Jingzhou

Jingzhou(Chinese:荆州;pinyin:Jīngzhōu) is aprefecture-level cityin southernHubeiprovince,China, located on the banks of theYangtze River. Its total residential population was 5,231,180 based on the2020 census, 1,068,291 of whom resided in the built-up (or metro) area comprising two urbandistricts.
Jingzhou's central urban area has grown out ofShashiCity and Jingzhou Town (historically also known asJiangling); their names were preserved in the names ofShashi DistrictandJingzhou District, which include the city's historical center, as well asJiangling County, which administers the suburban areas of the larger historical area of Jiangling.The name "Shashi" also remains in the names of a number of local facilities, such asJingzhou Shashi Airportand a railway freight station.
The contemporary city of Jingzhou is named afterancient province of the same name, which was one of thenine provincesof ancient China.Said province was named after the nearbyJing Mountains.
Jingzhou occupies an area of 14,067 square kilometres (5,431 sq mi)with a topography rising from east to west.It is covered by a dense network of waterways, as well as lakes, and is located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River on theJianghan Plain.Downstream to its east liesWuhan, the provincial capital, and to the west lies the city ofYichang, theThree Gorges, andChongqingMunicipality.JingmenCity, also in Hubei, lies to the north; to its south areYueyangandChangde, both inHunanProvince.12.42% of the city's area is forested.
Jingzhou has ahumid subtropical climate(KöppenCfa), with  hot, humid summers, and damp, chilly, but drier winters. Monthly daily average temperatures range from 4.1 °C (39.4 °F) in January to 28.0 °C (82.4 °F) in July. The area receives 1,800 to 2,000 hours of sunshine per year and has a frost-free period of 242−263 days annually.
According to the2010 census, the prefecture-level city of Jingzhou has 5,691,707 inhabitantsand a population density of 405 inhabitants per km.
As of the 7th census of Jingzhou done by the municipal government, Jingzhou's population shrunk slightly to an estimated 5,231,180 inhabitants, residing in about 1,833,292households. Of Jingzhou's residential population, 2,664,658 or 50.94 percent were males while 2,566,522 of 49.06 percent were females. The sex ratio was 103.82 (female=100, male to female). There were 534,914 persons with university education. Compared with 2010, the number of people with university education went up from 6,828 persons to 10,225 persons per 100,000 persons, the average years of schooling for people aged 15 and above increased from 8.81 years to 9.29 years, and the illiteracy rate dropped from 4.41 percent (251,100) to 2.79 (145,900) percent. Additionally, Shashi and Jingzhou districts' the average years of schooling for people aged 15 were longer than 10 years.
The prefecture-level city of Jingzhou has jurisdiction over twodistricts, threecounty-level cities, threecountiesand oneeconomic and technological development zone.The information here presented uses themetric systemand data from the 2010 census.
As of 2019, Jingzhou has aGDPof ¥251.648 billion, which grew at an annual rate of 7.5%.17.3% of the city's GDP came from itsprimary sector, 37.1% came from itssecondary sector, and 45.6% came from itstertiary sector.As of 2019, most of the city's economic growth is derived from its secondary and tertiary sectors, which grew at an annual rate of 8.1% and 8.8%, respectively.The city's residents had aper capita disposable incomeof ¥26,543, a 9.8% annual increase.Urban residents had a per capita disposable income of ¥35,910, while rural residents averaged ¥18,893 in disposable income.Jingzhou's per capita disposable income grew 10.2% for urban areas, and 9.2% for rural areas.
The size of Jingzhou's agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and aquaculture sector in 2019 totaled ¥76.645 billion.The city produced 4.5117 million tons ofgrain, 433 thousand tons ofvegetable oil, 38,000 tons ofcotton, and 3.1332 million tons ofvegetables.In 2019, 2.9777 million heads of swine, and 63.9012 million heads of poultry were slaughtered in Jingzhou.1.1195 million tons of aquaculture products were produced, with 45.77% (512.4 thousand tons) of this comprising shrimp and crabs.
In 2019, Jingzhou saw a 2.3% decline inlight industryoutput, and a 17.0% rise inheavy industryoutput.The size of the city'sstate-ownedeconomy shrunk 3.4%, itscollectively-ownedeconomy grew 2.4%, and itsprivately ownedeconomy grew 7.2%.
