Presidential Palace which was the former mansion of the Japanese governor and which faces Tokyo.

In 1949, the Communists forced the government of Chiang Kai-shek to flee from the Mainland China and establish Taipei as provisional capital of the ROC.

From 1875 (during the Qing Dynasty) until the end Japanese Occupation in 1945, Taipei was part of Danshui District of Taipei Prefecture. As approved on December 30, 1966 by the Executive Yuan, Taipei became a centrally administered municipality on July 1, 1967.

Politics
The current mayor of Taipei is the Kuomintang's Ma Ying-jeou. The office of mayor of Taipei is seen as a stepping stone to higher office, both the current and previous Presidents Chen Shui-bian and Lee Teng-hui were mayors of Taipei. Until 1994, the mayor of Taipei was an appointed position, but since then it has been elected.
Taipei city has a higher proportion of Mainlanders than average in Taiwan. This and the fact that the city is highly dependent on commerce and finance which would be disrupted in case of conflict with the People's Republic of China means that the city is more favorable to Chinese reunification than other areas of Taiwan. Indeed, it was the fact that Chen Shui-bian was able to win the mayorship in 1994, despite this tendency that made him the obvious DPP candidate for President in 2000.

Marshall, Texas became a sister city with Taipei on November 29, 1978, when then Mayor Lee Teng-Hui signed a treaty of sisterhood with Mayor William O. Burns in Marhsall.

Festivities in Taipei
There are many yearly Taiwanese festivals that commonly are held in Taipei including the Lantern Festival and Double Tenth Day. A common location for festivities in Taipei is the square in front of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. Recently, some of the major festivals normally held in Taipei (specifically, the Double Tenth Day fireworks) have been moved to Kaohsiung on the southern coast, even if only temporarily.

Transportation
Taipei's public transport system uses both a light rail system based on VAL technology and a conventional metro. Unlike most trains in Taiwan which following Japanese practice, have trains running on the left, the Taipei public transport system, having been built by a French company, have trains running on the right.
Nearby Taoyuan hosts Chiang Kai-shek International Airport, which serves Taipei for international flights. There is also Sungshan Domestic Airport in the heart of the city.

Attractions
Taipei 101 is a new financial center in Taipei. By some measures it is considered the world's tallest building.
The Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.
The Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall.

Cities

Suzhou

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 12:11:39 -0700

Suzhou (蘇州 / 苏州, Hanyu Pinyin: Suzhou, Wade-Giles: Su-chou, sometimes seen transliterated as Su-chow, Suchow, or Soochow) is one of the most famous cities in China. It lies in the lower reaches of the Yangtze and on the shores of lake Taihu in the province of Jiangsu. It is part of the Golden Triangle region. The city enjoys advantageous geography and excellent land, water and air transportation. The GDP per capita was ¥30470 (ca. US$3680) in 2003, ranked no. 25 among 659 Chinese cities.

History
Suzhou, the cradle of Wu culture, is one of the oldest towns in the Yangzi Basin. 2500 years ago, local tribes who named themselves "Gou Wu" in the late Shang Dynasty lived in the area which would become Suzhou.

In 514 BC, during the Spring and Autumn Period, King Helu of Wu established "Great City of Helu", the ancient name for Suzhou, as his capital.

In 496 BC, Helu was buried in Huqiu (Tiger Hill).

In 473 BC, Wu was defeated by Yue, another kingdom to the east that was soon annexed by Chu in 306 BC. The golden era of Suzhou was over.

By the time of Qin Dynasty, the city was known as Wu County. Xiang Yu staged his historical uprising here in 209 BC; Qin was overthrown.

During Sui Dynasty, the city was renamed Suzhou in 589 AD.

When the Grand Canal was completed, Suzhou found itself placed strategically on a major trading route. In the course of the history of China, it has been a metropolis of industry and commerce in the south-eastern coast of China.

During Tang Dynasty (825 AD), the great poet Bai Juyi constructed the Shantang Canal to connect the city with Huqiu for the tourists. In 1035 AD, the Confucius temple was founded.

In February 1130, the advancing Jin army from the north sacked the city and committed a holocaust, which was to be followed by Mongol invasion (1275 AD) and destruction of the royal city (in the centre of the walled city) in the beginning of Ming Dynasty (1367 AD).

Afterwards, the city had a more prosperous time; many of the famous private gardens were constructed by the gentiles of Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty. However, the city was to see another disaster in 1860 AD when the Taiping rebellion advanced on the city, to be followed by the Japanese invasion (1937 AD). Many gardens were devastated by the end of the war. In the early 1950’s, restoration was done on Zhuo-Zheng Yuan (Humble Administrator's Garden), Dong Yuan (East Garden), and others, to bring them back to life. Consequently, most of the existing gardens reflects the architecture style of Qing Dynasty (1616-1911 AD), albeit many of had a history dating back to Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD).

In 1981, this ancient city was listed by the State Council as one of the four cities (the other three being Beijing, Hangzhou and Guilin) where the protection of historical and cultural heritage as well as natural scenery should be treated as a priority project.

Gardens in Suzhou were added to the list of the World Heritage Sites in 1997 and 2000.

Districts and Satellite cities
Total area: 8,488 km²
population: about 5.8 million (1.1 million in the city proper)
Districts: Pingjiang, Taichang, Jinchang, Canglang and the suburbs
Satellite cities: Changshou, Zhangjiagang, Taichang, Kunshan, Wuxian and Wujiang

Tourism
Huqiu (Tiger Hill)
Xuan-Miao Guang (founded in 276 AD, rebuilt in 1584)
Huqiu Temple (founded in 327, rebuilt in 1871)
Hanshan Temple (Cold Mountain Temple) (built in 503, destroyed and rebuilt many times, last reconstruction in 1896)
Baodai Bridge (built in 816, rebuilt in 1442)
Shantang Canal (built in 825)
Huqiu Pagoda (built in 961, destroyed & rebuilt several times, last reconstruction in 1773)
Rui-Guang Pagoda (built in 1009)
Shizi Lin (built in 1342)
Lingering Garden (Liu Yuan) (built in 1525, rebuilt in 1953)
Canglang Pavilion (Blue Wave Pavilion) (Cang-Lang Ting) (built in 1696)
Humble Administrator's Garden (Zhuozheng Yuan) (built in 1513, rebuilt in 1860)

Transportation
Railroad: the Jiangsu-Shanghai Railway
Highways: the jiangsu-Shanghai Expressway
Water transportation: connected with Zhangjiagang, Liujia and Changshou
Airway: Shuofang Airport and Guangfu United Airlines Airport

Culture
Chinese opera: Kunqu Opera, Suzhou Opera and Ballad-sing;
Silk
Handicrafts: Suzhou embroidery, fans, national musical instruments, scroll mounting, lanterns, mahogany furniture, jade carving, silk tapestry, traditional painting pigments of Jiangenxutang Studio, the New Year's wood-block prints of Taohuamu Studio
Paintings
Calligraphic art
Cuisine: Yangcheng Lake huge crab

Local Celebrities
Statesmen:
Fan Zhongyan
Yen Chia-kan
Poets:
Fan Chengda
Playwrights:
Feng Menglong
Painters:
Tan Yin
Wen Zhengming
Physists:
Chien-Shiung Wu
Others: Gu Yanwu, Zhang Taiyan

Quotes
"A very great and noble city... It has 1600 stone bridges under which a galley may pass." - Marco Polo

"Capital of Silk", "Land of Abundance", "Gusu city", "Oriental Venice", "cradle of the Wu Culture", and "World of Gardens"
- nicknames of Suzhou

"Paradise in Heaven, Suzhou and Hangzhou on earth." - Chinese old saying

Cities

Shijiazhuang

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 12:07:05 -0700

Shijiazhuang (石家莊/石家庄) (Pinyin: Shíjiazhuang) is a city just south of Beijing and is the Capital of Hebei Province.

Shijiazhuang is a transportation hub: it is at the intersection point of the Beijing-Guangzhou and Taiyuan-Huanghua railroads and expressways. It is also an important industrial city, especially in cotton textiles, and chemical-related industrie

Cities

Shenzhen

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 12:05:04 -0700

Click here to find hotels in Shenzhen

Shenzhen (深圳; pinyin: Shenzhèn, Yale: sàm jan Penkyamp: sam1 dzan3; lit. deep drains) is a sub-provincial city of Guangdong province in southern Mainland China, located at the border with Hong Kong.

History
The one-time fishing village of Shenzhen, singled-out by late Chinese paramount leader Deng Xiaoping, is a so-called one of the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) in China originally established in 1978 in competition with Hong Kong, then a British colony.

Shenzhen, formerly known as "Bao'an County", was promoted to prefecture level, directly governed by the Guangdong province in November 1979. In May 1980, Shenzhen was formally nominated as a 'special economic zone,'the first one of its kind in China. It was given the right of provincial-level economic administration in November 1988.

Administration
The Shenzhen Municipality is made up of six districts: Luohu, Futian, Nanshan, Yantian, Bao'an, and Longgang. The first four are located inside the Special Economic Zone while Bao'an and Longgang are outside.

Located in the centre of the SEZ and adjacent to Hong Kong, Luohu is the financial and trading centre. It covers an area of 78.89 km². Futian, where the Municipal Government is situated, is at the heart of the SEZ and covers an area of 78.04 km². Covering an area of 164.29 km², Nanshan is the centre for high-tech industries and it is situated in the west of the SEZ. Outsides the SEZ, Bao'an (712.92 km²) and Longgang (844.07 km²) are located to the north-west and north-east of Shenzhen respectively. Yantian (75.68 km²) is known for logistics. Yantian Port is the second largest deep water container terminal in China.

Geography
The boomtown of Shenzhen is located in the Pearl River Delta. It covers an area of 2,020 square kilometres, with a population of 4.05 million. Shenzhen is a sub-tropical maritime region and its average temperature is 22.4 degrees Celsius.

Demographics
Shenzhen has seen its population and activity develop rapidly since the opening of the SEZ, with its population rising to 5 million. Among the reasons for this development is the cost of labour, which is substantially lower than in neighbouring Hong Kong.

According to the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, in 2002, 7,200 Hong Kong residents commuted daily to Shenzhen for work, and 2,200 students from Shenzhen commuted to school in Hong Kong. Though neighbouring each other, daily commuters still need to pass through customs and an immigration checkpoint as travel between the SEZ and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) is restricted.

China relaxed travel restrictions to allow individuals from southern cities of Guangzhou and Shenzhen, as well as Beijing and Shanghai, to visit Hong Kong in late July 2003. Previously, mainland travellers could only visit the city as part of tour groups. See Individual Visit Scheme.

Immigration into Shenzhen from the Chinese interior is heavily restricted by the hukou system. One consequence is that just outside of Shenzhen there are large towns which consist of blind flow migrants from the Chinese interior.

Economy
In 2001, the working population reached 3.3 million. Though the secondary sector of industry had the largest share (1.85 million in 2001, increased by 5.5%), the tertiary sector of industry are growing fast (1.44 million in 2001, increased by 11.6%). The GDP per capita was ¥136071 (ca. US$16430) in 2003, ranked no. 1 among 659 Chinese cities.

The Shenzhen Stock Exchange was established on December 1, 1990. It is one of the two stock exchanges in mainland China (the other is in Shanghai). Analysts in Hong Kong now say that Shenzhen, which is already taking market share from Hong Kong in handling China's exports, is well on its way to replacing Shanghai as the mainland's largest port.

Entertainment
Apart from commercial development, Shenzhen is also a rising city for tourism. Although many visitors do not venture beyond its sprawling concrete mass, there are a number of different places to visit whilst staying in Shenzhen:

Window of the World
Splendid China
China Folk Culture Villages
Happy Kingdom
Safari Park Shen Zhen
Evergreen Resort
At present, there are more than 50 scenic spots and 139 star-ranked hotels. Shenzhen won the honour of being entitled an "International Garden City" at the "Green Oscars" in November 2000.

