Xiangtan is a city in
ChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
's
Hunan' is a province of South-Central China, located to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting...
Province that is located on the lower reaches of
Xiang riverThe Xiang River , in older transliterations as the Siang River or Hsiang River, is a river in southern China...
. The hometowns of several founding leaders of the Chinese Communist Party, including
Mao ZedongMao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
,
Liu ShaoqiLiu Shaoqi was a Chinese revolutionary, statesman, and theorist. He was Chairman of the People's Republic of China, China's head of state, from 27 April 1959 to 31 October 1968, during which he implemented policies of economic reconstruction in China...
, and
Peng DehuaiPeng Dehuai was a prominent military leader of the Communist Party of China, and China's Defence Minister from 1954 to 1959. Peng was an important commander during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Chinese civil war and was also the commander-in-chief of People's Volunteer Army in the Korean War...
are in the Xiangtan Municipal District, as well as the hometowns of
Qing DynastyThe Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
painter
Qi BaishiQi Baishi was an influential Chinese painter.Born to a peasant family from Xiangtan, Hunan, Qi became a carpenter at 14, and learned to paint by himself. After he turned 40, he traveled, visiting various scenic spots in China...
and scholar-general
Zeng GuofanZeng Guofan was an eminent Han Chinese official, military general, and devout Confucian scholar of the late Qing Dynasty in China....
.
It has 2,748,552 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 1,779,960 live in the built up area (2 urban districts plus
XiangtanXiangtan is a city in China's Hunan Province that is located on the lower reaches of Xiang river. The hometowns of several founding leaders of the Chinese Communist Party, including Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, and Peng Dehuai are in the Xiangtan Municipal District, as well as the hometowns of Qing...
county). With adjoining 4
ZhuzhouZhuzhou , formerly Jianning, is a city in Hunan Province, China, southeast of Changsha beside the Xiangjiang River. It is part of the "ChangZhuTan Golden Triangle"...
urban districts being agglomerated, the joint built up areas is home to 2,586,948 inhabitants.
Pre-Ming Dynasty
Relics from
Daxi cultureThe Daxi culture was a Neolithic culture centered in the Three Gorges region, around the middle Yangtze River, China. The culture ranged from western Hubei to eastern Sichuan and the Pearl River Delta. The site at Daxi, located in the Qutang Gorge around Wushan, Chongqing, was discovered by Nels...
indicates that people inhabited the Xiangtan area in the 3rd millennium BC.
Shang DynastyThe Shang Dynasty or Yin Dynasty was, according to traditional sources, the second Chinese dynasty, after the Xia. They ruled in the northeastern regions of the area known as "China proper" in the Yellow River valley...
bronzewares have been found in the region, as well as tombs from the
Warring States PeriodThe Warring States Period , also known as the Era of Warring States, or the Warring Kingdoms period, covers the Iron Age period from about 475 BC to the reunification of China under the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC...
. During the Three Kingdoms Period, the kingdom of
Eastern WuEastern Wu, also known as Sun Wu, was one the three states competing for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period after the fall of the Han Dynasty. It was based in the Jiangnan region of China...
built a city in the west of modern Xiangtan City and organized the Hengyang Commandery around it. In
AD 749Year 749 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 749 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* June – Aistulf succeeds his...
, the
Tang DynastyThe Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
organized the area as Xiangtan County, centered at modern Yisu River . By the time of the Northern Song Dynasty, Xiangtan's good access to both land and water trade routes had established it as the major commercial center of the region.
Ming and Qing Dynasties
Xiangtan prospered throughout the
Ming DynastyThe Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
and
Qing DynastyThe Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
upon an economic foundation of trading in
riceRice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
and traditional Chinese medicinal ingredients, and was sometimes referred to as "Little
Nanjing' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
" or "Golden Xiangtan". Prior to the
Second Opium WarThe Second Opium War, the Second Anglo-Chinese War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a war pitting the British Empire and the Second French Empire against the Qing Dynasty of China, lasting from 1856 to 1860...
