Langzhong (formerly known as Paoning) is a

county-level city A county-level city () is a County-level divisions of China, county-level administrative division of the China, People's Republic of China. County-level cities have judiciary, judicial but no legislature, legislative rights over their own local or ...

in northeastern

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

province, China, located on the middle reaches of the Jialing River. It is administered as part of the

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

Nanchong Nanchong ( zh, c=南充 , p=Nánchōng , w=Nan-ch'ung; Sichuanese: lan2cong1) is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of Sichuan province, China, with an area of . At the 2020 census it was home to 5,607,565 people, of whom 1,936,534 liv ...

. Langzhong has a total population of 622,667, with 303,044 residing in the urban area in 2020. 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, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

. 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

state during

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Warring States period The Warring States period in history of China, Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and ...

. 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, and

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

, 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. It has also long been an important military town of Sichuan. The old town of Langzhong is built according to

Feng shui Feng shui ( or ), sometimes called Chinese geomancy, is a traditional form of geomancy that originated in ancient China and claims to use energy forces to harmonize individuals with their surrounding environment. The term ''feng shui'' mean ...

principles. The dedicated military, trade and residential quarters of the town are located in a location corresponding to a particular element in Feng shui. The town itself is position centrally with respect to 4 mountains around it. 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 Jialing River. 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 Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

-influenced

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''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

Langzhong comprises 5 subdistricts, 19 towns, 3 townships and 1 ethnic township:

Transport

* China National Highway 212 * Langzhong Gucheng Airport

Notes

References

Sources

* {{County-level divisions of Sichuan County-level cities in Sichuan Nanchong National Civilized City National Famous Historical and Cultural City