Zhanjiang

Zhanjiang 湛江
Prefecture-level city
湛江市
Zhanjiang Bay Bridge
Nickname(s): Harbour City (港城)
Zhanjiang Location in China
Coordinates: 21°12′N 110°24′E / 21.200°N 110.400°E / 21.200; 110.400Coordinates: 21°12′N 110°24′E / 21.200°N 110.400°E / 21.200; 110.400
Country	People's Republic of China
Province	Guangdong
Municipal seat	Chikan District
Government
• CPC Party Chief	Liu Xiaohua (刘小华)
Area
• Prefecture-level city	12,490 km2 (4,820 sq mi)
• Urban	1,360 km2 (530 sq mi)
• Metro	1,360 km2 (530 sq mi)
Population (2010 census)
• Prefecture-level city	6,993,304
• Density	560/km2 (1,500/sq mi)
• Urban	1,612,300
• Urban density	1,200/km2 (3,100/sq mi)
• Metro	1,612,300
• Metro density	1,200/km2 (3,100/sq mi)
Time zone	China Standard (UTC+8)
Postal code	524000
Area code(s)	759
Major Nationalities	Han
County-level divisions	9
License Plate Prefix	粤G
GDP	2010
- Total	CNY 140.28 billion
- per capita	CNY 20,048
Website	http://www.zhanjiang.gov.cn/

Zhanjiang (Chinese: 湛江; pinyin: Zhànjiāng; French: Fort-Bayard), is a prefecture-level city at the southwestern end of Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, facing Hainan to the south.

Its population was 6,993,304 inhabitants at the 2010 census. 1,612,300 live in the built-up area made of four urban districts: Chikan, Xiashan, Potou and Mazhang.

History

During the Qin Dynasty (221−206 BC), the area belonged to Xiang Shire. The central government of the Han Dynasty (206 BC−220 AD) set Xuwen County administering the whole Leizhou Peninsular. It was one of the earliest departure points on the Marine Silk Road. The population spiked during the Tang (618−907) and Song (960−1279) dynasties.

French colonial period

The region was still a small fishing port when it was occupied by the French in 1898. The next year, the French forced the Chinese to lease a small enclave of Zhanjiang to them for 99 years as the territory of Kwang-Chou-Wan. The French wanted to develop the port, which they called Fort-Bayard, to serve southern China, in parts where France had exclusive rights to railway and mineral development. Their efforts, however, were hindered by the poverty of the surrounding land. The French retained control of the region until 1943, when the Japanese occupied the area during World War II. At the end of the war, the region returned briefly under French rule before being formally returned to China in 1946 by general Charles de Gaulle, then French head of state.

Post–World War II

Following the establishment of the People’s Republic in 1949, Zhanjiang developed new importance. In 1955 a rail link was built to Litang in Guangxi province, where it joined the Hunan-Guangxi Railway. Since then, Zhanjiang has developed into a major modern port serving southern China, usable by ships of up to 50,000 tons. In 1984 Zhanjiang was designated one of the “open” cities of China, where the central government invited foreign investment; this spurred the city’s further industrial development. It has shipyards and engineering works; automobile, electrical-appliance, and textile plants; and sugar refineries, flour and rice mills, and chemical works.

In the early 1990s a new rail line was completed, linking Zhanjiang with Guangzhou, the provincial capital. The line was later extended to Hai’an, at the southernmost tip of Leizhou Peninsula, where trains could be transported by Guangdong–Hainan Ferry across the Hainan Strait to Haikou.

Until the introduction of Pinyin spelling, it was often known in the west as "Tsamkong" due to the Cantonese pronunciation of the name.

Geography

Zhanjiang is to the southwest of the city of Guangzhou on an inlet of the South China Sea (French: Mer de Chine Méridionale). It is on the eastern coast of the Leizhou Peninsula.

The dialect in downtown districts is Cantonese, while the people in most counties speak Hainanese (or Leizhou dialect as it is referred to locally). The dialect in Lianjiang County is Hakka. The time zone for Zhanjiang, as with all locations in the People's Republic of China, is Beijing time (GMT +8).

Climate

The average winter temperatures range of Zhanjiang is between 8 and 17 degrees with summer temperatures between 25 and 29 degrees.^[2] The city enjoys a tropical and subtropical monsoon climate with low altitudes, north of the tropic of cancer. Influenced by the ocean climate, Zhanjiang escapes the heat of the summer and chilliness of the winter.^[3]

Administration

Zhanjiang has direct jurisdiction over nine county-level divisions:

Map	#	Name	Hanzi	Hanyu Pinyin	Population (2003 est.)	Area (km²)	Density (/km²)
	City proper
	1	Chikan District	赤坎区	Chìkǎn Qū	220,000	79	2,785
	2	Xiashan District	霞山区	Xiáshān Qū	360,000	88	4,091
	Suburban
	3	Potou District	坡头区	Pōtóu Qū	380,000	424	896
	4	Mazhang District	麻章区	Mázhāng Qū	470,000	769	611
	Satellite cities
	5	Wuchuan City	吴川市	Wúchuān Shì	1,010,000	848	1,191
	6	Lianjiang City	廉江市	Liánjiāng Shì	1,510,000	2,835	533
	7	Leizhou City	雷州市	Léizhōu Shì	1,510,000	3,523	429
	Rural
	8	Suixi County	遂溪县	Suíxī Xiàn	990,000	2,144	462
	9	Xuwen County	徐闻县	Xúwén Xiàn	690,000	1954.37	382

Military

Zhanjiang is headquarter of the South Sea Fleet of the People's Liberation Army Navy. It is also home base to two marine brigades.