A significant number of visitors, mostly from Hong Kong, go to Shenzhen to taste wild animals and game meat such as civet cat, a favourite delicacy for people in southern China.

However, some experts said that SARS virus was likely to have originated from civet cat.

Moreover, the massage services provided in Shenzhen are also famous at relatively lower prices than those in Hong Kong.

Integration with Hong Kong
However, aside from work and school, most visitors that cross the Hong Kong SAR/China border to Shenzhen go for the shopping, where goods and services are far cheaper to those in Hong Kong. The largest of the shopping malls is Lo Wu Commercial City, situated close to the railway station. This contains an overwhelmimg array of beauty parlours and stores selling clothes, handbags, fabric, jewellery and electrical goods as well as many vendors of pirated software, DVDs and counterfeit goods.

Port
About nine container berths will come on stream in 2003 and 2004. The rapid growth of Shenzhen port, its lower labour costs and its proximity to factories in Guangdong province has put pressure on Hong Kong's terminals. Shenzhen's total sea container throughput caught up with Hong Kong's Kwai Chung port in August 2003, when each handled 1.06 million twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) of goods.

Shenzhen has moved more goods than maninland China's busiest port of Shanghai for the second month in September 2003.

Yantian International Container Terminals, Chiwan Container Terminals, Shekou Container Terminals, China Merchants Port and Shenzhen Haixing(Mawan port) are the major port terminals in Shenzhen.

Transportation
Shenzhen can be reached by air, train, sea or road.

Shenzhen Airport is just 35km from central Shenzhen and connects the city with many other parts of China, as well as some international destinations. It is normally cheaper for people based in Hong Kong to fly to Mainland Chinese destinations from Shenzhen than from Hong Kong, and it is usually cheaper for those based in southern Mainland China to fly out of Hong Kong to international destinations. The airport is connected to the city by an airport bus route 330 which terminates at Hualian Dasha in Shennan Zhong Lu. Other city buses also connect with the airport, but some only turn round at the roundabout outside leaving passengers with a long walk.

Shenzhen Railway Station is located at the junction of Jianshe Lu, Heping Lu and Renmin Nan Lu and provides links to different parts of China. There are frequent trains to Guangzhou, plus long-distance trains to Beijing, Jiujiang, Maoming, Shantou and other destinations. The train journey from Hong Kong's Kowloon Tong KCR station to Lo Wu's border crossing takes approximately 40 minutes at a cost of (in September 2003) HK$33, or HK$66 for first class. Trains run every 3-8 minutes from 5.30am to 11.00pm and the border crossing is open daily from 6.30am to midnight.

There is another railway station located in Nanshan District, Shenzhen Xi, which is used for a small number of long distance trains, such as the one to Hefei.

Since February 2003, the road border crossing with Hong Kong at Huanggang has been open 24h. The journey can be made by private vehicle or by bus. A shuttle bus connects it with the Lok Ma Chau Public Transport Interchange on the other side of the border.

A metro system is currently under construction and is due to open in 2004. It will have two lines, one from Luohu (Lo Wu & Shenzhen railway stations)to Window of the World, and the other from Huanggang to a point further north.

Taxis are metered and come in three colours. Red taxis may travel anywhere, green ones are restricted to outside the SEZ, and yellow ones are restricted to inside the SEZ.

Shenzhen is also connected by fast ferries linking Shekou, on the west edge of the SEZ with Zhuhai, Macau, Kowloon and Hong Kong Island.

Miscellaneous
Although Shenzhen enjoys a good reputation for shopping and travel, some Hong Kong citizens are concerned about the relatively high crime rate in Shenzhen. Reports of Hong Kong businessmen, tourists or travellers being robbed and kidnapped in Shenzhen are not uncommon in Hong Kong newspapers.

Shenzhen has been a sister city to Brisbane, Australia since June 1992. Shenzhen further has a regional partnership with Nuremberg, Germany

Cities

Shenyang

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:58:38 -0700

Shenyang (Traditional Chinese: 沉陽, Simplified Chinese: 沉阳, Hanyu Pinyin: Shènyáng) is the capital of Liaoning province in China. It is a sub-provincial city.

History
In 1625 the Manchu leader Nurhaci moved his capital to Shenyang. It was renamed to Mukden (in Chinese, 九一八事变) in 1634. Shenyang remained the capital of the Qing Dynasty until the relocation to Beijing in 1644.

Since 1657 Shenyang had been called Fengtianfu until it was changed back to its old name Shenyang in 1914.

During the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), there was a Japanese victory at Shenyang on February 19-March 10, 1905.

The Mukden Incident (September 18, 1931), which gave the Japanese an impetus to create the Manchukuo state in Manchuria, took place near Shenyang.

During the Manchukuo era (1932-1945) the city was called Fengtian again.

Miscellaneous
Shenyang was the birthplace of the actress Gong Li and the famous singer Na Ying

Cities

Shanghai

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:55:04 -0700

Click here to find hotels in Shanghai

Shanghai (上海, pinyin: shàng hai; Shanghainese IPA ASCII: /zANhE/) is China's largest city and is situated on the banks of the Chang Jiang delta. In Chinese, Shanghai's abbreviations are Hù and Shen. The name Shanghai literally means "on the sea" or "onto the sea." Administratively, Shanghai is one of 4 municipalities of the People's Republic of China, which have provincial-level status.

Administration
Shanghai is divided into 18 districts and 1 county:

Districts
Baoshan
Changning
Fengxian
Hongkou
Huangpu
Jiading
Jing'an
Jinshan
Luwan
Minhang
Nanhui
Pudong
Putuo
Qingpu
Songjiang
Xuhui
Yangpu
Zhabei

County
Chongming County

As of 2002, there were 132 towns, 3 townships, 99 subdistrict committees, 3,393 neighborhood committees and 2,037 villagers' committees in Shanghai.

List of towns:

Anting, Jiading District

History
Before the forming of Shanghai city, Shanghai was called Songjiang county, a part of Suzhou city. The county was formed around 1000 years ago. From the time of the Song Dynasty (960-1279), Shanghai gradually become a busy seaport.

A city wall was built in 1553 AD, which is generally regarded as the beginning of Shanghai City. However, before the 19th century, Shanghai was not a major city, and in contrast to other major Chinese cities, there are few ancient Chinese landmarks there.

The role of Shanghai changed radically in the 19th century, as the city's strategic position at the mouth of the Yangtze River made it an ideal location for trade with the West.

During the First Opium War in the early-19th Century, British forces plundered Shanghai. The war ended with the 1842 Treaty of Nanjing, which saw the treaty ports, Shanghai included, opened for international trade. The Treaty of the Bogue signed in 1843, and the Sino-American Treaty of Wangsia signed in 1844 together saw foreign nations achieve extraterritoriality on Chinese soil.

The Taiping Rebellion broke out in 1850, and in 1853 Shanghai was occupied by a triad offshoot of the rebels, called the Small Swords Society. The fighting destroyed the countryside but left the foreigners' settlements untouched, and Chinese arrived seeking refuge. Although previously Chinese were forbidden to live in foreign settlements, 1854 saw new regulations drawn up making land available to Chinese. Land prices rose substantially. The year also saw the first annual meeting of the Shanghai Municipal Council, substantiated in order to manage the foreign settlements. In 1863, the British and American settlements joined in order to form the International Settlement.

The Sino-Japanese War fought 1894-95 over control of Korea concluded with the Treaty of Shimonoseki, which saw Japan emerge as an additional foreign power in Shanghai. Japan built the first factories in Shanghai, which were soon copied by other foreign powers to effect the emergence of Shanghai industry. During World War II, Shanghai was a centre for refugees from Europe. She was the only city in the world that was open unconditionally to the Jews at the time.

Shanghai was then the biggest financial city in the Far East. Under the Republic of China, Shanghai was made a special city in 1927, and a municipality in May 1930. Shanghai was occupied by Japan in 1937 until its surrender in 1945.

On May 27, 1949, Shanghai became under communist control and was one of the only two former ROC municipalities not immediately merged into neighbouring provinces (the other being Beijing). It then underwent a series of changes in the boundaries of its subdivisions, especially in the next decade.

After 1949, however, most foreign firms moved their offices from Shanghai to Hong Kong. During the 1950s and 1960s, Shanghai became an industrial center and center for revolutionary leftism. Yet, even during the most tumultuous times of the Cultural Revolution, Shanghai was able to maintain high economic productivity and relative social stability. In most of the history of the PRC, Shanghai has been the largest contributor of tax revenue to the central government compared with other Chinese provinces and municipalities. In the early eighties, 70-80% of the entire national tax revenue came from the municipality of Shanghai alone. This came at the cost of severely crippling Shanghai's infrastructure and capital development. Its importance to China's fiscal well-being also denied it economic liberalizations that were started in the far southern provinces such as Guangdong during the mid-eighties. At that time Guangdong province paid nearly no taxes to the central government, and thus was perceived as fiscally dispendable for experimental economic reforms. Shanghai was not permitted to initiate economic reforms until 1991.

Shanghai has traditionally been seen as a stepping stone to positions within the PRC central government. In the 1990s, there was often described a "Shanghai clique" which included the president of the PRC Jiang Zemin and the premier of the PRC Zhu Rongji. Starting in 1992, the central government under Jiang Zemin, a former Mayor of Shanghai, began reducing the tax burden on Shanghai and encouraging both foreign and domestic investment in order to promote it as the economic hub of east Asia and to encourage its role as gateway of investment to the Chinese interior. Since then it has experienced continuous economic growth of between 9-15% annually, leading China's overall growth.

Economy
Shanghai is the financial and cultural center of China. It began economic reforms in 1992, a decade later than many of the Southern Chinese provinces. Prior to then, much of the city revenue went directly to the capital, Beijing, with little return. Even with a decreased tax burden after 1992, Shanghai's tax contribution to the central government is around 20-25% of the national total. Shanghai today is the biggest and most developed city in mainland China. As of 2003, the official registered population is 13.5 million; however, 6 million more people work and live in Shanghai undocumented, and of the 6 million, 3 million belong to the "floating population" of temporary migrant workers.

Shanghai and Hong Kong have had a recent rivalry over which city is to be the economic center of China. The city had a GDP of ¥36206 (ca. US$4370) per capita in 2003, ranked no. 13 among all 659 Chinese cities. Hong Kong has the advantage of a stronger legal system and greater banking and service expertise. Shanghai has stronger links to both the Chinese interior and the central government, in addition to a stronger base in manufacturing and technology. Since the handover of Hong Kong to the PRC, Shanghai has increased its role in finance, banking, and as a major destination for corporate headquarters, fueling demand for a highly educated and westernized workforce. Shanghai's economy is steadily growing at 11%.

Geography and Climate
Shanghai faces the East China Sea (part of the Pacific Ocean), and is bisected by the Huangpu River. Puxi contains the city proper on the western side of Huangpu river, while an entirely new financial district has been erected on the eastern bank of the Huangpu in Pudong.

Shanghai experiences all four seasons, with freezing temperatures during the winter season and a 32 degrees Celsius average high during the hottest months of July and August (reaching 40 degrees occassionally). Winter is typically grey, and summers can be quite humid. Autumn and spring in Shanghai are cool and crisp, and generally agreed as the best time to be in Shanghai. Winter begins in mid December and ends around early March. Scattered light rain is frequent around mid-June to July.

Transportation
Shanghai has an excellent public transportation system and in contrast to other major Chinese cities has clean streets and surprisingly little air pollution. The public transportation system in Shanghai is flourishing: Shanghai has more than one thousand bus lines and three metro (subway) lines (line1 no.1, no.2 and no.3) at present. According to the development schedule of the Government, by the year 2010, another 9 lines will be built in Shanghai.

