Jiaxing
Jiaxing (simplified Chinese: 嘉兴; traditional Chinese: 嘉興; pinyin: Jiāxīng; Wade–Giles: Chia-hsing), alternately romanized as Kashing, is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province, China. Lying on the Grand Canal of China, Jiaxing borders Hangzhou to the southwest, Huzhou to the west, Shanghai to the northeast, and the province of Jiangsu to the north. As of the 2020 census, its population was 5,400,868 and its built-up (or metro) area made of 2 urban districts was home to 1,518,654 inhabitants.[2]
Jiaxing
嘉兴市 Kashing | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Location of Jiaxing City jurisdiction in Zhejiang | |
  Jiaxing Location in eastern China  Jiaxing Jiaxing (China) | |
| Coordinates (Jiaxing municipal government): 30°44′49″N 120°45′22″E | |
| Country | People's Republic of China |
| Province | Zhejiang |
| County-level divisions | 7 |
| Township-level divisions | 75 |
| Municipal seat | Nanhu District |
| Government | |
| • CPC Secretary | Zhang Bing |
| • Mayor | Mao Hongfang |
| Area | |
| • Prefecture-level city | 4,008.76 km2 (1,547.79 sq mi) |
| • Urban | 986.9 km2 (381.0 sq mi) |
| • Metro | 986.9 km2 (381.0 sq mi) |
| Population (2020 census)[1] | |
| • Prefecture-level city | 5,400,868 |
| • Density | 1,300/km2 (3,500/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 1,518,654 |
| • Urban density | 1,500/km2 (4,000/sq mi) |
| • Metro | 1,518,654 |
| • Metro density | 1,500/km2 (4,000/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (China Standard) |
| Area code | 573 |
| ISO 3166 code | CN-ZJ-04 |
| GDP | ¥487 billion |
| GDP per capita | ¥74,478 |
| License Plate Prefix | 浙F |
| Website | www |
| Jiaxing | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 "Jiaxing", as written in Chinese | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 嘉兴 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 嘉興 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Wu | Gāshīng [kɑɕiŋ] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Postal | Kashing | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Administration
Jiaxing is the birthplace of the Majiabang Culture in the Neolithic Age. The ancestors engaged in farming, animal husbandry, fishing and hunting 7,000 years ago.
The prefecture-level city of Jiaxing administers 7 county-level divisions, including 2 districts, 3 county-level cities and 2 counties.
| Map | ||
|---|---|---|
| Subdivision | Hanzi | Pinyin |
| Nanhu District | 南湖区 | Nánhú Qū |
| Xiuzhou District | 秀洲区 | Xiùzhōu Qū |
| Jiashan County | 嘉善县 | Jiāshàn Xiàn |
| Haiyan County | 海盐县 | Hǎiyán Xiàn |
| Haining | 海宁市 | Hǎiníng Shì |
| Pinghu | 平湖市 | Pínghú Shì |
| Tongxiang | 桐乡市 | Tóngxiāng Shì |
These are further divided into 75 township-level divisions, including 60 towns, 2 townships and 13 subdistricts.
History
Known as a place
- Spring and Autumn period: Jiaxing is known as Zuili (Drunken Plums) and is an important city in the state of Yuè.
Known as a county
- 210 BC: Qin Shi Huang changed the name of Jiaxing from Changshui District (長水縣) to Youquan (由拳縣).
- 231: Wild rice (野稻) of Jiaxing informed Sun Quan of the Kingdom of Wu that there was a sign of auspice, so Sun changed Youchuan to Hexing District (禾興縣). This why Jiaxing's abbreviation is He. Sun also changed his era name to Jiahe (嘉禾) in the following year.
- January 242: Sun He was made the crown prince. Because of the naming taboo, Jiahe was changed to Jiaxing.
Known as a prefecture
- 938: (Later Jin of the Five Dynasties): Xiu Prefecture (秀州) established
- 1117: (Song Dynasty): Jiahe District (嘉禾郡)
- 1429: (Ming Dynasty): Xiushui District (秀水縣) was established northwest of Jiaxing.
- Early 1900s (the Republic of China): Xiushui and Jiaxing were combined into Jiahe County
- 1914: Reverted to Jiaxing County (because there's a Jiahe in Hunan)
- 1921: Chinese Communist Party founded at the South Lake in Jiaxing.
