Wuhu

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This article is about the prefecture-level city. For other uses, see Wuhu (disambiguation).
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Wuhu
芜湖
—  Prefecture-level city  —
芜湖市
Location of Wuhu City in Anhui
Country People's Republic of China
Province Anhui
County-level divisions 8
Township-level divisions
City seat Jiujiang District
(31°22′12″N 118°23′33″E / 31.37000°N 118.39250°E / 31.37000; 118.39250)
Government
 • CPC Secretary Chen Shulong (陈树隆)
 • Mayor Yang Jiongnong(杨静农)
Area
 • Prefecture-level city 5,988 km2 (2,312 sq mi)
 • Urban 720 km2 (280 sq mi)
 • Metro 444 km2 (171 sq mi)
Elevation 7.9 m (26 ft)
Population (2010 census)
 • Prefecture-level city 3,545,067
 • Density Bad rounding here590/km2 (Bad rounding here1,500/sq mi)
 • Urban 1,408,917
 • Urban density Bad rounding here2,000/km2 (Bad rounding here5,100/sq mi)
 • Metro 1,264,539
 • Metro density Bad rounding here2,800/km2 (Bad rounding here7,400/sq mi)
Time zone China Standard (UTC+8)
Area code(s) 0553
GDP (2011) ¥165,8 billion
GDP per capita ¥47,028
License Plate Prefix 皖B
Website http://www.wuhu.gov.cn/

Wuhu (simplified Chinese: 芜湖; traditional Chinese: 蕪湖; pinyin: Wúhú; literally "Weedy Lake") is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Anhui province, People's Republic of China. Sitting on the southeast bank of the Yangtze River, Wuhu borders Xuancheng to the southeast, Chizhou and Tongling to the southwest, Hefei to the northwest, Ma'anshan to the northeast, and the province of Jiangsu to the east, and is approximately 90 km (56 mi) southwest of Nanjing.

Contents

Administration [edit]

The prefecture-level city of Wuhu administers 8 county-level divisions, including 4 districts and 4 counties.

Demographics [edit]

At the 2010 census, the total population was 3,545,067 whom 1,409,917 urban and 1,264,513 lived in the built-up area made up of Jinghu, Jiujiang and Yijiang urban districts. Vast majority of the local population are Han Chinese, though there are some Muslim Hui people as minorities. Jiang-Huai Mandarin, a branch of Mandarin Chinese, was widely spoken in urban area, while some people in the counties spoke Wu Chinese. Putonghua, or Standard Mandarin was commonly used in this area.

History [edit]

Wuhu is known to have been inhabited since at least 770 BCE. It became a strategically important town during the Three Kingdoms period (220-280 AD), when it was controlled by the Eastern Wu. At this time it was known as Jiuzi (Chiu-tzu 鳩茲). Under the Ming dynasty Wuhu developed into a major commercial center and river port, and since that time has been known as a center of the rice trade.

In 1644, the Hongguang Emperor (better known as the Prince of Fu), one of the last emperors of the Ming Dynasty, was captured by forces of the new Qing Dynasty in Wuhu. The city became a treaty port in 1876 and has remained a commercial center since that time. The city's Roman Catholic cathedral, St. Joseph Cathedral (圣若瑟主教座堂), dates from this time. Most downtown area alongside the Yangtze River was ceded as the British concession.

Trade in rice, wood, and tea flourished at Wuhu until the Warlord Era of the 1920s and 1930s, when bandits were active in the area.

At the beginning of Second Sino-Japanese War,also part of the Second World War, Wuhu was occupied by Japan on Dec.10, 1937, which was also a prelude to the Battle of Nanking,ending in Nanking Massacre.Under the Japanese occupation in the Second World War, Chinese resistance fighters hid in the lakes around Wuhu, by submerging themselves and breathing through reeds.

Major industries began to be developed in Wuhu after the Second World War, with the development of the textile industry, shipbuilding, and paper mills. Despite this, Wuhu had been lagged behind Ma'anshan and Tongling in industrial production for decades after the establishment of PRC, and remained primarily as a commercial center for trade in rice, silk, cotton, tea, wheat and eggs. However, with recent years' economic rise, Wuhu has also been a hub for manufacturing in the area.