One of Jingzhou's most prominent industries is its construction industry, which earned ¥29.877 billion in 2019.As of 2019, the city has 385 construction firms.
In 2019, Jingzhou's consumer retail sales totaled ¥144.735 billion.Consumer retail sales grew at an annual rate of 11.5%.
In 2019, the city'sinsurance industrymade ¥16.293 billion in revenue off of premiums, a 15.0% increase from the previous year.Of this, ¥12.213 billion came from personal insurance, and ¥4.08 billion came from property insurance, an increase of 12.7% and 22.3% from 2018, respectively.Jingzhou's insurance industry paid 5.171 billion in compensation, a 1.8% increase from the previous year.
In 2019, Jingzhou conducted 1.697 billion USD in foreign trade, a 6.8% decline from the previous year.Of this, imports accounted for 0.335 billion USD, and exports accounted for 1.363 billion USD.
Jingzhou has been inhabited for approximately 5,000 to 6,000 years, with the historic Daxi culture residing in present-day Jingzhou.Situated in the middle reaches of theYangtze River, the area has been a strategic location of military importance sinceancient times.
The area of present-day Jingzhou was where theState of Chuwas founded.Ying, an ancient city within the borders of present-day Jingzhou, became the capital of the State of Chu in 689 BCE, and remained as such for over 400 years, including during theSpring and AutumnandWarring States periodsof theZhou dynasty.
During theHan dynastyandThree Kingdomsera, Jingzhou was known asNanjundue to it being the seat ofNanjun district.
The city was lost toEastern WubyGuan Yuduring theThree Kingdomsperiod leading to the modern phrase "dàyì shī Jīngzhōu" (大意失荆州),lit.'carelessness lost Jingzhou'.
Under theTang dynasty, it served as the southern capital and was known asNandu(南都; 'south capital').
Later on,Jianglingwas the capital of theSouthern QiandLiangdynasties.It was the capital of the smallJingnanKingdom (also known as Nanping) that existed from 924 to 963 during theFive Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.
Jingzhou was the site of one of the last major battles between Republican and Qing forces during theXinhai Revolutionin 1911.At the end of the Qing dynasty, Jingzhou had one of the largestManchupopulations, around half of the city, anywhere outside Beijing.
In July 1949, the area was taken by thePeople's Liberation Army.
On September 29, 1994, Jiangling County and Shashi City were merged to create theprefecture-level cityof Jingsha.On November 20, 1996, Jingsha was renamed to Jingzhou.
Numerous sites have been preserved from theChu Stateperiod, including the ruins of five Chu cities, 73 sites featuring Chu Culture and more than 800 ancient tombs, including those of 18 Chu kings.
There are also historical sites dating to theThree Kingdomsperiod, such as theWulinBattlefield (where theBattle of Red Cliffstook place) and theHuarongPath.
Thecity wallswere rebuilt in 1646 and measure 9 metres (30 ft) high and 10 metres (33 ft) thick. The perimeter of the wall extends for 10.17 kilometres (6.32 mi). The city walls, city gates, watchtowers, and battlements have all been well maintained. Many of the towers on top of the majestic city gates have been damaged or rebuilt, leaving only theChaozong Towerwhich was rebuilt in 1838 on theGongji Gate.
TheJingzhou Museumhas on display a well-preserved 2,000-year-old male corpse, as well as silk and lacquerware from theWarring States period.
A 58-meter-tall, 1,197-ton bronzeStatue of Guan Yudesigned byHan Meilinwas constructed in Jingzhou in 2016. In 2021, the statue was dismantled, and is currently pending relocation to Dianjiangtai.
Jingzhou is home to unique breakfast items. The city has a unique style ofguokui, a Chinese flatbread, as well as a unique style ofrice noodles.
There are 1,243 schools in Jingzhou, attended by about 707,300 students, as of 2019.Of this, there are 15secondaryvocationalschools attended by 28,600 students, 53 general secondary schools attended by 82,800 students, 123 general junior high schools attended by 146,000 students, 396 primary schools attended by 308,500 students, 8special educationschools attended by 1,151 students, and 587 kindergartens attended by 140,300 students.The city's education system is staffed by about 53,400 faculty.
In addition to schools, Jingzhou has 176 cultural institutions staffed by 1,168 employees, and 8public librarieswhich house 1.382 million books.
As of the end of 2019, Jingzhou has 3,155 medical institutions, staffed by 42,422 employees, and 32,686 hospital beds.