Shanghai has two airports: Hongqiao Airport and Pu Dong International Airport. Transrapid (a German maglev company, which has a test track in Emsland, Germany), constructed the first operational maglev railway in the world, from Shanghai's Long Yang Road subway station to its airport. It was inaugurated in 2002. Commercial exploitation has started in 2003. It takes 8 mins to travel 30km.

Three railways intersect in Shanghai: Beijing-Shanghai Railway, Shanghai-Hangzhou Railway, and Xiaoshan-Ningpo (xiao1 yong3).

People and Culture
The native language spoken is Shanghainese, a dialect of Wu Chinese; while the official language is Mandarin Chinese. The local dialect is mutually unintelligible with Mandarin Chinese, and is an inseparable part of the Shanghainese identity. Nearly all Shanghainese under the age of 50 can speak Mandarin Chinese fluently; and those under age of 25, have had contact with English since primary school.

Shanghai is the birthplace of everything considered modern in China; and was the cultural and economic center of East Asia for the first half of the twentieth century. It was the intellectual battleground between socialist writers who concentrated on critical realism (pioneered by Lu Xun and Mao Dun) and the more bourgeois, more romantically and aesthetically inclined writers (such as Shi Zhecun, Shao Xunmei, Ye Lingfeng, Eileen Chang). Besides literature, Shanghai was also the birthplace of Chinese cinema. China’s first short film, The Difficult Couple (Nanfu Nanqi, 1913), and the country’s first fictional feature film, Orphan Rescues Grandfather (Gu’er Jiuzu Ji, 1923) were both produced in Shanghai. These two films were very influential, and established Shanghai as the center of Chinese film-making. Shanghai’s film industry went on to blossom during the early Thirties, generating Marilyn Monroe like stars such as Zhou Xuan, who committed suicide in 1957. The talent and passion of Shanghainese filmmakers following World War II and the Communist Revolution contributed enormously to the development of the Hong Kong film industry.

Shanghainese people have been stereotyped by other Chinese (both urban and rural) as being pretentious, arrogant, and xenophobic; and at the same time admired for their meticulous attention to detail, faithfulness in contract, and professionalism. Nearly all registered Shanghainese residents are descendents of immigrants from the two small adjacent provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, regions that generally speak the same family of dialects as the Shanghainese, that is Wu Chinese. Much of pre-modern Shanghainese culture is an integration of cultural elements from these two regions. The Shanghainese dialect reflects this as well. Recent migrants into Shanghai, however, come from all over China and are usually Mandarin speakers. Rising crime rate, littering, harrassive panhandling, and overloading of basic infrastructure (mainly public transportation, schools) associated with the rise of these migrant populations (over 3 million new migrants in 2003 alone) have been generating some extent of ill will and xenophobia from the Shanghainese. The new Mandarin-speaking migrants are easy to spot by the Shanghainese, and are often targets of both intentional and unintentional discrimination. This further intensifies the misunderstandings and stereotypes between the Shanghainese and the Chinese outside of the Lower Yangtze basin.

One uniquely Shanghainese cultural element is the Shikumen residencies (longtang), which are characteristic two or three-storey black/gray brick structures cut across with a few decorative dark red stripes. Each residence is connected and arranged in straight alleys, with the entrance to each alley, the gate, wrapped by a stylistic stone arc (the name Shikumen is literally stone gate). The Shikumen residencies is a cultural blend of the elements found in Western architecture with traditional Lower Yangtze Chinese architecture and social behavior. All traditional Chinese dwellings had a courtyard, and the Shikumen was no exception. Yet, to compromise with its urban nature, it was much much smaller, and served mainly as a room without a roof, providing a "interior haven" to the commotions in the streets, allowing for raindrops to fall and vegetation to grow freely within a residence. The courtyard also allowed sunlight and adequate ventilation into the rooms. Before World War II, more than 80% of the population in the city lived in these kinds of dwellings.

Other Shanghainese cultural artifacts include the cheongsam, a modernization of the traditional Chinese/Manchurian qipao garment first appeared in 1910's in Shanghai. The cheongsam dress was slender with a high cut, and tight fitting. This contrasts sharply with the traditional qipao which was designed to conceal the figure and be worn regardless of age. The cheongsam went along well with the western overcoat and the scarf, and portrayed an unique East Asian modernity, epitomizing the Shanghainese population in general. As Western fashions changed, the basic cheongsam design changed, too, introducing high-necked sleeveless dresses, bell-like sleeves and, the black lace frothing at the hem of a ball gown. By the 1940s, cheongsams came in transparent black, beaded bodices, matching capes and even velvet. And later, checked fabrics became also quite common. The 1949 Communist Revolution ended the cheongsam and other fashions in Shanghai. However, the Shanghainese styles have seen a recent revival as stylish party dresses.

Much of the Shanghainese culture (Shanghainese Pops) were transferred to Hong Kong by the millions of Shanghainese emmigrants and refugees after the Communist Revolution. The movie In the Mood for Love directed by Wong Kar-wai (a native Shanghainese himself) depicts one slice of the displaced Shanghainese community in Hong Kong and the nostalgia for that era, featuring 1940's music by Zhou Xuan.

Cultural sites in Shanghai include:

The Bund
Shanghai Museum
Shanghai Grand Theater
Longhua Temple, largest temple in Shanghai, built during the Three Kingdoms period
Yuyuan Gardens
Jade Buddha Temple
Jing An Temple
Xujiahui Cathedral, largest Catholic cathedral in Shanghai
Dongjiadu Cathedral
She Shan Cathedral
The Orthodox Eastern Church
Xiaodaoyuan (Mini-Peach Orchard) Mosque
Songjiang Mosque
Ohel Rachel Synagogue
Lu Xun Memorial
Shikumen site of the First CPC Congress
Residence of Sun Yat-sen
Residence of Chiang Kai-shek
Shanghai residence of Qing Dynasty Viceroy and General Li Hongzhang
Ancient rivertowns of Zhujiajiao and Zhoushi on the outskirts of Shanghai

Misc.
The tallest structure in China, the distinctive Oriental Pearl Tower, is located in Shanghai. The Jin Mao tower located nearby is mainland China's tallest skyscraper, and ranks fourth after Sears Tower in the world.

Shanghai will be the host of Expo 2010, a world's fair.

Cities

Qingdao

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:49:24 -0700

Click here to find hotels in Qingdao

Qingdao (Traditional Chinese: 青島, Simplified Chinese: 青岛, Pinyin: Qingdao, Wade-Giles: Ch'ing-tao) is a port sub-provincial city in the Shandong province of China, located at the southern tip of the Shandong Peninsula, in Jiaozhou Bay, facing the Yellow Sea. The name of the port used to be romanised as Tsingtao.

Qingdao has seven urban districts and five county level cities under its jurisdiction. The total population adds up to 7 million.

The GDP per capita was ¥26961 (ca. US$3260) in 2003, ranked no. 32 among 659 Chinese cities.

History
The city became a German concession in 1897 and a major German naval base in the Far East. It was occupied by Japan in 1914, when Japan declared war on Germany during WWI. The city reverted to Chinese KMT rule in 1922, but was occupied by Japan again during the Second World War in 1938. After WWII, the KMT allowed Qingdao to serve as the headquarters of the Western Pacific Fleet of the US Navy. On June 2, 1949 Qingdao was taken by the Chinese Liberation Army. Today it features a significant number of Chinese military facilities.

Industrial
Qingdao is famous for the Tsingtao Brewery, which was founded in 1903 by German settlers, and produces Tsingtao beer, now the most famous beer in China.
Qingdao is strong in light industry. A large Korean population, partly associated with industry, has sprung up in and around the city.

Tourism
Qingdao is a major Chinese tourist destination due to its seaside setting and excellent weather. The shore is lined with parks, beaches and sculpture, as well as some unique architecture. Qingdao's other attractions include:
Zhanshan Temple

Cities

Nanjing

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:45:14 -0700

Click here to find hotels in Nanjing

Nanjing (南京, Pinyin: Nánjing, Wade-Giles: Nan-ching; Postal System Pinyin: Nanking) is the capital of Jiangsu Province of China.

Nanjing is one of the seven ancient capitals of China. Currently, it is the second most important city (after Shanghai) in eastern China. Its GDP per capita was ¥27128 (ca. US$3280) in 2003, ranked no. 31 among 659 Chinese cities.

History
Kingdom Chu established Jinlíng in this area in 333 BC.

The city has experienced numerous destructions and reconstructions.

At least three subsequent cities were constructed: Jiànkang of 229 AD (it met total annihilation at 589 AD and became farmland thereafter), a later Jinling built in 914, and the early Ming capital Nánjing constructed in 1366.

Nanjing was also capital of the Taiping rebellion in the mid-19th century.

After the Northern Expedition in 1928, the Kuomintang under Chiang Kai-Shek established Nanjing as the capital of China in opposition to a government in Beijing led by northern warlords and a alternate government in Wuhan led by Wang Jingwei. After the completion of the Northern Expedition in 1931, Chiang's government became the only recognized Chinese government.

The city fell to the Japanese in 1937 who massacred prisoners-of-war, refugees and its residents during the Battle of Nanjing (see Nanjing Massacre). Chiang moved his government to Chongqing City, and the Japanese established Nanjing as a puppet government under Wang Jingwei. After the end of World War II, Nanjing was reestablished as the capital of the Republic of China. In 1949, after the defeat of Chiang's forces on the Mainland, the capital of the People's Republic of China was established in Beijing. The Republic of China on Taiwan continues to recognize Nanjing as its "official" capital, while Taipei is deemed as only "temporary."

Cities

Nanchang

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:42:33 -0700

Nanchang (南昌) is a city in central PRC and is the capital of Jiangxi Province. The GDP per capita was ¥18388 (ca. US$2220) in 2003, ranked no. 81 among 659 Chinese cities.

History
In early Han Dynasty (201 BC), a city called Guan was constructed.

In 589 AD (Sui Dynasty), it was renamed Hongzhou, and eventually Nanchang.

In early Tang Dynasty (653 AD), Li Yuanying, the brother of the Emperor Taizong, constructed a building called Teng-Wang Ge.

In 675 AD, the twenty-five-year-old Wang Bo wrote the classic “Teng-Wang Ge Xu”. The building as well as the city became celebrated for Wang’s introduction article.

Nonetheless, the building experienced 28 cycles of destructions and reconstructions. In 1926, it was burned down for the last time. In 1989, Teng-Wang Ge was resurrected to a new height of 57 m, presumably according to the design of Song Dynasty.

Cities

Macau

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:40:23 -0700

Click here to find hotels in Macau

The Macau Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, shortened to Macau or Macao, is a small city-island on the southern coast of China. It is 70 km southwest of Hong Kong and 145 km from Guangzhou. It was the oldest European colony in China, dating back to the 16th century. The Portuguese government transferred sovereignty over Macau to the People's Republic of China in 1999 and is now run as a special administrative region of the PRC. Macanese speak Cantonese natively.

Besides historical colonial relics, the biggest attractions in Macau are the casinos. Though many forms of gambling are legal there, the most popular game is Pai Gow, a game played with Chinese dominoes. Gamblers from Hong Kong often take a one-day excursion to the city. Ferry service by hydrofoil between Hong Kong and Macau is available 24 hours a day, every day.

Names
The name "Macau" (澳門 Cantonese: Magau) is thought to be derived from "Mage Temple" (Cantonese: Magok), a still existing landmark built in 1448 dedicated to the goddess Matsu. The more popular Chinese name of Àomén means "Inlet Gates". The "gates" refer to two erect gate-like mountains of Nantai and Beitai. Macau is also known as Haojing'ao ("Trench-mirror Inlet"), Xiangshan'ao ("Frangrant-mountain Inlet"), and Liandao ("Lotus Island").
Macau is the official Portuguese spelling. Sometimes in English, Macao is used.

