Xuzhou otherwise known as
Pengcheng in ancient times, is a major city in and the fourth largest
prefecture-level cityA prefectural level city , prefectural city or prefectural level municipality is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China, ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure. Prefectural level cities form the second level of the administrative...
of
Jiangsu' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" , the second character of its name...
province,
People's Republic of ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. It is known for its convenient location as a transportation hub in northwestern Jiangsu, as it has
expresswaysA controlled-access highway is a highway designed exclusively for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow and ingress/egress regulated...
and railway links connecting directly to the provinces of
HenanHenan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
and
Shandong' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...
, the neighboring port city of
LianyungangLianyungang is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. It borders Yancheng to its southeast, Huai'an and Suqian to its south, Xuzhou to its southwest, and the province of Shandong to its north...
, as well as the economic hub
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...
.
Before the adoption of Hanyu Pinyin, the city's name was typically
RomanizedThe romanization of Mandarin Chinese is the use of the Latin alphabet to write Chinese. Because Chinese is a tonal language with a logographic script, its characters do not represent phonemes directly. There have been many systems of romanization throughout history...
as
Suchow, although also appearing as
Hsu-chou,
Hsuchow, and
Hsüchow.
History
During the
XiaThe Xia Dynasty is the first dynasty in China to be described in ancient historical chronicles such as Bamboo Annals, Classic of History and Records of the Grand Historian. The Xia Dynasty was established by the legendary Yu the Great after Shun, the last of the Five Emperors gave his throne to him...
and
ShangThe 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...
Dynasties (c. 2200–1600 BC), Xuzhou lay in an area inhabited by the
DongyiDongyi was a collective term for people in eastern China and in lands located to the east of ancient China. People referred to as Dongyi vary across the ages.The early Dongyi culture was one of earliest neolithic cultures in China....
or Huaiyi peoples who were constantly at war with the Shang and
ZhouThe Zhou Dynasty was a Chinese dynasty that followed the Shang Dynasty and preceded the Qin Dynasty. Although the Zhou Dynasty lasted longer than any other dynasty in Chinese history, the actual political and military control of China by the Ji family lasted only until 771 BC, a period known as...
Dynasties. The Xuzhou region was called Huaiyang during the Zhou Dynasty (1600 BC–256 BC) since the
Huai RiverThe Huai River is a major river in China. The Huai River is located about mid-way between the Yellow River and Yangtze River, the two largest rivers in China, and like them runs from west to east...
crosses the area. During the
Spring and Autumn Period (771 BC–426 BC), Xuzhou was a collection of small farming/fishing villages and towns and formed part of the border region between the Zhou vassal States of
ChuThe State of Chu was a Zhou Dynasty vassal state in present-day central and southern China during the Spring and Autumn period and Warring States Period . Its ruling house had the surname Nai , and clan name Yan , later evolved to surname Mi , and clan name Xiong...
,
WuThe State of Wu , also known as Gou Wu or Gong Wu , was one of the vassal states during the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Spring and Autumn Period. The State of Wu was located at the mouth of the Yangtze River east of the State of Chu. Considered a semi-barbarian state by ancient Chinese...
and
QuQi was a powerful state during the Spring and Autumn Period and Period of the Warring States in ancient China. Its capital was Linzi, now part of the modern day city of Zibo in Shandong Province....
. Both the States of
PiThe State of Pī was a Zhou Dynasty vassal state during the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history. Also known as the State of Xue , Pi was ruled by members of the Ren family...
and Peng lay within its borders. Xuzhou was at one time a capital of the
State of XuThe State of Xu was a vassal state of ancient China during the Zhou Dynasty and Spring and Autumn Period ruled by descendants of the Yíng family. Xu was a Dongyi state also known as Xurong , Xuyi or Xufang , all meaning either "Xu barbarians" or "Xu Proper". Xu was one of the largest and most...
, a vassal state exterminated by the State of Wu in 512 BC. In turn, Wu was conquered by the
State of YueYue was a state in China which existed during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period , in the modern province of Zhejiang. During the Spring and Autumn Period, its capital was in Guiji , near the modern city of Shaoxing...
a few decades later. Chu gradually expanded its influence around Xuzhou after absorbing the nearby
State of CaiThe State of Cài was a Chinese state during the Zhōu Dynasty , prominent in the Spring and Autumn Period before being extinguished early in the Warring States Period .-History:...
in 447 BC followed by the conquest of the State of Yue in 334 BC. By 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...
, it was firmly in the cultural and administrative sphere of Chu. The State of Chu moved to this area in 278 BC after the
QinThe State of Qin was a Chinese feudal state that existed during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods of Chinese history...
army captured its old capital,
YingYǐng was a capital city of the State of Chu during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods of Chinese History.In the early years of Chu’s development, the state capital was located at Danyang , near modern day Xichuan County in Henan Province...
, in modern
JingzhouJingzhou is a prefecture-level city in Hubei Province, People's Republic of China. The city is located on the banks of the Yangtze River.Its population is 5,691,707 at the 2010 census whom 1,154,086 in the built up area made of 3 urban districts.-Geography:Jingzhou occupies an area of...
