# Xichang

Xichang (Northern Yi: /o̝˨˩dʐo̝˧/) is a city in and the seat of the Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in the south of Sichuan, China.

## History

The Qiongdu were the local people at the time of contact with China. The county of Qiongdu is attested in the area from the Han dynasty. Under the Song dynasty, a local lord was given the title of "King of the Qiongdu" (Qiongdu Wang). The area formed part of the medieval Kingdom of Dali and was subdued by the Mongolians from 1253–56, after which it was incorporated into Yunnan of the Yuan dynasty. It was organized as the Jiandu Ningyuan duhufu, qianhufu, or wanhufu but continued to be often known as Jiandu. In the book of his travels, Marco Polo recorded that the people of Jiandu and its hinterland used no coins but rods of gold bullion reckoned in saggi. A small change was made using half-catty pieces of molded salt, each reckoned as one-eightieth of a saggio of pure gold. Under the Qing, it was officially known as Ningyuan Commandery but also continued to be referenced under the old name Jianchang. In the 19th century, it was the center of Sichuan's production of "white wax".
In 1850, a magnitude-7.5 earthquake killed more than 20,600 people in Xichang. The city walls in Xichang County, three gate towers—the west, south and north—and some prisons collapsed.
Roman Catholicism was introduced to Ningyuan in the 18th century by the Paris Foreign Missions Society. The Apostolic Vicariate of Kienchang was established in 1910 and was elevated to a diocese in 1946. The episcopal residence is located next to the Cathedral of the Angels, Xichang.
In the 1980s, its population was thought to be around 140,000 people. In 2012, it had an estimated population of 481,796.

## Geography

Xichang lies in a mountainous region of far southern Sichuan. The city is just northeast of the prefecture-level city of Panzhihua. The Anning River is the main river in the area. It is an affluent of the Yalong, Jinsha, and Yangtze rivers. It lies near Qiong Lake.

### Climate

Owing to its low latitude and high elevation, Xichang has a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa) milder and far sunnier than the Sichuan Basin, with mild, very sunny and dry winters, and very warm, rainy summers. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from 9.9 °C (49.8 °F) in January to 22.6 °C (72.7 °F) in July, and the annual mean is 17.15 °C (62.9 °F). Over 60% of the 1,025 mm (40.4 in) annual precipitation occurs from June to August. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 36% in September to 72% in January, the city receives 2,367 hours of bright sunshine annually.
Climate data for Xichang, elevation 1,591 m (5,220 ft) (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1971–present) :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 26.0 (78.8) | 28.7 (83.7) | 33.5 (92.3) | 35.5 (95.9) | 39.1 (102.4) | 36.0 (96.8) | 35.5 (95.9) | 35.1 (95.2) | 34.9 (94.8) | 30.9 (87.6) | 27.8 (82.0) | 24.8 (76.6) | 39.1 (102.4) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 17.5 (63.5) | 20.3 (68.5) | 24.6 (76.3) | 27.4 (81.3) | 28.5 (83.3) | 27.7 (81.9) | 28.2 (82.8) | 28.5 (83.3) | 25.8 (78.4) | 22.8 (73.0) | 20.3 (68.5) | 17.1 (62.8) | 24.1 (75.3) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 10.2 (50.4) | 12.8 (55.0) | 16.6 (61.9) | 19.6 (67.3) | 21.5 (70.7) | 22.0 (71.6) | 22.8 (73.0) | 22.6 (72.7) | 20.3 (68.5) | 17.2 (63.0) | 13.6 (56.5) | 10.2 (50.4) | 17.5 (63.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 4.8 (40.6) | 7.0 (44.6) | 10.3 (50.5) | 13.4 (56.1) | 16.3 (61.3) | 18.2 (64.8) | 19.1 (66.4) | 18.8 (65.8) | 16.9 (62.4) | 13.8 (56.8) | 9.2 (48.6) | 5.5 (41.9) | 12.8 (55.0) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −3.1 (26.4) | −3.5 (25.7) | 0.3 (32.5) | 3.0 (37.4) | 7.1 (44.8) | 11.4 (52.5) | 12.7 (54.9) | 13.0 (55.4) | 8.9 (48.0) | 6.4 (43.5) | −1.8 (28.8) | −2.8 (27.0) | −3.5 (25.7) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 4.6 (0.18) | 5.8 (0.23) | 13.6 (0.54) | 32.3 (1.27) | 83.0 (3.27) | 234.5 (9.23) | 234.8 (9.24) | 179.6 (7.07) | 163.3 (6.43) | 67.5 (2.66) | 16.8 (0.66) | 5.0 (0.20) | 1,040.8 (40.98) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 2.6 | 2.9 | 5.0 | 8.7 | 13.0 | 19.0 | 17.9 | 15.9 | 15.6 | 11.7 | 4.2 | 2.0 | 118.5 |
| Average snowy days | 1.1 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 2.9 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 49 | 43 | 41 | 45 | 54 | 71 | 74 | 71 | 74 | 71 | 63 | 59 | 60 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 221.5 | 216.7 | 247.4 | 235.9 | 207.2 | 136.6 | 142.8 | 163.5 | 126.6 | 142.2 | 186.0 | 198.3 | 2,224.7 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 67 | 68 | 66 | 61 | 49 | 33 | 34 | 41 | 35 | 40 | 58 | 62 | 51 |
| Source: China Meteorological Administration all-time extreme temperature ||||||||||||||

