Ganzhou
Encyclopedia
Ganzhou (also formerly known in English as Kanchou) is a prefecture-level city
Prefecture-level city
A prefectural level city , prefectural city or prefectural level municipality is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China, ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure. Prefectural level cities form the second level of the administrative...

 in southern Jiangxi
Jiangxi
' is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to...

 province, People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

. Its administrative seat is at Zhanggong
Zhanggong
Zhanggong District is the administrative center of Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China. The oldest part of Ganzhou's ancient sewage system named Fushou Gou , which was built during the eleventh century AD and still in use today, is located in Zhanggong District.As of 2003,...

 (章贡).

History

In 201, Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...

 established a county in the territory of modern Ganzhou. In those early years, ethnic Han
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...

 settlement and authority in the area was minimal and largely restricted to the Gan River basin. The river, a tributary of the Yangtze River
Yangtze River
The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...

 via Poyang Lake, provided a route of communication from the north as well as irrigation for rice farming.

During the Sui Dynasty
Sui Dynasty
The Sui Dynasty was a powerful, but short-lived Imperial Chinese dynasty. Preceded by the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it ended nearly four centuries of division between rival regimes. It was followed by the Tang Dynasty....

 the county administration was promoted to prefecture
Prefecture
A prefecture is an administrative jurisdiction or subdivision in any of various countries and within some international church structures, and in antiquity a Roman district governed by an appointed prefect.-Antiquity:...

 status and the area called Qianzhou (虔州). During the Song Dynasty
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...

 immigration from the north bolstered the local population and drove local aboriginal tribes further into the hills. Especially after the fall of the Northern Song capital of Kaifeng
Kaifeng
Kaifeng , known previously by several names , is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, Central China. Nearly 5 million people live in the metropolitan area...

, migrants increased dramatically. The name was officially changed to Ganzhou in the Southern Song.

During the late 1800s Ganzhou was opened as one of the southern treaty ports
Treaty ports
The treaty ports was the name given to the port cities in China, Japan, and Korea that were opened to foreign trade by the Unequal Treaties.-Chinese treaty ports:...

 and became a minor base for foreign companies. Between 1929 and 1934, Ganzhou formed a part of the Jiangxi Soviet
Jiangxi Soviet
The Chinese Soviet Republic , also translated as the Soviet Republic of China or the China Soviet Republic, and often referred to in historical literature as the Jiangxi Soviet , was a state established in November 1931 by the future Communist Party of China leader Mao...

, one of the bases of the Communist Party of China
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...

. Due to its proximity to the Red capital Ruijin
Ruijin
Ruijin is a county-level city of Ganzhou in the mountains bordering Fujian Province in south-eastern Jiangxi.The name derives from the ancient God, Rui Jin. It is most famous as one of the earliest centers of Chinese communist activity...

 (瑞金), Ganzhou was subject to a number of Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...

 encirclement campaigns.

Between 1939 and 1945, Chiang Ching-kuo
Chiang Ching-kuo
Chiang Ching-kuo , Kuomintang politician and leader, was the son of President Chiang Kai-shek and held numerous posts in the government of the Republic of China...

 was appointed by the Government of the Republic of China
Government of the Republic of China
The Republic of China was formally established by Dr. Sun Yat-sen in 1912 in Nanjing under the Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China but this government was moved to Beijing in the same year and continued as the internationally recognized government of China until 1928. In the history...

 as commissioner of Gannan Prefecture , then the name of the surrounding regions of Ganzhou. There he banned smoking, gambling and prostitution, studied governmental management, allowed for economic expansion and a change in social outlook. His efforts were hailed as a miracle in the political war in China, then coined as the "Gannan New Deal" (贛南新政). During his time in Gannan, from 1940 he implemented a "public information desk" where ordinary people could visit him if they had problems, and according to records, Chiang Ching-kuo received a total of 1,023 people during such sessions in 1942. In regards to the ban on prostitution and closing of brothels, Chiang implemented a policy where former prostitutes became employed in factories. Due to the large number of refugees in Ganzhou as a result from the ongoing war, thousands of orphans lived on the street; in June 1942, Chiang Ching-kuo formally established the Chinese Children's Village (中華兒童新村) in the outskirts of Ganzhou, with facilities such as a nursery, kindergarten, primary school, hospital and gymnasium.