, Xiangtan was a central transfer point for import and export goods going to and from ports in
CantonGuangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
,
ShanghaiShanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, and
WuhanWuhan is the capital of Hubei province, People's Republic of China, and is the most populous city in Central China. It lies at the east of the Jianghan Plain, and the intersection of the middle reaches of the Yangtze and Han rivers...
, and had approximately 200,000 inhabitants.
Name Origin
The name "Xiangtan" is derived from local geography, though there are several explanations for its origin which vary somewhat in details. In any case, "Xiang" refers to the
Xiang RiverThe Xiang River , in older transliterations as the Siang River or Hsiang River, is a river in southern China...
, while "Tan" is a Chinese term that means "deep pool", specifically one produced by a moving current or waterfall; "Tan" in rivers generally are places where the current
eddiesIn fluid dynamics, an eddy is the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle. The moving fluid creates a space devoid of downstream-flowing fluid on the downstream side of the object...
. One reasoning is that the city was built by a large eddy in a bend of the Xiang River, and was thus called "Xiang-Tan". Another more likely story says the name originated in the Xiangzhou Eddy, today called the Zhao Eddy . The Zhao Eddy is an ancient whirlpool located in a deep section of the Xiang River near the traditional border between Xiangtan and
Changsha, and is named for
King Zhao of ZhouKing Zhao of Zhou or King Chao of Chou was the fourth sovereign of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty. The dates of his reign are 995-977 BC or 977/75-957 ....
, who is said to have died there.
Geography and climate
Xiangtan has a humid subtropical climate with long, hot summers, and cool to cold, cloudy, damp winters with occasional flurries. The average annual average temperature is from 16.7°C to 17.4°C, and 4.1°C in January and 29.7°C in July.
Administrative divisions
The city of Xiangtan has direct jurisdiction over 2 districts (区 qu), 2
county-level citiesA county-level city is a county-level administrative division of mainland China. County-level cities are usually governed by prefecture-level divisions, but a few are governed directly by province-level divisions....
(市 shi), and 1 county (县 xian) :
- Yuetang-qu
Yuetang District is a district of Hunan, China. It is under the administration of Xiangtan city.-References:*...
(岳塘区)
- Yuhu-qu
Yuhu District is a district of Hunan, China. It is under the administration of Xiangtan city.-References:*...
(雨湖区)
- Shaoshan-shi
Shaoshan is a county-level city in Xiangtan, Hunan Province, noted as the birthplace of Mao Zedong, founder of the People's Republic of China. Shaoshan was an important base during the Chinese Communist Revolution....
(韶山市)
- Xiangxiang-shi
Xiangxiang is a county-level city in Xiangtan, Hunan Province.It has an area of 2011 square kilometers and a population of 900,000.It is the home of late Qing general Zeng Guofan. The late leader of China, Mao Zedong attended high school here....
(湘乡市)
- Xiangtan-xian
Xiangtan County is a county of Hunan, China. It is under the administration of Xiangtan city.-References:*...
(湘潭县)
Economy
In 2006, Xiangtan's nominal GDP was ¥42.2 billion (US$6.2 billion), a year-on-year growth of 13.2% from the previous year. Its per capita GDP was ¥15,455 (US$2,265).
Xiangtan is famous for its production of
Lotus seedLotus seeds or lotus nuts are the seeds of plants in the genus Nelumbo, particularly the species Nelumbo nucifera. The seeds are of great importance to East Asian cuisine and are used extensively in traditional Chinese medicine and in Chinese desserts. The seeds are most commonly sold in the...
and
Soy sauceSoy sauce is a condiment produced by fermenting soybeans with Aspergillus oryzae or Aspergillus sojae molds, along with water and salt...
. People in Xiangtan like to chew areca nut , though the area itself doesn't grow them. Most raw areca nut fruits are from
HainanHainan is the smallest province of the People's Republic of China . Although the province comprises some two hundred islands scattered among three archipelagos off the southern coast, of its land mass is Hainan Island , from which the province takes its name...
and processed locally. The history of consuming areca nut dates back to 400 years ago, when people chewing it for pandemic prevention. Nowadays, it is quite common to see people chewing areca nut in Hunan Province. In 2003, the sales revenue of areca nut industry in Xiangtan has reached ¥800 million.
