Pengzhou (), formerly Peng County or Pengxian, 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 ...

Sichuan Province 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 ...

Southwest China Southwest China () is a region in the south of the People's Republic of China. Geography Southwest China is a rugged and mountainous region, transitioning between the Tibetan Plateau to the west and the Chinese coastal hills (东南丘陵) and ...

, it is under the administration 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 ...

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese pro ...

. There is an expressway that connects Pengzhou to Chengdu. It is bordered by the

prefecture-level division The administrative divisions of China have consisted of several levels since ancient times, due to China's large population and geographical area. The constitution of China provides for three levels of government. However in practice, there a ...

s of

Deyang Deyang () is a prefecture-level city of Sichuan province, China. Deyang is a largely industrial city, with companies such as China National Erzhong Group and Dongfang Electric having major operations there. The city is rich in history, with the ...

to the northeast and the

Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, also known as Aba (; Qiang: ; ), is an autonomous prefecture of northwestern Sichuan, bordering Gansu to the north and northeast and Qinghai to the northwest. Its seat is in Barkam, and it has an ar ...

to the north. It has an area of 1420 square kilometers and a population of 803,400 in 2009. Pengzhou is famous for being one of the three national bases of peony plantation and one of the five national bases of vegetable plantation and merchandise. Pengzhou's industry varies from pharmaceutical to petrochemical. The newly built oil refinery attracts a total investment of 38 billion yuan, considered to be the biggest single investment of

since 1949. Like other regions around the area, Pengzhou was badly affected by the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.

Administrative divisions

Pengzhou has 20

towns A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

: *Tianpeng (天彭镇) *Longmenshan (龙门山镇) *Xinxing (新兴镇) *

Lichun Traditional Chinese calendar divides a year into 24 solar terms. ''Lìchūn'', ''Risshun'', ''Ipchun'', or ''Lập xuân'' is the 1st solar term. It begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 315° and ends when it reaches the long ...

(丽春镇) *Jiuchi (九尺镇) *Mengyang (濛阳镇) *Tongji (通济镇) *Danjingshan (丹景山镇) *Longfeng (隆丰镇) *Aoping (敖平镇) *Cifeng (磁峰镇) *Guihua (桂花镇) *Junle (军乐镇) *Sanjie (三界镇) *Xiaoyudong (小鱼洞镇) *Hongyan (红岩镇) *Shengping (升平镇) * Bailu (白鹿镇) *Gexianshan (葛仙山镇) * Zhihe (致和镇)

History

The Pengzhou area is believed to have been inhabited since the

Western Zhou The Western Zhou ( zh, c=, p=Xīzhōu; c. 1045 BC – 771 BC) was a royal dynasty of China and the first half of the Zhou dynasty. It began when King Wu of Zhou overthrew the Shang dynasty at the Battle of Muye and ended when the Quanrong n ...

period. Empress dowager

Wu Zetian Wu Zetian (17 February 624 – 16 December 705), personal name Wu Zhao, was the ''de facto'' ruler of the Tang dynasty from 665 to 705, ruling first through others and then (from 690) in her own right. From 665 to 690, she was first empres ...

first set up Pengzhou in 686 AD (

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 ...

). In 1337 AD, Hongwu Emperor (

Ming Dynasty 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 peo ...

) reduced Pengzhou to Pengxian, or Peng County (). Peng County later became Pengzhou City in 1993. As of late, Pengzhou is still occasionally referred to as Pengxian, or Peng County, even in official publications.

Education

Xihua University Xihua University (西华大学: "XHU（West China University)) is a public comprehensive university located in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China. Approved by the State Ministry of Education, Xihua University (XHU) was founded on April 16, 2003, f ...

Pengzhou Campus is located at the south part of the city.

Sister cities

Ishikari, Hokkaidō is a city located in Ishikari Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. As of April 30, 2017, the city has an estimated population of 58,755, with 27,434 households, and a density of 81 persons per km2. The total area is . On October 1, 2005, the vil ...

, Japan (Since 2000) *

Anykščiai Anykščiai (; see other names) is a ski resort town in Lithuania, west of Utena. The Roman Catholic Church of St. Matthias in Anykščiai is the tallest church in Lithuania, with spires measuring in height. Anykščiai has a resort status i ...

, Lithuania

Climate

References

External links

Pengzhou Government official website
{{Sichuan County-level cities in Sichuan Geography of Chengdu