Administration



Ganzhou has jurisdiction over 1 district, 2 county-level cities
County-level city
A county-level city is a county-level administrative division of mainland China. County-level cities are usually governed by prefecture-level divisions, but a few are governed directly by province-level divisions....

 and 15 counties:

District:
  • Zhanggong District (章贡区)


County-level cities:
  • Nankang
    Nankang, Jiangxi
    Nankang is a county-level city in China under the administration of Ganzhou Municipality, in southern Jiangxi province.-Administration:...

     (南康市)
  • Ruijin
    Ruijin
    Ruijin is a county-level city of Ganzhou in the mountains bordering Fujian Province in south-eastern Jiangxi.The name derives from the ancient God, Rui Jin. It is most famous as one of the earliest centers of Chinese communist activity...

     (瑞金市)


Counties:
  • Gan County
    Gan County
    Gan County is a county in the municipal region of Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province.-Administration:Gan County has an area of 2993 km2. The county executive, legislature and judiciary are at Meilin Town , just upriver from the prefectural seat, together with the CPC and PSB branches. These organs...

     (赣县)
  • Yudu County
    Yudu County
    Yudu County is a highly populated county under the administration of Ganzhou city, located in the south of Jiangxi province, China....

     (于都县)
  • Xingguo County
    Xingguo County
    Xingguo County is a county, under the jurisdiction of Ganzhou, in Jiangxi province, People's Republic of China.-External links:*...

     (兴国县)
  • Ningdu County
    Ningdu County
    Ningdu County is a county, under the jurisdiction of Ganzhou, in Jiangxi province, People's Republic of China.The village of Xiaoyuan in Ningdu County was the site of the 1932 Ningdu Conference of the Communist Party of China during which Mao Zedong was removed from his leadership positions....

     (宁都县)
  • Shicheng County
    Shicheng County
    Shicheng County is a county, under the jurisdiction of Ganzhou, in Jiangxi province, People's Republic of China.-Culture:Like their cousins in other counties of the southern Jiangxi uplands, the people of Shicheng are Hakkas, and pride themselves on their heritage of friendliness, especially to...

     (石城县)
  • Huichang County
    Huichang County
    Huichang, JiangxiArea2722.18 km2Population392,3000 LongitudeLatitude Postal Code 342600Huichang is a county, under the juridiction of Ganzhou, in Jiangxi province, People's Republic of China....

     (会昌县)
  • Xunwu County
    Xunwu County
    Xunwu County is a county, under the jurisdiction of Ganzhou, in Jiangxi province, People's Republic of China. It has an area of ??? kn and population of ???,???...

     (寻乌县)
  • Anyuan County
    Anyuan County
    Anyuan County is a county in the municipal region of Ganzhou, JX.-Administration:The county executive, legislature and judiciary are at Xinshan Town , together with the CPC and PSB branches.-External links:...

     (安远县)
  • Dingnan County
    Dingnan County
    Dingnan County is a county in the municipal region of Ganzhou, in Jiangxi province.-Administration:The county executive, legislature, judiciary are at Lishi Town , together with the CPC and PSB branches....

     (定南县)
  • Longnan County
    Longnan County
    Longnan County is a county under the jurisdiction of Ganzhou Municipality, in Jiangxi province.-Famous people from Longnan:* Wang Sheng, a Kuomintang general, and in his later life, Taiwan's ambassador to Paraguay-External links:*...

