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Zhongshan

Coordinates: 22°32′N 113°21′E / 22.533°N 113.350°E / 22.533; 113.350
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For other uses, see Zhongshan (disambiguation).
Zhongshan
中山
Prefecture-level city
中山市
From top: Statue of Sun Yat-sen in Sunwen Memorial Park, Zhongshan Daily Building, Zhongshanbei Railway Station, Zhongshan IFC, Qijiang River and Port of Zhongshan
From top: Statue of Sun Yat-sen in Sunwen Memorial Park, Zhongshan Daily Building, Zhongshanbei Railway Station, Zhongshan IFC, Qijiang River and Port of Zhongshan
Location of Zhongshan in Guangdong
Location of Zhongshan in Guangdong
CountryPeople's Republic of China
ProvinceGuangdong
County-level divisionsNone
Township-level divisions5 districts
18 towns
1 development zone
Government
 • CPC Committee SecretaryXue Xiaofeng (薛晓峰)
 • MayorChen Liangxian (陈良贤)
Area
 • Total1,783.67 km2 (688.68 sq mi)
Population
 (2012)
 • Total3,142,300
 • Density1,800/km2 (4,600/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+8 (China Standard Time)
Postal code
528400
Area code0760
License plate prefixes粤T
GDP¥218.85 billion (2011)
GDP per capita¥92,154 (2011)
City flowerChrysanthemum
Websitewww.ZhongShan.gov.cn (Chinese)
Zhongshan
Chinese中山
JyutpingZung1 saan1
Cantonese YaleJūngsāan
Hanyu PinyinZhōngshān
PostalChungshan
Literal meaningCentral mountain
(Named after Sun Zhongshan)
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZhōngshān
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationJūngsāan
JyutpingZung1 saan1
Alternative Chinese name
Chinese香山
JyutpingHoeng1 saan1
Cantonese YaleHēungsāan
Hanyu PinyinXiāngshān
PostalHeungshan
Literal meaningFragrant Mountain
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinXiāngshān
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationHēungsāan
JyutpingHoeng1 saan1

Zhōngshān (Chinese: 中山), previously known as Xiāngshān (Chinese: 香山), is a prefecture-level city in the south of the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong province, People's Republic of China. Zhongshan, one of the few cities in China with an eponymous name, is named after Dr. Sun Yat-sen (1866–1925) who is known in Chinese as Sun Zhongshan. Sun, the founding father of the Republic of China, was born in Cuiheng village in Nanlang Township of what was then Xiangshan County. In 1925, the year after his death, Xiangshan was renamed Zhongshan in his honor. The main ethnic group in Zhongshan is Han, and the main language is Cantonese.

Sunwen Lu (Road) West at dusk.

Names

Until 1925, Zhongshan was generally known as Xiangshan or Heung-san (Chinese: 香山; lit. 'Fragrant Mountain'), in reference to the many flowers that grew in the mountains nearby.[1] The city was renamed in honor of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, who had adopted the name Zhongshan. Sun is considered by both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China to be the "Father of Modern China", and was from Cuiheng village – now part of Nanlang Town in Zhongshan.

History

The Zhongshan area was part of Dongguan during the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 AD), and was a significant sea salt producer. In 1082, during the Northern Song Dynasty, a fortified settlement called Xiangshan was founded in the area, marking the first official use of the name by which it would be known throughout most of its modern history. The prosperous settlement was then upgraded to a county in 1152. Much of the First Opium War took place in and around Zhongshan: in 1839, the famous official Lin Zexu arrived in Zhongshan and ordered the expulsion of Sir Charles Elliot and other British traders from the area. Qing Dynasty soldiers resisted British attacks on the area in 1840, but were ultimately overwhelmed.

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Zhongshan was occupied by the Imperial Japanese Army which implemented Unit 8604 or Nami Unit, a secret military medical unit, related to Unit 731, that researched biological warfare and other topics through human experimentation. It was headquartered at Zhongshan Medical University (Hal Gold, Unit 731 Testimony, 2003, p. 50).

In 1983, Zhongshan was elevated in administrative status from a county to a county-level city and again in 1988 to a prefecture-level city.

Geography

Zhongshan is located along the west side of the mouth of the Pearl River, directly opposite Shenzhen and Hong Kong. Zhongshan is directly south of Guangzhou and Foshan's north-south alluvial plains, and just north of Zhuhai and Macau's hilly coastlines.

