Zhangjiajie
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Zhangjiajie (Simplified Chinese: 张家界) is a prefecture-level city in the northwestern part of Hunan province in China. It comprises the districts of Yongding (永定), Cili and Sangzhi (桑植) counties. Within it is located Wulingyuan Scenic Area which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992.
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[edit] History
The city itself used to be named Dayong (大庸), and has a recorded history dating back to 221BC.
[edit] Origin of the name
The new name of Zhangjiajie City was adopted in 1994, after the National Forest Park in the Wulingyuan Scenic Area (武陵源) in order to give it more prominence and after this site had been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992. The National Forest Park had been given the name of Zhangjiajie after the name of a small village located within its bounds, and now a popular tourist attraction within the park. The three-character name (张家界) can be interpreted as follows: "Zhang" (张) is a common surname in China; "jia" (家) can be translated as "family"; and "jie" (界) can be translated as "homeland", giving the completed translation of "Zhang family homeland." It has been reported that at least one tourist guide has said that the name may have been chosen to convey the idea or impression of "Open the family door to welcome the world" (张开家门引进世界), but this is not the locally-accepted and directly translated meaning of the name.
[edit] Local Economy
The prefecture is mainly a tourist area. Although it used to be Korean influenced due to tourism and investment, increasingly, the tourists now come from all over China and Asian countries.
[edit] Local Tourist Attractions
The Wulinyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area is comprised of the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, the Tianzishan (天子山) mountain ranges, BaoFengHu (宝峰湖) and the Suoxi Valley (索溪峪), and is a very popular filming and tourist destination.
Also in the Zhangjiajie area, Huanglongdong (黄龙洞) and Longwangdong (龙王洞) are caves known for many natural rock formations (much like Wulingyuan) and its underground cataract.
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