,
Hubei' Hupeh) is a province in Central China. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Lake Dongting...
.
Liu Bang, first emperor of the
Han DynastyThe Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
(206 BC–AD 220), was born in Pei County, Xuzhou. At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, Xuzhou became part of the Kingdom of Chu, a principality ruled by relatives of the royal Liu family. Initially, Liu Bang allowed his relatives to rule parts of the country since they were assumed to be the most trustworthy. However, the Kingdom of Chu under third generation ruler Liu Wu rebelled against the central authority during the Rebellion of the Seven Princes and was defeated. His tomb was recently excavated near Xuzhou.
After the
Yellow RiverThe Yellow River or Huang He, formerly known as the Hwang Ho, is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, it flows through nine provinces of China and empties into...
began to change course during the
Song DynastyThe Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
(AD 960–1279), heavy silting at the Yellow River estuary forced the river to channel its flow into the lower Huai River tributary. The region became barren thereafter due to persistent flooding, nutrient depletion and salination of the once fertile soil.
The area was the site of the final critical battle in the
Chinese Civil WarThe Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...
, the
Huaihai CampaignHuaihai Campaign or Battle of Hsupeng was a military action during 1948 and 1949 that was the determining battle of the Chinese Civil War. It was one of the few conventional battles of the war. 550,000 troops of the Republic of China were surrounded in Xuzhou and destroyed by the communist...
in 1948-49. The capitulation of Chiang Kai-shek to Chinese communist forces at Suchow eventually led to the fall of the Nationalist Chinese capital Nanking.
Administration
The
prefecture-level cityA prefectural level city , prefectural city or prefectural level municipality is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China, ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure. Prefectural level cities form the second level of the administrative...
of Xuzhou administers ten county-level divisions, including five districts, two
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....
and three counties.
- Yunlong District
Yunlong District is a district of Jiangsu, China. It is under the administration of Xuzhou city.-References:*...
(云龙区)
- Gulou District
Gulou District is a district of Jiangsu, China. It is under the administration of Xuzhou city.-References:*...
(鼓楼区)
- Tongshan District (铜山区)
- Jiawang District
Jiawang District , is one of Xuzhou's five districts. It is located in the northern part of Xuzhou and adjacent to Shandong Province.-External links:*...
(贾汪区)
- Quanshan District
Quanshan District is a district of Jiangsu, China. It is under the administration of Xuzhou city.-References:*...
(泉山区)
- Pizhou
Pizhou City is a county-level city in northern Jiangsu province, China. As of 2006 it had a population of 163,000. Administratively, Pizhou is under the jurisdiction of the larger city of Xuzhou.-History:...
City (邳州市)
- Xinyi
Xinyi is a city district of Jiangsu, China. It is under the administration of Xuzhou city.-Transportation:Xinyi is a railway junction on the Longhai Railway. It is the southern terminus of the Jiaozhou-Xinyi Railway and the northern terminus of the Xinyi-Changxing Railway.-References:*...
City (新沂市)
- Suining County (睢宁县)
- Pei County
Pei County is a county of Jiangsu, China. It is under the administration of Xuzhou city. It has an area of 1,576 square kilometers and a population of 1,217,400.-External links:**...
(沛县)
- Feng County
Feng County, Jiangsu is a county of Jiangsu, China. It is under the administration of Xuzhou city.-References:*...
(丰县)
These are further divided into 157 township-level divisions.
Geography and climate
Xuzhou is located in the southeast of the
North China PlainThe North China Plain is based on the deposits of the Yellow River and is the largest alluvial plain of eastern Asia. The plain is bordered on the north by the Yanshan Mountains and on the west by the Taihang Mountains edge of the Shanxi plateau. To the south, it merges into the Yangtze Plain...
. Xuzhou has a
monsoonMonsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
-influenced
humid subtropical climateA humid subtropical climate is a climate zone characterized by hot, humid summers and mild to cool winters...
(
KoppenThe Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
Cwa), with cool winters, warm springs, long, hot and humid summers, and crisp autumns. Monthly daily averages range from 0.4 °C (32.7 °F) in January to 27.1 °C (80.8 °F) in July. Snow may occur during winter, though rarely heavily. Precipitation is light in winter, and the annual total of 830 millimetres (32.7 in) is heavily concentrated from May to September.
Economy
The most important industries in Xuzhou are machinery, energy and food production.
XCMG is the largest company in Xuzhou and also a leading construction machinery manufacturer and provider in China for 19 years since its establishment in March 1989. Now it ranks 1st in China construction machinery industry and 10th in the world construction machinery industry, 73rd of Top 500 China Manufacturers,151st of Top 500 China Enterprises
Universities and colleges
- China University of Mining and Technology
China University of Mining and Technology colloquially 矿大 is a national key university under the direct supervision of the Ministry of Education of China as well as a Project 211 and Project 985 university of China...
