Shaoyang (simplified Chinese: 邵阳; traditional Chinese: 邵陽; pinyin: Shàoyáng), formerly named Baoqing (Paoking) (Chinese: 宝庆), is a prefecture-level city in southwestern Hunan province, China, bordering Guangxi to the south. It has a history of 2500 years and remains an important commercial and transportation city in Hunan. As of the 2020 Chinese census, its total population was 6,563,520 inhabitants, of whom 1,415,173 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of three urban districts and Xinshao County largely conurbated.

Shaoyang
邵阳市
World Heritage Mount Langshan(崀山)
Shuifu Temple(水府庙)
Wangxi Falls(旺溪瀑布)
Wei Yuan Statue(魏源铜像)
Nanshan National Park(南山国家公园)
Baoqing Wall(宝庆府城墙)
Location of Shaoyang City jurisdiction in Hunan
Location of Shaoyang City jurisdiction in Hunan
Shaoyang is located in Hunan
Shaoyang
Shaoyang
Location of the city centre in Hunan
Coordinates (Shaoyang municipal government): 27°14′22″N 111°28′04″E / 27.2395°N 111.4679°E / 27.2395; 111.4679
CountryPeople's Republic of China
ProvinceHunan
County-level divisions
  • 3 districts
  • 1 county-level city
  • 7 counties
  • 1 autonomous county
Township-level divisions
  • 21 subdistricts
  • 97 towns
  • 78 townships
  • 21 ethnic townships
Village-level divisions
  • 335 residential communities
  • 5,551 villages
Municipal seatDaxiang District
Area
 • Prefecture-level city20,829.63 km2 (8,042.37 sq mi)
 • Urban
436.0 km2 (168.3 sq mi)
 • Metro
2,199 km2 (849 sq mi)
Population
 (2020 census)[1]
 • Prefecture-level city6,563,520
 • Density320/km2 (820/sq mi)
 • Urban
802,230
 • Urban density1,800/km2 (4,800/sq mi)
 • Metro
1,415,173
 • Metro density640/km2 (1,700/sq mi)
GDP[2]
 • Prefecture-level cityCN¥ 259.9 trillion
US$ 38.6 billion
 • Per capitaCN¥ 31,816
US$ 4,731
Time zoneUTC+8 (China Standard)
Postal code
422000
Area code0739
ISO 3166 codeCN-HN-05
Licence plate prefixes湘E
Administrative division code430500

One of the major forest areas in Hunan, Shaoyang has a forest coverage of 42.7%. The 23,000,000-acre (93,000 km2) NanShan Pastures is one of the biggest in South Central China and provide dairy products and meat for Hunanese.

Shaoyang is home to Shaoyang University. The school is composed of the former Shaoyang Normal College and Shaoyang College.

The Shaoyang dialect of Lou Shao group of dialects of Xiang is generally spoken here.

History

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During the later Spring and Autumn period, official Bai Shan (白善) of Chu used to construct a city named Baigong (白公城) in Shaoyang. After the First emperor of Qin reunited China, Shaoyang was under jurisdiction of Changsha Commandery, one of thirty-six Commandery in the empire. Under the Eastern Han dynasty, Shaoyang was administered by Linling Commandery. During the Three Kingdoms era, northern part of Linling including today Shaoyang city was divided from it and designated new Zhaoling commandery (昭陵). Following Western Jin reunited Wu in 280 (or first year of Taikang era), emperor Wu changed the Commandery's name Zhaoling to Shaoling (邵陵) to avoid taboo of his father (Sima Zhao, 司马昭). Under the Southern Song period, Shao Prefecture was renamed and promoted Baoqing-fu by Lizong, whom used to take charge of Shao Prefecture defender (邵州防御使) when he was prince. The term "Baoqing" was used until 17 years of Republic of China (1928), when it was renamed Shaoyang County. After communist won Chinese Civil War, Shaoyang city was established in 1950.[3]

Climate

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Shaoyang has a monsoon-influenced, four-season humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), with cool, damp winters, and hot, humid summers. Winter begins relatively dry but not sunny and becomes progressively damper and cloudier; spring brings both the most frequent and heaviest rain of the year. Summer is comparatively sunny, while autumn is somewhat dry. The monthly 24-hour average temperatures ranges from 5.2 °C (41.4 °F) in January to 28.2 °C (82.8 °F) in July, while the annual mean is 17.05 °C (62.7 °F). The annual precipitation is about 1,340 mm (53 in).