     (龙南县)
  • Quannan County
    Quannan County
    Quannan County is a county, under the jurisdiction of Ganzhou, in Jiangxi province, People's Republic of China. It has an area of ??? kn and population of ???,???-External links:...

     (全南县)
  • Xinfeng County
    Xinfeng County, Jiangxi
    Xinfeng County is a county under the jurisdiction of Ganzhou Municipality, in Jiangxi province.-Administration:The county executive, legislature, judiciary are at Jiading Town , together with the CPC and PSB branches.-External links:...

     (信丰县)
  • Dayu County
    Dayu County
    Dayu County is a county in western Ganzhou Municipality, Jiangxi Province.-Administration:The county executive, legislature, judiciary are at Nanan Town , together with the CPC and PSB branches....

     (大余县)
  • Chongyi County
    Chongyi County
    Chongyi County is a county under the jurisdiction of Ganzhou Municipality, in Jiangxi province.-Administration:The county executive, legislature, judiciary are at Hengshui Town , together with the CPC and PSB branches.-External links:*...

     (崇义县)
  • Shangyou County
    Shangyou County
    Shangyou County is a county under the jurisdiction of Ganzhou Municipality, in Jiangxi province.-Administration:The county executive, legislature, judiciary are at Dongshan Town , together with the CPC and PSB branches.-External links:...

     (上犹县)

Geography

Ganzhou is a large city covering the southern third of Jiangxi province, with an area of 39,400 square kilometers. It borders Hunan province to the west, Guangdong to the south, and Fujian to the east, as well as the cities of Ji'an and Fuzhou to the north. More than 70% of the area is forested. The vast majority of the province, more than 83%, is also mountainous. Several of the major tributaries of the Gan River, Ganzhou's namesake, join at a confluence in the center of the city.

Climate

Ganzhou has a humid subtropical climate (Koppen
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...

 Cfa) affected by the Asian monsoon, with long, humid, very hot summers and short, mild and dry winters with occasional cold snaps. Monthly daily averages range from 8.2 °C (46.8 °F) in January to 29.4 °C (84.9 °F) in July, with an annual average of 19.4 °C (66.9 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1460 millimetres (57 in).

Demographics

According to the official website, there are 8,456,900 people living within prefecture limits. More than 99% are Han Chinese
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...

, and 71,200 people belong to 41 minority ethnical groups (mainly She
She people
The She people are a Chinese ethnic group. They form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China....

, Hui
Hui people
The Hui people are an ethnic group in China, defined as Chinese speaking people descended from foreign Muslims. They are typically distinguished by their practice of Islam, however some also practice other religions, and many are direct descendants of Silk Road travelers.In modern People's...

 and Yao
Yao people
The Yao nationality is a government classification for various minorities in China. They form one of the 55 ethnic minority groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China, where they reside in the mountainous terrain of the southwest and south...

). Ganzhou also contains the largest Hakka
Hakka people
The Hakka , sometimes Hakka Han, are Han Chinese who speak the Hakka language and have links to the provincial areas of Guangdong, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan and Fujian in China....

 community in Jiangxi. Almost all the people in Ganzhou speak Hakka except the urban area (Zhanggong District), which is considered as a Southwestern-Mandarin
Southwestern Mandarin
Southwestern Mandarin , also known as Upper Yangtze Mandarin , is a primary branch of Mandarin Chinese spoken by Han Chinese people throughout many regions of central and southwestern China, such as Sichuan, Yunnan, Chongqing, Guizhou, most parts of Hubei, the western part of Hunan, the northern...

-speaking "dialect island".

Tourism

Ganzhou is known as the "Orange Capital of the World" as well as the "Tungsten Capital of the World". The world's largest mechanical clock is located in Ganzhou called the Harmony Clock Tower.
Though encircled by mountain scenery, other notable attractions in Jiangxi are Jingdezhen
Jingdezhen
Jingdezhen , is a prefecture-level city, previously a town, in Jiangxi Province, China, with a total population of 1,554,000 . It is known as the "Porcelain Capital" because it has been producing quality pottery for 1700 years. The city has a well-documented history that stretches back over 2000...

