Tongling

Tongling (simplified Chinese: 铜陵; traditional Chinese: 銅陵; pinyin: Tónglíng; Wade–Giles: T'ung-ling; lit. 'Copper Hillock'; formerly romanized as Tunglinghsien and Tungkwanshan) is a prefecture-level city in southern Anhui province. A river port along the Yangtze River, Tongling borders Wuhu to the east, Chizhou to the southwest and Anqing to the west.[3]

Tongling
铜陵市
Clockwise from top: skyline, wall sculpture depicting Tongling as the "capital of copper", Tongling from the far side of the Yangtze, and the University of Tongling.
Location of Tongling City jurisdiction in Anhui
Location of Tongling City jurisdiction in Anhui
Coordinates (Tongling municipal government): 30°56′42″N 117°48′40″E
CountryPeople's Republic of China
ProvinceAnhui
County-level divisions3 districts
1 county
Municipal seatTongguan District
Government
  CPC SecretaryLi Meng (李猛)
  MayorHu Qisheng (胡启生)
Area
  Prefecture-level city2,982 km2 (1,151 sq mi)
  Urban
1,489.8 km2 (575.2 sq mi)
  Metro
1,489.8 km2 (575.2 sq mi)
Population
 (2020 Census)[1]
  Prefecture-level city1,311,726
  Density440/km2 (1,100/sq mi)
  Urban
842,675
  Urban density570/km2 (1,500/sq mi)
  Metro
842,675
  Metro density570/km2 (1,500/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+8 (China Standard)
Area code0562
ISO 3166 codeCN-AH-07
GDP¥115 billion[2]
GDP per capita¥67,647
License plate prefix皖G
Websitetl.gov.cn (in Chinese)

As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,311,726 inhabitants whom 842,675 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of 3 urban districts. The asteroid 12418 Tongling was named after the city.

Geography

Tongling is located in southern Anhui on the southern (right) bank of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, with latitude ranging from 30° 45' 12" to 31° 07' 56" N and longitude ranging from 117° 42' 00" to 118° 10' 06" E; the maximal north–south extent is 42.5 kilometres (26.4 mi), and the greatest east–west width is 40.6 km (25.2 mi).[4] It borders Fanchang County to the southeast, Qingyang County and Nanling County to the south, Guichi District of Chizhou to the southwest, and, northwest across the Yangtze, Wuwei County and Zongyang County.

Climate

Climate data for Tongling (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1981–2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 21.4
(70.5)
28.2
(82.8)
32.4
(90.3)
33.5
(92.3)
35.1
(95.2)
38.2
(100.8)
40.1
(104.2)
40.1
(104.2)
38.5
(101.3)
33.0
(91.4)
28.8
(83.8)
22.1
(71.8)
40.1
(104.2)
Average high °C (°F) 7.6
(45.7)
10.6
(51.1)
15.5
(59.9)
21.9
(71.4)
27.0
(80.6)
29.5
(85.1)
32.9
(91.2)
32.4
(90.3)
28.2
(82.8)
22.9
(73.2)
16.7
(62.1)
10.1
(50.2)
21.3
(70.3)
Daily mean °C (°F) 3.9
(39.0)
6.5
(43.7)
11.0
(51.8)
17.1
(62.8)
22.2
(72.0)
25.5
(77.9)
28.9
(84.0)
28.2
(82.8)
23.9
(75.0)
18.4
(65.1)
12.2
(54.0)
6.2
(43.2)
17.0
(62.6)
Average low °C (°F) 1.2
(34.2)
3.4
(38.1)
7.5
(45.5)
13.2
(55.8)
18.4
(65.1)
22.3
(72.1)
25.7
(78.3)
25.2
(77.4)
20.7
(69.3)
14.9
(58.8)
8.9
(48.0)
3.2
(37.8)
13.7
(56.7)
Record low °C (°F) −7.8
(18.0)
−8.9
(16.0)
−3.1
(26.4)
3.0
(37.4)
9.2
(48.6)
13.0
(55.4)
19.1
(66.4)
16.7
(62.1)
12.8
(55.0)
4.6
(40.3)
−3.8
(25.2)
−8.2
(17.2)
−8.9
(16.0)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 74.8
(2.94)
82.7
(3.26)
121.4
(4.78)
133.0
(5.24)
147.8
(5.82)
244.7
(9.63)
198.4
(7.81)
130.5
(5.14)
83.3
(3.28)
65.5
(2.58)
71.4
(2.81)
48.0
(1.89)
1,401.5
(55.18)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 11.5 10.9 13.6 11.9 12.3 13.2 11.9 11.9 9.1 8.4 9.3 8.3 132.3
Average snowy days 4.5 2.4 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.2 1.6 9.7
Average relative humidity (%) 77 76 74 73 74 79 78 80 79 76 77 75 77
Mean monthly sunshine hours 105.6 112.3 136.6 163.1 179.7 156.9 213.4 199.2 160.3 160.0 137.8 126.8 1,851.7
Percent possible sunshine 33 36 37 42 42 37 50 49 44 46 44 40 42
Source: China Meteorological Administration[5][6]

Administration

The prefecture-level city of Tongling administers 4 county-level divisions, including 3 districts and 1 county.

