Jinzhou
- For the city in Hebei provonce, see Jinzhou, Hebei.
 | |
| Administration Type | Prefecture-level city |
| Area | 1,030 km² |
| Coastline | 97.7 kilometer |
| Population | 3,000,000 (2001) |
| GDP - Total - Per Capita |
¥ ¥ |
| Mayor | Liu Zhiqiang (刘志强) |
| Area code | 416 |
Jinzhou (simplified Chinese: 锦州; traditional Chinese: 錦州; pinyin: Jǐnzhōu), is a prefecture-level city of Liaoning province in Northeast China. It is a geographically strategic city in the "Liaoxi Corridor" (遼西走廊), which connects North China and Northeast China. Jinzhou is the coastal economic centre of West Liaoning province on the northern shore of Bohai Sea. Jinzhou's jurisdiction is 10,301 km², 440 km² is rural. Its coastline is 97.7 km. Population: 3,000,000 - 770,000 of which are urban.
Administration
Jinzhou has eight immediate sub-municipal divisions:
- Guta District (古塔区)
- Taihe District (太和区)
- Linghe District (凌河区)
- Linhai County (凌海市)
- Beining County (北宁市)
- Yi County (义县)
- Heishan County (黑山县)
- Jinzhou Economic and Technical Development Zone (锦州经济技术开发区)
The above eight are subdivided into 43 towns (鎮), 69 rural towns (鄉), and 1680 villages.
History
Jinzhou is an ancient city with a more thousand-year history. Originally known as Tuhe, it became part of the Yan in the Warring States period; the Qin unified six states and the majority of what is now Jinzhou became part of Liaodong township. It was part of Changli township in Youzhou in the Han and Three Kingdoms periods, but fell under the jurisdiction of Yingzhou during the Beiwei, Dongwei and Beiqi periods, before becoming part of Liucheng township and then Yan township during the Sui and Tang eras. During the Tang dynasty, it became the seat of the Andong township government. The name 'Jinzhou' began to be used in the Liao dynasty, when it belonged to Zhongjing prefecture. In the Jin dynasty, it belonged to Dongjing township and Beijing township. It belonged to Liaoyang Xingzhongshu ministry in the Yuan dynasty and to Liaodong township in the Ming dynasty, and was ruled by Tianfuduring the Qing dynasty, when its name was changed from Jinzhou to Jinxian. During the Republican period, Jinzhou fell under the jurisdiction of Liaoning Province. After the establishment of the "New China", Liaoxi Province was founded and Jinzhou became the provincial capital. Jinzhou then came back under the jurisdiction of Liaoning Province in 1954, when Liaoxi and Liaodong provinces merged.
Geography
Jinzhou is located in a mid-latitude temperate zone with a monsoon climate, which experiences a relatively large variation in temperature over the course of a year. The annual average temperature is around 8 or 9 ° C and the annual average rainfall is between 540 and 640 mm. It experiences four distinct seasons, each with their own characteristics; its monsoon climate is pronounced and exhibits strong continentality. The geographic and natural climatic conditions of Jinzhou are conducive to the development of such industries as agriculture, forestry, livestock and marine produce.
Major Tourist Sites
Mt. Bijiashan 笔架山
Mt. Bijiashan is actually an interesting island in the Bohai Sea south of Jinzhou's coastline. During most time of the day, Mt. Bijiashan can only be accessed by boad. But when the sea recedes, a natural zigzagging cobblestone bridge will emerge from the Bohai Sea and connect Mt. Bijiashan to the mainland. People can actually walk to Mt. Bijianshan from the seafront on foot. Local people named this natural wonder "Tian Qiao", which means sky bridge. The island is an ideal place to watch sunrise, because the wide Bohai Sea provides a spectacular sea horizon. On the top of Mt. Bijiashan, there is a tall stone pavilion. It looks like a gigantic pen resting on a pen holder. Hence the name "Bijianshan", meaning the "Pen Holder Mountain".
Guangji Tower 广济寺塔
The Guangji Tower is one of Jinzhou’s signature architecture. It is located in the southeast corner of the city. The 72 metre tower is a beautiful example of Liao Dynasty architecture dating from the year 1057. With thirteen levels in an octagonal shape, the tower was recently lovingly restored and resembles a tower of concentric lotuses. A quiet temple beneath, as well as an accompanying museum, complete the ancient Chinese setting.
Mt Yiwulushan 闾山
Mt. Yiwulushan is located in the west of Beilin County of Jinzhou. It is one of the 3 famous mountains in Northeast China. Marvelous rocks, beautiful pine trees, historic temples and lovely waters are the main attractions of Mt. Yiwulushan.
Economy
The city has a wide range of industries. Major traditional industries include petro-chemistry, metallurgy and machine building, textile, paper, pharmacy and building materials etc, By the end of 1995, the number of industrial manufacturers had amounted to 1920, which include the Jinzhou Petro-chemistry Corp, the Jincheng Paper Corp-the Largest producer in China for the best offset printing paper and the Jinzhou Ferro-alloy Corp (group)-the base in China for scientific research and production of specific ferro-alloy products.
Jinzhou Economic and Technical Development Zone
Jinzhou Economic and Technical Development Zone was set up on March 23, 1992. It is among the first group of province-level development zones approved by Liaoning Province, a pioneer zone in Jinzhou’s reform and opening-up, a scenery, tour and holiday-taking zone and a modern new city zone in the coastal region.
Jinzhou Seaport
Jinzhou Seaport is situated in Jinzhou Bay in the northeast of Bohai Gulf. It was opened by the State Council in 1990 as a top class open seaport. Since then, the port has been acting as a door leading Jinzhou and her hinterland to the world and also offers an easiest way on the sea for the transportation of the import and export for the regions in the west of Northeast China and the east of Inner Mongolia. The port has already completed her construction of 50,000-ton-class berth.
Jinzhou Airport
Jinzhou Airport offers flights to major cities in China and is able to land large and medium sized airplanes.
Colleges and Universities
- Bohai University 渤海大学 Bohai University
- Jinzhou Medical University 锦州医学院 Jinzhou Medical University
External link
- Jinzhou Municipal Government 錦州人民政府 (Jinzhou Municipal Government)
- Jinzhou Economic and Technical Development Zone 锦州经济技术开发区 (Jinzhou Economic and Technical Development Zone)
- Jinzhou Port Company Limited 锦州港股份有限公司 (Jinzhou Port Company Limited)