Rizhao (), alternatively romanized as Jihchao, is a

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' ...

in southeastern Shandong

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

, China. It is situated on the coastline along the

Yellow Sea The Yellow Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula, and can be considered the northwestern part of the East China Sea. It is one of four seas named after common colour term ...

, and features a major seaport. It borders Qingdao to the northeast, Weifang to the north, Linyi to the west and southwest, and faces

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republi ...

and Japan across the

to the east. The name of the city literally means "sunshine". Worldwatch Institute. (2007). '' State of the World : Our Urban Future.'' The city is known for its sustainability, and it mandates solar-water heaters in all new buildings. Rizhao city was recognized by the United Nations as one of the most habitable cities in the world in 2009. The city population stands at 2,968,365 people as of the

2020 Chinese census The Seventh National Population Census of the People's Republic of China (), also referred to as the 2020 Chinese Census, was the seventh national census conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China. Census wo ...

, of whom 1,172,205 live in the urban area of Donggang District.

History

Rizhao is located at the place where the ancient Dawenkou culture and the

Longshan culture The Longshan (or Lung-shan) culture, also sometimes referred to as the Black Pottery Culture, was a late Neolithic culture in the middle and lower Yellow River valley areas of northern China from about 3000 to 1900 BC. The first archaeological fi ...

flourished. Rizhao belonged to the

Dongyi The Dongyi or Eastern Yi () was a collective term for ancient peoples found in Chinese records. The definition of Dongyi varied across the ages, but in most cases referred to inhabitants of eastern China, then later, the Korean peninsula, and Ja ...

people during the Xia and

Shang The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and f ...

dynasties (2070-1046 BC), and to Ju and Yue States in the

Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period was a period in Chinese history from approximately 770 to 476 BC (or according to some authorities until 403 BC) which corresponds roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou period. The period's name derives fr ...

(770-476 BC) and the

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 ...

(476-221 BC). It became a part of

Langye Commandery Langya Commandery ( zh, , ) was a commandery in historical China from Qin dynasty to Tang dynasty, located in present-day southeast Shandong and northeast Jiangsu. The commandery was established in Qin dynasty on the former territories of Qi. Fro ...

in the

Qin dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin state (modern Gansu and Shaanxi), ...

(221-206 BC). Rizhao was named Haiqu County () during the

Western Han The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...

(206 BC-25 AD) and Xihai County under the

Eastern Han The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a wa ...

(25-220 AD). During 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 Kingdo ...

, together with Ju County, Rizhao belonged to Mi Prefecture of Henan Prefecture. In the second year of the Yuanyou Period of the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...

, Rizhao Township was established, with the name meaning "(the first to get) sunshine". In the 24th year of the Dading Period of the Jin dynasty, Rizhao County was established. In 1940 it came under the control of the

Communist Party of China The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...

. After being a county and since 1985 a city under the administration of Linyi, Rizhao became a prefecture-level city within Shandong province in 1989. The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago has done field survey archaeological work in Rizhao over the years.

Climate

Rizhao has a temperate, four-season,

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 climate that lies in the transition between the

humid subtropical A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

( Köppen ''Cwa'') and humid continental (Köppen ''Dwa'') regimes, but favoring the former. Winter is cool to cold and windy, but generally dry, with a January average of . Summer is generally hot and humid, but sweltering days are rare, with an August average of . Due to its proximity to the coast and being on a peninsula, it experiences a one-month delayed spring compared to much of the province. Conversely, fall is milder than inland areas in Shandong. The annual mean temperature is . On average, there are 2,530 hours of bright sunshine annually, and the relative humidity is 70–74 %.

Administration

The

of Rizhao administers four county-level divisions, including two

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

and two

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

. * Donggang District () * Lanshan District () * Ju County () * Wulian County ()

Landmarks and tourist attractions

The following locations have a 4-star rating according to Chinese classification for scenic spots () * Wulian Mountain () * Fulai Mountain () *

Daqing Mountain Daqing (; alternately romanized as Taching) is a prefecture-level city in the west of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China. The name literally means "Great Celebration". Daqing is known as the "Oil Capital of China" and has exp ...