- 1926: Following the defection of Zhejiang civil governor Xia Chao to the Kuomintang during the Northern Expedition, the army of warlord Sun Chuanfang completely defeats Xia's largely untrained army at Jiaxing. Xia is captured and executed shortly thereafter.[3][4]
- 1949 − 1958, 1979 (PRC): Upgraded to a city
- 1981: Old Jiaxing County merged into the city
- 1983: Upgraded to prefecture-level city
Climate
| Climate data for Jiaxing (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1981–2010) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 22.4 (72.3) |
28.3 (82.9) |
30.2 (86.4) |
33.9 (93.0) |
36.1 (97.0) |
37.2 (99.0) |
40.0 (104.0) |
39.8 (103.6) |
38.5 (101.3) |
33.6 (92.5) |
29.1 (84.4) |
24.0 (75.2) |
40.0 (104.0) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 8.3 (46.9) |
10.6 (51.1) |
14.9 (58.8) |
20.8 (69.4) |
25.7 (78.3) |
28.4 (83.1) |
32.9 (91.2) |
32.3 (90.1) |
28.1 (82.6) |
23.2 (73.8) |
17.5 (63.5) |
11.1 (52.0) |
21.1 (70.1) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 4.5 (40.1) |
6.5 (43.7) |
10.4 (50.7) |
15.9 (60.6) |
21.1 (70.0) |
24.5 (76.1) |
28.8 (83.8) |
28.4 (83.1) |
24.3 (75.7) |
18.9 (66.0) |
13.1 (55.6) |
6.8 (44.2) |
16.9 (62.5) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 1.6 (34.9) |
3.2 (37.8) |
6.8 (44.2) |
12.0 (53.6) |
17.3 (63.1) |
21.6 (70.9) |
25.5 (77.9) |
25.4 (77.7) |
21.2 (70.2) |
15.4 (59.7) |
9.4 (48.9) |
3.5 (38.3) |
13.6 (56.4) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −7.9 (17.8) |
−6.4 (20.5) |
−3.0 (26.6) |
0.5 (32.9) |
6.9 (44.4) |
13.2 (55.8) |
17.9 (64.2) |
18.6 (65.5) |
11.2 (52.2) |
2.1 (35.8) |
−3.1 (26.4) |
−9.0 (15.8) |
−9.0 (15.8) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 80.3 (3.16) |
74.3 (2.93) |
107.8 (4.24) |
92.2 (3.63) |
104.4 (4.11) |
211.9 (8.34) |
140.7 (5.54) |
174.2 (6.86) |
105.0 (4.13) |
57.8 (2.28) |
61.8 (2.43) |
54.7 (2.15) |
1,265.1 (49.8) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 11.6 | 11.0 | 13.5 | 12.4 | 11.9 | 14.7 | 12.0 | 12.4 | 9.7 | 7.5 | 9.8 | 8.8 | 135.3 |
| Average snowy days | 3.1 | 2.3 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 7.2 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 79 | 77 | 77 | 75 | 76 | 83 | 80 | 81 | 81 | 78 | 79 | 77 | 79 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 110.1 | 113.1 | 134.8 | 160.6 | 171.9 | 132.4 | 210.6 | 205.8 | 160.1 | 158.3 | 129.3 | 126.9 | 1,813.9 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 34 | 36 | 36 | 41 | 40 | 31 | 49 | 51 | 44 | 45 | 41 | 40 | 41 |
| Source: China Meteorological Administration[5][6] | |||||||||||||
Economy
Industry is the main economic driver to the city's economy, contributing 47% to its GDP in 2015. Jiaxing is also well known as the 'hometown of silk', hence it is a famous producer of textiles and woolens. It is one of the world's largest exporters of leather goods. There are mechanical, chemical and electronic industries there.
Jiaxing is an important energy base in East China. Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant, the first self-designed nuclear power station in China, and Fangjiashan Nuclear Power Plant (under construction) are located in Haiyan County.
Jiaxing Export Processing Zone
Established in 2003, Jiaxing Export Processing Zone is a state-level export processing zone approved by State Council. It has a built-up area of 2.98 km2. Its development goal is to become the export processing base for IT, IC, mechanical and electrical, electronics and other high-tech industries.[7]
Tourism
South Lake, to the south-east of the old walled city, has been a popular tourist site for centuries. The Chinese Communist Party was officially founded on a boat in the lake, after the delegates to its first congress adjourned their meeting in Shanghai and reconvened here. As a result, the lake is now a popular destination for Communist Party "education" tours.