Geological evidence suggests that before the 2nd millennium BC, the area Zhongshan now occupies was mostly on the floor of the South China Sea. Like much of southern China, Zhongshan has many mountains and hills – most notably the Wugui Mountains (Chinese: 五桂山; pinyin: Wǔguī Shān; Jyutping: Ng5gwai3 Saan1) – and these formed a system of steep islands. Like most river delta systems, the Pearl River and its tributaries gradually deposited silt on the ocean floor, causing its alluvial plain to reach further and further out into the sea. Zhongshan's northern flatland appeared around 1100 AD, and was settled soon after. The city's current geography is typical of southern China: numerous steep mountains and hills with alluvial plains in between down to the coastline. The main peak of the Wugui Mountains is the highest point in the city, at 531 metres (1,742 ft) above sea level.

Like nearly all of southern China, Zhongshan's climate is warm and humid most of the year, with an average temperature of 22 °C (72 °F) and 175 centimetres (69 in) of rainfall each year. Southern China experiences fairly frequent typhoons and thunderstorms, and most rain falls between April and September.

Zhongshan's location in the Pearl River Delta.

Cityscape

File:Zhongshan skyline 2012.PNG
Zhongshan Skyline
Fufeng pagoda in Zhongshan Park.

Zhongshan is a city of numerous leafy parks, wide boulevards and various monuments. Notable sights include:

  • Sunwen Road West (or Sunwen Xilu) in Zhongshan Old Town, a pedestrian mall lined with dozens of restored buildings from the colonial period in treaty port style. Several of these buildings were built in the 1920s. The seven story Fufeng Pagoda, built in 1608, which is visible from all over the city, is located on a hill in Zhongshan Park, which abuts the western end of Sunwen Road West immediately to its north. A Sun Yat-sen memorial pavilion stands near the pagoda.
  • Sunwen Memorial Park, at the southern end of Xingzhong Road, is the site of the largest bronze sculpture of Sun Yat-sen in the world.

Administration

File:Zhongshan downtown.JPG
Downtown Zhongshan

Zhongshan is a prefecture-level city of the Guangdong province. An uncommon administrative feature is that it has no county-level division. The city government directly administers five district offices corresponding to the urban area of Zhongshan proper), 18 towns and a development zone:

Map # Name Hanzi Hanyu Pinyin Population (2010 Census)[citation needed]
Subdistricts
1 Dong District 东区 Dōng Qū 153,477
2 Nan District 南区 Nán Qū 64,548
3 Xi District 西区 Xi Qū 97,864
4 Shiqi District 石岐区 Shíqí Qū 206,362
5 Torch Hi-tech Industrial Development District 火炬高技术产业开发区 Huǒjù Gāojìshù Chǎnyè Kāifā Qū 229,997
6 Wuguishan District 五桂山区 Wǔguìshān Qū 48,019
Towns
7 Nanlang Town 南朗镇 Nánlǎng Zhèn 107,977
8 Sanxiang Town 三乡镇 Sānxiāng Zhèn 200,197
9 Tanzhou Town 坦洲镇 Tǎnzhōu Zhèn 219,943
10 Shenwan Town 神湾镇 Shénwān Zhèn 31,392
11 Banfu Town 板芙镇 Bǎnfú Zhèn 82,412
12 Dachong Town 大涌镇 Dàyǒng Zhèn 74,276
13 Shaxi Town 沙溪镇 Shāxī Zhèn 119,372
14 Henglan Town 横栏镇 Hénglán Zhèn 103,135
15 Guzhen Town 古镇镇 Gǔzhèn Zhèn 147,440
16 Xiaolan Town 小榄镇 Xiǎolǎn Zhèn 15,626
17 Dongfeng Town 东凤镇 Dōngfèng Zhèn 123,562
18 Nantou Town 南头镇 Nántóu Zhèn 130,712
19 Huangpu Town 黄圃镇 Huángpǔ Zhèn 145,017
20 Sanjiao Town 三角镇 Sānjiǎo Zhèn 121,770
21 Minzong Town 民众镇 Mínzhòng Zhèn 108,417
22 Gangkou Town 港口镇 Gǎngkǒu Zhèn 113,748
23 Fusha Town 阜沙镇 Fùshā Zhèn 57,570
24 Dongsheng Town 东升镇 Dōngshēng zhèn 118,052

Economy

Primary industries

Primary productions are agricultural, such as rice, lychee, banana, and sugar cane. Added to this, horticulture in Xiaolan Town is famous throughout southern China for its blooming chrysanthemum.

