Mianyang

Mianyang 绵阳
—  Prefecture-level city  —
绵阳市
Location of Mianyang City jurisdiction (yellow) within Sichuan
Mianyang Location in Sichuan
Coordinates: 31°28′N 104°41′E / 31.467°N 104.683°E / 31.467; 104.683Coordinates: 31°28′N 104°41′E / 31.467°N 104.683°E / 31.467; 104.683
Country	People's Republic of China
Province	Sichuan
City seat	Fucheng (涪城区)
Area
– Prefecture-level city	20,281 km2 (7,830.5 sq mi)
– Urban	1,570 km2 (606.2 sq mi)
– Metro	1,570 km2 (606.2 sq mi)
Elevation	473 m (1,552 ft)
Highest elevation	5,588 m (18,333 ft)
Lowest elevation	307 m (1,007 ft)
Population (2010 census)
– Prefecture-level city	4,613,862
– Density	227.5/km2 (589.2/sq mi)
– Urban	985,586
– Urban density	627.8/km2 (1,625.9/sq mi)
– Metro	985,586
– Metro density	627.8/km2 (1,625.9/sq mi)
Time zone	China Standard (UTC+8)
Postal code	621000
Area code(s)	0816
Website	http://www.mianyang.gov.cn/

Mianyang (simplified Chinese: 绵阳; traditional Chinese: 綿陽; pinyin: Miányáng) is the second largest prefecture-level city of Sichuan province in Southwest China. Its administrative area includes the city proper of Mianyang, with 985,586 inhabitants in the built up area (2 urban counties), the county-level city of Jiangyou, and six counties, covering an area of over {{convert/{{{2}}}|20281km²|0|||||||r=re|d=LoffAoffDbSoff|s=}} and a population of 4,613,862 at the 2010 census.

History

Mianyang, called Fujun in ancient times, had advanced in agriculture during the Qin (221–206 BCE) and Han (206 BCE–220 CE) dynasties. It has a history of over 2,200 years since the Emperor Gaozu of Han established the first county in this area in 201 BCE. Due to its advantageous geographic location, it had always been a town of great military importance and formed a natural defence for Chengdu. ^[1] Mianyang is home to the CAEP and Science City, an immense Military Research Complex which was the site of the development of China first nuclear bomb.

The city proper itself was only lightly damaged by the earthquake of 12 May 2008. However, Beichuan County, which is in the prefecture is among the most severely hit of all disaster regions following the earthquake, including the Beichuan High School campus, where more than 1,000 students lost their lives after two main buildings collapsed.^[2] Around 80% of the county's buildings are said to have collapsed, including its main government building.^[3] The casualty toll for the quake in Mianyang Prefecture as of 7 June 2008 was 21,963 people killed, 167,742 injured, and 8,744 people missing.^[4][5]

Geography and climate

Mianyang is located at the northwestern end of the Sichuan Basin, on the upper to middle reaches of the Fu River. Its administrative area ranges in latitude from 30° 42' to 33° 03' N and in longitude from 103° 45' to 105° 43' E. Bordering prefectures are Guangyuan to the northeast, Nanchong to the east, Suining to the south, Deyang to the southwest, Ngawa Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture to the west. It also borders Gansu province for a small section in the north.

Mianyang has a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa) and is largely mild and humid, with four distinct seasons. Winter is short, mild, and foggy, though actual precipitation is low. January averages 5.3 °C (41.5 °F), and while frost may occur, snow is rare. Summers are long, hot and humid, with highs often exceeding 30 °C (86 °F). The daily average in July, the warmest month, is 25.7 °C (78.3 °F). Rainfall is light in winter and can be heavy in summer, and more than 70% of the annual total occurs from May to September. The annual frost-free period across most of the prefecture lasts from 252 to 300 days, and there are only 1,100 hours of sunshine annually, which is not even 30% of the possible total.

Climate data for Mianyang (1971−2000)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	9.6 (49.3)	11.6 (52.9)	16.1 (61.0)	22.3 (72.1)	26.7 (80.1)	28.7 (83.7)	30.1 (86.2)	30.5 (86.9)	25.5 (77.9)	21.0 (69.8)	16.0 (60.8)	10.9 (51.6)	20.8
Average low °C (°F)	2.0 (35.6)	4.1 (39.4)	7.7 (45.9)	12.5 (54.5)	17.4 (63.3)	20.9 (69.6)	22.4 (72.3)	21.9 (71.4)	18.7 (65.7)	14.3 (57.7)	8.8 (47.8)	3.6 (38.5)	12.9
Precipitation mm (inches)	8.5 (0.335)	11.7 (0.461)	20.2 (0.795)	46.7 (1.839)	71.4 (2.811)	107.0 (4.213)	218.7 (8.61)	192.2 (7.567)	131.4 (5.173)	38.7 (1.524)	14.5 (0.571)	4.5 (0.177)	865.5 (34.075)
Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm)	5.6	7.0	9.5	11.2	13.4	14.3	15.4	13.1	14.9	12.7	6.6	4.0	127.7
Source: Weather China

Transport

The city has both highway and railway connections to several major cities, and is situated on the road from Xi'an to the provincial capital of Chengdu as well as the Baocheng Railway running from Baoji in Shaanxi province to Chengdu.

