Suqian (simplified Chinese: 宿迁; traditional Chinese: 宿遷; pinyin: Sùqiān, IPA: [sû.tɕʰjɛ́n]) is a prefecture-level city in northern Jiangsu Province, China. It borders Xuzhou to the northwest, Lianyungang to the northeast, Huai'an to the south, and the province of Anhui to the west.

Suqian
宿迁市
Sutsien, Su-ch'ien
Map
Location of Suqian City (red) in Jiangsu
Location of Suqian City (red) in Jiangsu
Suqian is located in Jiangsu
Suqian
Suqian
Location of the city center in Jiangsu
Suqian is located in Eastern China
Suqian
Suqian
Suqian (Eastern China)
Suqian is located in China
Suqian
Suqian
Suqian (China)
Coordinates (Suqian municipal government): 33°57′47″N 118°16′30″E / 33.963°N 118.275°E / 33.963; 118.275
CountryPeople's Republic of China
ProvinceJiangsu
Municipal seatSucheng District
Government
 • MayorWang Tianqi (王天琦)
Area
 • Prefecture-level city8,555 km2 (3,303 sq mi)
 • Urban
2,108 km2 (814 sq mi)
 • Metro
2,108 km2 (814 sq mi)
Population
 (2020 census)[1]
 • Prefecture-level city4,986,192
 • Density580/km2 (1,500/sq mi)
 • Urban
1,622,912
 • Urban density770/km2 (2,000/sq mi)
 • Metro
1,622,912
 • Metro density770/km2 (2,000/sq mi)
GDP[2]
 • Prefecture-level cityCN¥ 371.9 brillion
US$ 57.6 billion
 • Per capitaCN¥ 74,586
US$ 11,561
Time zoneUTC+8 (China Standard)
Postal code
  • 223800 (Urban center)
  • 223600, 223700, 223900 (Other areas)
Area code527
ISO 3166 codeCN-JS-13
Major NationalitiesHan
County-level divisions5
Township-level divisions115
License Plate Prefix苏N
Websitewww.suqian.gov.cn

History

edit
 
"Tissang" (Suqian). Nieuhof: L'ambassade de la Compagnie Orientale des Provinces Unies vers l'Empereur de la Chine, 1665

Suqian was said to be the site of a military grain store built when the Emperor Yuan of Jin reigned. Thus, the former Xiaxiang county where the store located was renamed Suyu (宿預; means "prepared" or "usually prepared") in 405. Then the county was annexed by Xuzhou and renamed Suqian in 762 because the homophone "yu ()" as the given name of the Emperor Daizong of Tang was deemed to be ineffable.[3] The county was put under the jurisdiction of Huaiyang military prefecture during the Song dynasty, then was transferred to Pizhou after Jurchen's Jin took it. The county was administered by Huai'an military prefecture during 1272–75, but restored as a part of Pizhou afterwards. It was annexed by Xuzhou again in 1733.

The area was rife with banditry during the early years of the Republic of China. In Autumn 1917, six persons were executed as bandits in Suqian. "They cut off their arms, broke their legs, cut off their ears, punched out their eyes, skinned them, then cut off their heads, and finally cut out their hearts."[4] Suqian was put under the jurisdiction of Huaiyin in 1934. The county was converted as a county-level city in 1987, later was elevated to prefecture status in 1996.[5]

 
Luoma Lake

Geography and climate

edit

Suqian possesses the majority of Luoma Lake, which is a major lake in the Huai River basin.