Within the city proper, the Zicheng (citadel) of Jiaxing was for two millennia the fortified nucleus of the walled city, though only fragmented remains now survive from the imeprial era. The main gate was rebuilt in 1990. Jiaxing is one of the very few cities in south-east China that retains any vestige of a citadel. A number of famous writers' homes also survive in the old walled city, as well as a Carmelite abbey and Gothic abbey church built in 1902.
Meiwan Street and Yuehe Street (Zhongji Road and surrounds) are two restored neighbourhoods to the south and north of the old city respectively, located near the city moat, canals and lakes. Literally "Prunus bay street" and "moon river street" respectively, these two neighbourhoods combine restored historic buildings and newly landscaped gardens. Meiwan Street features buildings in the style of private residences of prominent families, and is the location of Kim Koo's refuge, a house significant in the history of the Korean independence movement, and a family shrine of the Qian family, a prominent local family. By contrast, Yuehe Street features artisan workshops and street food stores. In January 2022, Yuehe Street was named the "first provincial night cultural and tourist concentration area".
Wuzhen and Xitang, two townships within Jiaxing city limits, feature preserved and restored houses situated along small canals that are evocative of typical canal towns of the region. They are popular tourist destinations and filming locations.
Transportation
The city is served by two railway stations: Jiaxing railway station, on the Shanghai–Kunming railway, and Jiaxing South railway station on the high speed Shanghai–Hangzhou Passenger Railway. The city is served by two long-distance bus stations: Jiaxing North Bus Station and the new Jiaxing Transportation Center. Jiaxing is on the G92 Hangzhou Bay Ring Expressway, G60 Shanghai–Kunming Expressway and China National Highway 320.
Jiaxing Air Base is being converted to a public-use airport.[8]
Language
Jiaxing dialect is a Northern Wu dialect in the Sujiahu dialect grouping. As such, it is a sister dialect of both Shanghainese and Suzhou dialect, and easily intelligible with both. It is not mutually intelligible with Mandarin or other varieties of Chinese such as Cantonese, Hokkien or Hakka.
Religion
Local people believe in Buddhism, Taoism, Catholicism and Protestantism. Jiaxing Catholic Church and Jiaxing Vincent Abbey are well-known Roman Catholic Churches in Jiaxing.
Notable people
- Zhu Yizun (朱彝尊), scholar and poet
- Wang Guowei (王國維), scholar, writer and poet
- Xu Zhimo (徐志摩), poet
- Shiing-Shen Chern (陳省身), mathematician
- Mao Dun (茅盾), novelist, critic, journalist
- Zhang Yuanji (张元济), publisher at Commercial Press
- Zhang Zhongjun (张钟俊), scientist
- Xu Kuangdi (徐匡迪), scientist, politician
- Zhu Shenghao (朱生豪), translator
- Zhang Leping (张乐平), cartoonist, creator of Sanmao
- Yang Borun (楊伯潤), poet, calligrapher, painter
- Yi Ling (钱今凡), calligrapher and art critic
- Jin Yong (金庸), novelist
- Fan Xiping (范西屏), Go player
- Miao Huixin, artist
- Shen Junru (沈钧儒), politician, patriot
- Wu Outing (吴藕汀), poet, painter, culture scholar
- Zhou Hanming, mathematician
- Wang Yilyu (王懿律), Olympic champion
References
- "China: Zhèjiāng (Prefectures, Cities, Districts and Counties) - Population Statistics, Charts and Map".
- "China: Administrative Division of Zhejiang (Prefectures, Cities, Districts and Counties) - Population Statistics in Maps and Charts".
- Jordan (1976), p. 91.
- Smith (2000), p. 149.
- 中国气象数据网 – WeatherBk Data (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
- 中国气象数据网 (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
- JiaXing Government, JiaXing Government (2015-02-15). ""升级版"嘉兴出口加工区呼之欲出". 中共嘉兴市委 嘉兴市人民政府.
- Jia Xing Government, Jia Xing Government (2022-11-24). "全面开工 快速推进｜嘉兴军民合用机场改扩建工程举行动员大会".
Bibliography
- Jordan, Donald A. (1976). The Northern Expedition: China's National Revolution of 1926-1928. University Press of Hawaii. ISBN 9780824803520.
- Smith, Stephen Anthony (2000). A Road Is Made: Communism in Shanghai, 1920-1927. Honolulu: University of Hawaii. ISBN 9780824823146.
External links
Jiaxing travel guide from Wikivoyage- Government website of Jiaxing (in English)
