Shilong

Shilong (Cheenese: 石龙 (simplifee'd) 石龍 (tradeetional); Hanyu Pinyin: Shī Lōng) is a historical an ecological toun in Dongguan prefectur-level ceety, Guangdong province, Fowkrepublic o Cheenae. Shilong is locatit at the lawer reaches o the bonnie Dongjiang River at the convergence o the northren stem an soothren branch o the Dongjiang River formin ane river wi three wharfs. The toun covers a total laund aurie o 13.83 square kilometres, wi the registered permanent residents o up to 67,900, an the population frae ither places totalin 77,500. Location Shilong is locatit athin the north pairt o Dongguan prefectur-level ceety. It is situatit at the central point o the Pearl River Delta, in conjunction wi Zengcheng an Boluo Coonty, 69 km tae Guangzhou ceety an 78 km tae Shenzhen ceety. The toun lees on the beach o the Dongjiang River an the Guangshen railwey （Chinese: 广深铁路）passes bi. Transport Its convenience in railwey an watter transportation makes Shilong a regional industrial an commercial centre. Thare are 20 buses for ivery 10 thoosan fowk in the toun, an thare are 27 bus lines open tae traffec tae peripheral ceeties, an thare are 83 pairs o electrifee'd express intercity passenger buses atween Guangzhou an Shenzhen each day, so the residents share comparatively a lairge space for activities an the intercity effect haes been utilisit tae the greatest extent. Economy In 2004, Shilong's GDP amoontit tae 3.66 billion RMB [1]Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine an the scale export income boostit tae $1.14 billion. Shilong is vera strang in the IT industrie. For instance, 2.4 million cameras, 3 million computers an 750 thoosan photocopiers an 1.8 million digital laser printers wur manufactured in Shilong bi 2004 an maist o thaim wur exportit. Ecologie In 2008, Shilong wis chosen bi the State as a “famous historical an cultural toun in Cheenae”. Thare are 27 remainin auncient trees, includin 1 tree at the age o mair nor 300 years an 16 trees at the ages o mair nor 100 years. The govrenment o the toun establishes electronic airchives for auncient an famous trees bi biggin their name cairds so that it can manage those auncient trees scientifically an effectively; an thare are 28 places o historical an cultural interests, includin 5 places as the key cultural relic protective units at the municipal level. Cultur In order tae protect intangible cultural heritage, the govrenment o the toun haes set up the development fund for Cantonese Opera. Nou, thare are 5 fowk ballad sangsters associations, who hauld free performances in Yat-sen Park in turn ivery Seturday fore-nicht. Furthermore, different kynds o museums an exhibition centres hae been built as cultural an educational bases. In 2005, it wis leetit as the Dragon Boat Champion Center in Cheenae bi the State General Admeenistration o Sports. Each year, thare are mair nor 90 cultural an airtistic fore-nicht pairties o aw kynds an mair nor 30 airt shows. History Durin the Song dynasty (800 years ago), its first inhabitants settled doun in Shilong toun. Due tae the convenient watterwey o Dongjian river, Shilong haed become a major hub for fuid supplee an firths in the soothren Cheenae syne the late Ming Dynasty tae the early Qing Dynasty. Efter the openin o the Kowloon-Canton railwey (KCR) at 1910, which passed throu Shilong, its status as a traffec an commercial centre haed been strenthened an its economic boomit. Shilong made its name in history as ane o the 'Fower Big Toun in Canton' (Cheenese: 广东四大历史名镇). Thanks tae its famous wichtliftin warld record breaker - Chen Jin-Kai (Cheenese: 陈镜开), Shilong haes wan its reputation as the 'Hame Toun o Wicht Liftin' (Cheenese: 举重之乡) an aw. See an aw Shilong Railwey Station Shilong Offeecial Wabsteid Archived 2012-03-22 at the Wayback Machine