Climate data for Shaoyang, elevation 311 m (1,020 ft), (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1981–2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 24.3
(75.7)
28.9
(84.0)
35.9
(96.6)
34.5
(94.1)
36.2
(97.2)
37.4
(99.3)
39.5
(103.1)
38.6
(101.5)
37.1
(98.8)
35.3
(95.5)
33.0
(91.4)
24.6
(76.3)
39.5
(103.1)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 9.0
(48.2)
11.7
(53.1)
16.0
(60.8)
22.4
(72.3)
26.7
(80.1)
29.6
(85.3)
32.8
(91.0)
32.5
(90.5)
28.8
(83.8)
23.3
(73.9)
17.8
(64.0)
11.7
(53.1)
21.9
(71.3)
Daily mean °C (°F) 5.6
(42.1)
7.9
(46.2)
11.8
(53.2)
17.7
(63.9)
22.2
(72.0)
25.5
(77.9)
28.2
(82.8)
27.6
(81.7)
24.0
(75.2)
18.7
(65.7)
13.2
(55.8)
7.7
(45.9)
17.5
(63.5)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 3.1
(37.6)
5.2
(41.4)
8.8
(47.8)
14.3
(57.7)
18.7
(65.7)
22.4
(72.3)
24.6
(76.3)
24.1
(75.4)
20.6
(69.1)
15.3
(59.5)
9.8
(49.6)
4.7
(40.5)
14.3
(57.7)
Record low °C (°F) −10.5
(13.1)
−6.0
(21.2)
−0.6
(30.9)
2.2
(36.0)
9.6
(49.3)
14.1
(57.4)
18.1
(64.6)
18.5
(65.3)
12.2
(54.0)
3.2
(37.8)
−1.6
(29.1)
−6.9
(19.6)
−10.5
(13.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 67.7
(2.67)
70.7
(2.78)
132.7
(5.22)
136.2
(5.36)
181.9
(7.16)
203.8
(8.02)
147.4
(5.80)
124.1
(4.89)
63.3
(2.49)
68.2
(2.69)
70.2
(2.76)
51.7
(2.04)
1,317.9
(51.88)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 14.5 14.1 17.9 16.3 15.9 14.8 11.0 11.8 8.2 10.1 10.9 11.0 156.5
Average snowy days 4.9 3.2 0.6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.5 10.2
Average relative humidity (%) 78 79 80 79 79 82 76 76 75 75 76 74 77
Mean monthly sunshine hours 60.4 61.3 79.7 111.4 135.8 139.5 224.5 204.8 149.2 124.5 114.8 93.4 1,499.3
Percent possible sunshine 18 19 21 29 32 34 53 51 41 35 36 29 33
Source 1: China Meteorological Administration[4][5]
Source 2: Weather China[6]

Administrative divisions

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Map including Shaoyang (labeled as SHAO-YANG (PAOKING) (Walled) 邵陽) (AMS, 1954)

Shaoyang administers three districts, two county-level cities, six counties, and one autonomous county.

Districts:

County-level City:

Counties:

Autonomous county:

Map

Demographics

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According to the Sixth National Census in 2010, Shaoyang's permanent residence population of 7,071,741 ranked it 2nd out of 14 prefecture-level divisions of Hunan; the male-female ratio was 107.95 to 100. Educational attainment levels were as follows: 4.49% bachelor's or higher, 60.01% middle school (初中) or higher, and the illiteracy rate was 3.24%. There were 1,950,605 households in which 6,913,913 resided, forming 97.77% of the provincial population and resulting in an average of 3.54 persons/household. Age distribution was as follows: 1,512,664 (21.39%) ≤14 years, 4,862,468 (68.76%) 15−64 years, 696,609 (9.85%) 65+ years.

Shaoyang administrative and population data
Division Area[7]
(km2)
Permanent residents[8]
(2010 Census)
Hukou permits[9]
(late 2009)
Divisions[10]
Subdistricts Towns Townships Including
ethnic
townships
Residential
communities
Villages
SHAOYANG CITY 20,829.63 7,071,741 7,705,957 21 97 99 21 335 5551
Shuangqing District 137.08 307,980 270,458 6 2 4 54 63
Daxiang District 214.66 340,605 309,752 6 2 4 44 81
Beita District 84.39 104,609 87,714 2 3 14 40
Shaodong city 1,776.38 896,625 1,260,966 3 16 9 33 977
Xinshao County 1,762.97 743,073 764,905 11 4 28 652
Shaoyang County 1,996.88 915,600 999,148 12 10 23 633
Longhui County 2,871.16 1,095,392 1,156,917 15 11 2 41 964
Dongkou County 2184.01 770,473 833,003 10 12 3 23 566
Suining County 2,898.89 351,139 363,740 6 19 14 14 348
Xinning County 2,751.31 560,742 607,055 9 9 2 15 474
Chengbu Miao Autonomous County 2,619.76 250,633 267,921 6 5 21 271
Wugang City 1,532.15 734,870 784,378 4 8 9 25 482

Government

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The current CPC Party Secretary of Shaoyang is Gong Congmi and the current mayor is Liu Shiqing.

