Anyang Explained

Anyang
Native Name:安阳市
Native Name Lang:zh-Hans
Settlement Type:Prefecture-level city
Pushpin Map:China Northern Plain#China
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in the North China Plain
Coor Pinpoint:Anyang municipal government
Coordinates:36.099°N 114.392°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:People's Republic of China
Subdivision Type1:Province
Subdivision Name1:Henan
Seat Type:Municipal seat
Seat:Wenfeng District
Area Footnotes:[1]
Area Total Km2:7355
Area Urban Km2:543.5
Area Metro Km2:2392
Elevation M:69
Elevation Ft:226
Population Total:5477614
Population As Of:2020 census
Population Footnotes:[2]
Population Density Km2:auto
Population Urban:1398887
Population Density Urban Km2:auto
Population Metro:2675523
Population Density Metro Km2:auto
Demographics Type2:GDP[3] [4]
Demographics2 Info1:CN¥ 203.0 billion
US$ 30.6 billion
Demographics2 Title2:Per capita
Demographics2 Info2:CN¥ 39,603
US$ 5,962
Postal Code Type:Postal Code
Postal Code:455000,456100,456300,456400,456500
Area Code:0372
Iso Code:CN-HA-05
Timezone:China Standard
Utc Offset:+8
Blank1 Name:Major Nationalities
Blank1 Info:Han
Blank2 Name:County-level divisions
Blank2 Info:9
Blank3 Name:License plate prefixes
Blank3 Info:Chinese: {{linktext|豫

Anyang (;) is a prefecture-level city in Henan, China. The northernmost city in Henan, Anyang borders Puyang to the east, Hebi and Xinxiang to the south, and the provinces of Shanxi and Hebei to its west and north respectively. Anyang had a total population of 5,477,614 as of the 2020 census, 2,675,523 of whom lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of four urban districts and Anyang and Tangyin counties, now largely agglomerated with the city proper.

Anyang is the location of the ancient city of Yin, which was the capital of the Shang dynasty and the first stable capital of China. Henan once had the largest population in China.

History

Early history

Xiaonanhai, on the far western edge of the city, was home to prehistoric cavemen during the Stone Age. Over 7,000 artifacts (including stone tools and animal bone fossils) have been unearthed here, representing what has been dubbed the Xiaonanhai culture.

Around 2000 BC, the legendary sage-kings Zhuanxu and Emperor Ku are said to have established their capitals in the area around modern Anyang from where they ruled their kingdoms. Today their mausoleums are situated in Sanyang village south of Neihuang County.

At the beginning of the 14th century BC, King Pangeng of the Shang dynasty established his capital 2km (01miles) north of the modern city on the banks of the Huan River.[5] The city, known as Yin, was the first stable capital in Chinese history and from that point on the dynasty that founded it would also become known as the Yin dynasty.

The capital served 12 kings in 8 generations including Wu Ding, under whom the dynasty reached the zenith of its power, until it was wiped out along with the dynasty that was founded by King Wu of the Zhou in 1046 BC.

Anyang was made the county seat of Anyang County 607 CE and it has held that position ever since.[6]

Anyang's Tangyin County[7] was the ancient seat of Yue Village, the birthplace of the famous Song dynasty general, Yue Fei. This was also the historic home of Zhou Tong, Yue's military arts tutor (though fictional sources place him in Shaanxi).

Modern era

The town was known as Zhangde (Chinese: 彰德) until 1912, when it was given its present name of Anyang,[8] following the establishment of the Republic of China.

In August 1949, Anyang prefecture was detached from Henan andalong with Puyang and Xinxiangconsigned to the short lived experimental province of Pingyuan by the ruling Communist government. All three were eventually returned to Henan's territory in November 1953, with the dissolution of Pingyuan.

