Wanzhou District () is Chongqing's second most populated urban core area on the upper reaches of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River in China. It is currently governed as a district of Chongqing Municipality, bordering Sichuan to the northwest and Hubei to the southeast. It was formerly known as Wanxian or Wan County (). Prior to Chongqing's formation as a direct-controlled municipality, Wanzhou was part of Sichuan province. The urban core of Wanzhou is away from Chongqing's city proper.
The characters for "Wanzhou" mean "myriad-prefecture"; which is derived from the phrase "the place where myriad rivers converge and myriad traders gather" (). Due to the construction of the Three Gorges Dam, 47% of Wanzhou's old urban area was submerged and had to be relocated.
History
The district was part of Wanxian Prefecture (), then the prefectural Wanxian City (). It was renamed to Wanzhou in late 1990s.
It was part of Quren County of Ba Commandery () in the Qin dynasty. It became Yangqu County () in 216 (the Eastern Han dynasty). In 230 (the Shu-Han Kingdom), it was renamed to Nanpu (); in 553 (the Western Wei dynasty), to Yuquan (); in 557 (Northern Zhou dynasty), to Anxiang (); in 584, to Wanchuan (); and in 598 (Sui dynasty), to Nanpu again.
In 619 (Tang dynasty), Nanpu Commandery () was established. In 625, the name was changed to Pu Prefecture (), and in 634, to Wan Prefecture (). In 1373 (Yuan dynasty), Wan was demoted to a county ().
In the 19th century, it was known in English as Wanhsien and Wan County. In 1935, it became Wanxian Prefecture (). On 12 December 1992, the State Council abolished Wanxian Prefecture and its subordinate Wanxian City and created the prefecture-level Wanxian City, which administered the districts of Longbao (), Tiancheng (), Wuqiao () and the counties of Kai, Zhong, Liangping, Yunyang, Fengjie, Wushan, Wuxi, and Chengkou.
The entire Wanxian City was merged into Chongqing on 20 December 1997. The merge necessitated the abolishment of Wanxian City and creation of Wanxian District and Wanxian Migration Development Area (). Wanxian City's three districts were converted to administrative committees (, abbreviated ) of Wanxian District. The migration development area included the counties formerly in Wanxian City, except Liangping and Chengkou, which were administered by Chongqing directly.
On 22 May 1998, the State Council approved that the two areas named Wanxian were both renamed to Wanzhou. The migration development area later dissolved and its counties were directly controlled by Chongqing. On 19 July 2000, the district's administrative committees were changed to migration development areas.
Sports
The 26,000-capacity Wanzhou Pailou Sports Stadium is located in Wanzhou. It is used mostly for association football and also sometimes for athletics. One stand is covered with a roof.
Geography and climate Wanzhou spans 30°24′−31°14′ N latitude and 107°55′−108°53′ E longitude, and is situated at the eastern edge of the Sichuan Basin. It reaches a maximal north–south extent of and east–west width of , covering an area of . Elevations range from in the town of Tailong () to at Shaping Peak () of the Qiyao Mountains (). Bordering county-level divisions:
Yunyang Countyeast Shizhu Countysouth Lichuan, Hubeisouth Zhong Countywest Liangping Countywest Kaijiang County, Sichuannorth Kai Countynorth
Similar to the city proper of Chongqing, Wanzhou has a monsoon-humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa) with short, mild winters, and very hot, humid summers, and is in fact on average warmer during the day. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from in January to in August, while the annual mean is .
Subdivisions The 4 primary subdivisions were 3 migration development areas (Longbao, Tiancheng, Wuqiao) and Jiangnan New District (). Now Wanzhou is subdivided into 92 township divisions are 16 sub-districts, 33 towns, and 43 townships (see Administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China#Levels). In 2000, the district included 32 towns, 45 townships, 14 sub-districts, and 1277 neighborhood and village committees.
Name Chinese (S) Hanyu Pinyin Population (2010) Area (km2) Gaosuntang Subdistrict 103,982 3 Taibai Subdistrict 108,387 13.1 Pailou Subdistrict 104,351 9.8 Shuanghekou Subdistrict 33,715 23 Longdu Subdistrict 36,134 24 Zhoujiaba Subdistrict 88,494 12 Shahe Subdistrict 24,915 11.2 Zhonggulou Subdistrict 85,873 38.7 Bai'anba Subdistrict 91,947 15.8 Wuqiao Subdistrict 20,672 25.7 Chenjiaba Subdistrict 24,745 34.75 Xiaozhou town 9,136 49 Dazhou town 12,184 64 Xinxiang town 6,683 140.2 Sunjia town 9,737 46.6 Gaofeng town 19,550 46.2 Longsha town 28,127 25 Xiangshui town 16,889 59.5 Wuling town 24,632 34.4 Rangdu town 11,613 30.7 Ganning town 30,873 104.8 Tiancheng town 41,762 52.4 Xiongjia town 33,176 82.5 Gaoliang town 49,357 37.7 Lihe town 23,264 38.7 Fenshui town 60,308 220.96 Yujia town 30,454 78.2 Houshan town 15,338 78.86 Danzi town 18,318 54.6 Changling town 34,962 53.2 Xintian town 34,145 104.4 Baiyang town 38,078 34.4 Longju town 31,982 241.5 Zouma town 26,017 76.5 Luotian town 27,669 81.7 Tailong town 14,148 63 Changtan town 17,904 101.3 Tai'an town 19,583 47.2 Baitu town 16,790 54.6 Guocun town 21,326 24.4 Zhushan Township 16,331 53.9 Tiefeng Township 7,934 50 Xikou Township 5,695 39.2 Changping Township 8,580 44.3 Yanshan Township 9,845 56.4 Lishu Township 6,116 51.02 Puzi Township 8,295 85.7 Huangbo Township 10,949 31 Jiuchi Township 17,705 21.5 Cizhu Township 5,272 37.8 Debao Tujia Ethnic Township 5,502 44.4 Henghe Tujia Ethnic Township 13,606 81.9
Colleges and universities
Chongqing Three Gorges University () Chongqing Three Gorges Medical College () Chongqing Three Gorges Polytechnic College () Chongqing Information Technology College () Chongqing Preschool Education College (). Chongqing Vocational Institute of Safety & Technology () Chongqing Science And Technology Career Academy ()
Transport Wanzhou has three Yangtze River crossings. It has two railway stations: Wanzhou North offers high-speed service and Wanzhou offers infrequent conventional services. China National Highway 318 Wanzhou Wuqiao Airport
Gallery
References
External links
Official site (in Simplified Chinese) Wanxian Travel