Shiling, Guangzhou

Shiling (simplified Chinese: 狮岭镇; traditional Chinese: 狮嶺鎮; pinyin: Shīlǐng Zhèn) is a town on the outskirts of Guangzhou, China. Its name means "Lion Ridge", so called because of the local mountain ridge that is shaped like a lion.[1] Shiling Town has long consisted of small farms abutting the mountains from which it gets its name. In the 1970s the government began centrally planned industrialization of Shiling as a leatherworking town. It is now the largest center for the leatherworking industry in China. In addition, its forested mountains and ancient temple make it a tourist destination. Recently, Shiling has seen suburban real-estate redevelopment of some of its land in Western style, with widely space houses, as opposed to the traditional Chinese closely clustered farming communities.

Location

Shiling Town (狮岭镇)is located in Huadu District, a suburban district of Guangzhou. The G107 (Guang-Qing Highway), traveling northeast out of Guangzhou, is the major road passing through Shiling. Shiling is 34 km from downtown Guangzhou. The Beijing-Guangzhou railway also passes through Shiling.[1]

History

Shiling was founded as a hamlet (圩) in the Qing dynasty some time during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor (1736—1795).[1]

The leader of the Taiping Rebellion, Hong Xiuquan, while staying in Shiling (c. 1845 - 1847) developed his revolutionary theory and wrote many of his famous works at the Yuan Floral Hall (袁氏花厅), the ruins of which are still visible.[2]

Shiling was reorganized into a commune (公社) in 1953, into a region (区) in 1983, and most recently into a town (镇) in 1986. Shiling has 25 village (neighborhood) committees.[1]

Population

In 2002, Shiling had a population of about 180,000 residents and about 100,000 migrant workers.[1]

Economy

Farming

Shiling was originally and remains an agricultural community. Primary produce are rice, fruits, vegetables, flowers, nursery stock and the breeding of poultry and fish.[3]

Leather Industry

Beginning in the 1970s the central government promoted industrial development of Shiling focused on the leatherworking industry, which is carried out in factories and by piecework in homes, something the farming community could integrate into their lifestyle.[4]

Shiling produces low and medium quality leather goods for Chinese and international markets. The local business leaders are actively developing their capacity to make and market high-end leather goods.[4]

Shiling is the largest center for leather goods production and sales in China. The leather industry employs around 120,000 people.[1]

A leather training institute is being developed to train farmers in the leather trade and to improve the quality of leatherworking sciences.[5]

The China (Shiling) Leather Products Fair has been held annually in Shiling since 2000.

The Shiling leather industry was worth 4.7 billion yuan in 2002 [6] and 9 billion in 2009.[7]

Suburban Real Estate Development

Recently, "Western-style" suburban developments have been built in Shiling.[1] The developments are close to the scenic mountains with easy transportation to Guangzhou. The real estate developments in Shiling have been advertised as a "golden corridor" (黄金走廊) and "tomorrow's satellite city" (明日卫星城).[2]

Tourism

Tourism to Shiling is being promoted with attractions such as mountain resorts, local folk culture, the Pangu cultural festival, and the revolutionary historical site Yuan Floral Hall among others.

Ancient Pangu Temple

A rare temple dedicated to Pangu [8] is located in the mountains in the north of Shiling. The Pangu temple was built in 1809, burned, rebuilt in 1901,[8] neglected for many years, renovated (1984–86) and reopened.[9] The temple is promoted as a tourist attraction and pilgrimage site. The temple is noted for its Black Lion Dance,[9] waterfall, and clean spring water from Longkou spring, which is believed to have healing properties.[8] A festival is held on the birthday of Pangu, the 12th day of the 10th month of the Chinese lunar calendar.[9]

Mountain Resorts

Following the tourist draw of the Pangu temple, other resorts have been opened in the nearby mountain areas.

Notes and references

Leather Companies In China

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 http://baike.baidu.com/view/2241497.htm?fr=ala0_1
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 http://www.2hd.cn/dahuadu/zhenjiesudi/shilingzhen/shilingzhen/200810/30-24856.html
  3. ↑ http://www.gz.gov.cn/vfs/content/newcontent.jsp?contentId=521109&catId=16242
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 http://news.sina.com.cn/s/2009-11-04/080516551255s.shtml
  5. ↑ http://www.2hd.cn/dahuadu/zhenjiesudi/shilingzhen/shilingzhen/200810/30-24858.html
  6. ↑ http://info.hktdc.com/imn/02100301/leather003.htm
  7. ↑ http://www.chineseleather.org/news/?id=515
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 http://www.luopan.com/t/en_US/510000L000158.html Pangu King Temple Park
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 http://gzdaily.dayoo.com/html/2009-01/09/content_436023.htm Guangzhou Daily article

Coordinates: 23°27′50″N 113°08′58″E / 23.46389°N 113.14944°E