History
Macau was officially founded as a colony of Portugal in 1557 and recognized by the Chinese in 1670. Macau prospered as a port and was a subject of repeated attempts by the Dutch to conquer it in the 17th Century.

After the House of Braganza regained control of Portugal from the Spanish Habsburgs in 1640, Macau was granted the official title of Cidade do Nome de Deus, de Macau, Não há outra mais Leal (City of the Name of God, Macau, There is None More Loyal).

With Hong Kong established as a British Crown Colony, Macau declined as regional trading center as larger ships were drawn to the deep water port of Victoria Harbour.

After the leftist military coup of 1974, the now democratic Portuguese government was determined to free up all its overseas possesssions. In 1976, Lisbon redefined Macau as a Special Territory and granted it a large measure of administrative and economic independence. Following the example of the British, an agreement was made with the People's Republic of China to make Macau a special administrative region in 1999.

Politics
The chief executive is appointed by People's Republic of China's central government after selection by an election committee, whose members are nominated by corporate bodies. The chief executive appears before a cabinet, the Executive Council, of between 7 and 11 members. Edmund Ho, a community leader and banker, is the first China-appointed chief executive of the Macau SAR, having replaced General de Rocha Viera on December 20th 1999.

The legislative organ of the territory is the legislative Assembly, a 23-member body comprising eight directly elected members, eight appointed members representing functional constituencies and seven members appointed by the chief executive. The Legislative Assembly is responsible for general lawmaking. The city of Macau and the islands of Taipa and Coloane each have a municipal council.

The legal system is based largely on Portuguese law. The territory has its own independent judicial system, with a high court--the Court of Final Appeal (CFA). Judges are selected by a committee and appointed by the chief executive.

Subdivisions
Macau comprises two administrative subdivisions:

The Northern District: Macao proper
The Islands District: Taipa and Coloane

Geography
Macau comprises of a peninsula, and the islands of Taipa and Coloane.

The peninsula is formed by the Zhujiang (Pearl River) estuary on the east and the Xijiang (West River) on the west. It borders the Zhuhai Special Economic Zone in mainland China.

Macau has generally flat terrain resulting from extensive land reclamation, but numerous steep hills mark the original natural land mass. The Macau peninsula was originally an island, but gradually a connecting sandbar turned into a narrow isthmus. Land reclamation in the 17th century made Macau into a peninsula.

With a dense urban environment, Macau has no arable land, pastures, forest, or woodland. Because of this deficiency, Macau's people traditionally have looked to the sea for their livelihood.

Economy
Macau's economy is based largely on tourism, including gambling, and textile and fireworks manufacturing. Efforts to diversify have spawned other small industries, such as toys, artificial flowers, and electronics. The clothing industry has provided about three-fourths of export earnings, and the gambling industry is estimated to contribute more than 40% of GDP. More than 8 million tourists visited Macau in 2000. Although the recent growth in gambling and tourism has been driven primarily by mainland Chinese, tourists from Hong Kong remain the most numerous. Recently, gang violence, a dark spot on the economy, has declined somewhat, to the benefit of the tourism sector.

Demographics
Considered as a "dependency", Macau is the most densely populated of the countries/dependencies in the world.

Macau's population is 95% Chinese, primarily Cantonese and some Hakka, both from nearby Guangdong Province. The remainder are of Portuguese or mixed Chinese-Portuguese ancestry. The official languages are Portuguese and Mandarin Chinese, though the residents commonly speak Cantonese Chinese. English is spoken in tourist areas.

Cities

Luoyang

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:35:36 -0700

Luoyang (洛陽, pinyin: luò yáng) is a city in Henan province, China. Its GDP per capita was ¥13845 (ca. US$1670) in 2003, ranked no. 152 among 659 Chinese cities.

History
Located on the central plain of China, Luoyang is one of the seven ancient capitals of China.

The original city was constructed by Zhougong in the 11th century BC and, thus, named Chengzhou. It became the capital of Zhou Dynasty since 770 BC. The city was destroyed in a civil war in 510 BC and rebuilt the next year at the request of the king.

In 25 AD, Luoyang became the capital of Eastern Han Dynasty. Wei Dynasty and Jin Dynasty were also established in Luoyang. For several centuries, Luoyang was the gravity center of China. The end of Jin Dynasty, however, brought total destruction to the capital city.

In 68 AD, Bai-Ma Si, the first Buddhist Temple in China, was founded here. The temple still exists, albeit the architecture is of later origin, mainly from the 16th century.

In AD 493 the Northern Wei Dynasty moved its capital from Datong to Luoyang and started the construction of the artificial Longmen Caves. More than 30,000 Buddhist images from the time of this dynasty have been found in the caves.

Cultural Sites
The Longmen Grottoes were listed by the UNESCO among the World Heritage Sites in 2000. White Horse Temple is located across the river.Guanlin is a series of temples that have been built in honor of a hero of the Three Kingdoms period, Guan Yu.

Luoyang is also famous for a special soup diet called Shui Xi.

Cities

Lhasa

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:33:23 -0700

Lhasa, or Lasa (pop. 200,000) is the capital of the Tibetan Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, and was the historical capital of whole Tibet before 1950. Lhasa means place of the Gods. It is pronounced L'hássa or Läässa.

There are today more Han Chinese than Tibetans in Lhasa, mostly a result of deliberate PRC government policies.

The historic ensemble of the Potala Palace, in Lhasa, is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

A 670-mile-long Qinghai-Tibet railroad to Lhasa is currently under construction.

Cities

Lanzhou

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:32:16 -0700

Lanzhou (Traditional Chinese: 蘭州, Simplified Chinese: 兰州, Hanyu Pinyin: Lánzhou, Wade-Giles: Lan-chou, sometimes seen transliterated as Lanchow) is the capital of the Gansu province in China.

History
Early settlement in this region could be dated to Han Dynasty, when it was a major stop on the ancient Silk Road. To protect the city, the Great Wall was extended as far as Yumen.
After the fall of the Han Dynasty, Lanzhou became the capital of a succession of tribal states. Mixed with different cultural heritages, the area at present-day Gansu province, from the 5th to the 11th century, became a center for Buddhist study.

Contemporary Lanzhou was founded in 1656 (Qin Dynasty).

Lanzhou is famously one of the most polluted cities in China. The air quality is so poor that at times one cannot see Lanshan, the mountain rising straight up along the south side of the city. The city is located in a river valley with an unfortunate curve causing it to be hemmed in with no free air flow. Lanzhou also is the home of far too many factories including petroleum processing, and suffers from storms of dust kicked up from the Gobi Desert, especially in the winter and spring.

Geography
Area: 14,620 sq km
Elevation: 1600m above sea level
China's geographic center
More than 20km along urban corridor along the southern banks of the Yellow River.
Character of zonary basin
Mountains: the south and north
Qilian Ranges, Mt. Pingliang and Mt. Kongtong (the most famous in Taoism)
Rivers:
The Yellow River flows through from east to west.

Climate
The semi-dry climate is in the temperate zone.

Demographics
Population: 32 million
Urban Population: 1.2 million (2004- considered to be 2.5 million inside Lanzhou City)
Ethnic groups: Han, Hui, Tibetan, Bonan, Dongxiang, Yugur, and Salar

Economy
The GDP per capita was ¥15051 (ca. US$1820) in 2003, ranked no. 134 among 659 Chinese cities.

Natural resources
Mineral: coal, gold, silver, zinc, nickel, manganese, clay, and dolomite
waterpower

Industry
Gansu has one of the largest oil refineries in the country and is the center of China's atomic energy] industry.
Main Industries: textile mills, rubber, fertilizer plants, oil refinery, Petro-chemical, machinery, and metallurgical industry

Agriculture
spring wheat, vegetables, beans, oil-boiling, melon, peaches, and tobacco
roses and lilies

Transportation
Lanzhou is a rail, highway, and air hub and the junction point to remote Xinjiang in extreme NW China.
Airways: The airplane here can take you to more than 20 cities all over the country.
Railroad: Lanzhou is linked by rail to Beijing and to the Republic of Mongolia and Russia
Highways: on the highway to Tibet.
Lan-Xin railway: only railway leading into Xinjiang
See also: Trolleybus

Places of interest
Wuquan Mountain
Baita Mountain
Xinglong Mountain
Lutusi ancient government

Culture
Chinese drama/Chinese opera: Qinqiang Drama
Cuisine: Lanzhou beef noodles

Cities

Kunming

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:27:08 -0700

Kunming (ch. 昆明, Hanyu Pinyin: Kunmíng, Wade-Giles: K'un-ming) is the capital of Yunnan province, China. It is located at the northern edge of the massive Lake Dian and has a population of over four million.

Geography
Kunming is situated atop a 2 km plateau in Yunnan Province. It enjoys a protected location with mountains surrounding the city on three sides.

History
Early townships in the southern edge of Dianchi (outside the comtemporary city parameter) could be dated backed to 279 BC. These were long lost cities.

In 765 AD, Tuodong city was founded. It was renamed Kunming under the Mongol ruler (1276).

Marco Polo is thought to have traveled to this area in the 13th Century and wrote about his fascination.

In the 14th Century, Kunming was taken over by the Ming. The Ming had built a wall surrounding the city that is the present Kunming.

In the 19th Century, Kunming suffered at the hands of the Sultan of Dali. Decades later Kunming had begun to be influenced by the West.

Economy
The GDP per capita in 2003 was ¥6655 (ca. US$800), ranked no. 427 among 659 Chinese cities.

Cities

Kaohsiung

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:25:06 -0700

Kaohsiung (Chinese:高雄, pinyin: gao xióng) is the second largest city in Taiwan (population around 1.45m) with eleven districts, and the island's most significant port (the world's third largest container port after Hong Kong and Singapore). Like Taipei, Kaohsiung can refer to either the Kaohsiung City, which is administered directly by the central government of the Republic of China, or Kaohsiung County, which is administered as part of Taiwan Province.

Unlike Taipei, the streets of Kaohsiung are wide and traffic is less congested than in Taipei. However, the air pollution around Kaohsiung is notoriously bad because of the heavy industry in the area. Kaohsiung is the major port through which most of Taiwan's oil is imported which accounts for the large amount of heavy industry.

It is an export processing zone - producing aluminum, wood and paper products, fertilizers, cement, metals, machinery and ships. Its subway system, the Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit (KMRT), should be running in 2005.

The city grew up from a small village called in the 17th century Dagou, which was the name of a local tribe or "bamboo forest" in the local tribe's language. The Dutch established a fort there in 1624 but were expelled by the Chinese in 1661. Under Chinese control the area was named Wan-nien-chow in 1664. Following a further name change to Takao in the late 1670s the town grew dramatically with immigrants from mainland China. In 1684 Kaohsiung was renamed Fengshan County, and considered a part of Taiwan City. Kaohsiung was first opened as a port during the 1680s.

In 1895 Taiwan was ceded to Japan as part of the Treaty of Shimonoseki. The Japanese developed Kaohsiung, especially the harbour. Since Dagou (pronounced Takou by Japanese) -- which was usually written in Chinese and Japanese using the characters "punching dogs" -- is not considered elegant, in 1920, the Japanese changed the last vowel of the name, and it became Takayu, which is pronounced "Kao-hsiung" in Mandarin Chinese.

Kaohsiung was upgraded to a municipality on July 1, 1979, by Executive Yuan order on November 19, 1978. The famous-in-hindsight Kaohsiung Incident of December 1979 occurred in the city.

The Old City - Qi Jin, Gu Shan, Yen Cheng, Zuo Ying.
Downtown - Xin Xing, Chian Jin and Ling Ya.
The bits no-one visits - San Min, Nan Zi, Qian Zhen and Xiao Gang.

