Liuzhou
Template:Infobox settlement Template:Infobox Chinese
Liuzhou (Template:IPAc-en;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Zh, Standard Mandarin: Template:IPAc-cmn, Liuzhou Yue dialect: [liəu53 ʦəu44]<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>) is a prefecture-level city in north-central Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. The prefecture's population was 4,146,000 as of 2024 census,<ref name="citypopulation.de">Template:Cite web</ref> including 2,519,051 in the built-up area made of five urban districts. Its total area is Template:Convert and Template:Convert for the built-up area.
Geography
Liuzhou is located on the banks of the winding Liu River, approximately Template:Convert from Nanning, the regional capital. By road, it is about Template:Convert to Guilin, Template:Convert to Hechi, Template:Convert to Nanning, Template:Convert to Fangchenggang, Template:Convert to Beihai.
Swimming in the river is a tradition of the city. The river is normally green, but sometimes in summer, floods from the mountain areas upstream bring sediment which colors the water yellow. In early 2012, a cadmium spill upstream caused serious pollution worries.<ref name=danwei>Template:Cite news</ref>
The river can be deep. Normally, the depth is Template:Convert but can as deep as Template:Convert before it floods over the wall. In 2000 a bus, with 78 passengers, fell over the side of a bridge. There were no survivors.<ref>Liuzhou Bridges 6 – Hudong Bridge |date=2014-09-06</ref>
Climate
Liuzhou has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa/Cwa), with mild winters and long hot summers, and very humid conditions year-round. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from Template:Convert in January to Template:Convert in August, while extremes have ranged from Template:Convert. Rain is both the heaviest and most frequent from May to August, when nearly two-thirds of the annual rainfall occurs.
History
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Liujiang cave skull from the National Museum of Natural History
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Kaiyuan Temple Template:Nowrap, ruins of Tang dynasty
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Liuhou Ancestral Hall Template:Nowrap, "Ancestral Hall of Liu Noble"
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Liuzhou by Japanese Army Situation Map
The Liujiang men (Template:Zh) are among the earliest modern humans found in East Asia. Their remains were discovered in the Tongtianyang Cave (Template:Lang) in Liujiang County, Guangxi.<ref name="liujiang hominid site">Template:Cite journal</ref> Liujiang man is a Late Pleistocene Homo sapiens sapiens.
Liuzhou has a history of more than 2,100 years. The city was founded in 111 B.C. when it was known as Tanzhong (Template:Zh).
In 742 A.D. it became known as Longcheng (Template:Zh), after the Long River, before finally changing to Liuzhou (Template:Zh) after the Liu River in 1736.
The most famous historic figure is Liu Zongyuan (773–819), who was a poet and politician in the Tang dynasty and who died in Liuzhou. He is commemorated by a park in the city.
Liuzhou was the site of Liuchow Airfield, used by Nationalist Chinese and American Army Air Forces in World War II.<ref name="Hump">Hump Express, Vol. 1, 25. "Liuchow Victory Complete as Chinese Force Enters Smashed and Burned City Template:Webarchive". India China Division, Air Transport Command, 5 July 1945.</ref> (At that time the airfield was closer to the centre, where the zoo is now.) It was captured by the Japanese army on 7 November 1944 during the Battle of Guilin–Liuzhou and recaptured by Nationalist Chinese forces on 30 June 1945 prior to the Second Guangxi Campaign.<ref name="Hump"/>
Administrative divisions
Liuzhou has direct administration over 10 county-level divisions: 5 districts, 3 counties and 2 autonomous counties:
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Economy
Template:Wide image Liuzhou is the second largest city in Guangxi and is the region's industrial center. According to statistics issued by the Liuzhou government in 2015, the city's GDP was 231.1 billion yuan.<ref name=hktdc>Template:Cite web</ref>
Among important companies based in Liuzhou are:
- LiuGong - a multinational construction machinery manufacturer
- SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile - a joint venture between General Motors, SAIC Motor and Liuzhou Wuling Motors
Tourism
As with much of Guangxi, the landscape around Liuzhou is a mix of rolling hills, mountain peaks, caves and karst scenery. It is an ideal base for exploring the minority villages in the area.
- Rongshui: Rongshui Miao Autonomous County is located in the north of Liuzhou prefecture, Template:Convert away from Liuzhou and Template:Convert from Guilin. The territory is inhabited by Miao, Yao, Dong, Zhuang and Han ethnic groups.
- Dayaoshan scenic area is in Jinxiu Yao Autonomous County, Template:Convert from the city of Liuzhou. It has a scenic area of over Template:Convert.
- Sanjiang: Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County lies to the north of Liuzhou near the Hunan border. It is a Dong minority area and is surrounded by picturesque ethnic minority villages.
- LiuZhou Industrial Museum (Template:Lang) was set up on the original site of the former Cotton Textile Factory No.3, and opened in 2012.
In recent years (post-COVID-19 pandemic, 2022/3) some tourists engage in culinary tourism since Liuzhou is the birthplace of Guangxi's most famous dish, Luosifen.
Transport
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- Liuzhou Bailian Airport provides flights to major cities in China.
- Liuzhou has extensive rail connections with the rest of China. Hunan-Guangxi Railway (Hengyang - Pingxiang, a.k.a. Xiang-Gui Line), Jiaozuo-Liuzhou Railway (Jiaozuo - Zhicheng - Liuzhou, a.k.a. Jiao-Liu Line) Railway and Guizhou-Guangxi Railway (Guiyang - Liuzhou, a.k.a. Qian-Gui Line) make Liuzhou the center of freight transportation in Guangxi.
- China National Highway 209
- Liuzhou-Wuzhou Railway is a newly released railway line, linking the cities of Liuzhou with Wuzhou.
Military
Liuzhou is the headquarters of the 75th Group Army of the People's Liberation Army.
Quotes
Liuzhou appears in the Chinese saying Template:Lang.
because, in the past, the city was known for its coffins, made from firwood, camphor wood, and sandalwood,<ref name=ThingsChinese>Du Feibao, Du Bai, Lin Nianpei; Things Chinese, China Travel and Tourism Press, 2002, Template:ISBN</ref> which are said to preserve the body after death. Guangzhou's "Cantonese" cuisine is famous worldwide, and Hangzhou is known for its prosperity and the beauty of its location. Suzhou is reputed to have the most beautiful people in China, so the line is sometimes given as "Marry in Suzhou...".
Today many tourists buy miniature coffins, about Template:Convert long, as souvenirs or good luck charms. The coffins are usually inscribed Template:Lang (Template:Zh) which means 'get promotion and get rich". The second and fourth characters are homophones of Template:Lang (Template:Zh) meaning 'coffin'.
Some miniature coffins are used as caskets to hold the ashes of ancestors.<ref name=ThingsChinese/>
Notable people
- Liuzhou was the home of Li Ning (born 1963), gymnast and entrepreneur who lit the Olympic torch in Beijing in 2008.
- Chinese gymnast, Jiang Yuyuan.
See also
References
External links
Template:Commons category Template:Sister project
- Template:Official website (in Chinese and English)
- Introduction to Liuzhou
- Map of Liuzhou