Yichang

This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Yichang is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:

Yichang
—  Prefecture-level city  —
Chinese transcription(s)
 - Chinese 宜昌
 - Pinyin Yíchāng
A temple in Yichang
A temple in Yichang
Location in Hubei
Location in Hubei
Yichang (China)
Yichang
Yichang
Location in China
Coordinates: 30°42′30″N 111°16′49″E / 30.70833, 111.28028
Country China
Province Hubei
City seat Xiling
Area
 - Total 21,084 km² (8,140.6 sq mi)
Population (2000)
 - Total 4,150,000
 - Density 196.8/km² (509.8/sq mi)
Time zone China Standard (UTC+8)
Website: http://www.yichang.gov.cn/

Yichang (Chinese: 宜昌; pinyin: Yíchāng) is a prefecture-level city in Hubei province of China.

Contents

Administrative divisions

Geography

Yichang covers 21,084 km² in Western Hubei Province at the Eastern end of the Xiling Gorge (西陵峡), one of the Three Gorges on the Yangtze River. The temperature averages 16-18°C (60-65°F).

Demographics

Tujia village in Yichang

Yichang has an population of 4,150,000 with urban population of 1,338,000.1 It is home of the Tujia ethnic group.

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).

History

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.

Economy

Yichang has long been a major transit port and distribution center of goods. It is fueled by the Gezhouba Hydra Project (Gezhouba Dam) and the Three Gorges Dam, which is 40 km upstream.

The Three Gorges Dam is located near to Yichang

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. Yichang was also the site of a famous battle during the Three Kingdoms era, the Battle of Yiling.

In 1876, under the Qing Emperor Guangxu, Yichang was opened to foreign trade as a trading port after the Second Opium War with Britain. The imperial government set up a navigation company there. Wharves were built as well, but before 1949 the wharf area was only less than half a kilometer in length.After 1949, more than 50 wharves have been constructed at the port so that its wharf area is now over 15 km long. There are the shiplocks at Gezhouba Water Control Project.

During WWII when China was fighting with Japan, an encounter battle (Hui Zhan) happened in the area.

References

  1. ^ "History of Yichang" (in Chinese). Official website of Yichang Government (2007-09-19). Retrieved on 2008-06-06.

External links

Wikipedia content modification information:

  • This page was last modified on 28 September 2008, at 22:35.

Wikipedia Authorship and Review

Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.

Wikipedia Usage Guidelines

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Yichang".

The URL for this specific entry is:

All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.