Zhaoyuan, Shandong
Zhaoyuan (simplified Chinese: 招远市; traditional Chinese: 招遠市; pinyin: Zhāoyuǎn Shì) is a county-level city within the prefecture-level city of Yantai, Shandong Province, China, located on the Bohai Sea.[1] Zhaoyuan is well known for its abundant gold deposit and production, and is occasionally nicknamed "China's gold capital" (simplified Chinese: 中国金都; traditional Chinese: 中國金都).[2][3]
Zhaoyuan
招远市 Chaoyuan | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Location in Yantai | |
  Zhaoyuan Location in Shandong | |
| Coordinates: 37°21′32.40″N 120°23′45.60″E | |
| Country | People's Republic of China |
| Province | Shandong |
| Prefecture-level city | Yantai |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1,432.32 km2 (553.02 sq mi) |
| Population (2019) | |
| • Total | 560,234 |
| • Density | 390/km2 (1,000/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (China Standard) |
| Postal code | 265400 |
| Website | www |
| Zhaoyuan | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 招遠 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 招远 | ||||||||
| Postal | Chaoyuan | ||||||||
| |||||||||
The city spans an area of 1,432.32 square kilometres (553.02 sq mi),[4] and has a population of 560,234 as of 2019.[5]
History
The area was first incorporated under the Han dynasty as Qucheng County (simplified Chinese: 曲成县; traditional Chinese: 曲成縣).[6]
Gold was discovered at Zhaoyuan in the Tang dynasty. The myth accompanying the city's discovery of gold is that a giant tortoise named Ao once told villagers struggling with famine to dig, and upon digging, they struck gold.[2]
The county was named Zhaoyuan County (simplified Chinese: 招远县; traditional Chinese: 招遠縣) in 1131.[6]
People's Republic of China
Five townships in Zhaoyuan were upgraded to towns on September 1, 1988.[6]
On December 21, 1991, Zhaoyuan was upgraded from a county to a county-level city.[6]
Throughout the mid-1990s, three more townships were upgraded to towns.[6]
On January 11, 1999, the town of Zhaocheng (simplified Chinese: 招城镇; traditional Chinese: 招城鎮) was divided into three subdistricts: Luofeng Subdistrict, Quanshan Subdistrict, and Mengzhi Subdistrict.[6]
The Fifth National Population Census of the People's Republic of China reported that Zhaoyuan had a population of 593,705.[6]
On December 19, 2000, Dahuchenjia Township (simplified Chinese: 大户陈家乡; traditional Chinese: 大戶陳家鄉) became the city's last township to be upgraded to a town.[6]
2014 murder of Wu Shuoyan
In late May of 2014, five members of the The Church of Almighty God, an outlawed new-age cult, entered a McDonald's in Zhaoyuan and began soliciting customers' phone numbers.[7] When 37 year-old Wu Shuoyan refused to give her phone number to the group, they claimed she was an "evil spirit", and began beating her with chairs and a metal mop handle, ultimately killing her.[7] In February 2015, two of the attackers were executed, and the other three received jail sentences ranging from seven years to life.[8]
Geography
Zhaoyuan's city center is located approximately 90 kilometres (56 mi) southwest of Yantai's urban center.[4] The city's terrain is higher in the northeast, middle and west, and lower in the northwest and southeast[4]
Climate
The city's annual average temperature is 11 °C (52 °F), and its annual average precipitation is 607.3 millimetres (23.91 in).[4]
Administrative divisions
Zhaoyuan administers five subdistricts and nine towns.[9]
Subdistricts
Zhaoyuan's five subdistricts are Luofeng Subdistrict, Quanshan Subdistrict, Mengzhi Subdistrict, Wenquan Subdistrict, and Daqinjia Subdistrict.[9]
Towns
Zhaoyuan's nine towns are Xinzhuang, Canzhuang, Jinling, Biguo, Linglong, Zhangxing, Xiadian, Fushan, and Qishan.[9]
Economy
The city has a significant amount of gold deposits, largely concentrated in its northeast.[4] Zhaojin Mining has its headquarters located in the city.[10]
Transport
National Highway 206 runs through Zhaoyuan.[1]
Tourist attractions
Asia's largest statue of Ao, a mythical giant turtle Chinese, is located at 37°27′36″N 120°28′22″E in Luoshan National Forest Park (simplified Chinese: 罗山国家森林公园; traditional Chinese: 羅山國家森林公園).[11][12] The statue is 15 meters tall and 20 meters long.[11][12]
The Qucheng Ancient City Site is located in Zhaoyuan.[1]
Notable people
- Chi Haotian, PLA General, Minister of National Defense of the People's Republic of China
- Sun Baoguo, BTBU Professor, Academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering
References
- 招远市概况地图. xzqh.org (in Chinese). 2012-10-09. Archived from the original on 2020-12-06. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
- 黄金文化 (in Chinese). Zhaoyuan People's Government. 2019-09-09. Archived from the original on 2020-12-06. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
- 招远年产黄金超百万两,招金集团占据半壁江山. gold.org.cn (in Chinese). 2013-01-05. Archived from the original on 2020-12-06. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
- 自然环境 (in Chinese). Zhaoyuan People's Government. 2019-09-04. Archived from the original on 2020-12-06. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
- 人口民族 (in Chinese). Zhaoyuan People's Government. 2020-05-14. Archived from the original on 2020-12-06. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
- 招远市历史沿革. xzqh.org (in Chinese). 2012-10-09. Archived from the original on 2020-12-06. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
- Kaiman, Jonathan (2014-08-18). "McDonald's murder in China: 'evil cult members' face trial for woman's death". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
- "China executes two cult members for McDonald's murder". BBC News. 2015-02-02. Archived from the original on 2020-11-08. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
- 2020年统计用区划代码（招远） (in Chinese). National Bureau of Statistics of China. 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-12-06. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
- 联系我们. zhaojin.com.cn (in Chinese). Zhaojin Mining. Archived from the original on 2020-12-06. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
- 招远罗山《金鳌》
- "Golden Ao". Panoramio. Archived from the original on 2017-06-11. Retrieved 2020-12-06.