Mianyang Airport has direct flights to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Kunming, and Hangzhou.

Economy

Mianyang is one of China's major centres for the electronics industry. It has many well-known research institutions, such as the China Academy of Engineering Physics and China Aerodynamics Research and Development Center. Many large-scale enterprises, such as Changhong Electronics Group Corporation, Sichuan DND Pharmaceutical Co.,Ltd., Jiuzhou Electronics Group, Shuangma Cement Group, and Changcheng Special Steel Company also have their home in Mianyang.

Mianyang is an important national defence, scientific research and production base, consisting of 18 institutes including the China Academy of Engineering Physics and the China Aerodynamics Research Institute. Moreover, it houses 50 large and medium size enterprises, and six science colleges.

The provincial government will hand over greater administrative powers of economic management at the provincial-level authority to propel the development of Mianyang. The new economy management authority will pay close attention to the construction of the scientific city. The provincial committee party and government are presently drafting the "Opinions on Propelling China Scientific City Construction" report which is expected to come out soon.

Development Zone

• Mianyang Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone

Mianyang Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone was established in 1992, with a planned area of 43 square kilometers. The zone is situated 96 kilometers away from Chengdu, and is 8 km away from Mianyang Airport. Since its establishment, the zone accumulated 177.4 billion yuan of industrial output, 46.2 billion yuan of gross domestic product, fiscal revenue 6.768 billion yuan. There are more than 136 high-tech enterprises in the zone and they accounted for more than 90% of the total industrial output. Zone is a leader in electronic information industry, biological medicine, new materials and production of motor vehicles and parts.^[6]

Education

There are 6 universities and colleges in the city, and it is well known as a science and technology centre.

The most famous one is Southwest University of Science and Technology. SWUST is located in Mianyang City ---- the science and technology city of China, about 100 km away from Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan Province, P. R. China. SWUST has a large, beautiful campus. The campus covers an area of 4000 mu (about 260 hectares). It is not only beautiful with green hills, clean rivers and luxuriant vegetation and but also equipped with advanced teaching facilitates. There is a wide-band multi-media campus network, which connected with Internet. The student dorm has an access of telephone, Internet and TV. There are over 900,000 copies of books and over 10,000 electronic books in the library. The studying and living facilities are all ready on the campus.

People

It is the hometown of the famous poet Li Bai, and boasts many historical relics of the Three Kingdoms period.

Several minorities live in Mianyang, such as the Tibetan and Qiang people.

Subdivisions

Map
#	Name	Hanzi	Hanyu Pinyin	Population (2004 est.)	Area (km²)	Density (/km²)
1	Fucheng District	涪城区	Fúchéng Qū	620,000	597	1,039
2	Youxian District	游仙区	Yóuxiān Qū	510,000	973	524
3	Jiangyou City	江油市	Jiāngyóu Shì	870,000	2,720	320
4	Santai County	三台县	Sāntái Xiàn	1,460,000	2,661	549
5	Yanting County	盐亭县	Yántíng Xiàn	590,000	1,645	359
6	An County	安县	Ān Xiàn	510,000	1,404	363
7	Zitong County	梓潼县	Zǐtóng Xiàn	380,000	1,438	264
8	Pingwu County	平武县	Píngwǔ Xiàn	190,000	5,974	32
9	Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County	北川羌族 自治县	Běichuān Qiāngzú Zìzhìxiàn	160,000	2,869	56

References

1. ^ "Mianyang Travel Guide". http://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/sichuan/mianyang/. 
2. ^ "Eye witnesses of the earthquake disaster in Beichuan Middle School, Sichuan (Chinese: 四川北川中学震灾纪实)" (in Chinese). bczx.changhong.com. http://bczx.changhong.com/. Retrieved 2008-10-01. 
3. ^ Death toll in China earthquake rises to 7,600
4. ^ "Casualties in Wenchuan Earthquake" (in Chinese). Sina.com. 2008-05-28. http://news.sina.com.cn/pc/2008-05-13/326/651.html. Retrieved 2008-05-28. 
5. ^ 21,963 deaths in Mianyang as of June 7, 18:00 CST,"Earthquake Information of Mianyang as of June 7" (in Chinese). Official website of Mianyang Government. 2008-06-08. http://www.mianyang.gov.cn/MYGOV/147211412819673088/20080608/301258.html. Retrieved 2008-06-08. 
6. ^ RightSite.asia | Mianyang Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone

External links

• Government of Mianyang