Anqing 安庆市 Anking, Yicheng | |
|---|---|
   Clockwise from top: The riverfront, theAnqing railway station, and theAnqing Yangtze River Bridge. | |
.png) Location of Anqing City jurisdiction in Anhui | |
| Coordinates (Anqing municipal government):30°31′54″N117°06′55″E / 30.5318°N 117.1153°E /30.5318; 117.1153 | |
| Country | People's Republic of China |
| Province | Anhui |
| County-level divisions | 11 |
| Founded | 1147 |
| Municipal seat | Yixiu District |
| Government | |
| • CPC Secretary | Wei Xiaoming (魏晓明) |
| • Mayor | Chen Bingbing (陈冰冰) |
| Area | |
| 13,486.6 km2 (5,207.2 sq mi) | |
| • Urban | 821.1 km2 (317.0 sq mi) |
| • Metro | 821.1 km2 (317.0 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 1,751 m (5,745 ft) |
| Population (2020 census)[2] | |
| 4,165,284 | |
| • Density | 308.846/km2 (799.908/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 728,501 |
| • Urban density | 887.2/km2 (2,298/sq mi) |
| • Metro | 728,501 |
| • Metro density | 887.2/km2 (2,298/sq mi) |
| GDP[3] | |
| • Prefecture-level city | CN¥ 276.746 billion US$ 22.757 billion |
| • Per capita | CN¥ 31,101 US$ 4,993 |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (CST) |
| Postal code | 246000 |
| Area code | 0556 |
| ISO 3166 code | CN-AH-08 |
| License Plate Prefix | 皖H |
| Website | www |
Anqing (simplified Chinese:安庆;traditional Chinese:安慶;pinyin:Ānqìng, alsoYicheng,Nganking and formerlyHwaining, now the name ofHuaining County) is aprefecture-level city in the southwest ofAnhuiprovince,People's Republic of China. Its population was 4,165,284 as of the2020 census, with 728,501 living in the built-up (or metro) area made up of three urban districts.[4] Anqing is famous as the birthplace ofChen Duxiu, one of the founding fathers of theChinese Communist Party, who served as the firstGeneral Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party from 1921 to 1928.Huangmei opera, a renowned Chinese opera style, originated in the city of Anqing. This captivating art form gained immense popularity since the 1950s, largely attributed to the exceptional talents of local actors and actresses from Anqing.Huangmei opera is a significant cultural treasure that defines the rich heritage of the city of Anqing.
During theSong dynasty, the Eight Counties of Anqing were known as Shuzhou, along with the ancestral name of Tong'an, and were under the jurisdiction of the Deqing Army. In 1147, the Deqing Army was renamed, combining the last characters of Tong'an and Deqing to createAnqing, naming the army and later the settlement. Anqing itself means "peaceful and auspicious'.[5] Anqing's other name of "Yicheng" was named by theEastern Jin scholarGuo Pu, describing the location of Anqing as "suitable for a city."[6]
The region around Anqing contains manyNeolithic cultural sites, including the Zhangsidun site, theXuejiagang site, and the Sunjiacheng site.[7]
In theWarring States period, theZhou emperor grantedQianshan County to the state of Tong, which itself was formerly inHenan.[8] The city ofTongcheng was established around the same time.
During theQin andHan dynasties, the town of Wancheng existed in modern-dayQianshan County, and following theunification of China by Qin Shi Huang, it belonged to Jiujiang Prefecture, before being transferred toHuainan State during theWestern Han. In 164 BC, Huainan was divided into Huainan, Hengshan, andLujiang. Later, Lujiang Prefecture would absorb Hengshan. Under the reign ofEmperor Wu of Han, the region around Anqing came under the jurisdiction of Shu County and Wan County of Lujiang and Yangzhou Prefecture until theEastern Han. During theThree Kingdoms period, the states ofCao Wei andEastern Wu fought many times in Anqing. During this period, Shu County was abolished and came under Wan County. Following the conquest ofEastern Wu by theWestern Jin, Shu County was reestablished, and in 313, the Wan County was abolished.
During theWei,Jin, andNorthern and Southern Dynasties periods, the towns of Mengcheng and Wankoucheng were built near Anqing, and the town of Shankou was built in what is nowDaguan District. During theEastern Jin, between 405 and 418,Huaining County and Xinye County (nowWangjiang County) were established in place of Wan County, along with Jinxi Prefecture, located near present-dayTaihu County. The seat ofHuaining County wasQianshan during this period.
