Lincang ( zh, s=临沧 , t=臨滄 , p=Líncāng) is a

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 ...

located in the southwest of

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

province, People's Republic of China.

History

Lincang was previously called Baihuai during the

Shang dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty that ruled in the Yellow River valley during the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and followed by the Western Zhou d ...

. On December 26, 2003, the state council approved the cancellation of Lincang District and set up prefecture-level Lincang city.

Geography and climate

Lincang covers latitude 23° 05′－25° 02′ N and longitude 98° 40′－100° 33′ E, thus straddling the

Tropic of Cancer The Tropic of Cancer, also known as the Northern Tropic, is the Earth's northernmost circle of latitude where the Sun can be seen directly overhead. This occurs on the June solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun ...

in the southern part of its administrative area, or prefecture. It is situated on the middle to lower reaches of the

Mekong The Mekong or Mekong River ( , ) is a transboundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth-longest river and the third-longest in Asia with an estimated length of and a drainage area of , discharging of wat ...

, known as the Lancang in China, and the Salween, or the Nu. Bordering prefectures are Pu'er to the southeast, and Baoshan and Dali to the northwest. It also borders

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

Shan State Shan State (, ; , ) is a administrative divisions of Myanmar, state of Myanmar. Shan State borders China (Yunnan) to the north, Laos (Louang Namtha Province, Louang Namtha and Bokeo Provinces) to the east, and Thailand (Chiang Rai Province, Chia ...

. Elevations within the prefecture range from . Located at an altitude of above and within 30 arc minutes to the north of the Tropic of Cancer, Lincang has a mild

subtropical highland climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring c ...

(

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 ...

''Cwb''), bordering on a

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 ''Cwa''), with muddled distinction between the seasons and daytime temperatures remaining warm year-round. Highs peak in May before the core of the rainy season and reach a minimum in December; however, the warmest and coolest months are June and January respectively. June through September accounts for nearly 70% of the annual rainfall of and during this time, some rainfall occurs on most days, pushing

relative humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation (meteorology), precipitation, dew, or fog t ...

above 80% and there is a marked reduction in sunshine. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 24% in July to 75% in January, the city receives 2,227 hours of bright sunshine annually.

Subdivisions

Demography

Among the resident population, the Han population is 1,523,670, accounting for 62.72% of the total population; the

ethnic minorities The term "minority group" has different meanings, depending on the context. According to common usage, it can be defined simply as a group in society with the least number of individuals, or less than half of a population. Usually a minority g ...

population is 905,835, accounting for 37.28% of the total population.

Natural resources

Mineral resources Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest, and cultural value. ...

mined and extracted in the Lincang area include

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

(including waste coal ash),

germanium Germanium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ge and atomic number 32. It is lustrous, hard-brittle, grayish-white and similar in appearance to silicon. It is a metalloid or a nonmetal in the carbon group that is chemically ...

and

uranium Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...

. Lincang is also home to the world's oldest cultivated tea tree, especially

pu'er tea ''Pu'er'' or ''pu-erh'' is a variety of fermented tea traditionally produced in Yunnan Province, China. Pu- erh tea is made from the leaves of the Yunnan tea plant ''Camellia sinensis var. assamica'', which is a specific variety of tea plant t ...

, some 3,200 years old, in the village of Jinxiu (), Xiaowan town, of Fengqing County.News article about oldest tea tree
/ref>

Transport

* Lincang Boshang Airport * Dali–Lincang railway

References

External links

Lincang City Official Website
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