Yichang

"Yi Chang" redirects here. For the Hong Kong actor surnamed Chang, see Chang Yi.
Yichang
宜昌市
Prefecture-level city

Yichang skyline at the Yangtze River

Location of Yichang City jurisdiction in Hubei
Yichang

Location of the city centre in Hubei

Coordinates: 30°43′N 111°17′E / 30.717°N 111.283°E / 30.717; 111.283Coordinates: 30°43′N 111°17′E / 30.717°N 111.283°E / 30.717; 111.283
Country China
Province Hubei
Municipal seat Xiling District
Government
 • CPC Party Secretary Huang Chuping
 • Mayor Li Lecheng
Area
 • Prefecture-level city 21,227 km2 (8,196 sq mi)
 • Urban 4,232.4 km2 (1,634.1 sq mi)
 • Metro 4,192 km2 (1,619 sq mi)
Elevation 58 m (191 ft)
Highest elevation 2,427 m (7,963 ft)
Lowest elevation 35 m (115 ft)
Population (2010 census[1])
 • Prefecture-level city 4,059,686
 • Density 190/km2 (500/sq mi)
 • Urban 1,411,380
 • Urban density 330/km2 (860/sq mi)
 • Metro 1,350,150
 • Metro density 320/km2 (830/sq mi)
Time zone China Standard (UTC+8)
Postal codes 443000
Area code(s) 0717
ISO-3166 cn-42-05
Website http://en.yichang.gov.cn/
Yichang

"Yichang", as written in Chinese
Chinese 宜昌
Postal Ichang

Yichang (Chinese: 宜昌) is a prefecture-level city located in western Hubei province, China. It is the second largest city in the province after the capital, Wuhan. The Three Gorges Dam is located within its administrative area, in Yiling District.[2] At the 2010 census, its population was 4,059,686 inhabitants whom 1,350,150 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of Yiling, Xiling, Wujiagang and Dianjun urban districts as Xiaoting District are not yet urbanized.

History

In ancient times Yichang was known as Yiling. There are historical records telling that in the year 278 BC during the Warring States period, the Qin general Bai Qi set fire to Yiling. In 222 AD Yichang was also the site of the Battle of Yiling during the Three Kingdoms Period.

Under the Qing Guangxu Emperor, Yichang was opened to foreign trade as a trading port after Qing and Great Britain signed Chefoo Convention, which was signed by Sir Thomas Wade and Li Hongzhang in Chefoo on 21 August 1876. The imperial government set up a navigation company there and built wharfs less than 0.5 kilometres (0.31 mi) in length. Since 1949, more than 50 wharves have been constructed at the port so that its wharf area is now over 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) long.

In October 1938,Yichang Retreat happened after Wuhan was taken by the Japanese army.This retreat was commanded by a Chinese businessman Lu Zuofu.It helped China transfer a huge number of technological and scientific materials.People treated it like an Eastern version of the Dunkirk Evacuation.[3]

In 1940, during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Battle of Zaoyang-Yichang took place in the area.

Administrative divisions

Administratively, it is a prefecture-level city; its municipal government has jurisdiction over five counties, five urban districts, and three satellite county-level cities (Yidu, Dangyang, Zhijiang).

Administrative map

The prefecture-level city of Yichang has direct jurisdiction over 5 districts (区 qu),3 County-level cities(县级市 xianjishi),3 Counties(县 xian) and 3 Autonomous counties(自治县 zizhixian):

Map
Name Hanzi Hanyu Pinyin Population
(2010 census) [4]		 Area
(/km²) [5]		 Density
(/km²)
Districts
Xiling District 西陵区 Xīlíng Qū 512,074 68.14 7,515.03
Wujiagang District 伍家岗区 Wǔjiāgǎng Qū 214,194 84.03 2549.02
Dianjun District 点军区 Diǎnjūn Qū 103,696 533.23 194.47
Xiaoting District 猇亭区 Xiāotíng Qū 61,230 130.40 469.55
Yiling District 夷陵区 Yílíng Qū 520,186 3,416.57 152.25
County-level cities
Yidu 宜都市 Yídū Shì 384,598 1,354.83 283.87
Dangyang 当阳市 Dāngyáng Shì 468,293 2,148.82 217.93
Zhijiang 枝江市 Zhījiāng Shì 644,835 2,010.00 321
Counties
Yuanan County 远安县 Yuǎn'ān Xiàn 184,532 1,741.06 105.99
Xingshan County 兴山县 Xīngshān Xiàn 2,315.36 480.20 73.69
Zigui County 秭归县 Zǐguī Xiàn 367,107 2,273.80 161.45
Autonomous counties
Changyang Tujia
Autonomous County		 长阳土家族自治县 Chángyáng Tǔjiāzú
Zìzhìxiàn		 388,228 3418.82 113.56
Wufeng Tujia
Autonomous County		 五峰土家族自治县 Wǔfēng Tǔjiāzú
Zìzhìxiàn		 188,923 2,370.41 79.70