During theLiang dynasty, the prefecture of Yuzhou was founded and renamed Jinzhou, governingHuaining County. During theNorthern Qi, Jinzhou was renamed Jiangzhou before being reverted to Jinzhou during theChen dynasty.
At the beginning of theSui dynasty, Jinxi Prefecture was renamed to Xizhou, which at the time governed five counties:Huaining,Susong,Taihu,Wangjiang, and Tong'an. In 607, Xizhou was renamed Tong'an, but the county seat remained inHuaining. In 626, Tong'an was renamed Dong'an and thenShuzhou. In 742, it was renamed Tong'an again, and then renamed Shengtang in 757, along with a moving of the county seat toTongcheng. It was then finally renamedShuzhou the following year.
During theFive Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms,Shuzhou would belong toYang Wu,Southern Tang, andLater Zhou. In 960, the Tuanlian Prefecture ofShuzhou was promoted to defense envoy, and in 1115, the Deqing Army was established. Following the renaming of the Deqing Army to Anqing in 1147 due to name complications with a different Deqing Prefecture, the county was named Anqing. In 1195, it was promoted to prefecture status with its seat inQianshan, governingHuaining,Tongcheng,Taihu,Susong, andWangjiang counties.
In April 1217, theJurchen Jin army invaded and took over the city of Guangzhou (nowHuangchuan inHenan). The prefect of Anqing, Huang Gan, petitioned to build a new city in Shengtang Bay, the current location of the Anqing urban area in preparation for war. The seat of Anqing prefecture was also moved to the new Anqing city. The seat ofHuaining County was also moved to Wankou (now inDaguan District).
Following the reduction of theJin threat, the construction of new Anqing would be on and off. Following theinvasion of China by the Mongols, the seat of Anqing was moved south toGuichi District, now inChizhou, and later to Yangchazhou. For the next 30 years, Anqing would slowly fall into ruins before being rebuilt by Ma Guangzu in 1260. In 1276, Anqing would become governed again byHuaining County, itself belonging to the Qihuang Xuanwei Division. In 1286, Xuanwei was abolished and placed directly under theHenan province. In 1323,Qianshan County was reestablished. Since then, the territory ofHuaining County remained relatively stable, with Anqing governing six counties,Huaining,Tongcheng,Taihu,Susong, andWangjiang, andQianshan. Following the beginning of theRed Turban Rebellion, theYuan army would rely on Anqing as a barrier to keep the rebels in.
In 1361, Anqing was renamed Ningjiang, before being renamed again back to Anqing. In the earlyMing dynasty, Anqing was directly under the jurisdiction ofJiangning, then namedNanzhili. During the 15th century, Anqing contained 10 wards in the urban region. In the lateMing dynasty, in order to strengthen Anqing, the court separated Anqing,Luzhou,Chizhou, and Taiping from the 10 prefectures and set up a governor. In addition to these, jurisdiction also included Guangshan and Gushi in Guangzhou (nowHuangchuan) in Henan, Guangji andHuangmei in Qizhou (nowQichun County inHubei, inHuanggang and Hukou in Dehua (nowJiujiang) inJiangxi.
In 1648, the governor of Anqing moved toChizhou and was merged with Caojiang county to create Caofu the next year. Caojiang was first stationed inJiangning before being moved to Anqing. In 1662, the military affairs of Caojiang were merged with theViceroy of Liangjiang, and a special governor was placed in Anqing. In the earlyQing dynasty, Anqing Prefecture was under the jurisdiction ofJiangnan Province, but in 1661 the province's administrative offices were divided, and in 1667 the western office was renamedAnhui. In 1760, the seat ofAnhui was moved fromJiangning to Anqing, and from then Anqing would be the provincial capital ofAnhui.
Anqing played an important role during theTaiping Rebellion. In 1853, theTaiping Army captured Anqing, leading to the moving of the capital ofAnhui toLuzhou. In 1861, theHunan Army led byZeng Guofan, recaptured Anqing, killing thousands of soldiers and civilians. The office of the government was moved back to Anqing in 1862, and the headquarters of theHunan Army temporarily relocated there as well.
Taiping Reforms were most present in the vicinity of Anqing. Following its recapture by theQing government, many flour mills, granaries, and munition factories were established there. From 1861 onward they were under Chinese management, but due to the lack of skilled technicians, the factories were shut down.
Following theChefoo Convention in 1876 between China and theUnited Kingdom, Anqing became a port of call for foreign shipping. Following theMackay Treaty in 1902, it was also opened to foreign trade. However, not much trade occurred due to a lack of communications between Anqing and other regions. When railroads to the interior ofAnhui reached theYangtze River further east, Anqing lost even more importance.