, Nanchang
Nanchang
Nanchang is the capital of Jiangxi Province in southeastern China. It is located in the north-central portion of the province. As it is bounded on the west by the Jiuling Mountains, and on the east by Poyang Lake, it is famous for its scenery, rich history and cultural sites...

 and Lushan
Lushan
Lushan District, also anglicised as Kuling, is the name of a district in Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China. With a history dating back thousand of years it is a popular domestic and foreign tourist attraction as well as home to the mountain resort town of Lushan and the high...

 among others. Some of the places of interest in Ganzhou include:
  • Mount Jiulian (九连山), Longnan County
  • Mei Pass
    Mei Pass
    Mei Pass is a strategic site around 30 km north of Nanxiong Municipality, Guangdong province, China. It is situated in the Meiling Mountains , forming the boundary between the provinces of Jiangxi and Guangdong....

     (梅关), Dayu County
  • Cuiwei Peak (翠微峰), Ningdu County
  • Hakka architecture
    Hakka architecture
    A Hakka walled village is a large multi-family communal living structure that is designed to be easily defensible. This building style is unique to the Hakka people found in southern China...

     (赣南客家围屋) Some of the most representative Hakka houses include Fort Xin 新围, Longnan 龙南; Fort Yanji 燕翼围, Yangcun 杨村; Fort Longguang 龙光围, Taojiang 桃江; Fort Dongsheng 东生围, Anyuan 安远 etc.
  • Yugu Pavilion
    Yugu Pavilion
    Yugu Pavilion is located on Helan Hill in the north of Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province, China. It is among the list of Provincial-Level Scenic and Historic Interest Area of Jiangxi.-History:...

    (郁孤台), Zhanggong District
  • Bajing Pavilion
    Bajing Pavilion
    The Bajing Pavilion in Ganzhou, Jiangxi province, China is a three-level pavilion located on the northeast corner of the Ganzhou city wall. Zhang River and Gong River join at a confluence as Gan River at its base....

    (八境台), Zhanggong District
  • Dongjin Bridge
    Dongjin Bridge
    The Dongjin Bridge in Ganzhou, Jiangxi province, China is a pontoon bridge constructed over the Zhang River and Gong River in the Chinese Song Dynasty...

     (东津桥): Pontoon bridge
    Pontoon bridge
    A pontoon bridge or floating bridge is a bridge that floats on water and in which barge- or boat-like pontoons support the bridge deck and its dynamic loads. While pontoon bridges are usually temporary structures, some are used for long periods of time...

    s have been constructed over the Zhang and Gong rivers since the Song Dynasty. One of the bridges, the Dongjin Bridge, can still be seen. It is 400 metres long, made up of wooden planks placed on around 100 wooden boats linked together with iron chains.


The town of Zhanggong has a city wall dating to the Song Dynasty, as well as a number of pavilions and temples from the Ming
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...

 and Qing
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

. Altogether there are some 17 National Cultural Relic Protection Units in Ganzhou and 48 Provincial-level Cultural Relic Protection Units.

Roads and highways

  • China National Highways:


G 105
China National Highway 105
China National Highway 105 runs from Beijing to Zhuhai, via Langfang, Chuangzhou, Dezhou, Donge, Jining, Shuangyou, Fuyang, Liuan, Jiujiang, Nanchang, Ji'an and Guangzhou...

, G 206
China National Highway 206
China National Highway 206 runs from Yantai, Shandong Province to Shantou, Guangdong Province. It is 2,375 kilometres in length and runs south from Yantai, going via Shangdong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi Province, and ends in Guangdong Province....

, G 319
China National Highway 319
China National Highway 319 runs northwest from Xiamen, Fujian towards Jiangxi Province, Hunan Province, Chongqing, and ends in Chengdu, Sichuan. It is 2984 kilometres in length.- Route and distance:...