Cities

Kaifeng

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:23:17 -0700

Kaifeng (开封/開封, pinyin: kai feng) is a city in the Henan province of the People's Republic of China, located along the Huang He, 70 km from Zhengzhou, the provincial capital. Population: 4.3 million. The GDP per capita was ¥7906 (ca. US$960) in 2003, ranked no. 352 among 659 Chinese cities.

History
Kaifeng is one of the ancient capital of China.

In 364 BC, the state of Wei during the Warring States Period founded a city called Daliang as its capital in this area. But it has been abandoned after the destruction of Wei.

In 781 AD (Tang Dynasty), a new city was reconstructed and named Bian, which was expanded in 956 AD (Song Dynasty).

During the Song Dynasty, Kaifang was the capital with a population of over a million, living both inside and outside the city wall. Typhus was an acute problem of the city.

In 1049 AD, Youguosi Pagoda, or Iron Pagoda as we call it today, was constructed, which measures 54.7 m in height. It has survived the destruction of wars and floodings and become the oldest landmark in this ancient city. Another Song Dynasty pagoda, Bo Ta, from 974 AD, has been partially destroyed.

In 1642 AD, Kaifeng was flooded by the Ming army with the water from Yellow River to prevent the peasant rebel Li Zicheng from taking over. After this disaster, the city was abandoned again.

Under the celebrated Qing emperor Kangxi (1662 AD), Kaifeng was rebuilt. But another flooding occurred in 1841 AD, followed by another reconstruction in 1843 AD, which produced the contemporary Kaifeng as we know it.

Kaifeng is also known for having one of the last Jewish communities in China.

Cities

Jinan

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:20:52 -0700

Click here to find hotels in Jinan

Jinan (Simplified: 济南, Traditional: 濟南, Pinyin: Jì'nán) is the capital and a sub-provincial city of Shandong province in China. The GDP per capita was ¥25192 (US$3042) in 2003, ranked no. 38 among 659 Chinese cities.

The Huang He flows though the city.

Geography & History
Jinan is located in north of China, and surrounded by mountains. The earliest towns in this area could be dated to Shang Dynasty, although the city founded in the early 4th century is more plausibly the beginning of contemporary Jinan.

Tai Shan which is one of China's most respected mountain is about 50 km away from Jinan.

Qufu is the birthplace of Confucius.

Food in Jinan
Lu Cai (Lu cuisine) is China's No.1 Cuisine, but normally salty and oily for westerners.

Cities

Hong Kong

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:18:15 -0700

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The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, shortened as Hong Kong (??, pinyin: Xianggang, Cantonese: heung1 gong2, meaning Fragrant Harbour), is a special administrative region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China, consisting of a small peninsula attached to China's southern coast and 236 islands in the South China Sea, of which Hong Kong Island is the second largest and Lantau the largest.

Under the policy of the 'One Country, Two Systems', Hong Kong enjoys a considerable degree of autonomy from the Mainland, continues to have its own currency, customs and immigration, legal system, and even its own rule of the road, with traffic continuing to drive on the left.

History
Although it was occupied since at least as long ago as the Neolithic Age, the territory of today's Hong Kong remained distant from the major events unfolding in imperial China for most of its history. It did not begin attracting worldwide attention until the 19th century.

Occupied by the United Kingdom during the First Opium War in 1841, Hong Kong Island was formally ceded by China the following year under the Treaty of Nanking. Parts of the adjacent Kowloon Peninsula were ceded to Britain in 1860 by the Convention of Peking after the Second Opium War. Various adjacent lands, known as the New Territories were then leased to Britain for 99 years from July 1, 1898, the lease expiring on June 30, 1997.

Pursuant to an agreement signed by the PRC and the UK on December 19, 1984, the Sino-British Joint Declaration, the whole territory of Hong Kong under British colonial rule became the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the PRC on July 1, 1997.

In the Joint Declaration, the PRC promised that, under the "One Country, Two Systems" policy proposed by Deng Xiaoping, China's socialist economic system would not be practised in Hong Kong and that Hong Kong would enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all matters, except foreign affairs and defence, for 50 years, until 2047.

Politics
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is headed by Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa as head of government. Mr. Tung assumed office on July 1, 1997, following his election by a 400-member committee appointed by the People's Republic of China, whose president serves as head of state for the Hong Kong SAR. He was nominated by the majority of members of a broadly representative Election Committee in February 2002 and was returned unopposed for a second term which began in July 2002.

Legislative Council elections were held in May 1998 and again in September 2000. According to the Basic Law, Hong Kong's "Mini-constitution," the Legislative Council has 24 directly elected members; the other 30 members are either appointed or chosen by occupational constituencies, with six being elected by a special Election Committee.

The 1998 and 2000 Legislative Council elections were seen as free, open, and widely contested, despite discontent among mainly pro-democracy politicians that the functional constituencies and Election Committee elections are essentially undemocratic because so few voters are eligible to vote. The Civil Service maintains its quality and neutrality, operating without discernible direction from Beijing.

The Right of abode issue sparked debates in 1999, while the controversy over Hong Kong Basic Law Article 23 was the focus of politics in Hong Kong between 2002-2003.

Towards the end of 2003, the focus shifted to the dispute of how subsequent Chief Executive gets elected. The Basic Law's Article 45 says the eventual goal is universal suffrage; when and how to achieve that goal, however, remains highly controversial. Under the Basic Law, the earliest the constitution could be amended to allow for this is 2007. Democratic reform movements have caused repeated clashes with Beijing, with Beijing now claiming for veto power over any proposed reforms

Districts
Hong Kong consists of 18 districts:

Central and Western
Eastern
Islands
Kowloon City
Kwai Tsing
Kwun Tong
North District
Sai Kung
Sham Shui Po
Sha Tin
Southern
Tai Po
Tsuen Wan
Tuen Mun
Wan Chai
Wong Tai Sin
Yau Tsim Mong
Yuen Long

Geography
The name "Hong Kong" is derived from Hong Kong Island in the South China Sea, at the mouth of the Xi Jiang or Pearl River of southern China. Other territories that were later added include the Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories, which include over 200 surrounding islands. The landscape is fairly hilly to mountainous with steep slopes, with the highest point being the Tai Mo Shan at 958 m, though lowlands exist in the north.

Of the total of 1,092 km² of Hong Kong, only 25% are developed. The remaining 75% are set aside as a countryside and preservation area.

The local climate is that of a tropical monsoon clime. It is cool and humid in winter (Jan-Mar), hot and rainy from spring through summer (Apr-Sep), and warm,sunny and dry in the autumn (Oct - Dec). Hong Kong is visited by occasional typhoons. On September 18, 1906 a typhoon with tsunami killed an estimated 10,000 persons.

Economy
Hong Kong has a bustling free market economy highly dependent on international trade. Natural resources are limited, and food and raw materials must be imported. Indeed, imports and exports, including re-exports, each exceed GDP in dollar value. Even before Hong Kong reverted to Chinese administration on July 1, 1997 it had extensive trade and investment ties with the People's Republic of China. The service industry represented 86.5% of the GDP in 2001, and the territory, with a highly sophisticated banking sector, has housed the Asian headquarters of many multinational corporations in recent decades.

Per capita GDP compares with the level in the four big economies of Western Europe. GDP growth averaged a strong 5% in 1989-1997. The widespread Asian economic difficulties in 1998 hit this trade-dependent economy quite hard, with GDP down 5%. The economy, with growth of 10% in 2000, recovered rapidly from the Asian financial crisis. The recent global downturn has badly hurt Hong Kong's exports and GDP growth was 2.3% in 2002.

The main airport, Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), is located on a partly artificial island connected to Lantau Island. The airport is often called Chek Lap Kok Airport, after one of the islands it was built on. HKIA is the replacement for the older Kai Tak Airport, which was known for its spectacular urban approach. Kai Tak was retired after Chek Lap Kok was built and now serves as an recreational venue and has been earmarked for housing development.

In early 2003, the local economy was hit hard by the outbreak of Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). On June 29, 2003, the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) was signed. CEPA allows Hong Kong service providers in 18 areas to enter the mainland market at least one year ahead of their foreign competitors. The arrangement provides a platform for Hong Kong professionals to practice on the mainland and also allows Hong Kong permanent residents to set up individually owned retail stores in Guangdong Province. Experts suggest the administrations of the mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan should join hands to capitalize on the opportunities provided by CEPA.

On July 28, 2003, the Individual Visit Scheme was started to allow travellers from some cities in mainland China to visit Hong Kong on an individual basis. As a result, the tourism industry in Hong Kong is booming once again.

On April 6, 2004, the National People's Congress endorsed the Interpretation on Annex I and II of the Basic Law. Such intrepretation was regarded as obstacles to the democratic development of Hong Kong by Pan-Democratics. Pan-governments, however, praised the intrepreation, insisting that it fully shows the implementation of 'One-Country, Two-Systems' policy. See also: Hang Seng Index, List of Chinese companies

Demographics
Hong Kong is by population the fourth largest metropolitan area of the PRC (see List of cities in China). Considered as a "dependency", Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated countries/dependencies in the world, with an overall density of nearly 6,700 people per km².

Despite the population density, Hong Kong was reported to be one of the greenest cities in Asia. The majority of people live in flats in high-rise buildings. The rest of the open spaces are often covered with parks, woods and shrubs. The vertical placement of the population explains why densely populated, green city is not an oxymoronic phrase.

Cantonese, the Chinese dialect used in Hong Kong government matters, is spoken by most of the population. English, also an official language, is widely understood; it is spoken by more than one-third of the population. Every major religion is practiced in Hong Kong; ancestor worship is predominant due to the strong Confucian influence, whereas Christianity is practised by a minority of 10%.

Cities

Hohhot

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:14:04 -0700

Hohhot (呼和浩特 Pinyin: Huhéhàotè), occasionally spelled Huhehot, is the capital city of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China.

Population: 683,200 (1994)
Area: __ km²
Abbreviation: Hu City (Hu-shi)
GDP per capita: ¥11789 (ca. US$1420) in 2003, ranked no. 201 among 659 Chinese cities.
The name "Hohhot" is Mongolian for "a green city".

History
Until 1954, Hohhot had been called in China as Guisui (Guisui), or Kweisui, which is the acronym of the two districts of the city:
Guihua: Southeastern old section, business district, established as a town in the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty
Suiyuan: Northeastern "New Town", government district. Established in the 17th century by the Manchus.
The two sections later became Guihua District of the Qing Empire, renamed to Guisui County in 1913, and upgraded to a city in 1950.

It was the capital of the defunct Suiyuan Province.

Geography
Located in the southern central part of Inner Mongolia.

Administration
9 county-level banners, 20 street offices, 96 townships.

Demographics
11% Mongols, rest is mostly Han, with Korean, Hui, and Manchu minority.

Culture
Inner Mongolian University is in Hohhot.

Artifacts
There are over 50 sets of murals in southeastern Hohhot, including a "Horse-tending Image". Over 50 pre-modern Buddhist temples and towers.
Cemetery of Zhaojun dates back to the Han Dynasty.

Cities

Hefei

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:10:25 -0700

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Hefei (合肥 pinyin Héféi) is the capital of Anhui Province of China. Formerly translated Hofei using the Wade-Giles system. Population: 772,000. Area: 120 km². The GDP per capita was ¥ 17770 (ca. € 1800, US$ 2150) in 2003, ranked no. 91 among 659 Chinese cities.

History
The city was known as Luzhou (pinyin Lúzhou) during theMing and Qing Dynasties.

A famous Three Kingdoms battle was fought at what is currently Xiaoyao Jin (pinyin Xiaoyáo Jin) in Hefei. General Zhang Liao of the Kingdom of Wei (Wèi) commanding 7,000 picked cavalry defeated the 100,000-men army of Kingdom of Wu (Wú).

