Foshan
| Foshan 佛山市 | |
|---|---|
| Prefecture-level city | |
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Clockwise from top right: Zumiao of Foshan, Qingyun Tower in Shunfengshan Park, Statue of Guanyin on top of Xiqiaoshan, & Downtown Foshan in Chancheng District | |
| Nickname(s): 禅 (Chan) | |
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| Coordinates: 23°01′0″N 113°07′0″E / 23.01667°N 113.11667°ECoordinates: 23°01′0″N 113°07′0″E / 23.01667°N 113.11667°E | |
| Country | People's Republic of China |
| Province | Guangdong |
| Municipal seat | Chancheng District |
| Government | |
| • CPC Committee Secretary | Li Yiwei (李贻伟) |
| • Mayor | Liu Yuelun (刘悦伦) |
| Area | |
| • Prefecture-level city | 3,848.49 km2 (1,485.91 sq mi) |
| • Water | 690 km2 (270 sq mi) |
| • Urban | 3,848.49 km2 (1,485.91 sq mi) |
| • Metro | 17,572.9 km2 (6,784.9 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 16 m (52 ft) |
| Population (2012) | |
| • Prefecture-level city | 7,197,394 [1] |
| Time zone | China Standard Time (UTC+8) |
| Postal code | 528000 |
| Area code(s) | 0757 |
| License plate prefixes |
粤E（for motor vehicles registered in Chancheng, Sanshui and Gaoming District）, 粤Y(for motor vehicles registered in Nanhai District), 粤X(for motor vehicles registered in Shunde District) |
| GDP | ¥ 701.0 billion (2013) |
| GDP per capita | ¥ 96,535 (2011) |
| Website |
foshan |
| Foshan | |||||||||||||||
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"Foshan", as written in Chinese | |||||||||||||||
| Chinese | 佛山 | ||||||||||||||
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| Cantonese Jyutping | fat6 saan1 | ||||||||||||||
| Cantonese Yale | Fahtsāan | ||||||||||||||
| Hanyu Pinyin | Fóshān | ||||||||||||||
| Postal Map | Fatshan | ||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Buddha Mountain | ||||||||||||||
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Foshan (Chinese: 佛山), is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong province, People's Republic of China. The area under the city's jurisdiction is about 3,848.49 km2 (1,485.91 sq mi) and has an urban population of over 7.2 million. It is part of the Pearl River Delta Urban Area with 44.78 million inhabitants at the 2010 census spread over nine municipalities (including Macao) and 17,573 km².
The native dialect is the Foshan variant of Cantonese, but many areas of Foshan are now occupied by Mandarin-speaking migrants.
History
In ancient times, Foshan was known as Lihua Township. In 398, during the Jin Dynasty, a monk from present-day India founded a Buddhist temple on Tapo Hill. The temple fell into disrepair, but in 628, during the Tang Dynasty, county residents saw light radiating from the hill, where they excavated three bronze statues of the Buddha. They built a temple to house the three statues. From that time, the place was known as Foshan (Buddha Hill). Foshan became a religious center for the Pearl River Delta and was also known as Chancheng (Zen City - Zen being the art of meditation). This name survives today as the name of Foshan's central administrative district.
In 1925, Foshan became a city, but this status was revoked in 1927. Foshan regained the status of a city in 1951, and gained the status of a prefecture-level city in 1974. During the 1980s and 1990s, the present-day territory of Foshan underwent a number of administrative reorganizations. The city attained its present boundaries and administrative divisions in 2003.
Administration
The prefecture-level city of Foshan administers five county-level divisions, all of which are districts.
| Map | Name | Simplified Chinese | Hanyu Pinyin | Population (2010 census) |
Area (km2) |
Density (/km2) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chancheng District | 禅城区 | Chánchéng Qū | 1,101,077 | 154 | 7,150 | ||||||
| Nanhai District | 南海区 | Nánhǎi Qū | 2,588,844 | 1,074 | 2,410 | ||||||
| Shunde District | 顺德区 | Shùndé Qū | 2,461,701 | 806 | 3,054 | ||||||
| Sanshui District | 三水区 | Sānshuǐ Qū | 622,645 | 874 | 712 | ||||||
| Gaoming District | 高明区 | Gāomíng Qū | 420,044 | 960 | 438 | ||||||
These are further divided into 64 township-level divisions, including 37 towns and 27 subdistricts.
Foshan is close to Guangzhou and considers its link with Guangzhou very important. A Guangzhou-Foshan metropolitan region is being formed.