Geography and climate

Anyang spans a total area of . The city's elevation is generally higher in the west, with the foothills of the Taihang Mountains running through the area, and lower in the east, which comprises part of the North China Plain.[9]

Anyang has a four-season, monsoon-influenced humid continental climate/semi-arid climate (Köppen Dwa/BSk).[10] Winters are cold and very dry, with a January 24-hour average of NaN°C. Summers are hot and humid, with July averaging 27.2°C. A majority of the annual precipitation of 552mm falls in July and August alone, and the annual mean temperature is 14.28°C. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 43% in July to 58% in May, the city receives 2,225 hours of bright sunshine annually, with April to June the sunniest period. Extreme temperatures have ranged from NaN°C to 43.2°C.[11] [12]

Administration

The prefecture-level city of Anyang administers 10 county-level administrative divisions, including 4 districts, 1 county-level city, and 4 counties. These, in turn, administer 46 subdistricts, 66 towns, and 23 townships, which then administer 302 residential communities and 2,979 administrative villages.

Demographics

Per the 2020 Chinese Census, Anyang has a population of 5.48 million people. The overwhelming majority of the city's population is ethnically Han Chinese, with ethnic minorities constituting a population of around 10,000 people. 43 different ethnic minorities live in the city, with prominent ethnic minority communities including the Hui, Mongols, Manchus, Zhuang, Miao, Tibetans, and the Yi.

Economy

Anyang is a largely industrial city, with major industries including the production of metals such as iron and steel, coal coking, and clothing production.[13] Major Chinese steel producer Shagang Group has operations in Anyang. Major mineral reserves in Anyang include dolomite, potassium-bearing shale, nepheline syenite, quartzite, limestone, and clay.

The city's total gross domestic product (GDP) totaled 243.55 billion renminbi (RMB) as of 2021, a 5% increase from the prior year.[14] Anyang's primary sector comprised 9.7% of the city's GDP, the secondary sector comprised 43.7%, and the tertiary sector comprised 46.6%.

The per capita disposable income in Anyang totaled 27,365 RMB as of 2021, an increase of 7.2% from 2020. The per capita disposable income of Anyang's urban residents was 37,464 RMB, a 6% annual increase, and the per capita disposable income of rural residents was 18,424 RMB, an 8.4% annual increase.

Sixteen foreign-funded enterprises (joint ventures, cooperative enterprises, and wholly foreign-owned enterprises) have been established in Anyang. Recently, Anyang has established an economic and technological development zone covering a total area of 22.8km2, and issued a series of preferential policies to attract many domestic Chinese and foreign businesses.

The Anyang Hongqiqu Airport opened on November 29, 2023.[15]

Tourism

Anyang city is an ancient city with a history of over 3,000 years and is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, and also one of the best preserved. It is one of the key birthplaces of Chinese ancient culture. Here are the primitive caves of 25,000 years ago, the overlapping strata of the Yangshao Culture, Longshan Culture and Xiaotun Culture, the memorial mausoleums of ancient Emperor Zhuanxu and Emperor Ku over 4,000 years ago, the first library of inscriptions on bones and tortoise shells, the Soul Spring Temple, known as the "First Ancient Buddhist Temple in Henan", and 10,000-Buddha Ravine, as well as unique Wenfeng Pagoda, Xiuding Temple Pagoda and Mingfu Temple Pagoda. The city has three large museums: the Anyang Museum, the National Museum of Chinese Writing, and the Yinxu Museum on the ruins and royal tombs of the Shang dynasty. Anyang also has beautiful natural scenery—the Taihang Linlu Hill Scenic Area on the 400-km Taihang Mountains and the grand 1,500-km Red Flag Canal.

Changchun Temple

Changchun Temple, a Taoist shrine, was built on the hillside of the mountains surrounding it during the Tang dynasty. It was officially opened to the public on 1 May 2014, after a period of cautious restoration.

Tianning Temple

Tianning Si (Mansion Temple) was established during the Zhou dynasty, and has recently been restored by the Protection and Research Institute of Ancient Architecture of Anyang City, and opened to the public. The main structures within the temple compound include: the gate house, the three-room (8.4 m x 14 m) Hall of the Heavenly King with hanging-eaves over the gables rebuilt in 2002,[16] the slightly larger Precious Hall of the Great Hero (17.8 m x 11.65 m) with single-eave gabled roof originally from the Qing dynasty and rebuilt in 2001,[17] and the Wenfeng Pagoda.