## Administrative divisions

Xichang comprises 7 subdistricts, 11 towns, 6 townships and 2 ethnic townships.
| Name | Simplified Chinese | Hanyu pinyin | Yi | Romanized Yi | Administrative division code |
| Subdistricts ||||||
| Beicheng Subdistrict | 北城街道 | Běichéng Jiēdào | ꀙꍰꏦꈜ | bip chep jie gga | 513401001 |
| Xicheng Subdistrict | 西城街道 | Xīchéng Jiēdào | ꑟꍰꏦꈜ | xi chep jie gga | 513401002 |
| Dongcheng Subdistrict | 东城街道 | Dōngchéng Jiēdào | ꄏꍰꏦꈜ | do chep jie gga | 513401003 |
| Chang'an Subdistrict | 长安街道 | Cháng'ān Jiēdào | ꍤꉢꏦꈜ | chap nga jie gga | 513401004 |
| Xincun Subdistrict | 新村街道 | Xīncūn Jiēdào | ꑟꋂꏦꈜ | xi ce jie gga | 513401005 |
| Hainan Subdistrict | 海南街道 | Hǎinán Jiēdào | ꉰꇂꏦꈜ | hie lap jie gga | 513401007 |
| Madao Subdistrict | 马道街道 | Mǎdào Jiēdào | ꂶꄐꏦꈜ | max dop jie gga | 513401008 |
| Towns ||||||
| Lizhou Town | 礼州镇 | Lǐzhōu Zhèn | ꇉꂾꍔ | lo mox zhep | 513401101 |
| Anning Town | 安宁镇 | Ānníng Zhèn | ꉢꆀꍔ | nga nip zhep | 513401102 |
| Chuanxing Town | 川兴镇 | Chuānxīng Zhèn | ꍧꑟꍔ | chuo xi zhep | 513401103 |
| Huanglianguang Town | 黄联关镇 | Huángliánguān Zhèn | ꉸꆃꇨꍔ | huop niep guo zhep | 513401104 |
| Youjun Town | 佑君镇 | Yòujūn Zhèn | ꒀꏢꍔ | yop ji zhep | 513401105 |
| Taihe Town | 太和镇 | Tàihé Zhèn | ꄠꉼꍔ | tiep hop zhep | 513401106 |
| Anha Town | 安哈镇 | Ānhā Zhèn | ꉢꉳꍔ | nga ha zhep | 513401107 |
| Aqi Town | 阿七镇 | Āqī Zhèn | ꀈꐕꍔ | at qyp zhep | 513401108 |
| Zhangmuqing Town | 樟木箐镇 | Zhāngmùqìng Zhèn | ꍈꃆꏿꍔ | zha mup qip zhep | 513401109 |
| Langhuan Town | 琅环镇 | Lánghuán Zhèn | ꇂꉸꍔ | lap huop zhep | 513401110 |
| Baru Town | 巴汝镇 | Bārǔ Zhèn | ꀠꌼꍔ | ba ssut zhep | 513401111 |
| Townships ||||||
| Sihe Township | 四合乡 | Sìhé Xiāng | ꌧꉼꑣ | syp hop xie | 513401203 |
| Kaiyuan Township | 开元乡 | Kāiyuán Xiāng | ꇽꑸꑣ | kie yiep xie | 513401211 |
| Daxing Township | 大兴乡 | Dàxīng Xiāng | ꄉꑟꑣ | da xi xie | 513401212 |
| Jingjiu Township | 经久乡 | Jīngjiǔ Xiāng | ꏢꏭꑣ | ji jox xie | 513401215 |
| Ma'anshan Township | 马鞍山乡 | Mǎ'ānshān Xiāng | ꂶꉢꎭꑣ | max nga sha xie | 513401228 |
| Ethnic townships ||||||
| Yulong Hui Ethnic Township | 裕隆回族乡 | Yùlóng Huízú Xiāng | ꒄꇊꉇꉈꑣ | yup lop hxix hxi xie | 513401219 |
| Gaocao Hui Ethnic Township | 高草回族乡 | Gāocǎo Huízú Xiāng | ꇨꊿꉇꉈꑣ | guo co hxix hxi xie | 513401220 |

## Transportation

Xichang Railway Station (西昌站) is a main station on the Chengdu–Kunming railway. Construction of a fast express train line has been completed. It connected Panzhihua, Chengdu and Guangyuan. 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 G5 Beijing–Kunming Expressway.

## Spaceport

Xichang's spaceport is located about 64 kilometres (40 mi) northwest of the city and went into operation in 1984. Communications satellites are the most common payload to be inserted into orbit from the Xichang spaceport.