Economy [edit]

The city is the second largest economy in Anhui province, after Hefei. In 2011, Wuhu’s GDP reached RMB 165.8 billion, an increase of 16.0% over the previous year. Its per capita GDP was RMB 47,028, with a year-on-year rise of 15.3%.[1]

Wuhu Economic &Technological Development Area in the north of the city launched in 1993 is one of the first state-level economic & technological development area in Anhui province, also has the only export processing zone in the province.[2] Chery Automobile and Anhui Conch Cement Company are both headquartered in this development area.

Wuhu is the fifth largest port alongside Yangtze River. Yuxikou Pier is the largest inland river coal harbor in China.

Transportation [edit]

Rail [edit]

Wuhu is served by the Anhui–Jiangxi and the Nanjing–Tongling Railways.

Culture [edit]

The great poet Li Bai spent his late life in Wuhu, it is said, due to its striking landscape. Li Bai was born in a Central Asian town and raised in the southwestern China. Xie Tiao, one of the most distinctive Six Dynasty poets whom he greatly admired, left many poems when holding positions here.

In the Tang dynasty (619-907), the poet Du Mu wrote a famous poem Thoughts on Staying Again at Wuhu. A factory in Wuhu carries on the local craft of making wrought iron pictures. Other local handicrafts are embossed lacquerware and rice straw pith patchwork. A famous stone tablet in Wuhu recording local events of the Song dynasty period (ca. 1000 AD) is considered to be a masterpiece of the renowned calligrapher Mi Fu. In the Western world, Wuhu is now known as the home city to many adopted Chinese children.

Folklore [edit]

An itinerant blacksmith named Tang Tianchi is reputed to have invented the wrought-iron picture in Wuhu, when a painter whom he admired chided him, "You will never make pictures by beating iron."

Another blacksmith of the Spring and Autumn period (770-476 BC) named Gan Jiang was famous for sword making. Zhe Shan (Reddish Brown Hill) is said to get its colour from the flames of Gan Jiang's furnace. Sheng Shan (Sacred Hill) is the legendary location of his sword grinding rock and tempering pool.

Food [edit]

Wuhu and Anqing are noted centers of the Yanjiang cuisine. It specializes in freshwater fish and poultry, and features special techniques of chopping, shaping, and colouring. The flavour of Yanjiang dishes is often enhanced by sweetening and smoking.

Tourism [edit]

  • Mirror Lake (镜湖)
  • Jiuzi Plaza (鸠兹广场)
  • Yangtze Riverside Park (滨江公园)
  • Mount Zhe, a hill park (赭山)
  • Wuhu Olympic Stadium (奥林匹克体育场)
  • Yangtze River Bridge Crossing (长江大桥)
  • Fantawild Adventure (方特欢乐世界), one of the largest theme park in Chinese Mainland
  • Phoenix Cuisine Boulevard (凤凰美食街)

Education [edit]

Universities & Colleges

  • Anhui Normal University (安徽师笵大学)
  • Anhui University of Technology and Science (安徽工程大学)
  • Wannan Medical College (皖南医学院)
  • Wuhu Radio and TV University (芜湖广播电视大学)
  • Wuhu Vocational Institute of Technology (芜湖职业技术学院)
  • Anhui Business College of Vocational Technology (安徽商贸职业技术学院)
  • Anhui Technical College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (安徽机电职业技术学院)
  • Anhui college of CHinese traditional medicine (安徽中医药高等专科学校)
  • Anhui vocational college of information technology (芜湖信息职业学院)

Notable High Schools

  • Wuhu City No.1 High School(芜湖市第一中学)
  • The High School Affiliated to Anhui Normal University (安徽师范大学附属中学)
  • Nanling County No.1 High School (南陵县第一中学)
  • Wuhu County No.1 High School (芜湖县第一中学)
  • Wuhu City No.12 High School (芜湖市第十二中学)
  • Fanchang County No.1 High School (繁昌县第一中学)

Health Care System [edit]

Notable hospitals:

Related Health Care Settings

Notable people [edit]

Notable constructions [edit]

Sister cities and friendly cities [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ "Wuhu ( Anhui ) City Information". hktdc.com. 2010-09-16. Retrieved 2011-09-06. 
  2. ^ "芜湖经济技术开发区". Weda.gov.cn. Retrieved 2011-09-06. 

External links [edit]

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wuhu&oldid=555671291"