Geography

Like most prefecture-level cities, Yichang includes both an urban area (what's labeled on less detailed maps as "Yichang") and the surrounding country area. It covers 21,084 square kilometres (8,141 sq mi) in Western Hubei Province, on both sides of the Yangtze River. The Xiling Gorge (西陵峡), the easternmost of the Three Gorges on the Yangtze, is located within the prefecture-level city.

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

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

Climate

Yichang has a four-season, monsoon-influenced, humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa), with cool, damp and generally overcast winters, and hot, humid summers. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from 4.9 °C (40.8 °F) in January to 27.7 °C (81.9 °F) in July, while the annual mean is 16.85 °C (62.3 °F). Close to 70% of the annual precipitation of 1,140 mm (45 in) occurs from May to September. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 24% in January to 49% in August, the city receives 1,568 hours of bright sunshine annually, and summer is the sunniest season.

Transport

By Plane

Yichang Sanxia Airport is located in the Xiaoting District of Yichang City, 26 km (16 mi) away from the city center and 55 km (34 mi) from the Three Gorges Dam site. The airport is conveniently located, which borders Yihuang Highway in the north, Long River Golden Waterway in the south and Jiaozhi Railway in the east.

Roads and bridges

Yiling Bridge

Several provincial highways connect Yichang center city with most counties.

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

There are several ferry crossings as well.

Waterways

The Three Gorges Dam is located near Sandouping and Maoping within Yichang prefecture-level city (some 40 km (25 mi) from Yichang central city)

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

The Qing River in the southern part of the prefecture, with its cascade of dams, is an important waterway as well.

Railway

Yichang is served by several railway lines.

Yichang Railway Station, located in downtown Yichang, opened in 1971, was the city's first railway station. In 2012 it closed for a renovation project.[7]

The Yichang East Railway Station, opened in the late 2010 in the eastern suburbs of Yichang, is presently the city's main train station. It is the junction point of two segments of the Shanghai-Wuhan-Chengdu Passenger Dedicated Line, one of China's new east-west rail mainlines. To the east, the Hanyi Railway[8] (opened June 29, 2012) provides frequent service to Wuhan, with some trains continuing to Nanjing and Shanghai. To the west, the Yiwan Railway (Yichang-Wanzhou; opened December 2010) serves as the gateway to Hubei's southwestern panhandle (Enshi), with some service continuing to Chongqing and Chengdu.

The Jiaozuo–Liuzhou Railway, a north-south line, crosses the eastern part of the prefecture-level city. It crosses the Yangtze at Zhicheng in Yidu County-level City.

Demographics

Huangling Temple, Sandouping

Yichang has a population of 4,150,000 with urban population of 1,338,000.[9] Yichang prefecture-level city, is home to many members of the Tujia ethnic group, who mostly live in several counties in the south-west of the prefecture.

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

Education

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

There are 170 secondary schools in Yichang enrolling 150,700 students. 53,900 of the citizens in Yichang hold a secondary school degree. There are 282 elementary schools being located in Yichang enrolling 156,900. 27,600 of the citizens hold secondary school degrees. 383 kindergartens located in Yichang with 78,500 children.

Economy

Yichang has long been a major transit port and distribution center of goods, and serves as the economic hub of western Hubei province and an intermediary between the major cities of Chongqing and Wuhan. Its primary industries are shipping and shipbuilding, taking advantage of its location on the Yangtze River.

Yichang prefecture is the site of many major hydroelectricity projects. The best known of them are the two huge dams on the Yangtze River: the Gezhouba Dam (located just upstream of Yichang central city) and Three Gorges Dam, which is 40 kilometres (25 mi) upstream. The Geheyan Dam and Gaobazhou Dam on the Qing River are important as well. Besides those, a huge number of medium-sized and small power plants operate on smaller rivers and streams within the prefecture.

Picture gallery

Yichang skyline

See also

References

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yichang.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Yichang.
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