Manufacturing industries

Zhongshan, together with Dongguan, Nanhai and Shunde, are dubbed as Four Little Tigers in Guangdong. The proximity of Zhongshan to Hong Kong and Macau is an advantage to its economic development, especially on the manufacturing industries.

In the 1980s, Zhongshan had a relatively developed State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) sector that was used to stimulate Township and Village Enterprises (TVE) development in the countryside. Currently, the SOE sector is much weaker and the economy is dominated by foreign investment and TVEs, and also by various specialized manufacturing towns. Each of these towns is specialized in making a particular product. Most of the towns are so successful that they earn a reputation as a leading manufacturer in their own pillar industries. Indeed, "One Industry in One Town" has become a unique economic feature in Zhongshan.

Pillar industries in various specialized manufacturing towns in Zhongshan include:

The government of Zhongshan encourages "Research and Design" in the region by setting up national level research centre and specialized industrial regions. For example, the Zhongshan National Torch High-Tech Industrial Development Zone (中山国家级火炬高技术产业开发区) was established in 1990 in the east of the city by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the governments of Guangdong province and Zhongshan. Zhongshan Port, which ranks among the top 10 ports nationwide in terms of container-handling capacity, is in the zone.[2] Since 2001, it has contained Zhongshan Electronic Base of China (中国电子中山基地) for its reputation on the electronic acoustics industries. Following the possible development in Nansha, the city considers its eastern part, of which 400 square kilometres (154 square miles) of land is available, as a focus of development.

Currently, the city is trying to re-organize the fragmented industrialization. Meanwhile, the light and labour intensive industry characteristic of Zhongshan's economy imposes problem on shortage of land in Zhongshan.

Tourism

Several hot spring resorts are located in Sanxiang Town. In future, the World Lamp King Museum, a lamp museum in form of a lamp will be the major tourist attraction.

  • Former Residence of Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall The Sun Zhongshan memorial is the former residence of Sun Zhongshan jade as the main body of the Memorial Museum, is located in Guangdong Province, Zhongshan City Jade Village, in Zhongshan City East. 17.6 kilometres (10.9 miles) south of Canton (state ), beads ( SEA ) side of the main road.
  • Happy Valley Happy Valley is located in Zhongshan City, five Shan hinterland silver pit, is a collection of leisure, vacation, entertainment, fitness, business conference as one of the natural ecological scenic spot.
  • Jin Ju City, flap "Ju Jin valve" is the city of Zhongshan Xiaolan Town name. Town residents almost each and every family has the garden pavilion. The roof and balcony, streets and lanes, there are countless varieties of chrysanthemum planting.

Education

Colleges and universities

Statue of Sun Yat-sen in Sunwen Memorial Park.
  • Zhongshan College
  • Guangdong Pharmaceutical University
  • University of Electronic Science and Technology

High schools

  • Zhongshan Overseas Chinese Middle School (中山市華僑中學) opened in 1954, it is one of the first top-grade schools of Guangdong Province and the first national demonstrative ordinary high schools, which attracts lots of overseas, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan students.(http://zsqz.com/english/index.asp)
  • Zhongshan Memorial Middle School (Chinese: 中山纪念中学; pinyin: Zhōngshān Jìniàn Zhōngxúe) opened in 1932. It was established in memory of the Chinese revolutionist Sun Yat-sen, and built under the supervision of Soong Ching-ling, the widow of Sun Yat-sen.
  • Zhongshan No.1 Middle School [1] (Chinese: 中山市第一中学; pinyin: Zhōngshānshì Dìyī Zhōngxúe) opened in 1908.
  • Guangdong Zhongshan Experimental Middle School
  • Guangdong Bowen International School
  • Sanxin Bilingual School
  • China Hong Kong English School

Transportation

Twin towns – Sister cities

Zhongshan is an official sister city of five cities worldwide.

Country City County/District/Region/State Date
 Japan Moriguchi Osaka 1988
 United States Honolulu County [3] Hawaii 1997
 Mexico Culiacán Sinaloa 2007
 Canada Burnaby[4] British Columbia 2011
 Malaysia George Town Penang 2012

References

  1. ^ Tai Ping Huan Yu Ji 《太平寰宇记》, juan 157, 3019.
  2. ^ RightSite.asia | ZhongShan National Torch High-Tech Industrial Development Zone
  3. ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20120628103551/http://www1.honolulu.gov/ecodev/internationalrelations.htm. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ^ http://www.burnaby.ca/About-Burnaby/Sister---Friendship-Cities.html
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22°32′N 113°21′E / 22.533°N 113.350°E / 22.533; 113.350

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