Leshan

For other uses, see Leshan (disambiguation).
Leshan
乐山市
Prefecture-level city

A view of Leshan

Location of Leshan City jurisdiction in Sichuan
Coordinates: 29°34′N 103°46′E / 29.567°N 103.767°E / 29.567; 103.767
Country China
Province Sichuan
County-level divisions 4 Counties, 2 Autonomous Counties, 1 County-level city and 4 Districts
Area
 • Prefecture-level city 12,827.49 km2 (4,952.72 sq mi)
 • Urban 1,918.5 km2 (740.7 sq mi)
 • Metro 836.1 km2 (322.8 sq mi)
Population (2010 census)[1]
 • Prefecture-level city 3,235,759
 • Density 250/km2 (650/sq mi)
 • Urban 1,162,080
 • Urban density 610/km2 (1,600/sq mi)
 • Metro 662,814
 • Metro density 790/km2 (2,100/sq mi)
Time zone China Standard (UTC+8)
Postal code 614000
Area code(s) +86 (0)0833
Licence Plate Prefixes 川L
Website leshan.gov.cn
Leshan

"Leshan" in Simplified (top) and Traditional (bottom) Chinese characters
Simplified Chinese 乐山
Traditional Chinese 樂山

Leshan (Chinese: 乐山; local pronunciation: [nʊʔ˧sã˥]) is a prefecture-level city located at the confluence of the Dadu and Min rivers in Sichuan Province, China. Leshan is located on the southwestern fringe of the Red Basin in southern Sichuan, about 120 km (75 mi) from Chengdu. At the 2010 census, its population was 3,235,759 whom 662,814 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of Shizhong district, as Wutongqiao and Jinkouhe districts are not conurbated yet.

Historic monuments

Stone arch bridge in Leshan
Buddhist carvings in Leshan, Sichuan, China.
Buddha Leshan

In 1996, the Mount Emei Scenic Area, including the Leshan Giant Buddha, the largest stone-carved buddha in the world, was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Mount Emei is located within the county-level city of Emeishan, which is under the administrative jurisdiction of Leshan.

The ancestral home of Chinese writer, academic and politician Guo Moruo is preserved in the Shawan District of Leshan.[2]

Culture

Dialect

The Leshan dialect, part of the Southern linguistic system, is very different from the dialects of other cities in the province of Sichuan, which belong to the Northern system. Some researchers say the pronunciation of Leshan dialect represents an archaic form of Chinese pronunciation.

Food

Falling into the Sichuan cuisine family, Leshan is noted for its food culture in that it has all the street food from its surrounding areas, which has made it the one-stop street food city. Typical specialties include:

Local Card Game

A popular card game called Two, Seven, Ten (simplified Chinese: 二七十; traditional Chinese: 貳柒拾; pinyin: Èr Qī Shí) is often enjoyed by the locals as an alternative to Mahjong.

Suits — There are two suits: big and small (Chinese: 大小; pinyin: Dà Xiăo) differentiated by both colours and their characters/patterns. The big suit is red and the small suit is black.

The cards belonging to the big suit always carry three points more than those of the small suit if the meld (see below) carries points at all.

Melds — When a player discards a card, any other player may "call" for it in order to complete a meld (a certain set of three or four cards) in their own hands. When a meld is declared through a discard, the player must state the type of meld to be declared and place the meld face up. The player must then discard a card (with the exception that they are making the second meld of four of a kind), and play continues to the left.

The disadvantage of doing this is that the player must now expose the completed meld to the other players, giving them information on the availability of cards left in the deck.

If a player is forming a second set of kāi all cards (both concealed in their hands and exposed on the table) considered, they should not discard any cards for that particular turn or they will not be able to win the game.

When a chī is formed by calling, any melds that contains the card being called need to be exposed to other players as well.

Gameplay — The game starts by a chosen player (if the first game) or the winner (of the previous game) drawing the first two cards. Each player then draws two cards until the lead has 20 cards in their hand and announces the end of the drawing phase by drawing one last card and discarding the first card. So each player has 20 cards to start with.

Transport

There is a passenger rail line that serves the Mianyang–Chengdu–Leshan inter-city area.

The Chengdu-Leshan Freeway with a total length of 160 kilometers, was finished on January 14, 2000. This Freeway has since become very important to the city's development.

Education

Leshan Normal University is in the city.