(中国矿业大学)
- Xuzhou Normal University
Xuzhou Normal University is a national university located in Xuzhou, Jiangsu province, China.- History :The university was established in 1952 as the Jiangsu Wuxi Business Cadre School. In 1956, the Chinese Ministry of Education granted permission for the school to become a higher education...
(徐州师范大学)
- Xuzhou Medical College
Xuzhou Medical College is a national university located in Xuzhou, Jiangsu province, China.- History :The university was established in 1958 as the Jiangsu Provincial Medical School. Initially, it was the Xuzhou branch of the Nanjing Medical College. In 1959, Xinhailian Academy was merged into the...
(徐州医学院)
- Xuzhou Institute of Technology
Xuzhou Institute of Technology is a comprehensive university located in Xuzhou, Jiangsu province of China and is one of the provincial universities administered by the national Ministry of Education.-History:...
(徐州工程学院)
Schools
Cuisine
Xuzhou cuisine is closely related to
Shandong cuisineShandong cuisine , in Chinese more commonly known as Lu cuisine , is one the Eight Culinary Traditions of China and is also ranked among the four most influential among these . It is derived from the native cooking styles of Shandong, an eastern coastal province of China...
's
JinanJinan is the capital of Shandong province in Eastern China. The area of present-day Jinan has played an important role in the history of the region from the earliest beginnings of civilisation and has evolved into a major national administrative, economic, and transportation hub...
-style. Xuzhou's most well known foods include bǎzi ròu (pork belly, and other items stewed in a thick broth),
sha tangSha tang is a dish that originated in the city of Xuzhou in Jiangsu Province, but which also has origins in south-eastern Shandong Province. The original version of the soup was made with wild fowl, but the base is now chicken broth, thickened with various grains, and flavored with black...
(
汤), and various dog meat dishes.
Another one of Xuzhou's famous dishes is di guo (地锅) style cooking which places ingredients with a spicy sauce in a deep black skillet and cooks little pieces of flatbread on the side or top. Common staples of 地锅 style cooking include: chicken, fish, lamb, pork rib and eggplant.
Fu Yang FestivalThe Fu Yang Festival is a traditional festival celebrated by local residents in Xuzhou，an ancient city located in the northwest of Jiangsu province...
(伏羊节) is a traditional festival celebrated in the city. It starts on Chufu (初伏) which is around mid-July and lasts for about one month. During the festival, people eat lamb meat and drink lamb soup. This festival is very popular among all the citizens.
Scenic spots
Tourist attractions in Xuzhou include Yunlong Mountain (Cloud Dragon Mountain) and the nearby Yunlong Lake, which set near the downtown region. There are also Xuzhou Museum and Han Dynasty Stone Carvings museum next to the Yunlong Mountain.
The most important places of interest in Xuzhou are the relics of Han Dynasty, including Terracotta Army of Han, Mausoleum of the Emperors of Han and the art of stone graving.
Transport
Xuzhou Guanyin Airport serves the area with scheduled passenger flights to major airports in China including Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Hong Kong and many other cities.
The Xuzhou Railway Station is one of the largest Chinese railway stations. Xuzhou is one of the most important railway hubs in China. It is the interchange station of
Jinghu RailwayThe Beijing–Shanghai Railway or Jinghu railway is a railway line in China between Beijing and Shanghai. The line has a total length of 1,462 kilometres and connects the municipalities of Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai, as well as the provinces of Hebei, Shandong, Anhui and Jiangsu...
,
Longhai Railway and Hasan Railway. There is also a constructing hub of express railway in the eastern suburb of Xuzhou, which will be the hub of Jinghu Express Railway and Xulan Express Railway.
Military
Xuzhou is headquarters of the
12th Group ArmyThe 12th Group Army is one of three Group Armies assigned to the Nanjing Military Region....
of the
People's Liberation ArmyThe People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...
, one of the three group armies that comprise the
Nanjing Military Region responsible for the defense of China's eastern coast and possible military engagement with
TaiwanTaiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. The
People's Liberation Army NavyThe People's Liberation Army Navy is the naval branch of the People's Liberation Army , the military of the People's Republic of China. Until the early 1990s, the navy performed a subordinate role to the PLA Land Forces. Since then, it has undergone rapid modernisation...
also has a
Type 054A frigateThe Type 054A frigate is a Chinese multi-role warship that entered service with the People's Liberation Army Navy in 2007...
that shares the name of the region.
Sister cities
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, Japan (May 27, 1993)
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, United States Kirovograd, Ukraine (August 31, 1996)
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See also
- Battle of Xuzhou
The Battle of Xuzhou was fought between Japanese and Chinese forces in May 1938 during Second Sino-Japanese War. In contemporary accounts in English, the event was usually referred to as the "Battle of Hsuchow", using the Chinese Postal Map Romanization....
- List of cities in the People's Republic of China by population
- Xuzhou dialect
Xuzhou dialect is a dialect of Mandarin Chinese. It is spoken in the city of Xuzhou in Jiangsu province of China.Jiangsu has two basic dialect types, that of the south, influenced by Wu and that of the north. Beginning roughly in the area extending from Changzhou to Danyang there is a change in...
External links