Shaoguan

Shaoguan 韶关
Prefecture-level city
韶关市
Qujiang Bridge (曲江桥)
Location of Shaoguan City jurisdiction in Guangdong
Shaoguan Location in China
Coordinates: 24°49′N 113°36′E / 24.817°N 113.600°E / 24.817; 113.600
Country	People's Republic of China
Province	Guangdong
County-level divisions	10
Municipal seat	Zhenjiang District
Government
• CPC Secretary	Yang Xiaoming (杨小明)
• Mayor	Ai Xuefeng (艾学峰)
Area
• Total	18,645 km2 (7,199 sq mi)
Elevation	59 m (194 ft)
Population (2002)
• Total	3,148,500
• Density	170/km2 (440/sq mi)
Time zone	China Standard (UTC+8)
Area code(s)	(0)751
Licence plate prefixes	粤F
Major Nationalities	Han

Shaoguan (Chinese: 韶关), is a prefecture-level city in the north of Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, bordering Hunan to the northwest and Jiangxi to the northeast. It is home to the mummified remains of the sixth Zen Buddhist patriarch Huineng.

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 3 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 County	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 the northernmost prefecture-level city of Guangdong, bordering Chenzhou (Hunan) to the northwest and north, Ganzhou (Jiangxi) to the northeast, Heyuan to the east, Guangzhou and Huizhou to the south, and Qingyuan to the west. It spans latitude 23° 05'−25° 31' N and longitude 112° 50'−114° 45' E. It is situated at the southern end of the Nan Mountains (Nan Ling), which primarily run east-west here, and is marked by numerous erosion-created valleys; within its borders lies the 1,902 m (6,240 ft) Mount Shikeng (石坑崆), the highest point in the province. The city 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 G4 Beijing–Hong Kong–Macau Expressway as well as numerous other National Highways.

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 freezing rain possible in the nearby mountain passes in some years, and summer maxima are higher here, averaging 1.3 °C (2.3 °F) higher in July than in Guangzhou. Winter begins dry and relatively sunny but becomes progressively cloudier and damper. Spring is the cloudiest and wettest season, with the sun shining less than 30% of the time. The annual rainfall is around 1,580 mm (62 in), much of it delivered from April thru June. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from 10.2 °C (50.4 °F) in January to 29.0 °C (84.2 °F) in July; the annual mean is 20.39 °C (68.7 °F). There are 1,617 hours of bright sunshine annually.

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.

See also

• Shaozhou Tuhua
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Shaozhou
• Matteo Ricci

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shaoguan.

• http://www.shaoguan.gov.cn/ (Chinese)
• http://www.shaoguan.com.cn/ (Chinese)
• Shaoguan, China

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