Following the establishment of theRepublic of China, theTongmenghui would control Anqing. In January 1938, theEmpire of Japan captured Anqing, leading to the provincial government's move toLu'an,Jinzhai, and other places in advance.
In 1988, the Anqing Prefecture was merged with Anqing City, and in 1996,Tongcheng County was elevated to acounty level city as well. In 2016, Congyang County was transferred toTongling and renamedZongyang County, andQianshan County was elevated to acounty level city in 2018.
Anqing has remained a medium-sized provincial city, an important commercial centre for the plain north of theYangtze, and a market for tea produced in the mountains both north and south of the river. While also a local cultural centre, it has remained comparatively stagnant after losing its status as provincial capital. Its modern industrial development includes a petrochemical works that producesfuel oils and syntheticammonia, an oil refinery, and a new port. Factories manufacturing auto parts, textiles, and building materials have also been established. In addition to its access to easy navigation on theYangtze, Anqing is connected by railways and expressways toHefei,Nanchang, andWuhan. These transportation links have greatly facilitated the city's economic growth.[9]
The people of Anqing have a unique dialect that mixed with theGan Chinese,Wu Chinese andLower Yangtze Mandarin. The dialect of Gan spoken in Anqing is known as Huaiyue. It is therefore quite different from the rest of the province, which is predominantlyHuizhou-speaking. Huangmei Opera is performed in the local dialect.[10][11]
The early presence of actors from Anqing in the world ofPeking opera (Beijing Opera) has significantly impacted the development of this renowned Chinese theatrical art form. This influence is evident in various aspects, including language accents and cultural nuances within Peking Opera.
Theprefecture-level city of Anqing administers 10county-level divisions, including 3districts, 2county-level cities and 5counties.[12]
| Administrative divisions of Anqing | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division code[13] | Division | Area in km2[14] | Population 2020 | Seat | Postal code | Subdivisions | |||||||
| Subdistricts | Towns | Townships [n 1] | |||||||||||
| 340800 | Anqing | 13,486.6 | 4,165,284 | Yixiu District | 246000 | ||||||||
| 340802 | Yingjiang | 206.9 | 278,700 | Yicheng Road Subdistrict | 246000 | 6 | 1 | 3 | |||||
| 340803 | Daguan | 203.9 | 214,112 | Dekuan Road Subdistrict | 246000 | 7 | 1 | 4 | |||||
| 340811 | Yixiu | 410.3 | 311,700 | Daqiao Subdistrict | 246000 | 2 | 3 | 2 | |||||
| 340822 | Huaining | 1,276 | 496,683 | Gaohe Town | 246100 | 15 | 5 | ||||||
| 340824 | Qianshan | 1,686.03 | 441,224 | Meicheng Town | 246300 | 11 | 6 | ||||||
| 340825 | Taihu | 2,040 | 430,465 | Jinxi Town | 246400 | 10 | 6 | ||||||
| 340826 | Susong | 2,394 | 612,586 | Fuyu Town | 246500 | 9 | 15 | ||||||
| 340827 | Wangjiang | 1,347.98 | 462,367 | Huayang Town | 246200 | 8 | 2 | ||||||
| 340828 | Yuexi | 2,398 | 323,837 | Tiantang Town | 246600 | 14 | 10 | ||||||
| 340881 | Tongcheng | 1,472 | 593,629 | Wenchang Subdistrict | 231400 | 3 | 12 | ||||||
Anqing's geographical location has had considerable strategic significance.Zeng Guofan once stated that "the success or failure of Anqing will determine whether the world will change. Anqing is related to the overall situation inHuainan and is the basis for the recovery ofNanjing."
Anqing is located on the north bank of theYangtze River in southwesternAnhui. It is located on the narrow section of theYangtze Plain between theDabie Mountains to the north and theHuang Mountains on the south bank.[9] The Wanhe River flows through Anqing prefecture before meeting theYangtze west of the city center. InTaihu County the Wanhe is dammed to create theHuating Lake, providing irrigation forSusong County,Wangjiang County,Huaining County, and the eastern part ofTaihu County, around 1.05 Million Chinese Acres. Lower downstream fromHuating Lake lies Qili Lake, located directly west of Anqing just before the confluence between the Wanhe andYangtze. a major tributary of the Wanhe, the Qianshui, also flows through Anqing Prefecture. The Wanhe also contains many other tributaries, all of which are sourced in Anqing Prefecture.
