Xichang
| Xichang 西昌 |
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| — County-level city — | |
| 西昌市 | |
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 Xichang
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| Coordinates: 27°53′40″N 102°15′52″E / 27.89444°N 102.26444°ECoordinates: 27°53′40″N 102°15′52″E / 27.89444°N 102.26444°E | |
| Country | People's Republic of China |
| Province | Sichuan |
| Prefecture | Liangshan |
| City seat | Beicheng Subdistrict (北城街道) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2,651 km2 (1,024 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,542 m (5,059 ft) |
| Population (2004) | |
| • Total | 126,700 |
| • Density | 48/km2 (120/sq mi) |
| Time zone | China Standard (UTC+8) |
| Xichang | |||||||
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| Chinese name | |||||||
| Chinese | 西昌 | ||||||
| Literal meaning | Western Good | ||||||
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| Yi name | |||||||
| Yi | ꀒꎂ (Op Rro) |
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Xichang is a city in and the seat of the Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, in the south of Sichuan province, People's Republic of China. In 2004 it had a population of 126,700.
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[edit] Geography
Xichang lies in near the border of southern Sichuan and is in a rather mountainous region of the province. The city is just northeast of the prefecture-level city of Panzhihua. The Anning River, which runs into Yalong River, a tributary of the Jinsha River (Yangtze River headwaters), is the main river in the area.
Owing to its low latitude and high elevation, Xichang has a mild climate. Under the Köppen system, the city belongs to the humid subtropical zone (Köppen Cwa). Winters feature mild days and cool nights, while summers are very warm and humid. Monthly daily mean temperatures range from 9.6 °C (49.3 °F) in January to 22.3 °C (72.1 °F) in July. Unlike much of the province, which lies in the Sichuan Basin, humidity levels in winter are rather low, but like the rest of the province, rainfall is concentrated in the months of June through September, and the city is virtually rainless in winter.
| Climate data for Xichang (1971–2000) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 16.6 (61.9) |
19.2 (66.6) |
23.6 (74.5) |
26.5 (79.7) |
27.6 (81.7) |
26.9 (80.4) |
27.5 (81.5) |
27.8 (82.0) |
24.6 (76.3) |
22.0 (71.6) |
19.1 (66.4) |
16.2 (61.2) |
23.1 (73.6) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 4.1 (39.4) |
6.2 (43.2) |
9.8 (49.6) |
12.8 (55.0) |
15.9 (60.6) |
17.9 (64.2) |
18.8 (65.8) |
18.3 (64.9) |
16.2 (61.2) |
13.3 (55.9) |
9.0 (48.2) |
5.0 (41.0) |
12.3 (54.1) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 5.6 (0.22) |
5.6 (0.22) |
14.7 (0.579) |
27.6 (1.087) |
88.7 (3.492) |
199.9 (7.87) |
240.0 (9.449) |
180.1 (7.091) |
153.2 (6.031) |
71.4 (2.811) |
20.0 (0.787) |
6.8 (0.268) |
1,013.6 (39.906) |
| % humidity | 52 | 46 | 42 | 48 | 57 | 72 | 76 | 73 | 76 | 73 | 67 | 62 | 62.0 |
| Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 2.2 | 3.0 | 4.7 | 8.7 | 14.7 | 19.2 | 18.6 | 16.3 | 17.0 | 12.9 | 5.7 | 2.7 | 125.7 |
| Sunshine hours | 234.5 | 221.8 | 257.1 | 247.7 | 221.7 | 152.3 | 167.1 | 191.1 | 133.4 | 153.2 | 181.0 | 205.7 | 2,366.6 |
| Source: China Meteorological Administration | |||||||||||||
[edit] Transportation
Xichang Railway Station (西昌站) is a main station on the railway line Kunming - Chengdu. A fast express train line is under construction which should shorten travelling times. There are also some other stations in the city, including the Xichang north railway station and Xichang south railway station.
The city possesses its own airport, Xichang Qingshan Airport, which is attached to the spaceport by a railroad line and a motorway directly.
Xichang lies on the Motorway Kunming - Chengdu. The section to the south is open for traffic, the mountainous section to Chengdu in the north is still under construction.
[edit] Spaceport
Xichang's spaceport is located about 64 km northwest of the city and went into operation in 1984. Communications satellites are the most common payload to be inserted into orbit from here. A number of Long March 3 rockets have been launched from the spaceport.
On January 26, 1995, a Long March 2E rocket veered off course two seconds after take-off from the spaceport and exploded, killing at least six on the ground. On February 14, 1996, a similar failure during the launch of Intelsat 708.[1] The rocket veered severely off course right after clearing the launch tower and landed in a rural village. Xinhua News Agency initially reported 6 deaths and 57 injuries.
[edit] References
- Select Committee of the United States House of Representatives (1999-01-03). "Satellite Launches in the PRC: Loral". U.S. National Security and Military/Commercial Concerns with the People's Republic of China. http://www.house.gov/coxreport/body/ch6bod.html. Retrieved 2007-06-30. (Congressional report discussing Intelsat 708 launch failure and possible technology transfer)
- "2002 State Dept. Charge Letter to Hughes". Softwar. 2005. http://www.softwar.net/hughes2.html. Retrieved 2007-06-30. (Documents on Intelsat 708 and export controls, including State Department letter charging two companies with export law violations)
[edit] External links
- http://www.astronautix.com/sites/xichang.htm
- http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/world/china/xichang.htm
- A World Away From Beijing, By ROSS TERRILL. The New York Times, December 20, 1987.