Transportation
Xiangtan is well connected by roads, river and rail. There is shuttle bus connecting
Changsha Huanghua International AirportChangsha Huanghua International Airport is the airport serving Changsha, Hunan province, People's Republic of China, as well as nearby cities such as Zhuzhou and Xiangtan. Located about of the city centee in the town of Huanghua in Changsha County, the airport has two terminal buildings and is...
.
Tourism
Many people continue to visit
ShaoshanShaoshan is a county-level city in Xiangtan, Hunan Province, noted as the birthplace of Mao Zedong, founder of the People's Republic of China. Shaoshan was an important base during the Chinese Communist Revolution....
, Xiangtan to visit the birthplace of
Mao ZedongMao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
, the former chairman of the Chinese Communist Party and the leader of the People's Republic of China from 1949-1971.
Sport
There is good tennis training tradition in Xiangtan, and professional female tennis player
Peng ShuaiPeng Shuai is a Chinese professional female tennis player. She won a gold medal at the 2010 Asian Games, defeating Akgul Amanmuradova in the final...
was born and trained here. Xiangtan Stadium was the home to
Bayi Football TeamBayi Football Team was a football team under the sport branch of the People's Liberation Army in China between 1951 and 2003.The Club's full name is The People's Liberation Army Bayi Football Club...
of the
Chinese Football Association Jia LeagueThe China League One is the second tier professional league for Chinese football clubs. The league is under the auspices of the Chinese Football Association. Above the League One is Chinese Super League....
(now
Chinese Super LeagueThe Chinese Football Association Super League , commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the Pirelli Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional association football in China, operating under the auspices of the...
) from 2002 to 2003.
Colleges and universities
- Xiangtan University
Xiangtan University, or XTU , is a university located in Xiangtan, Hunan. It was founded in 1958 and is organized into 22 Schools and Departments.-External links:*...
(湘潭大学)
- Hunan University of Science and Technology
Hunan University of Science and Technology is an institution of higher learning in Xiangtan, Hunan Province of the People's Republic of China. It is under the jointly jurisdiction of central government and provincial government, and is mainly administered by Hunan Province...
(湖南科技大学)
- Hunan Institute of Engineering
Hunan Institute of Engineering is located in Xiangtan, Hunan. It was founded in 1951 and is organized in 16 Schools and Departments.- History :...
(湖南工程学院)
Note: Institutions without full-time bachelor programs are not listed.
Notable inhabitants
Xiangtan is the birthplace of:
- Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
- Peng Dehuai
Peng Dehuai was a prominent military leader of the Communist Party of China, and China's Defence Minister from 1954 to 1959. Peng was an important commander during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Chinese civil war and was also the commander-in-chief of People's Volunteer Army in the Korean War...
- Qi Baishi
Qi Baishi was an influential Chinese painter.Born to a peasant family from Xiangtan, Hunan, Qi became a carpenter at 14, and learned to paint by himself. After he turned 40, he traveled, visiting various scenic spots in China...
- Zeng Guofan
Zeng Guofan was an eminent Han Chinese official, military general, and devout Confucian scholar of the late Qing Dynasty in China....
- James Soong
James Soong Chu-yu , is a politician in the Republic of China on Taiwan. He founded and chairs the People First Party, a smaller and more conservative party in the Kuomintang -led Pan-Blue Coalition....
Sister cities
Hikone,
JapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
South El Monte, USA
Bien HoaBiên Hòa is a city in Dong Nai province, Vietnam, about east of Ho Chi Minh City , to which Bien Hoa is linked by Vietnam Highway 1.- Demographics :In 1989 the estimated population was over 300,000. In 2005, the population wss 541,495...
,
VietnamVietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
LutskLutsk is a city located by the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Volyn Oblast and the administrative center of the surrounding Lutskyi Raion within the oblast...
,
UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
LeónLeón is the capital of the province of León in the autonomous community of Castile and León, situated in the northwest of Spain. Its city population of 136,985 makes it the largest municipality in the province, accounting for more than one quarter of the province's population...
,
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
External links