Economy

Zhanjiang is a port city and trade center with a diversified industrial base, including a shipyard, textile plants, sugar refineries. plants producing automobiles, chemicals and electrical appliances as well as rice mills.

Port of Zhanjiang

The Port of Zhanjiang is one of the finest deep water ports in China. It is the southernmost port on the coast of mainland China and serves as a shipping outlet for much of Southwest China. The port of Zhanjiang, built in 1956, was the first modern port designed and developed after the founding of the People's Republic of China and serves as the headquarters for the People's Liberation Army Navy's South Sea Fleet.^[4] The Zhanjiang Port is one of the eight major ports in China, with an annual throughput of more than 2,600 million tons.

Agriculture

Sugarcane production was Zhanjiang's most prominent agricultural product in 2007: in 2006 it was 9,135,500 tons and it was 10,000,000 tons in 2007.

Akoya cultured pearls, pineapples, bananas, papayas, seafood, farm-raised prawns and fish are native products and play a prominent role in the agricultural economy of Zhanjiang.

Industry

Industrial economy to make a breakthrough, a marked increase in the number of units. Zhanjiang in 2007 of all industrial output value of 112.134 billion yuan, up 17.1 percent, a growth rate of nearly four-year high of 15.3 billion net increase over the previous year. In 2007 the city's industrial enterprises above designated size reached 714, 71 more than the year before, industrial output value of over 100 million of the 132 enterprises.

Zhanjiang Economic and Technological Development Zone was founded in 1984. Its total planned area is 9.2 km² (3.6 sq mi). The zone has a very good location for transportation. It is very convenient to get to the airport, the national highway G325 as well as the port. The major industries in the zone including automobile assembly, biotechnology and computer software.^[5]

Business

In 2007 the total value of retail sales of consumer goods in Zhanjiang was 38.216 billion yuan, an increase of 19.5% over the previous 12 years.

Transports

Air

The city is served by the Zhanjiang Airport (IATA: ZHA, ICAO: ZGZJ).

Rail

The Litang-Zhanjiang Railway runs from Zhanjiang inland to Guangxi. A branch line off the Litang-Zhanjiang Line at Hechun to Maoming connects Zhanjiang with Guangdong's rail network to the east. A direction rail connection between Zhanjiang and Maoming, which will form the southernmost section of the Luoyang-Zhanjiang Railway, is under construction. The Guangdong-Hainan Railway runs south from Zhnjiang down the Leizhou Peninsula to Hai'an where trains are ferried to Hainan Island's rail network.

Tourism

The well-known tourist attractions, the "Zhanjiang Eight", are as follows:

1. East Island
2. Huguangyan National Geopark:^[6] This scenic area is a national geological park famous for its natural volcano relic. It has the most typical and largest maar (volcanic) lake in the world.^[3]
3. View of the sea promenade
4. Park Jin-inch
5. Lighthouse
6. South Asia Subtropical Botanical Garden^[7]
7. South Isles
8. Zhanjiang Port: in the southeast part of the city proper, it once had passenger transport station operating liner to reach Haikou. However, there are no longer passenger liners directly from the city proper to Haikou. Visitors should go to the Hai'an Dock in Xuwen County for this connection.^[3]
9. Donghai Island: It ranks as the fifth largest island in China. A popular holiday resort has been built on the east side. In addition to the forest and beautiful sea, it has a 28-kilomter-long beach.^[3]
10. Naozhou Island: This is a beautiful island that is favorable for a visit at any season. The Naozhou Beacon with over a hundred years' history is the highlight of the island.^[3]

Major theme attractions

French architectural monuments

• French minister to the Department of the Guangzhou Bay
• France, the Police Department, Guangzhou Bay
• St. Victor Roman Catholic Church^[10]
• Calyon site
• Guangzhou Bay Chamber of Commerce Center

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Zhanjiang is twinned with:

• Geraldton, Western Australia, Australia
• Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.A.
• Ilembe, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
• Serpukhov, Moscow Oblast, Russia
• Cairns, Queensland, Australia

^[11]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zhanjiang.

• Official website of Zhanjiang Government
• Official website of Zhanjiang Port
• Zhanjiang board of Tourism

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• http://www.cairns.qld.gov.au/region/sister-cities/Zhanjiang-China