Yichang

Infobox Settlement
name =Yichang
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settlement_type =Prefecture-level city
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translit_lang1=Chinese
translit_lang1_type=Chinese
translit_lang1_info=宜昌
translit_lang1_type1=Pinyin
translit_lang1_info1=Yíchāng


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image_caption = A temple in Yichang


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map_caption = Location in Hubei


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pushpin_map_caption =Location in China
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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = China
subdivision_type1 = Province
subdivision_name1 = Hubei
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seat_type = City seat
seat = Xiling
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area_total_km2 =21084
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population_as_of =2000
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population_total =4150000
population_density_km2 =auto
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timezone = China Standard
utc_offset = +8
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latd=30 |latm=42 |lats=30 |latNS=N
longd=111 |longm=16 |longs=49 |longEW=E
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website =http://www.yichang.gov.cn/
footnotes = Yichang ( _zh. 宜昌; pinyin: Yíchāng) is a prefecture-level city in Hubei province of China.

Administrative divisions

*Xiling District (西陵区)
*Wujiagang District (伍家岗区)
*Dianjun District (点军区)
*Xiaoting District (猇亭区)
*Yiling District (夷陵区)
*Zhijiang City (枝江市)
*Yidu City (宜都市)
*Dangyang City (当阳市)
*Yuan'an County (远安县)
*Xingshan County (兴山县)
*Zigui County (秭归县)
*Changyang Tujia Autonomous County (长阳土家族自治县)
*Wufeng Tujia Autonomous County (五峰土家族自治县)

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

Yichang has an population of 4,150,000 with urban population of 1,338,000. [cite web |url=http://www.yichang.gov.cn/art/2007/9/19/art_4281_40473.html |title= History of Yichang |accessdate=2008-06-06 |publisher=Official website of Yichang Government |date= 2007-09-19|language=Chinese] 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.

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

External links

* [http://www.yichang.gov.cn/ Official website of Yichang Government]