Susong County contains Daguan and Huang Lake, both of which are geographically the same body of water. Half ofLonggan Lake lies inSusong County, while the other half is inHuangmei County inHuanggang,Hubei. It is located directly across theYangtze fromPoyang Lake. Other lakes in Anqing include Po Lake betweenTaihu,Susong, andWangjiang, and Wuchang Lake, which is fully inWangjiang County. In the east of Anqing Prefecture lies Caizi Lake, which it shares with neighbouringTongling.[15]
Neighbouring prefectures are:
The total area of the prefecture is 13,486.6 square kilometres (5,210 sq mi), with an urban area of 821.1 square kilometres (317 sq mi), which is only 6.1% of the total.
Anqing has a four-season,monsoon-influencedhumid subtropical climate (KöppenCfa), with chilly, damp winters and very hot, humid summers. Cold northwesterly winds from Siberia can occasionally cause nightly temperatures to drop below freezing (although snow is uncommon), while summer can see extended periods of 35 °C (95 °F)+ days. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from 4.3 °C (39.7 °F) in January to 29.2 °C (84.6 °F) in July, while the annual mean is 17.20 °C (63.0 °F). Precipitation tends to reach a maximum in tandem with themeiyu (plum rains) while wintertime rainfall is generally light. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 30% in March to 54% in August, the city receives 1,831 hours of bright sunshine annually.[16]
| Climate data for Anqing, elevation 62 m (203 ft), (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1951–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 24.0 (75.2) | 27.4 (81.3) | 32.2 (90.0) | 33.8 (92.8) | 36.1 (97.0) | 38.3 (100.9) | 39.8 (103.6) | 40.9 (105.6) | 38.0 (100.4) | 35.1 (95.2) | 30.0 (86.0) | 24.5 (76.1) | 40.9 (105.6) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 7.8 (46.0) | 10.7 (51.3) | 15.5 (59.9) | 21.9 (71.4) | 26.9 (80.4) | 29.5 (85.1) | 32.8 (91.0) | 32.3 (90.1) | 28.3 (82.9) | 23.0 (73.4) | 16.8 (62.2) | 10.3 (50.5) | 21.3 (70.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 4.4 (39.9) | 6.9 (44.4) | 11.3 (52.3) | 17.4 (63.3) | 22.6 (72.7) | 25.7 (78.3) | 29.1 (84.4) | 28.5 (83.3) | 24.4 (75.9) | 18.8 (65.8) | 12.5 (54.5) | 6.5 (43.7) | 17.3 (63.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 1.7 (35.1) | 4.0 (39.2) | 8.0 (46.4) | 13.7 (56.7) | 19.0 (66.2) | 22.8 (73.0) | 26.1 (79.0) | 25.6 (78.1) | 21.4 (70.5) | 15.6 (60.1) | 9.3 (48.7) | 3.6 (38.5) | 14.2 (57.6) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −10.1 (13.8) | −12.5 (9.5) | −5 (23) | −0.3 (31.5) | 7.8 (46.0) | 13.2 (55.8) | 16.0 (60.8) | 17.6 (63.7) | 11.7 (53.1) | 3.0 (37.4) | −3.8 (25.2) | −8.5 (16.7) | −12.5 (9.5) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 63.6 (2.50) | 80.1 (3.15) | 124.4 (4.90) | 150.8 (5.94) | 174.5 (6.87) | 268.6 (10.57) | 251.0 (9.88) | 137.4 (5.41) | 62.8 (2.47) | 61.1 (2.41) | 66.7 (2.63) | 38.2 (1.50) | 1,479.2 (58.23) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.1 mm) | 10.8 | 10.7 | 13.7 | 12.9 | 12.4 | 13.5 | 11.8 | 11.2 | 7.5 | 8.1 | 8.8 | 7.9 | 129.3 |
| Average snowy days | 4.4 | 2.4 | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 9.8 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 75 | 74 | 74 | 73 | 74 | 79 | 77 | 78 | 76 | 73 | 74 | 72 | 75 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 97.1 | 100.5 | 123.6 | 150.2 | 162.5 | 140.5 | 203.4 | 197.7 | 162.6 | 155.3 | 130.9 | 122.5 | 1,746.8 |
| Percentagepossible sunshine | 30 | 32 | 33 | 39 | 38 | 33 | 48 | 49 | 44 | 44 | 41 | 39 | 39 |
| Source:China Meteorological Administration[17][18] Pogodaiklimat.ru (extremes)[19]NOAA[20] | |||||||||||||
Currently, Anqing's communist party secretary is Zhang Xiangan, appointed in March 2021. The director of the committee in Anqing is Zhou Dongming, in office since April 2021. The mayor of Anqing is Zhang Junyi, in office since August 2021.