Climate data for Suqian (Suyu District) (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1981–2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 17.3
(63.1)
26.1
(79.0)
27.9
(82.2)
32.8
(91.0)
36.6
(97.9)
38.5
(101.3)
38.5
(101.3)
37.5
(99.5)
35.2
(95.4)
33.1
(91.6)
27.8
(82.0)
20.4
(68.7)
38.5
(101.3)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 5.4
(41.7)
8.6
(47.5)
14.1
(57.4)
20.6
(69.1)
25.7
(78.3)
29.5
(85.1)
31.1
(88.0)
30.4
(86.7)
26.7
(80.1)
21.6
(70.9)
14.5
(58.1)
7.7
(45.9)
19.7
(67.4)
Daily mean °C (°F) 1.1
(34.0)
3.9
(39.0)
9.0
(48.2)
15.3
(59.5)
20.6
(69.1)
24.8
(76.6)
27.3
(81.1)
26.5
(79.7)
22.2
(72.0)
16.5
(61.7)
9.6
(49.3)
3.2
(37.8)
15.0
(59.0)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −2.4
(27.7)
0.1
(32.2)
4.6
(40.3)
10.3
(50.5)
15.8
(60.4)
20.6
(69.1)
24.1
(75.4)
23.4
(74.1)
18.5
(65.3)
12.2
(54.0)
5.6
(42.1)
−0.4
(31.3)
11.0
(51.9)
Record low °C (°F) −15.6
(3.9)
−16.1
(3.0)
−8.0
(17.6)
−0.7
(30.7)
3.4
(38.1)
11.6
(52.9)
17.1
(62.8)
14.2
(57.6)
8.0
(46.4)
−1.2
(29.8)
−7.1
(19.2)
−16.5
(2.3)
−16.5
(2.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 22.7
(0.89)
26.5
(1.04)
41.9
(1.65)
46.9
(1.85)
76.4
(3.01)
127.9
(5.04)
211.1
(8.31)
180.1
(7.09)
91.3
(3.59)
41.8
(1.65)
35.2
(1.39)
20.2
(0.80)
922
(36.31)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 4.8 5.9 6.4 7.2 7.5 8.3 12.9 11.4 7.5 5.5 5.9 4.9 88.2
Average snowy days 3.2 2.6 1.1 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.6 1.5 9.1
Average relative humidity (%) 68 66 64 65 69 72 82 83 79 72 71 68 72
Mean monthly sunshine hours 143.5 143.7 181.4 200.7 211.5 182.1 175.4 180.5 172.9 177.1 153.3 151.1 2,073.2
Percent possible sunshine 45 46 49 51 49 42 40 44 47 51 50 49 47
Source: China Meteorological Administration[6][7]

Demographics

edit

As of the 2020 Chinese census, Suqian had a recorded population of about 4,986,192 whom 1,622,912 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of Sucheng and Suyu urban districts.

Economy

edit

Local Yanghe along with Moutai and Wuliangye, are the three biggest manufacturers of baijiu.[8] Besides, several domestic companies followed JD.com to site their call centres in Suqian.

Transport

edit

Roads

edit

Expressways

edit

G2513 Huai'an–Xuzhou Expressway

Rail

edit

Yanghe Station, known as Suqian Station on SuqianHuai'an Railway is located in the south outskirt of Suqian.

Education

edit

Suqian College is the single institution in Suqian providing bachelor's degree education.

Administration

edit
 
Map including Suqian (labeled as SU-CH'IEN (SUTSIEN) (walled) 宿遷) (AMS, 1954)

The prefecture-level city of Suqian administers 5 county-level divisions, including 3 counties and 2 districts.

These are further divided into 115 township-level divisions, including 111 towns and township, and 4 subdistricts.

Map
Subdivision Simplified Chinese Hanyu Pinyin Population (2020) Area (km2) Density (/km2)
City Proper
Sucheng District 宿城区 Sùchéng Qū 1,034,392 1,018 1,016
Suburban
Suyu District 宿豫区 Sùyù Qū 588,520 1,146 513.5
Rural
Shuyang County 沭阳县 Shùyáng Xiàn 1,674,978 2,300 728.3
Siyang County 泗阳县 Sìyáng Xiàn 829,562 1,389 597.2
Sihong County 泗洪县 Sìhóng Xiàn 858,740 2,719 315.8
Total 4,986,192 8,572 581.7

References

edit
  1. ^ "China: Jiāngsū (Prefectures, Cities, Districts and Counties) - Population Statistics, Charts and Map".
  2. ^ "2021年江苏13市GDP出炉 苏州2.27万亿位居第一". ah.people.com.cn. Archived from the original on January 26, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
  3. ^ 中国历史大辞典·历史地理卷 [The Great Encyclopaedia of Chinese history, Volume on Historical Geography]. Shanghai Cishu Press. 1996. pp. 838–839. ISBN 7-5326-0299-0.
  4. ^ John Pollock (December 2010). A Foreign Devil in China. World Wide Publications. pp. 45–46. ISBN 978-1-59328-277-6.
  5. ^ "Historical Evolution". Suqian Official Website.
  6. ^ 中国气象数据网 – WeatherBk Data (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  7. ^ 中国气象数据网 (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  8. ^ "Proof positive". The Economist. Retrieved 2018-02-08.
edit