Geography and climate
Foshan lies in the Pearl River Delta. Guangzhou lies to the east, Zhongshan to the southeast, Jiangmen to the southeast, Yunfu to the west, and Zhaoqing to the northwest.
Foshan experiences a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa).
| Climate data for Guangzhou (normals 1971–2000, extremes 1961–2000) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 27.2 (81) |
28.6 (83.5) |
32.1 (89.8) |
32.4 (90.3) |
36.2 (97.2) |
36.6 (97.9) |
39.1 (102.4) |
38.0 (100.4) |
37.6 (99.7) |
34.8 (94.6) |
32.5 (90.5) |
29.6 (85.3) |
39.1 (102.4) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 18.3 (64.9) |
18.5 (65.3) |
21.6 (70.9) |
25.7 (78.3) |
29.3 (84.7) |
31.5 (88.7) |
32.8 (91) |
32.7 (90.9) |
31.5 (88.7) |
28.8 (83.8) |
24.5 (76.1) |
20.6 (69.1) |
26.3 (79.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 13.9 (57) |
15.2 (59.4) |
18.1 (64.6) |
22.4 (72.3) |
25.8 (78.4) |
27.8 (82) |
28.9 (84) |
28.8 (83.8) |
27.5 (81.5) |
24.7 (76.5) |
20.1 (68.2) |
15.5 (59.9) |
22.39 (72.3) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 10.3 (50.5) |
11.7 (53.1) |
15.2 (59.4) |
19.5 (67.1) |
22.7 (72.9) |
24.8 (76.6) |
25.5 (77.9) |
25.4 (77.7) |
24.0 (75.2) |
20.8 (69.4) |
15.9 (60.6) |
11.5 (52.7) |
18.9 (66.1) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 0.1 (32.2) |
1.3 (34.3) |
3.2 (37.8) |
7.7 (45.9) |
14.6 (58.3) |
18.8 (65.8) |
21.6 (70.9) |
20.9 (69.6) |
15.5 (59.9) |
9.5 (49.1) |
4.9 (40.8) |
0.0 (32) |
0.0 (32) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 40.9 (1.61) |
69.4 (2.732) |
84.7 (3.335) |
201.2 (7.921) |
283.7 (11.169) |
276.2 (10.874) |
232.5 (9.154) |
227.0 (8.937) |
166.2 (6.543) |
87.3 (3.437) |
35.4 (1.394) |
31.6 (1.244) |
1,736.1 (68.35) |
| Avg. rainy days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 7.5 | 11.2 | 15.0 | 16.3 | 18.3 | 18.2 | 15.9 | 16.8 | 12.5 | 7.1 | 5.5 | 4.9 | 149.2 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 72 | 78 | 82 | 84 | 84 | 84 | 82 | 82 | 78 | 72 | 66 | 66 | 77.5 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 118.5 | 71.6 | 62.4 | 65.1 | 104.0 | 140.2 | 202.0 | 173.5 | 170.2 | 181.8 | 172.7 | 166.0 | 1,628 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 35 | 22 | 17 | 17 | 26 | 35 | 49 | 43 | 46 | 51 | 52 | 50 | 36.9 |
| Source: China Meteorological Administration,[2] all-time extreme temperature[3] | |||||||||||||
Transportation
In 2013 to 2014, Foshan planned to improve public transportation by putting forward 6 measures.[4]
FMetro
The first line of FMetro opened in 2010, and another two lines are under construction and due to be completed in 2015 and 2020.
The existing line of FMetro network:
Air
Foshan Shadi Airport was once a regional airport. In 1987 it became a base of China United Airlines (CUA) in Guangdong Province. When CUA ceased domestic flights on November 1, 2002, Foshan Airport remained military service only. The airport resumed its regional airport status in 2005.
Rail
Foshan is a main interchange for railway routes linking Guangzhou, Hong Kong and the western Guangdong Province. It is connected with Hong Kong via the KCRC Guangdong Through Train service from Foshan Railway Station. The inter-city train service was extended from Guangzhou to Foshan since the 1990s.
Motor Vehicle
The Foshan motor vehicle plate begin with the abbreviation of Guangdong, "粤":
- 粤Y for Nanhai District
- 粤X for Shunde District
- 粤E for Gaoming District, Sanshui District, and Chancheng District
Economy
Manufacture and Industry
Following Shenzhen and Guangzhou, Foshan is the third largest manufacturing base in the Pearl River Delta. Once home to a strong State-Owned Enterprises sector, its current economic strength lies in private firms and Township and Village Enterprises in Shunde and Nanhai. In 2002, private firms contributed 56.12% of the industrial output and firms from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan contributed 63.44% in exports.