Transportation

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Railway

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Shaoyang has four main railway station: Shaoyang Railway Station (邵阳火车站) (Fast Train, K and Highspeed train, G), Shaoyang Railway Station (邵阳北老火车站) (Old, North, Freight), Shaodong railway station [zh] (Fast Train, K and Highspeed train, G) and Shaoyang North railway station, in Xinshao County (Highspeed train, G and D). The Loudi–Shaoyang railway [zh] and Shanghai–Kunming high-speed railway pass through Shaoyang.

Airport

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Shaoyang Wugang Airport was opened on 28 June 2017.[11] It is located 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) north of Wugang, a county-level city under the administration of Shaoyang, and 100 kilometres (62 mi) from the urban center of Shaoyang.[11]

The airport has a 2,600-meter runway and a 3,000-square-meter terminal building. It is projected to handle 250,000 passengers and 500 tons of cargo annually by 2020.[12]

Economy

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2011 Shaoyang GDP figures[13]
(GDP in millions CNY/USD; per capita GDP in CNY)
Division RMB USD Purchasing power
(USD)
Growth (%) Percentage (%) Per capita GDP
SHAOYANG CITY 90,723 14,046 21,740 13.2 100 12,797
City proper 18,308 2,835 4,387 20.18
Shuangqing District 8,175.09 1,265.73 1,959.00 12.6 9.01
Daxiang District 8,063.65 1,248.47 1,932.29 15.2 8.89
Beita District 2,069.27 320.38 495.86 15.1 2.28 19,698
Outlying 76,358 11,822 18,298 84.17
Shaodong County 20,220.00 3,130.61 4,845.32 14.4 22.29 22,299
Xinshao County 7,429.81 1,150.34 1,780.41 13.6 8.19 9,998
Shaoyang County 8,108.55 1,255.43 1,943.05 12.2 8.94 7,796
Longhui County 9,332.00 1,444.85 2,236.23 11.6 10.29 8,499
Dongkou County 9,012.00 1,395.31 2,159.55 12.6 9.93 11,784
Suining County 5,018.45 776.99 1,202.57 12.2 5.53
Xinning County 5,307.47 821.74 1,271.83 11.7 5.85 9,425
Chengbu County 2,320.63 359.30 556.09 11.5 2.56 9,238
Wugang City 7,932.57 1,228.18 1,900.88 13.8 8.74 10,746

Although it is, by 2010 Census permanent resident population, the second-largest prefecture-level division of Hunan, its GDP (4.62% of provincial output) places it ninth within the province, making it an archetypal example of a large-population, relatively backwards-economy city. The GDP per capita of 12,797 CNY is the lowest in the province, and is only 42.9% of the provincial average, 36.5% of the national average, and 78% of even Guizhou's corresponding figure.[13] Primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors respectively accounted for 23.9%, 38.2%, and 37.9% of the economy.

Noted residents

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Twin cities

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References

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  1. ^ "China: Húnán (Prefectures, Cities, Districts and Counties) - Population Statistics, Charts and Map".
  2. ^ "2022年湖南省各市州地区生产总值(三季度".
  3. ^ "历史渊源" [History trace of Shaoyang]. Government of Shaoyang. 2022-08-12. Retrieved 2022-08-28.
  4. ^ 中国气象数据网 – WeatherBk Data (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  5. ^ "Experience Template" 中国气象数据网 (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  6. ^ 邵阳 - 气象数据 -中国天气网 (in Chinese). Weather China. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  7. ^ 《邵阳市土地利用总体规划(2006-2020年)》[full citation needed]
  8. ^ 《邵阳市2010年第六次全国人口普查主要数据公报》[full citation needed]
  9. ^ 《中华人民共和国全国分县市人口统计资料2009》[full citation needed]
  10. ^ 《中国民政统计年鉴2011》[full citation needed]
  11. ^ a b 武冈机场通航,邵阳新添空中走廊. Sina. 29 June 2017.
  12. ^ 新建湖南邵阳武冈机场获批复 投资9.57亿元 (in Chinese). Carnoc. 2013-08-09. Retrieved 2013-08-16.
  13. ^ a b 2011年度各区县市统计公报. Shaoyang Statistical Bureau. Archived 2009-01-06 at the Wayback Machine). 2011 conversion from CNY to USD according to the-then exchange rate of 6.4588 CNY/1 USD, purchasing power based on an April 2012 report that used an exchange rate of 4.1731 CNY/1Geary–Khamis dollar (Intl. $).
  14. ^ Pearson, George. "Snapshots of China: Shaoyang Hospital, Hunan (1946)". Youtube. BFI National Archive. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  15. ^ Council, British. "Justin Hill". British Council. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
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