Langzhong (formerly known as Paoning) is a

county-level city A county-level municipality (), county-level city or county city, formerly known as prefecture-controlled city (1949–1970: ; 1970–1983: ), is a county-level administrative division of the People's Republic of China. County-level ...

in northeastern

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

province, China, located on the middle reaches of the

Jialing River The Jialing River, formerly known by numerous other names, is a major tributary of the Yangtze River in the Sichuan Basin. It is named after the Jialing Valley in Feng County, Shaanxi through which it flows. The Jialing River's most notable c ...

. It is administered as part of the

prefecture-level city A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure. During the Republican era, many of China ...

of Nanchong. Langzhong has a total population of 880,000, with 250,000 residing in the urban area. Langzhong is famous for its historic centre, home to 30,000 of its residents. It is one of the best preserved historic towns of China, dating back to the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...

. The city was also the seat of the former Anglican Diocese of Szechwan.

History

The site of present-day Langzhong served for a time as the capital of Ba, a native but

sinicized Sinicization, sinofication, sinification, or sinonization (from the prefix , 'Chinese, relating to China') is the process by which non-Chinese societies come under the influence of Chinese culture, particularly the language, societal norms, cul ...

state during China's

Warring States period The Warring States period () was an era in ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded with the Qin wars of conquest ...

. It takes its present name from its role as the seat of Langzhong County, established by Qin two years after its 316 BC conquest of Shu and Ba. Under the Han and Tang, it was an important center for astronomical research. Under the Yuan,

Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peop ...

, and Qing, it was known as Baoning. Over the late imperial period, it served as Sichuan's provincial capital for a total of ten years. It was well known for its salt wells. Is has also long been an important military town of Sichuan. Since 1985, the PRC government has awarded Langzhong with various accolades on three separate occasions. In 1986 the State Council named it a famous and historical town. In 1991, it was finally upgraded to county-level city status.

Geography

Langzhong is located in the northeast of the province and the northern part of the

Sichuan Basin The Sichuan Basin (), formerly transliterated as the Szechwan Basin, sometimes called the Red Basin, is a lowland region in southwestern China. It is surrounded by mountains on all sides and is drained by the upper Yangtze River and its tributar ...

on the middle reaches of the

. Within the city's administrative area, elevations generally increase from southwest to northeast and range from to , while rivers flow for . The area is dominated by low-lying mountains and hills.

Climate

As with much of the rest of the province, Langzhong has a

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal osci ...

-influenced humid subtropical climate (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''Cwa''), with dry, temperate winters, and long, hot, humid summers. The monthly daily average temperature ranges from in January to in July. The frost-free period lasts 290 days per year, while annual sunshine amounts to 1,400 hours. Close to two-thirds of the annual rainfall occurs from June to September.

Administrative divisions

Transport

China National Highway 212 China National Highway 212 (G212) runs from Lanzhou in Gansu to Chongqing. It was originally 1302 kilometres in length. In the 2013 National Highway Network Planning it was extended to Longbang, Guangxi, on the border with Vietnam. After th ...

Notes

References

Sources

* {{County-level divisions of Sichuan County-level cities in Sichuan Nanchong