Administrative divisions

Leshan from the Dadu River
Map
# Name Hanzi Hanyu Pinyin Population
(2004 est.)		 Area (km²) Density
(/km²)
1 Shizhong District 市中区 Shìzhōng Qū 560,000 825 679
2 Shawan District 沙湾区 Shāwān Qū 200,000 617 324
3 Wutongqiao District 五通桥区 Wǔtōngqiáo Qū 320,000 474 675
4 Jinkouhe District 金口河区 Jīnkǒuhé Qū 60,000 598 100
5 Emeishan City 峨眉山市 Éméishān Shì 430,000 1,168 368
6 Qianwei County 犍为县 Qiánwéi Xiàn 570,000 1,375 415
7 Jingyan County 井研县 Jǐngyán Xiàn 410,000 841 488
8 Jiajiang County 夹江县 Jiājiāng Xiàn 350,000 749 467
9 Muchuan County 沐川县 Mùchuān Xiàn 260,000 1,401 186
10 Ebian Yi Autonomous County 峨边彝族自治县 Ébiān Yízú
Zìzhìxiàn		 140,000 2,395 58
11 Mabian Yi Autonomous County 马边彝族自治县 Mǎbiān Yízú
Zìzhìxiàn		 180,000 2,383 76

Geography and climate

Leshan has a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa) and is largely mild and humid. Winter is short, mild and dry, with a January average of 7.1 °C (44.8 °F), and while frost may occur, snow is rare. Summers are long, hot and humid, with highs often exceeding 30 °C (86 °F), yet extended heat waves are rare. The daily average in July and August is around 26 °C (79 °F). Rainfall is light in winter and can be heavy in summer, and more than 70% of the annual total occurs from June to September.

Climate data for Leshan (1971−2000)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 18.3
(64.9)		 22.7
(72.9)		 29.6
(85.3)		 34.7
(94.5)		 36.5
(97.7)		 35.7
(96.3)		 36.7
(98.1)		 36.8
(98.2)		 36.3
(97.3)		 29.4
(84.9)		 25.5
(77.9)		 19.8
(67.6)		 36.8
(98.2)
Average high °C (°F) 10.0
(50)		 12.1
(53.8)		 16.7
(62.1)		 22.6
(72.7)		 26.5
(79.7)		 28.4
(83.1)		 30.3
(86.5)		 30.5
(86.9)		 25.6
(78.1)		 21.1
(70)		 16.6
(61.9)		 11.4
(52.5)		 21.0
(69.8)
Daily mean °C (°F) 7.1
(44.8)		 8.8
(47.8)		 12.9
(55.2)		 18.0
(64.4)		 21.8
(71.2)		 24.1
(75.4)		 25.9
(78.6)		 25.8
(78.4)		 21.9
(71.4)		 17.8
(64)		 13.4
(56.1)		 8.7
(47.7)		 17.2
(63)
Average low °C (°F) 4.9
(40.8)		 6.5
(43.7)		 9.9
(49.8)		 14.5
(58.1)		 18.3
(64.9)		 20.8
(69.4)		 22.6
(72.7)		 22.4
(72.3)		 19.3
(66.7)		 15.5
(59.9)		 11.2
(52.2)		 6.6
(43.9)		 14.4
(57.9)
Record low °C (°F) −1.7
(28.9)		 −1.9
(28.6)		 0.2
(32.4)		 4.9
(40.8)		 10.5
(50.9)		 15.3
(59.5)		 17.6
(63.7)		 17.3
(63.1)		 13.6
(56.5)		 5.3
(41.5)		 2.2
(36)		 −2.9
(26.8)		 −2.9
(26.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 16.8
(0.661)		 23.3
(0.917)		 41.1
(1.618)		 80.9
(3.185)		 98.4
(3.874)		 154.5
(6.083)		 276.4
(10.882)		 298.6
(11.756)		 162.9
(6.413)		 65.5
(2.579)		 34.1
(1.343)		 11.7
(0.461)		 1,264.2
(49.772)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 9.8 11.8 13.3 14.7 16.1 16.8 16.4 15.2 17.6 16.2 10.5 9.2 167.6
Source: Weather China

Gallery

Sister Cities

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.citypopulation.de/php/china-sichuan-admin.php
  2. ↑ Leshan -- Home of World's Largest Stone Buddha Statue
  3. ↑ LESHAN CITY 楽山市

External links

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