Shaoguan

Shaoguan
韶关
Shaokwan
Siu Kwan
—  Prefecture-level city  —
韶关市
Shaoguan City (yellow) in Guangdong province
Shaoguan
Location in Guangdong
Coordinates:
Country People's Republic of China
Province Guangdong
County-level divisions 10
Township divisions
City seat Zhenjiang District
Government
 • CPC Secretary Yang Xiaoming (杨小明)
 • Mayor Xu Jianhua (徐建华)
Area
 • Total 18,645 km2 (7,198.9 sq mi)
Elevation 59 m (194 ft)
Population (2002)
 • Total 3,148,500
 • Density 168.9/km2 (437.4/sq mi)
Time zone China Standard (UTC+8)
Area code(s) (0)751
Licence plate prefixes 粤F
Major Nationalities Han
Shaoguan
Simplified Chinese 韶关
Traditional Chinese 韶關

Shaoguan (Chinese: 韶关, pinyin: Sháoguān), historically known as Shaokwan and Shao-chow, is a prefecture-level city in the north of Southern China's Guangdong province. It is home to the mummified remains of the sixth Zen Buddhist patriarch Huineng.

Contents

History

In 1589, Matteo Ricci relocated his mission house - the first ever Jesuit mission in mainland China - to Shaoguan after a fallout with the authorities in Zhaoqing. He remained in Shaoguan for a few years, eventually benefiting from Shaoguan's location on the important north-south travel route to establish connections with traveling dignitaries that allowed him to move north, to Nanchang, Nanjing, and Beijing.[1]

During World War II the city, then called Kukong, was the capital of Guangdong Province.

In June 2009, Uyghurs and Han workers clashed at a toy factory in Shaoguan, which was followed by the Ürümqi riots in July.

Administrative divisions

Shaoguan has direct jurisdiction over 2 districts, 2 county-level cities and 5 counties:

Map
# Name Hanzi Hanyu Pinyin Population
(2003 est.)		 Area (km²) Density
(/km²)
1 Zhenjiang District 浈江区 Zhēnjiāng Qū 360,000 523 688
2 Wujiang District 武江区 Wǔjiāng Qū 230,000 682 337
3 Qujiang District 曲江区 Qǔjiāng Qū 300,000 1,651 182
4 Lechang City 乐昌市 Lèchāng Shì 520,000 2,391 217
5 Nanxiong City 南雄市 Nánxióng Shì 460,000 2,361 195
6 Shixing County 始兴县 Shǐxīng Xiàn 240,000 1,174 204
7 Renhua County 仁化县 Rénhuà Xiàn 220,000 2,223 99
8 Wengyuan County 翁源县 Wēngyuán Xiàn 380,000 2,234 170
9 Xinfeng 新丰县 Xīnfēng Xiàn 240,000 2,016 119
10 Ruyuan Yao Autonomous County 乳源瑶族
自治县		 Rǔyuán Yáozú
Zìzhìxiàn		 200,000 2,125 94

Geography

Shaoguan is located on the Jingguang Railway (Beijing–Guangzhou) about 221 kilometres (137 mi) north of the provincial capital of Guangzhou. Shaoguan is also readily accessible by road as it is adjacent to the Jingzhu Expressway running from Beijing to Zhuhai.

At Shaoguan, the Wu River from the northwest and the Zhen River from the northeast join up to create the North River (Bei Jiang) which flows south to Guangzhou.

The downtown part of Shaoguan is located on a peninsula between the Wu and Zhen Rivers. The rivers are maintained at a constant level by a dam about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) downstream from the city. The city has about 20 kilometres (12 mi) of tree-lined riverside esplanades along the banks of the rivers. There are seven bridges crossing the three rivers.

Climate

Shaoguan has a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), with short, mild, damp winters, rainy springs, long, hot, and humid summers, and relatively sunny autumns. Due to the city's location far inland, winters are significantly cooler than in the rest of the province, with a January average temperature of 10.2 °C (50.4 °F), and summer maxima are higher here, averaging 1.3 °C (2.3 °F) higher in July than in Guangzhou. Frosts may occur, but freezing temperatures are much rarer. Winter starts off dry and sunny but becomes cloudier as spring approaches. Spring is the cloudiest and wettest time of the year, with only 16% of the possible amount of sunshine in March.

Climate data for Shaoguan (1971–2000)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 15.0
(59.0)		 15.8
(60.4)		 19.0
(66.2)		 24.5
(76.1)		 28.7
(83.7)		 31.7
(89.1)		 34.1
(93.4)		 33.8
(92.8)		 31.5
(88.7)		 27.8
(82.0)		 22.5
(72.5)		 17.9
(64.2)		 25.2
(77.4)
Average low °C (°F) 7.1
(44.8)		 8.9
(48.0)		 12.4
(54.3)		 17.6
(63.7)		 21.5
(70.7)		 24.4
(75.9)		 25.5
(77.9)		 25.1
(77.2)		 22.9
(73.2)		 18.5
(65.3)		 12.8
(55.0)		 8.1
(46.6)		 17.1
(62.8)
Rainfall mm (inches) 66.0
(2.598)		 108.2
(4.26)		 175.2
(6.898)		 230.3
(9.067)		 253.2
(9.969)		 217.4
(8.559)		 158.0
(6.22)		 131.5
(5.177)		 93.1
(3.665)		 60.5
(2.382)		 44.9
(1.768)		 45.2
(1.78)		 1,583.5
(62.343)
% humidity 75 78 82 82 81 80 76 77 75 72 71 71 76.7
Avg. rainy days (≥ 0.1 mm) 11.4 14.8 19.1 18.8 19.3 17.1 13.6 14.7 10.1 7.8 6.9 6.8 160.4
Sunshine hours 89.7 67.5 57.6 75.5 113.9 150.5 226.6 206.7 177.6 164.0 147.0 140.8 1,617.4
Source: China Meteorological Administration

Tourism

The Fengcai Tower in the centre of Shaoguan was built in the Ming Dynasty. To the south of the tower, at the other end of a pedestrian shopping street, the Dajian Monastery was founded in 660.

Near Shaoguan is the town of Maba, home of relics and museum of the Maba Man, Chinese Neanderthals. Near Maba is Nanhua Temple, which was founded by Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch of Zen Buddhism. The large Shaogang iron and steel factory is also located near Maba.

Near Shaoguan in Renhua county is located the Danxia Mountain which is a famous scenic area.

Northwest of Shaoguan, at the town of Pingshi, a dramatic stretch of river known as the Nine Torrents and Eighteen Shoals is a popular place for white-water rafting.

References

  1. ^ De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas

External links