Geography
Hefei is located 130 km west of Nanjing.

Hefei's annual average temperature is about 15.7°C. Its annual precipitation is about 1000 mm.

Chaohu Lake, a lake 15 km southeast of the city, is one of the largest freshwater lakes in China. However, the lake has unfortuneatly been polluted with nitrogen and phosphor in recent decades.

Economy
Before the Chinese civil war Hefei was a town whose industry was predominantly agricultural. Soon after the founding of the People's Republic, the capital of Anhui was moved from Anqing to Hefei. To help development of the city, many talents were sent from other parts of the country. Modern day Hefei has among others machinery, electronics, chemistry, steel, textile, and cigarette industries.

Demographics
The majority of the population in Hefei is Han Chinese. There is a small minority of Hui Chinese living in the city.

Sites of Interest
Xiaoyao Jin was the site of the battle mentioned above. The location is currently a public park
The Temple of Lord Bao is located near the city centre. It was built in 1066 close to the tomb of Lord Bao.

Cities

Harbin

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:06:45 -0700

Harbin (Simplified: 哈尔滨, Traditional: 哈爾濱, pinyin: ha'erbin, Russian Kharbin) is a sub-provincial city in north-east China and the capital of the Heilongjiang Province. It lies on the southern bank of Songhua River.

City seat: Daoli District
Population: 9,410,000 (as of 2001)
Area: 53775 km², 1637 km² urban
Geographic coordinates: 125°42'-130°10' east, 44°04'-46°40' N
GDP per capita: ¥18244 (ca. US$2200) in 2003, ranked no. 84 among 659 Chinese cities.
Mayor: Shi Zhongxin: since 2002
Harbin bears the nickname "The Pearl on the swan's neck" because the shape of Heilongjiang resembles a swan.

Subdivisions
7 districts:
Daoli
Nangang
Dongli
Pingfang
Xiangfang
Taiping
Daowai

4 county-level cities:
Acheng
Shangzhi
Shuangcheng
Wuchang

8 counties:
Hulan
Zhengfang
Bing
Yilan
Bayan
Tonghe
Mulan
Yanshou

History
Human settlement in the Harbin area dates from at least 2200 BC (late Stone Age). It is formerly Pinkiang.
The modern city of Harbin originated in 1898 with the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway by Russia. In December 1918, during the Russian Civil War, Russian White Guards, with Chinese assistance, took the city: it then became a major centre of White Russian émigrés.

Japanese troops occupied Harbin from February 4, 1932. The Soviet Army took the city on 20 August 1945. After a period under the control of the Kuomintang, the city came into the hands of the Chinese People's Liberation Army in April 1946.

The eight Harbin counties originally formed part of Songhuajiang Prefecture, and became incorporated into Harbin on August 11, 1999, making Harbin a prefecture-level city.

Cities

Hangzhou

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 10:48:23 -0700

Hangzhou (杭州; pinyin: Hángzhou) is a sub-provincial city in China, and the capital of Zhejiang province. Located 180 km southwest of Shanghai, the population in the city proper is now 1.75 million.

In China, the city is well known for its beautiful scenery, with the West Lake (Xi Hu) as the most noteworthy location.

Hangzhou is located at the southern end of the Grand Canal of China.

Administration
13 cities, counties and districts at county level are under the direct jurisdiction of Hangzhou:

Cities: Xiaoshan, Yuhang, Fuyang, Jiande, Lin'an
Counties: Tonglu, Chun'an
Districts: Shangcheng, Xiacheng, Xihu, Gongshu, Jianggan, Bingjiang

History
The celebrated Neolithic culture of Hemudu was discovered in this area seven thousands years ago, when rice was first cultivated in southeastern China.

The city of Hangzhou was founded about 2,200 years ago during the Qin Dynasty. It is one of the seven ancient capitals of China. But the city wall was not constructed until Sui Dynasty (591 AD). It was the capital of the Wu Yue Kingdom for more than 200 years, during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period.

The oldest Buddhist temple in the city is believed to be Lingyin Si, which, like most of the other landmarks in this city, has gone through numerous destruction and reconstruction cycle. The contemporary building was finished in 1910 AD.

Hangzhou was a capital of the Southern Song Dynasty with the population of over 1.5 million, a center of trade and entertainment and a home to the main branches of the civil service. During that time, the city was the gravity centre of Chinese civilization as what used to be considered the "central China" in the north was taken by Jin, a dynasty of an ethnic minority. Numerous philosophers, politicians, and literature men including some of the most celebrated poets in Chinese history including Su Shi, Lu You, and Xin Qiji came here to live and die.

In 970 AD, the Liu-He Pagoda was first constructed on the north shore of Qiantang River, towering over 100 meters in height. It collapsed in 1121 AD, and was reconstructed in 1156 AD to a more sustainable height of 60 m.

In 1089 AD, Su Shi constructed a 2.8-km long dike across the West Lake, which Qing Emperor Qianlong considered particularly attractive in the early morning of the spring time. The lake, which itself is artificial, is largely surrounded by mountains. The Baoshi Pagoda sits on one of these hills to the north.

Yue-Wang Miao near the West Lake was originally constructed in 1221 in memory of General Yue Fei, who lost his life due to political persecution.

The city used to be a port until the middle Ming Dynasty when its harbor was slowly silted up by sediments. And Hangzhou was liberated by Chiang Kai-shek during the 1911 revolution which overthrew the Qing Dynasty, China's last dynasty's rule. It is still the southern-most port of the Grand Canal.

Economy
Hangzhou's industries have traditionally been textile, silk and machinery, but electronics and other light industries are developing, especially since the start of the new open economy in 1992.

Tea is produced on the outskirts of town at Long Jin or Dragon's Well. It is the only remaining place where tea is still baked by hand and is said to produce the finest green tea in all of China.

The GDP per capita was ¥38247 (ca. US$4620), ranked no 10 among 659 Chinese cities.

Cities

Haikou

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 10:45:07 -0700

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Haikou is the capital of China's Hainan Province.

The GDP per capita was ¥23920 (ca. US$2890) in 2003, ranked no. 43 among 659 Chinese cities.

Cities

Guiyang

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 10:43:36 -0700

Typically known as the "Forest City", Guiyang is the capital of Guizhou province in The People's Republic of China.

Location
Guiyang is located in central Guizhou province, situated at the east of Yungui Plateau of China, and on the north bank of the Nanming River - a branch of Wujiang River.

Climate
Guiyang is typically characterized as having a subtropical monsoon climate; four seasons not so clearly seen; without cold winter and hot summer; temperate and humid.

History
The city was constructed in 1283 AD during Yuan Dynasty. It was originally called Shunyuan, meaning obeying the Yuan (the Mongol rulers).

Economy
Guiyang is the central economic and commercial hub of Guizhou Province. The GDP per capita was ¥11728 (ca. US$1420) in 2003, ranked no. 206 among 659 Chinese cities.

Cities

Guilin

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 10:41:39 -0700

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Guilin (桂林 pinyin: Guìlín; Postal Pinyin: Gweilin) is one of China's most picturesque cities, situated northeast of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China on the west bank of the Li River.

History
190,000,000 years ago, the area around present-day Guilin was water, part of an ancient sea. Due to the movement of the Earth's crust, the sea floor eventually rose and became dry land.

In 314 BC, a small settlement was established along the banks of the Li River.

In 111 BC, during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Shi An County was established, which could be regarded as the beginning of the city.

In 507 AD, the town was renamed Guizhou.

Guilin prospered in the Tang and Song Dynasties but remained a county. The city was also a nexus between the central government and the southwest border, and it was where regular armies were placed to guard that border. Canals were built through the city so that food supplies could be directly transported from the food-productive Yangzi plain to the farthest southwestern point of the empire.

During the Ming Dynasty, Guilin became the capital of Guangxi, due to its immense role in the province.

In 1914, Nanning, another center of the province and a heroic city with more than 1,600 years of history, replaced Guilin as the provincial capital.

In 1921, Guilin became one of the headquarters of the Northern Expeditionary Army led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen.

In 1940, the city acquired its present name.

In 1981, this ancient city was listed by the State Council as one of the four cities (the other three being Beijing, Hangzhou and Suzhou) where the protection of historical and cultural heritage, as well as natural scenery, should be treated as a priority project.

Neighboring Provinces
Yunnan, Guizhou, Hunan and Guangdong

Physical Setting
Area: 27,809 sq km
Subtropical region
Typical karst formation
Mountains: Diecai Hill, Elephant Trunk Hill, Seven-Star Cave, Wave-Subduing Hill, Lipu Mountain and Yaoshan Mountain
Rivers: Li River

People
Population: 1.34 million
Urban population: 600,000
Ethnic groups: Zhuang, Yao, Hui, Miao, Han and Dong

Climate
Damp monsoon climate
Warm and rainy
Plenty of sunshine and clear division of the four seasons
Average temperature: 19°C annually

Economy
The GDP per capita was ¥15775 (ca. US$1910) in 2003, ranked no. 125 among 659 Chinese cities.

Local industry: pharmaceutical goods, tires, machinery, fertilizer, silk, perfume, wine, tea, cinnamon, herbal medicine

Local produces: Shatian Pomelo, summer orange, fructus momordicae, gingko, moon persimmon, Lipu Tara, Sanhua Alcohol, pepper sauce, fermented bean curd, Guilin Rice Noodle, water chestnut, grain, fish and dried bean milk cream in tight rolls

Attractions
There are more than 30 noted scenic spots within the boundaries of Guilin Peak.

Seven-Star Cave and Ludi (Reed-Flute) Cave
Camel Mountain and Elephant Trunk Hill
Piled Festoon Hill
Crescent Hill
Fubo Hill
Nanxi Hill
Erlang Gorge
Huangbu (Yellow Cloth) Beach
Moon Hill
See also: The most famous 24 Guilin scenic spots

Quotes
"I often sent pictures of the hills of Guilin which I painted to friends back home, but few believed what they saw."
- Fan Chengda (Chinese Song Dynasty scholar)
"Guilin’s scenery bests all others in the world." - popular Chinese saying

Cities

Guangzhou

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 10:36:38 -0700

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Guangzhou (Traditional Chinese: 廣州, Simplified Chinese: 广州, pinyin: Guangzhou, Wade-Giles: Kuang-chou) is the capital of the Guangdong Province in southern China. It was formerly known as Canton or Kwangtung (named after the province).

The Chinese abbreviation of Guangzhou is Yue (TC: 廣州; SC: 广州; pinyin: yuè), like Guangdong Province. Population (1999): city: 6.85 million; urban population: 4.05 million.

Administration
Guangzhou has direct jurisdiction over twelve districts: Yuexiu, Dongshan, Liwan, Haizhu, Tianhe, Baiyun, Huangpu, Fangcun, Huadu, Conghua, Zengcheng, Panyu.

History
It is believed that the first city was built in 214 BC, named Fanyu and have had a continuous occupation since that time.

In 206 BC, it became the capital of Kingdom Nanyue, and the city was expanded.

Han Dynasty annexed Nanyue in 111 BC, and Fanyu became a provincial capital and remains so until this day.

Fanyu was renamed Guangzhou in 226 AD.

Guangzhou was sacked by Arabs and Persians in AD 758, based on a local Guangzhou government report on October 30, 758, which corresponded to the day of Guisi of the ninth lunar month in the first year of the Qianyuan era of Emperor Suzong of Tang Dynasty.

During Song Dynasty, Su Shi, a celebrated poet, visited Baozhuangyan Temple (founded in 537 AD), and left his hand-writing "liu rong" (six banyan trees) to the temple, so the name "Liu Rong Temple".

In 1711, the British East India Company established a trading post in Guangzhou.

Guangzhou was one of the five Chinese treaty ports opened by the Treaty of Nanjing (signed in 1842) at the end of the First Opium War between United Kingdom and China. The other ports were Fuzhou, Xiamen, Ningbo and Shanghai.

