Houma 侯马市 | |
|---|---|
 Xintian Square | |
  Houma Location of the city center in Shanxi | |
| Coordinates (Houma municipal government):35°37′09″N111°22′19″E / 35.6191°N 111.3720°E /35.6191; 111.3720 | |
| Country | People's Republic of China |
| Province | Shanxi |
| Prefecture-level city | Linfen |
| Area | |
| 220.1 km2 (85.0 sq mi) | |
| • Urban | 20.43 km2 (7.89 sq mi) |
| Population (2017)[1] | |
| 251,000 | |
| • Density | 1,100/km2 (3,000/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 158,900 |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (China Standard) |
Houma (simplified Chinese:侯马;traditional Chinese:侯馬;pinyin:Hóumǎ) is acounty-level city in the southwest of theShanxi province of thePeople's Republic of China, on theFen River - the tributary ofYellow River; it is under the administration ofLinfen City. Houma has an area of 220.1 km2 (85.0 sq mi) and has a population of 251,000 as of 2017.[1]
Houma, known as Xintian in ancient times, was the capital ofthe state of Jin from 585 BCE to 376 BCE.[2] Ancient bronzeware workshops,spade money, and a number of other historical relics have been excavated in Houma.[2]
Houma directly administers 5subdistricts and 3townships, which are subsequently divided into 76administrative villages and 28residential communities.[2][3] The city's five subdistricts areLudong Subdistrict [zh],Luxi Subdistrict [zh],Huibin Subdistrict [zh],Shangma Subdistrict, andZhangcun Subdistrict [zh].[3] The city's three townships areXintian Township [zh],Gaocun Township [zh], andFengcheng Township [zh].[3] Houma's administrative offices are located in the Ludong Subdistrict.[3]
Houma experiences an average annual temperature of 12.6 °C (54.7 °F).[2] The forest coverage rate of the whole of Houma is 22.5%, with 44.9% of its urban area being forested.[2] Mineral deposits in Houma includeiron,copper,gold, andgranite.[3]
| Climate data for Houma, elevation 434 m (1,424 ft), (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1981–2010) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 14.3 (57.7) | 22.4 (72.3) | 29.0 (84.2) | 35.8 (96.4) | 39.4 (102.9) | 40.9 (105.6) | 41.2 (106.2) | 39.1 (102.4) | 38.8 (101.8) | 31.8 (89.2) | 25.4 (77.7) | 15.2 (59.4) | 41.2 (106.2) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 4.8 (40.6) | 9.5 (49.1) | 16.0 (60.8) | 22.7 (72.9) | 27.6 (81.7) | 32.1 (89.8) | 32.7 (90.9) | 30.8 (87.4) | 26.2 (79.2) | 20.1 (68.2) | 12.5 (54.5) | 5.9 (42.6) | 20.1 (68.1) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −1.8 (28.8) | 2.5 (36.5) | 8.8 (47.8) | 15.4 (59.7) | 20.5 (68.9) | 25.2 (77.4) | 26.8 (80.2) | 25.0 (77.0) | 20.0 (68.0) | 13.4 (56.1) | 5.8 (42.4) | −0.6 (30.9) | 13.4 (56.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −6.8 (19.8) | −2.8 (27.0) | 2.8 (37.0) | 8.8 (47.8) | 13.7 (56.7) | 18.8 (65.8) | 21.7 (71.1) | 20.4 (68.7) | 15.2 (59.4) | 8.4 (47.1) | 1.0 (33.8) | −5.2 (22.6) | 8.0 (46.4) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −19.0 (−2.2) | −19.2 (−2.6) | −11.0 (12.2) | −3.9 (25.0) | 1.4 (34.5) | 9.6 (49.3) | 14.8 (58.6) | 12.0 (53.6) | 2.9 (37.2) | −5.4 (22.3) | −14.8 (5.4) | −21.4 (−6.5) | −21.4 (−6.5) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 6.5 (0.26) | 9.3 (0.37) | 12.8 (0.50) | 33.6 (1.32) | 47.2 (1.86) | 52.0 (2.05) | 107.6 (4.24) | 82.1 (3.23) | 72.7 (2.86) | 45.7 (1.80) | 20.4 (0.80) | 4.2 (0.17) | 494.1 (19.46) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.1 mm) | 2.7 | 3.4 | 4.5 | 5.5 | 7.4 | 8.1 | 10.1 | 8.9 | 9.1 | 7.2 | 5.0 | 2.4 | 74.3 |
| Average snowy days | 3.8 | 3.2 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 | 2.4 | 11.7 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 59 | 57 | 53 | 54 | 56 | 57 | 69 | 73 | 74 | 72 | 70 | 62 | 63 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 126.4 | 141.6 | 183.0 | 211.3 | 227.8 | 212.4 | 202.6 | 188.3 | 153.6 | 147.9 | 129.2 | 125.6 | 2,049.7 |
| Percentagepossible sunshine | 40 | 46 | 49 | 53 | 52 | 49 | 46 | 46 | 42 | 43 | 42 | 42 | 46 |
| Source:China Meteorological Administration[4][5] | |||||||||||||
In 585 BCE, theJin State moved their capital to Xintian, an ancient city located in present-day Houma.[2] Xintian remained the capital until the fall of the Jin State in 376 BCE.[2]
Chinese revolutionaryPeng Zhen was born in Houma, and his former residence has been converted to a tourist destination, attractingred tourism from throughout China.[2]
In 1956, the famous Houma bronze casting site was discovered in the Xintian site, which is the largest and most abundant bronze-casting site ever discovered in China. The site was used from around 600BC to 380BC or even later, and a large number of very exquisite bronze casting pottery models were unearthed, commonly known as Houma pottery models.[6] The site has been excavated several times and more than 500 identifiable pottery molds have been unearthed. The striking feature of Houma debris is the reusable clay pattern blocks used essentially as models for decoration.[7]
Compared with making an overall model of an object, the parting model can save a lot of manpower and material resources, which reflects the skillful grasp of the utensils by the craftsmen of that period. The craftsmen make a complex object into parts, separate the mold, and make only one module for the same position and pattern, which can improve the consistency of the pattern when remodeling, and make each pattern on the same horizontal section, which improves the quality of the casting.
At the same time, there is an evidenced rise of the lost-wax casting in Eastern Zhou China. Surprisingly, no evidence of the lost-wax casting has been found in Houma so far.[8]
Houma reported aGDP of 115.2 billionRenminbi in 2019, a 3.3% increase from 2018.[9] In 2016, the per capitadisposable income was 25,725 Renminbi for the city's urban residents, and 13,177 Renminbi for the city's rural residents.[2] By 2019, this had risen to 31,248 Renminbi and 16,413 Renminbi, respectively.[9]
Houma's economy is reliant on thetertiary sector, which accounts for approximately 70% of the city's GDP.[2] Over 60,000 people in the city are employed in the city's 25 large-scale wholesale markets.[2]
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