The party committee secretaries since 1988 have been:
The mayors since 1988 have been:
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1953[21] | 2,712,301 | — |
| 1964 | 2,815,056 | +0.34% |
| 1982 | 4,247,074 | +2.31% |
| 1990 | 4,681,336 | +1.22% |
| 2000 | 4,422,069 | −0.57% |
| 2010 | 4,472,667 | +0.11% |
| 2020[14] | 4,165,284 | −0.71% |
| Population size may be affected by changes on administrative divisions. | ||
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1922[22] | 100,000 | — |
| 1929 | 111,221 | +1.53% |
| 1933 | 121,379 | +2.21% |
| 1953[23] | 105,267 | −0.71% |
| 1964 | 165,366 | +4.19% |
| 1982 | 418,772 | +5.30% |
| 1990[2] | 493,238 | +2.07% |
| 2000 | 443,808 | −1.05% |
| 2010 | 570,538 | +2.54% |
| 2020 | 728,501 | +2.47% |
| Population size may be affected by changes on administrative divisions. | ||
As of the 2020 Census, the prefecture-level city of Anqing's population is 4,165,284, a decline from 2010 when it had a population of 4,472,667. Overall Anqing's population increased rapidly during the 20th century before peaking in the early 2010s. Since then it has declined. The urban population of Anqing is 728,501.
Anqing is approximately 50.5% male and 49.5% female, of which there are a higher proportion of male children and female adults. It has an urban population of around 2.3 million and a rural population of 1.9 million, which is 55.5% and 44.5% respectively. The largest age demographic of the people in Anqing is between 50 and 59 years, which represents a general aging of the population, leaving not many children left. This can be seen in the rest ofChina as well.
TheHan Chinese population is 4.1 million, or 99.58%, while the ethnic minority population is 17,662.
| Population by urban areas of towns and cities over 100,000 people | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | City | Urban area | District area | City proper | Census date |
| 1 | Anqing | 728,501 | 738,476 | 780,514 | 2020-11-01 |
| 2 | Tongcheng | 238,712 | 398,423 | 664,455 | 2020-11-01 |
| 3 | Qianshan | 197,770 | 238,099 | 500,292 | 2020-11-01 |
| 4 | Jinxi | 163,377 | 176,506 | 515,283 | 2020-11-01 |
| 5 | Gaohe | 157,786 | 241,120 | 592,750 | 2020-11-01 |
| 6 | Fuyu | 149,569 | 245,326 | 571,025 | 2020-11-01 |
| 7 | Meicheng | 121,457 | see Qianshan | see Qianshan | 2020-11-01 |
| 8 | Huayang | 114,353 | 160,313 | 526,712 | 2020-11-01 |
Anqing is home to many industries, such as petrochemicals, textiles, agriculture, machinery, auto parts, and many others. Anqing is defined by the State Council as one of the three major regional central cities in the province, and one of six major transportation hubs. Anqing is one of the largest economies inAnhui with a gdp of almost 247 billion yuan, or around 33 billion US dollars. It is growing at a rate of around 4%.
Large companies in Anqing include Anqing Petrochemical, Huamao Co. which manufactures textiles, along with many foreign joint ventures with the government.
Anqing has twoYangtze River crossings, theAnqing Yangtze River Bridge and the Wangdong Yangtze River Bridge.[24] Other highways in Anqing includeNational Highway 206, National Highway 236,National Highway 318, National Highway 347, theG50 Shanghai-Chongqing Expressway, theHefei-Anqing Expressway, theG4231 Nanjing-Jiujiang Expressway, also known as the Ningjiu Expressway, and theG4221 Shanghai-Wuhan Expressway. TheG50 Shanghai-Chongqing Expressway also crosses theAnqing Yangtze River Bridge.
Anqing Tianzhushan Airport serves the city.[25]
TheNanjing–Anqing Intercity Railway opened in December 2015, allowing a 90-minute journey time toNanjing, and 3 hours toShanghai.[26]Wuhan-Hangzhou High-Speed Railway is also under construction. Along with this, the Anqing Railway connects to theHefei-Jiujiang railway. TheLu'an-Anqing high-speed railway is also under construction.
One of the bus operators in Anqing, the Anqing Zhongbei Bus Company, is owned by a joint venture between Nanjing Public Utilities Development (formerly Nanjing Zhongbei) andRATP Dev Transdev Asia (RDTA).[27] RDTA itself is a joint venture betweenTransdev andRATP Dev.
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