Geography
Guangzhou is located at 112°57'E to 114°3'E and 22°26'N to 23°56'N. The Municipality is part of the Pearl River Delta.

Economy
The Pearl River Delta is one of mainland China's leading economic regions and a massive manufacturing centre.

Guangzhou's main airport is Baiyun International Airport, a hub for China Southern Airlines.

The GDP per capita was ¥38568 (ca. US$4660) in 2003, ranked no. 8 among 659 Chinese cities.

Touristic highlights
Shamian Island
Museum of the Tomb of the King of Southern Yue in Western Han Dynasty
Temple of the Six Banyan Trees
Shishi Holy Heart Cathedral

Cities

Fuzhou

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 10:31:58 -0700

Fuzhou (福州, Hanyu Pinyin: Fúzhou, Wade-Giles: Fu-chou, also seen as Foochow or Fuchow) is a city on the coast of China, the largest city in and capital of Fujian province.

Its GDP was ¥31582 (ca. US$3800) per capita in 2003, ranked no. 21 among 659 Chinese cities.

History
The exact foundation date of this city is not known.

When Yue to the north of Fujian was annexed by Chu in 306 BC, a branch of the royal family of the defeated Yue fled Fujian and became the Minyue tribe.

The first city wall of Fuzhou was built in 202 BC when Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty, gave permission to Wuzhu, the king of Minyue, to set up his capital in Fuzhou. And the city was named Ye, meaning "The Beautiful". The name has changed many times, but the city has been continuously occuppied since 202 BC and has never suffered major destruction by wars or natural disasters.

The Minyue was annexed by Han in 110 BC and became a part of China, and Fuzhou became Ye County.

During the Jin Dynasty, West Lake, East Lake (now silted up) and numerous canals in the city were constructed (282 AD).

When the Jin Dynasty collapsed, the first wave of immigrants of the gentile class arrived in Fujian (308 AD).

During Tang Dynasty (725 AD), it started to be called Fuzhou.

More immigrants arrived from the north in 892 BC when the grand Tang Dynasty collapsed. The Wang family managed to established a kingdom called Min (909 - 947 AD) with its capital in Fuzhou. Min is still used as another name for the province of Fujian, in names of dialects such as minnan, and the river that runs through Fuzhou is called Min Jiang.

New city walls were built in 282 AD, 901 AD, 905 AD, and 974 AD, so the city had many layers of walls - more than the Chinese capital!

The emperor of the Song Dynasty ordered destruction of all the walls in Fuzhou in 978 AD but new walls were rebuilt later (the latest wall was built in 1371 AD).

During the Southern Song Dynasty, Fuzhou became more prosperous; many scholars came here to live and work. Among them were Zhu Xi, the most celebrated Chinese philosopher after Confucius, and Xin Qiji, the greatest composer of ci (a specialized form of poem). After them came Marco Polo, who transcribed the placename in Italian as Fugiu according to the local dialect.

Hualin Temple in the original Ye city, which has been declared a national heritage site, was built in 964 AD according to the document, but was Carbon-dated to the 4th or 5th century AD. It is probably the oldest existing wooden structure in China.

Between 1405 and 1433 AD, the Chinese (Ming) navy fleet, led by Zheng He, sailed from Fuzhou to the Indian Ocean seven times; on three occasions the fleet landed in the East coast of Africa. Before the last sailing, Zheng erected a stele dedicated to Goddess Tian-Fei near the seaport.

Recent research 1421 suggests that Zheng He's fleets explored much more widely than has traditionally been believed, reaching both coasts of North and South America and also Australia and New Zealand.

In the 19th century, Lin Zexu, a native of Fuzhou, led an unsuccessful attempt to resist the British fleet at Canton Bay, and Lin was exiled to the Russian border. At the end of the First Opium War, Fuzhou became one of the five Chinese treaty ports opened by the Treaty of Nanjing (signed in 1842).

On November 8, 1911, revolutionaries staged an uprising in Fuzhou. After an overnight street battle, the Qing (Manchu) army surrendered.

On November 22, 1933, the leaders of the 19th army set up a short-lived Republic of China in Fuzhou (compare the name to Jiang’s “Republic of China”, which literally means “People’s State of China”); it collapsed in two months.

Tourism
West Lake (an artificial lake built in 282 AD)
Hualin Temple (founding date uncertain)
Dizang Temple (founded in 527 AD)
Xichan Temple (founded in 867 AD)
Wu Ta (Black Pagoda) (originally built in 799 AD, rebuilt in 936 AD)
Bai Ta (White Pagoda) (originally built in 905 AD, 67 m in height, collapsed in 1534 AD, rebuilt in 1548 AD, 41 m in height)
Yongquan Temple (founded in 915 AD)

Cities

Dunhuang

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 10:27:34 -0700

Dunhuang (敦煌) is a city located in an oasis in the Gansu province, China. Its population is 100,000.

It is located near the historic junction of the northern and southern Silk Roads, and was therefore a town of military importance.

For centuries Buddhist monks at Dunhuang collected scriptures from the west, and many pilgrims passed through the area, painting murals inside the Mogao Caves. Today, the site is an important tourist attraction and the subject of an ongoing archaeological project.

Rocked by waves of invasion, Dunhuang has previously been independent, as well as being ruled by both Tibet and China.

Dunhuang was made a prefecture in 117 BC by Emperor Han Wudi, and was a major point of interchange between China and the outside world during the Han and Tang dynasties.

Other neighboring attractions include:

Crescent Lake
Echoing-Sand Mountain (Mingsha Shan)

Cities

Datong

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 10:25:59 -0700

Datong (大同, Pinyin: Dàtóng) is a city in the northern Shanxi Province in China.

History
The town was founded in 200 BC during Han Dynasty and was called Pingcheng (平城, Pinyin: Píngchéng). It was sacked at the end of Eastern Han Dynasty.

Pingcheng became the capital of Northern Wei from 398 AD until 494 AD. The famous Yungang Grottoes was constructed in the later part of this period (460 - 494 AD).

The city was renamed Datong in 1048 AD.

The city was sacked again at the end of Ming Dynasty (1649 AD) but promptly rebuilt in 1652 AD.

Economy
The GDP per capita was ¥10550 (ca. US$1270) in 2003, ranked no. 242 among 659 Chinese cities.

Cities

Dalian

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 10:23:20 -0700

Dalian (Traditional Chinese: 大連, Simplified Chinese: 大连, Hanyu Pinyin: Dàlián, Wade-Giles: Ta-lien), formerly Lüda or Luta, is an ice-free seaport city in eastern Liaoning Province of the Northeastern People's Republic of China (Manchuria). It is west of the Yellow Sea (Korea Bay) and east of Bohai Sea. With a coastline of 1,906 km, it governs the southernmost Liaodong Peninsula and about 260 surrounding islands and reefs.

Area: 13,237 km² (land 12,573.85)
Population: 5,550,000 (2001)
Geographic coordinate: 120°58'-123°31' East, 38°43'-40°10' North
Capital: Xigang
One of the most heavily developed industrial areas of China, Dalian today consists of Dalian proper and the smaller Lushun (Port Arthur), formerly a city in its own right as well.

History
Part of the State of Yan in the Spring and Autumn Period, Dalian became a small town in the 1880s, when the Qing Empire established bridges, cannon platforms and camps there. Named after the Dalianwan Bay of the Yellow Sea northeast of the peninsula, it was officially called Dalian in 1899, and the term was first used in October 1879 by Li Hongzhang in a document.

Dalian of south Pulandian was occupied by the British in 1858, returned to the Chinese in the 1880s, and then occupied by Japan in 1895 during the first Sino-Japanese War. From 1898-1905, it was occupied by the Russians and renamed Dalny (Qingniwaqiao of Zhongshan District, Dalian) and Port Arthur (Lüshun). After the Russo-Japanese war Port Arthur was conceded to Japan (Treaty of Portsmouth), who held it from February 5, 1905-1937. In 1937, the modern Dalian City was enlarged and modernized by the Japanese as two cities: the northern Dairen (Dalian) and the southern Ryojun (Lushun). It was was part of the Japanese Manchukuo puppet state.

After World War II, Dalian was returned to Soviet-Chinese control (see Yalta Conference), and was returned to full Chinese control in 1955, although the first communist Chinese mayor of the new Lüda Administrative Office was elected in 1945. Lüda is the acronym of Lüshun and Dalian. Because of the sudden closure of many Japanese businesses, many Dalian residents were out of work for a while.

On December 1, 1950, Lüda was made into a city again. From March 12, 1953 to August 1, 1954, it became a municipality. The city's name was changed from Lüda to Dalian on March 5, 1981, after the State Council approved it on February 9. It was upgraded from a prefecture-level city to a sub-provincial city in 1994, with no change in its administrative subdivisions.

Subdivisions
The city contains 6 districts, 3 county-level cities, and 1 county:

New Jinzhou District is a section Jinzhou District under development and is technically not an administrative district, although it is at district-level.
Ganjingzi, Zhongshan, Xigang, Shahekou make up the urban centre. Changhai County is made up entirely of islands east of the peninsula. There are 74 sub-districts and 127 town/townships (11 of which are ethnic). (see Political divisions of China#Levels)

There are, in addition, 4 national leading open zones:

The Development Zone
The Free Trade Zone
The Hi-Tech Industrial Zone
The Golden Pebble Beach National Holiday Resort

Economy
A new harbor for oil tankers, at the terminus of an oil pipeline from the Daqing oilfields, was completed in 1976. Dalian is the largest petroleum port in China, and also the 3rd largest port overall. Accordingly, Dalian is a major center for oil refineries, diesel engineering, and chemical production.

Dalian has been given many benefits by the Chinese government, including the title of "open-city," (1984) which allows it consiberable foreign investment (see Special economic zone).

Cultural Life
Every September Dalian hosts the Dalian International Fashion Festival. This festival is a chance for many major foreign companies to showcase their new products and sign up buyers. Before the festival, the city holds an opening ceremony attended by government officials as well as famous stars of the entertainment world.

Dalian is the home of three zoological parks: Dalian Forest Zoo, Shengya Ocean World, and Polar World. The Forest Zoo has a free-range animal section as well as a more traditional zoo. Shengya Ocean World includes an underwater conveyor through a transparent tunnel. Polar World is the only park devoted to polar animals in China.

Miscellaneous
Dalian is considered a "model city" from which other urban planning in China is to be inspired from.

Dalian is a sister city of Le Havre, France and of Glasgow, Scotland.

Cities

Chongqing

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 10:18:26 -0700

Click here to find hotels in Chongqing

Chongqing (重慶/重庆; pinyin: Chóngqìng; Wade-Giles: Ch'ung-ch'ing; Postal System Pinyin: Chungking) is the largest and most populous of the People's Republic of China's four municipalities, which have provincial-level status. It is the only municipality in west of the densely populated eastern half of China. The placename literally means "Double Celebration".

The municipal abbreviation, Yu, was approved by the State Council on April 18, 1997. Yu had previously been used by the Kuomintang. It is the old name of a part of the Jialing River that runs through Chongqing with the Yangtze.

The city centre consists of the districts of Jiangbei, Shapingba, Jiulongpo, Dadukou, and Yuzhong.

History
Chongqing is said to be the semi-mythical State of Ba that began in 11th century BC, when the Ba people began living here until they were destroyed by the State of Qin in 316 BC. The Qin emperor ordered a new city to be constructed, called Jiang and Chu Prefecture.
In 581 AD (Sui Dynasty), Chongqing was renamed to Yu Prefecture.

In 1102, the city was renamed Gong Prefecture.

In 1189, when Prince Zhao Dun of the Southern Song Dynasty was first made a king then coronated as Emperor Guangzong, he commented that it was "double/repeated happy celebration", so renamed Yu Prefecture to Chongqing Subprefecture.