() * Wanpingkou Beach () *

Rizhao Beach National Park Rizhao (), alternatively romanized as Jihchao, is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Shandong province, China. It is situated on the coastline along the Yellow Sea, and features a major seaport. It borders Qingdao to the northeast, Weifa ...

() * Longmengu () * Liujiawan Park ()

Sustainable development

The city now mandates the incorporation of

solar panel A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module, PV panel or solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic solar cells mounted in a (usually rectangular) frame, and a neatly organised collection of PV panels is called a pho ...

s in all new buildings, and oversees the construction process to ensure the panels are correctly installed. The effort to install solar water heaters began in 1992. As of 2007, 99 percent of households in the central districts use solar water heaters, and most of the lighting and traffic signals are powered with photovoltaic solar power. In 2007 the city had over a half-million square meters of solar water heating panels, which have effectively reduced conventional electricity usage by 348 million kilowatt-hours per year. The city has been designated as the Environmental Protection Model City by China's SEPA, and is consistently listed in the top 10 cities for air quality in China.

Transportation

Rizhao features a major seaport, located approximately north of

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

, southwest of Qingdao, and north of

Lianyungang Lianyungang () is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Jiangsu province, China. It borders Yancheng to its southeast, Huai'an and Suqian to its south, Xuzhou to its southwest, and the province of Shandong to its north. Its name derives ...

. The seaport serves as a site for loading and unloading iron ore and coal. Other products passing through the harbor include cement, nickel, bauxite, and the like. In 2011 the Port of Rizhao, together with the cities of Qingdao, Weihai and Yantai in Shandong, signed a strategic alliance with

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea ...

, the largest port of the

Republic of Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its ea ...

. The alliance aims at building a shipping and logistics center in Northeast Asia. The new iron ore port of Lanqiao is located close to it as is the Lanshan port region. Rizhao Shanzihe Airport (IATA: RIZ) is an airport serving the city of Rizhao. The airport received approval from the State Council and the Central Military Commission in October 2013. It is located in the town of (), Donggang District. It was opened on 22 December 2015. The city is served by two railway stations, Rizhao railway station for local trains and

Rizhao West railway station Rizhao West railway station () is a railway station located in Donggang District, Rizhao, Shandong, China. History The station opened as Kuishan Town railway station in 1985. It was renamed Rizhao West on 1 July 2018. Services on the Qingdao� ...

for both local and high-speed services.

Education

Universities and colleges

Since becoming a city, Rizhao has seen a significant growth in the number of universities and colleges, * Qufu Normal University () * Jining Medical University () *

Rizhao Polytechnic Rizhao Polytechnic (, colloquially known as ''Rizhi'' (), is a public institution for tertiary education in Rizhao, Shandong province, China, specializing in engineering and technical majors. The college has around 14.000 students and 900 teacher ...

() * Shandong Foreign Languages Vocational College () *

Shandong Maritime Vocational College Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civiliza ...

() *

Shandong Sport College Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civiliza ...

() *

Shandong Water Polytechnic Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civiliza ...

()

Image gallery

Image:Wanping kou beach.jpg, Wanpingkou Beach Image:Fulai_mountain.jpg, Fulaishan Image:Dengta square beach.jpg,

Dengta Lighthouse Dengta () is a city in east-central Liaoning province in Northeast China. It is located in between Liaoyang, which oversees Dengta and lies to the southwest, and Shenyang, the provincial capital which lies nearly double that distance to the nort ...

Image:Wulian .jpg, Wulian Mountain

International relations

Rizhao

twin towns and sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

are: * Türkmenabat,

Türkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south ...

(2014)

References

External links

Government website of Rizhao
(in Chinese), retrieved on 2012-10-11 {{authority control Cities in Shandong Prefecture-level divisions of Shandong