Key industries in Foshan include:
- Household electrical appliance and tool manufacturing
- Furniture
- Non-metal ore and manufacturing
- Electronics and communications
- Stainless steel products
- Plastic products
- Ceramics
Some well-known brands to come out of these pillar industries include Midea, Kelon, and Jianlibao. Foshan's furniture and lighting industry is known as the world's largest furniture wholesale market and the world's largest lighting wholesale market.
Industrial Zone
- Foshan Hi-Tech Development Zone
Foshan Hi-Tech Development Zone was founded in 1992. Its total planned area is 7.55 km2 (2.92 sq mi). The zone is very close to the national highway G325 as well as Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport. The major industries in the zone including automobile assembly, biotechnology and chemicals processing.[5]
Development strategy
Foshan aims to become a manufacturing giant and the third largest city in Guangdong. To do this, it has pledged to make large-scale investment in the construction of the infrastructure such as transportation and energy. Urban development will focus on the central urban group and Shunde urban group, each with more than one million inhabitants.
Sports
In October 2014 the city hosted The Foshan Open golf event on the European Challenge Tour.[6]
Sister cities
-
Itami, Hyōgo, Japan -
La Possession, Réunion, France (since 1989)[7] - Aix-en-Provence, France
-
Port Louis, Mauritius -
Stockton, California, United States -
Townsville, Queensland, Australia -
Medway, United Kingdom -
Starogard Gdański, Poland -
St. George's, Grenada -
Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany (since 2013)[8][9]
Notable people
- Wong Fei Hung (1847–1924), legendary martial art master and doctor.
- Ip Man (1893–1972), Wing Chun martial art master, sifu of Bruce Lee.
- Wang Yue, (2009-2011), toddler killed in one of the most notorious examples of the bystander effect.
References
- ↑ http://www.citypopulation.de/php/china-guangdong-admin.php
- ↑ 中国地面国际交换站气候标准值月值数据集（1971－2000年) (in Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved March 2009.
- ↑ "Extreme Temperatures Around the World". Retrieved 2010-12-01.
- ↑ Foshan City Transportation Bureau home page Foshan City Transportation Bureau. Retrieved February 1,2014
- ↑ RightSite.asia | Foshan Hi-Tech Development Zone
- ↑ "The Foshan Tour". European Challenge Tour. PGA European Tour. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
- ↑ Ville de la Possession - Jumelages
- ↑ http://www2.ingolstadt.de/index.phtml?object=tx|1842.55.1&NavID=1842.86&Aktuell_ID=13449
- ↑ http://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/neuburg/Ingolstadt-und-Foshan-id27503787.html
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Foshan. |
- Map of Foshan (Chinese)
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| Largest cities or towns in China Sixth National Population Census of the People's Republic of China (2010) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Name | Province | Pop. | Rank | Name | Province | Pop. | ||
 Shanghai  Beijing |
1 | Shanghai | Shanghai | 20,217,700 | 11 | Chengdu | Sichuan | 6,316,900 |  Chongqing  Guangzhou |
| 2 | Beijing | Beijing | 16,446,900 | 12 | Nanjing | Jiangsu | 6,238,200 | ||
| 3 | Chongqing | Chongqing | 11,871,200 | 13 | Shenyang | Liaoning | 5,718,200 | ||
| 4 | Guangzhou | Guangdong | 10,641,400 | 14 | Hangzhou | Zhejiang | 5,578,300 | ||
| 5 | Shenzhen | Guangdong | 10,358,400 | 15 | Xi'an | Shaanxi | 5,399,300 | ||
| 6 | Tianjin | Tianjin | 9,562,300 | 16 | Harbin | Heilongjiang | 5,178,000 | ||
| 7 | Wuhan | Hubei | 7,541,500 | 17 | Suzhou | Jiangsu | 4,083,900 | ||
| 8 | Dongguan | Guangdong | 7,271,300 | 18 | Qingdao | Shandong | 3,990,900 | ||
| 9 | Hong Kong | Hong Kong | 7,055,071 | 19 | Dalian | Liaoning | 3,902,500 | ||
| 10 | Foshan | Guangdong | 6,771,900 | 20 | Zhengzhou | Henan | 3,677,000 | ||
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