In 1362 (Yuan Dynasty), Ming Yuzhen, a peasant rebel leader, established Daxia Kingdom at Chongqing for a short time.

In 1621, another short-lived kingdom of Daliang was established there.

In 1891, Chongqing became the first inland commerce port open to foreigners.

Since 1929, Chongqing was a municipality of the Republic of China. Chongqing was the provisional capital of the government of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek during World War II (Second Chinese-Japanese War).

In 1954, the municipality was reduced to a provincial city of the People's Republic.

For three years, Chongqing had been a sub-provincial city of Sichuan Province, until March 14, 1997, as decided in the Eighth National People's Congress, the original Chongqing City was merged with the neighbouring Fuling, Wanxian, and Qianjiang that had been governed by Chongqing City on behalf of the province since September of the previous year. These four prefecture-level entities were all abolished as distinct administrative divisions and formed one new Chongqing Municipality that contained 30,020,000 people in their 43 former counties (without intermediate political levels). The first official ceremony took place on June 18 of that year.

In March 14, 1997, the original Chongqing City was promoted to the status of Municipality. The municipality was formed to spearhead China's effort to develop its western regions as well as to coordinate the resettlement of refugees from the Three Gorges Dam project.

Subdivisions
The municipality is divided in to 40 county-level subdivisions (3 were abolished since 1997): 15 districts, 4 county-level cities, and 21 counties.

Geography
Geographic coordinates: 105°17'-110°11' East, 28°10'?32°13' North
Annual average temperature: 18°C
Temperature range: 6-29°C
Total annual daylight hours: 1000-1200
Annual precipitation: 1000-1400 mm
Neighbours: Hubei (east), Hunan (east), Guizhou (south), Sichuan (west), Shaanxi (north)
Located on edge of Tibetan Plateau, Chongqing is dissected by the Jialing River and the upper reaches of the Yangtze. It contains Daba Mountain in the north, Wu Mountain in the east, Wuling Mountain in the southeast, and Dalou Mountain to the south.

Economy
Chongqing is planned to be the beachhead for the development of the western part of the country. Massive public works are currently under way in the city.
The GDP per capita was ¥9038 (ca. US$1090) in 2003, ranked no. 303 among 659 Chinese cities.

Cities

Chengdu

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 10:14:11 -0700

Chengdu (成都, Hanyu Pinyin: Chéngdu, Wade-Giles: Ch'eng-tu) is the capital of Sichuan province and a sub-provincial city, located in southwest China, and bordering Tibet. Its exact location is between 102º54' - 104º53' east longitude and 30º5' - 31º26' north latitude.

Chengdu has a population of 9.9 million and an area of 12,300 square kilometers. The GDP per capita was ¥20111 (ca. US$2430) in 2003, ranked no. 58 among 659 Chinese cities.

History
More than four thousand years ago, the prehistorical Bronze Age culture of Sànxingdui (4800-3100 BP) established itself in this region. Zizhu city (Zizhú Chéng) was one of the early settlement. Some believe that this culture is related to the BA culture of West Asia.

In the early 4th century BC, the king of the ancient Shu moved his capital to the city's current location. Classic history recorded King of Shu's move as "it took a year to become a town; it took 2 years to become a capital". Following this, king of Shu named the new city as "Cheng Du", which means "become a capital" (In Chinese, word "cheng" means "become", "du" means "capital").

After the conquer of Shu by Qin Dynasty in 316 BC, a new city was founded by the Qin general Zhang Yi, which marked the beginning of contemporary Chengdu. It was renamed Yì Zhou duirng Han Dynasty.

Liu Bei founded the kingdom of Shuhàn (220-263) in this city.

During Tang Dynasty, both the "Poet-God" Li Bó and the "Poet-Sage" Dù Fu spent some part of their lives in Chengdu. Dù Fu constructed the celebrated "Caotáng" (grass-hut) in the second year of his four year stay (759-762). But today's Caotáng, a rather sumptuous house in the traditional style, was initially constructed in 1078 in memory of Dù Fu.

Chengdu was the birthplace of the first widely used paper money in the world (Northern Song Dynasty, around A.D. 960).

Two more rebel leaders, one around the end of Song Dynasty, the other near the end of Ming Dynasty, set up the capitals of their short-lived kingdoms here, called Dàshu and Dàxi, respectively.

Alias
The Brocade City (Jin Chéng, 博科市)
In Western Han Dynasty (206 BC- AD 23), brocade produced in Chengdu enjoyed great popularity among the royal and elite class in China. Emperor installed Jin-Guan (an official in charge of brocade production) to oversee brocade production in Chengdu. Since then, Chengdu has been called "Jin-Guan Cheng" (Brocade Official's City), or in its short form, "Jin Cheng" (Brocade city).

The City of Hibiscus (Róng Chéng, 市芙蓉)
In Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period (907-960), Mengchang, the king of the Later Shu Kingdom, ordered to plant hibiscus on the fortress wall surrounding the city. After this, Chengdu started being referred as the City of Hibiscus. Nowadays, hibiscus is still the city flower of Chengdu.

Cities

Changsha

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 10:07:35 -0700

Changsha (Traditional Chinese:長沙 ; Simplified Chinese: 长沙; pinyin: cháng sha) is the capital of Hunan, a province of Southcentral China, located on the lower reaches of Xiangjiang river, a branch of Yangtze. It covers an area of 11,819 sq. kilometers and has a population of 5.955 million (2000 population census).

Administration
Changsha has jurisdiction over 5 districts ( Furong, Tianxin, Yuelu, Kaifu, Yuhua districts ), 3 counties (Changsha, Wangcheng, Ningxiang counties) and Liuyang city.

History
The earliest settlement was probably founded in the first millennium BC. By 202 BC it was already a fortified city. During Han Dynasty it was also the capital of kingdom Changsha.

The celebrated Ma-Wang-Dui Tombs of Han Dynasty was constructed between 186 BC and 165 BC. The earliest tomb (no. 2), as it was excavated in 1970's, had preseved the corp of Lady Xin-Zhui in a surprisingly good conditions. Also founded in the tomb were earliest versions of Dao-De-Jing written by Lao Zi, and many other historical documents.

During Sui Dynasty, Changsha was a county.

Yuelu Academy was founded in 976 AD (Song Dynasty), destroyed by war in 1127 AD, and rebuilt in 1165 AD (Southern Song Dynasty). The celebrated philosopher Zhu Xi taught in this school in 1165 AD. The school was destroyed by the Mongol but restored again in the late 15th century (Ming Dynasty). In 1903 it became Hunan High School. The existing architectures owe themselves to the restoration of 1981-1986, presumably according to the Song design.

Mao Zedong, founder of the People's Republic of China began his political career in Changsha.

Geography and climate
Changsha is located at 111 53' - 114 5' east longitude and 27 51' - 28 40' north latitude, situated in the eastcentral Hunan. Its terrain is high in the west and low in the east. There are many mountainous areas in the west and in the north. The Xiangjiang River flows south to northwest 296-meter-high Mt. Yuelushan is in the west, and Liuyanghe River (Liuyang River) and Ladaohe River (Laodao River) east.

It belongs to monsoon climate of sub-tropical zone with annual average temperature being 168-17.2ºC, 4.6 C in January and 28.6 C in July and annual average precipitation being 1422 mm., and frost-free period being 275 days. The four seasons is obvious and acceptable there, rainy and wet, the temperature increases rapidly and is changeful in spring. Summer is long and broiling, which has unbalanced rainfall, comfortable and abundant sunlight in autumn. In winter it is nearly rainless and not very cold.

Neighboring Areas: Jiangxi province, cities and counties of Hunan, such as Tonggu county, Wanzai county, Yichun city, Pingxiang city of Jiangxi province. Pingjiang county, Miluo city, Xiangyin County of Yueyang; Heshan District, Taojiang county, Anhua County of Yiyang; Lianyuan city of Loudi; Zhuzhou county, Liling City of Zhuzhou; Xiangtan county, Xiangxiang city of Xiangtan.

Economy
The GDP per capita was ¥23,942 (€2,490, $2,890) in 2003, ranked 42nd among 659 Chinese cities.

Cities

Beijing

data2 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 09:58:50 -0700

Click here to find hotels in Beijing

Beijing (Hanyu Pinyin: Beijing, Wade-Giles: Pei-ching; Postal System Pinyin: Peking), is the capital city of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the 4 municipalities of the People's Republic of China, which have a provincial-level status. The municipality governs 10 districts and 8 counties.

Names
Beijing literally means "northern capital" (as opposed to Nanjing, meaning "southern capital" and Tonkin and Tokyo, both of which mean "eastern capital"). Beijing is sometimes referred to as Peking. The term originated with French missionaries four hundred years ago, and corresponds to an archaic pronunciation which does not take into account a 'k' to 'j' sound shift in Mandarin that occurred during the Qing dynasty.

In China, the city has had many names. Between 1928 and 1949, it was known as Beiping (Wade-Giles Peip'ing) or "Northern Peace". The name was changed because jing means "capital" and the Kuomintang government in Nanjing wanted to emphasize that Beijing was not the capital of China, and Beijing's warlord government was not legitimate. From 1937 to 1945, Beijing was occupied by the Japanese.

The name was changed back by the Communist Party of China in 1949 in part to emphasize that Beijing was the capital of China. The government of the Republic of China on Taiwan has not formally recognized the name change, and during the 1950s and 1960s it was common for Beijing to be called Peiping on Taiwan. Today, almost everyone in Taiwan, including the ROC government, uses the term Beijing, although there some maps of China from Taiwan still use the old name along with pre-1949 provincial boundaries.

The GDP per capita was ¥24077 (ca. US$2910) per capita, ranked no. 41 among all 659 Chinese cities.

History
The metropolitan area of Beijing has been settled in the first millennium BC and the capital of Kingdom Yan was established there, and named it Ji. Ji has often been claimed as the beginning of Beijing; but in reality the city has been abandoned no later than the 6th century AD. The exact location of Ji remains unknown despite much effort in the recent decades to identify the site.
During the great Tang and Song dynasties, only townships existed in this area. Numerous ancient poets came here to mourn the lost city, as testified by their surviving compositions.

By the early 10th century, Kingdom Liao set up a "secondary capital" in the city proper, and called it Nanjing ("the Southern Capital").

The Jin Dynasty that annexed Liao and ruled northern China built its capital there, called Zhongdu, or "the Central Capital".

The Mongol force burned Zhongdu to the ground in 1215 AD and rebuilt its own "Grand Capital" to the north of the Jin capital in 1267 AD, which is the true beginning of contemporary Beijing. Apparently, Kublai Khan, who wanted to become a Chinese emperor, established his capital in Beijing instead of more traditional sites in central China because Beijing is closer to his power base in Mongolia. The decision of the Khan greatly enhanced the status of the city that had been situated in the northern fringe of China proper.

In 1403 AD, the 3rd Ming emperor Zhu Li, who had just grabbed the throne by killing his brother after a bloody civil war and moved the capital from southern China to his own power base in the north, renamed the city Beijing , or "Northern Capital".

The Forbidden City was constructed soon after that (1406-1420 AD), followed by Temple to the Heaven (1420 AD), and numerous other construction projects. Tian-An-Men, which has become a state symbol of the PRC in modern time, was burned down twice during Ming Dynasty and the final reconstruction was carried out in 1651 AD

Tourism
Famous landmarks around Beijing include:

Forbidden City
Tiananmen Square, site of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1919, 1975, 1989
The Great Wall
The Temple of Heaven
The Summer Palace
Ruins of the Old Summer Palace
Gulou - The Drum Tower
Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian (World Heritage Site)

Famous Theatres of Beijing include:
Zheng Yici Peking Opera Theatre

Cities