, G 323
China National Highway 323
China National Highway 323 runs southwest from Ruijin, Jiangxi towards Guangdong Province, Guangxi Province, and ends in Lincang, Yunnan, which is on China-Burma border. It is 2,915 kilometres in length.- Route and distance:...

.
  • Expressways of China:


Ganyue Expressway
Ganyue Expressway
The Ganyue Expressway was built in 2004. It connects Jiangxi province and Guangdong province....


Railway

The Beijing-Jiulong Railway goes through Ganzhou from north to south, and it meet the Ganzhou-Longyan Railway(Ganlong line) at East Ganzhou Railway Station in Zhanggong Distrcit.

Major railway stations in Ganzhou are:
  • Ganzhou, Xingguo, Nankang, Xinfeng, Longnan and Dingnan (Beijing-Jiulong Railway)
  • Gan County, Yudu, Huichang, Ruijin (Ganzhou-Longyan Railway)

Air

The new Ganzhou Huangjin Airport
Ganzhou Huangjin Airport
-World War II:During World War II, the airport was known as Kanchow Airfield and was used by the United States Army Air Forces Fourteenth Air Force as part of the China Defensive Campaign...

 (赣州黄金机场), located in Nankang
Nankang, Jiangxi
Nankang is a county-level city in China under the administration of Ganzhou Municipality, in southern Jiangxi province.-Administration:...

, was opened on March 26, 2008. Its name inherited from the old Huangjin Airport in Huangjin Town, Zhanggong
Zhanggong
Zhanggong District is the administrative center of Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China. The oldest part of Ganzhou's ancient sewage system named Fushou Gou , which was built during the eleventh century AD and still in use today, is located in Zhanggong District.As of 2003,...

 District, which was closed since it was too close to the expanding Ganzhou urban area. It has domestic routes to Shenzhen
Shenzhen
Shenzhen is a major city in the south of Southern China's Guangdong Province, situated immediately north of Hong Kong. The area became China's first—and one of the most successful—Special Economic Zones...

, Guangzhou
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...

, Nanchang
Nanchang
Nanchang is the capital of Jiangxi Province in southeastern China. It is located in the north-central portion of the province. As it is bounded on the west by the Jiuling Mountains, and on the east by Poyang Lake, it is famous for its scenery, rich history and cultural sites...

, Xiamen
Xiamen
Xiamen , also known as Amoy , is a major city on the southeast coast of the People's Republic of China. It is administered as a sub-provincial city of Fujian province with an area of and population of 3.53 million...

, Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...

, Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...

, Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...

, Chongqing
Chongqing
Chongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities , and the only such municipality in inland China.The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the...

 and Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

.

Notable residents

Nobel Laureate Gao Xingjian
Gao Xingjian
Gao Xingjian is a Chinese-born novelist, playwright, critic, and painter. An émigré to France since 1987, Gao was granted French citizenship in 1997...

 (Nobel Prize for literature in 2000) was born in Ganzhou.

Sister cities

McAllen, Texas
McAllen, Texas
McAllen is the largest city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. It is located at the southern tip of Texas in an area known as the Rio Grande Valley and is part of the . Its southern boundary is located about five miles from the U.S.–Mexico border and the Mexican city of Reynosa, the Rio...

, United States;since 1994. Roissy-en-France
Roissy-en-France
Roissy-en-France is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France, in the Val d'Oise department. It is located from the center of Paris....

, France;since 2008. Freetown, Sierra Leone;since 2008. Brunswick, Georgia
Brunswick, Georgia
Brunswick is the major urban and economic center in southeastern Georgia in the United States. The municipality is located on a harbor near the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 30 miles north of Florida and 70 miles south of South Carolina. Brunswick is bordered on the east by the Atlantic...

, United States;since 2008.

External links

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