Xianning

Xianning (simplified Chinese: 咸宁; pinyin: Xiánníng) is a prefecture-level city in China's Hubei province. It is known as the "City of Osmanthus".

Geography and Climate

Xianning is located in southeastern Hubei province, just south of Wuhan, between the southern bank of the Yangtze River in the north and the Mufu Mountains in the south. It borders Jiangxi to the southeast and Hunan to the southwest. It is called Hubei's southern gateway. Xianning is hilly and mountainous (especially in its southern part), with some flatlands (mostly in the north) and lakes. Its area is 1,501 km², 56% of which is forested.

Xianning's climate is temperate/continental. Average annual temperature is 17 °C and precipitation is 1400 mm.

Administration

Xianning has 1 districts, 4 counties, 1 city, 9 towns, 1 township, and 3 sub-districts.

City:
*Chibi (赤壁市)

Districts:
*Xian'an (咸安区)

Counties:
*Tongshan (通山县)
*Chongyang (崇阳县)
*Tongcheng (通城县)
*Jiayu County (嘉鱼县)

Demographics

Xianning has a population of more than 500,000 people. Most of the inhabitants of Xianning are Han; only 4,785 are from other ethnic groups including Hui, Tujia, Zhuang, Miao, Manchu, and Dong. The place with the largest ethnic minority population is in Chibi City.

Economy

Xianning has major rail lines, including the Beijing-Guangzhou line, many national highways, and a large stretch of the Yangtze River, making it an important transportation and shipping center.

Agriculture and forestry are two of Xianning's biggest industries. It is known by the three names, "City of Osmanthus", "City of Nan Bamboo", and "City of Tea". There are more than 1 million mu (6 English acres) of "Nan" Bamboo, 30,000 Chinese acres of osmanthus, and more than 150,000 Chinese acres of tea.

Mineral resources are also an important part if Xianning's economy. Niobium, gold, magnesium, antimony, monazite, coal, manganese, vanadium, mica, and marble are all mined or quarried in Xianning.

Tourism

Xianning's biggest tourist draw is its natural scenery. There are many sites including Taiyi Cave(太乙洞), Star Bamboo Sea(星星竹海), Nine Palaces Mountain(九宫山, Jiugong Shan, in Tongshan County), Lushui Lake(陆水湖), as well as the historical site the Chibi Ancient Ruins(赤壁遗址).

At the "Underground Project 131" site, some 15 km southeast of Xianning urban area, tourists can visit a system of underground tunnels that were built ca. 1970 to accommodate national military headquarters in the case of a war, but never used. [ [http://www.cqzg.cn/html/25/66425-52923.html 林彪为毛主席修建的地下避难所“131地下工程”] ]

External links

* [http://www.xianning.org/ Official Website(Chinese)]