In 2012, the provincial government made plans to cede Zongyang County from Anqing City to Tongling City, in order to grant the latter land across the Yangtze.[7]

Map
Defunct divisions

History

Tongling has been famous as a beautiful mountain city since its origins in the Han dynasty over 1500 years ago. Owing to its copper and tin deposits, it was an important center in the past for bronze production. The scale of industrial activity gradually increased through the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) dynasties, the Japanese occupation of 1938–45, and especially under the Communist government since 1949.

Economy

Today the city's industrial base still revolves around the several nearby copper mines and copper processing operations. The local mineral resources also include : iron, coal, gold, silver, tin, Iron sulfide, plus more than twenty other rare minerals associated with them such as nickel, cadmium, gallium, molybdenum, germanium and selenium. Other important industries include chemical works, textiles, building materials, electronics, machinery and food processing. Long a hub of water transportation, in 1995 Tongling became the site of Anhui Province's first highway bridge spanning the Yangtze River.

Although Tongling City is mostly mountainous, the surrounding flatlands are rich agricultural regions producing rice, wheat, cotton, beans, garlic, herbal medicines and ginger. Large amounts of fish are also harvested in the region.

Tongling is the center for conservation efforts to preserve the last remaining Yangtze freshwater dolphins. Two semi-natural reserves have been established in the Tongling area, in the Tongling and Shishou oxbow lakes, but as yet no dolphins have been successfully captured and moved from the river into the lakes.

Tongling has developed at a rapid speed in the past 5 years, i.e. 2003 to 2007.The average GDP per capita has reached ¥44,870 in 2008 which is the second in Anhui province. And the increasing rate is 13%, far more than the average increasing rate of the whole province which is 12.8%.And it aims to achieve $10000 GDP per capita in 2012.

As of 2016, Tongling City, administered 3 districts and 1 county, the total population of 1.7185 million people. GDP of 95.73 billion yuan. By industry, the added value of the primary industry was 4.89 billion yuan, the added value of the secondary industry was 56.96 billion yuan, and the added value of the tertiary industry was 33.87 billion yuan. The three industrial structures are 5.1: 59.5: 35.4. According to the resident population, the annual per capita GDP is 59,960 yuan.

Transport

As of November 2017, Tongling has two bridges across the Yangtze River.

Rail

Tongling is served by the Nanjing–Tongling, Tongling–Jiujiang, Lujiang-Tongling Railways, Nanjing–Anqing Intercity Railway and Hefei-Fuzhou High-Speed Railway.

Culture

The famous poet of Tang Dynasty, Li Bai (c.700–762, also known as Li Po) praised the beauty and richness of Tongling. The Tongling Sports Centre Stadium is located in the city. The football stadium has a capacity of 30,000 and it opened in 2018.

Tongling ginger

Tongling ginger is one of the "eight treasures" of Tongling. It is a perennial herb and an annual cultivated crop. Tongling ginger is scientifically identified by the Anhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences Horticulture and belongs to the type of white ginger. The fresh ginger skin is white and slightly yellow, the ginger is bergamot-shaped, and the petals are thick and thick.

Tongling dried tofu

Tongling dried tofu which began production in the Ming Dynasty and has a history of more than 400 years. Because Datong Town is the only way to the Buddhist shrine Jiuhua Mountain, pilgrims worshipping Buddhas from all over the country and Korea, India and other countries must purchase Tongling dried tofu for vegetarian food.

International relations

Statue of Schiller located at Tongling Tianjinghu park

The contract of town-twinning with the city of Marbach am Neckar in Baden-Württemberg, Germany was established in 1990 and was among the first Sino-German town-twinnings, or sister city relationships. One lady citizen of Marbach am Neckar has been awarded honorary citizenship of Tongling City in 2005, recognizing her relentless effort to keep up the town-twinning. Marbach is the birthplace of the famous German poet Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805), as a symbol of friendship a statue was erected in local Tianjinhu-Lake-Park.

Tongling has been twinned with the Borough of Halton in England since 1997. A Chinese friendship garden was created in the grounds of Runcorn Town Hall in 2006, including a bronze statue gifted by the twin city of Tongling.[8]

References

  1. "China: Ānhuī (Prefectures, Cities, Districts and Counties) - Population Statistics, Charts and Map".
  2. 铜陵市情. Tongling People's Government.
  3. "Tongling | China". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2021-10-31.
  4. 铜陵城市介绍 (in Simplified Chinese). Weather China. Retrieved 2013-01-07.
  5. 中国气象数据网 – WeatherBk Data (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  6. 中国气象数据网 (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  7. 我省出台方案落实中部崛起新政 细化83项重点工程. Tongling People's Government. Retrieved 2013-01-07.
  8. "Friendship garden is full of Eastern promise". Cheshire Live. Reach plc. 22 June 2006. Retrieved 2 November 2020.

"China Tongling". Tongling People's Government. Retrieved 22 March 2013.

"Tongline News". Tongling News. Retrieved 22 March 2013.

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