Wenfeng Pagoda

Wenfeng Ta (Literature Peak Pagoda) on the grounds of the Tianning Temple is believed to have been constructed in 925 and is known, from inscriptions concerning the reconstruction of the temple, to have been in place by 952. The current pagoda was constructed during the Ming dynasty and received its current name during the Qing dynasty due to its proximity to the Confucian temple. The five-story dark red brick octagonal tower is 38.65m high and is, unusually, larger at the top than the bottom and is topped with a 10-metre Lamaist stupa-style dagoba steeple. The pagoda stands on a two-metre-high stone pedestal and is decorated with multi-eave pent roofs and carvings of Buddhas and bodhisattvas. The unique pagoda is the symbol of Anyang.

Yinxu ruins and museum

See main article: Yinxu. Located about 2km (01miles) northwest of Anyang are the ruins of the Shang dynasty capital known as Yin. This massive archaeological site was discovered in 1899, excavated in the decades that followed, and first opened to the public in the 1980s as the Garden Museum of Yinxu. The current Yinxu museum was opened on 16 March 2005, and includes the famous Tomb of Fu Hao.

The site was later designated a UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2006.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: . zh:最新人口信息 . hongheiku . zh . 2021-01-12.
  2. Web site: China: Hénán (Prefectures, Cities, Districts and Counties) - Population Statistics, Charts and Map.
  3. Book: 河南省统计局、国家统计局河南调查总队 . 《河南统计年鉴-2017》 . November 2017 . 中国统计出版社 . 978-7-5037-8268-8 . 2018-12-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181115105251/http://www.ha.stats.gov.cn/hntj/lib/tjnj/2017/zk/indexch.htm . 2018-11-15 . dead.
  4. Web site: 河南统计年鉴—2017. 2018-12-03. www.ha.stats.gov.cn. https://web.archive.org/web/20181115105251/http://www.ha.stats.gov.cn/hntj/lib/tjnj/2017/zk/indexch.htm. 2018-11-15. dead.
  5. Web site: Anyang: China's Ancient City of Kings . 2023-06-04 . National Museum of Asian Art . en-US.
  6. Book: Xiong, Victor Cunrui . Historical Dictionary of Medieval China . Historical Dictionaries of Ancient Civilizations and Historical Eras, No. 19 . Scarecrow Press . . 2009 . 9780810860537 .
  7. Web site: “安阳:中国古代王城”展在美国华盛顿举行-新华网 . 2024-03-23 . www.news.cn.
  8. Web site: Anyang Information, Anyang Overview, Anyang Guide, China Guide. . 2023-06-04 . www.visitourchina.com.
  9. Web site: 2021-12-13 . zh:安阳概貌 . Anyang overview . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221125175849/https://www.anyang.gov.cn/2020/06-22/1962270.html . 2022-11-25 . 2022-11-25 . Anyang Municipal People's Government . zh.
  10. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Asia_K%C3%B6ppen_Map.png Updated Asian Map of the Köppen climate classification system.
  11. Web site: http://cdc.cma.gov.cn/home.do . zh-cn . zh:中国气象科学数据共享服务网 . China Meteorological Administration . February 25, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150302053152/http://cdc.cma.gov.cn/home.do . March 2, 2015 . dead .
  12. Web site: http://www.dahe.cn/xwzx/csxw/ay/t20090626_1589231.htm . zh-cn . zh:安阳高烧43.2°C 市民无处话清凉 . dahe.cn . 2014-02-25 . 2017-06-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170627130814/http://www.dahe.cn/xwzx/csxw/ay/t20090626_1589231.htm . dead .
  13. Web site: 2021-06-11 . zh:经济转型发展 . Economic transformation and development . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221125173921/https://www.anyang.gov.cn/2021/06-11/2158627.html . 2022-11-25 . 2022-11-25 . Anyang Municipal People's Government . zh.
  14. Web site: 2022-07-27 . zh:经济实力 . Economic strength . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221125173942/https://www.anyang.gov.cn/2022/07-27/2353665.html . 2022-11-25 . 2022-11-25 . Anyang Municipal People's Government . zh.
  15. Web site: "飞翔之城"插上腾飞之翼 安阳红旗渠机场正式通航-国际在线 .
  16. News: Hall of the Heavenly King . Tianning Temple . The Hall, an architecture of hanging-eaves over the gables, has a space of 3 rooms with a length of 14m, a width of 8.4m and a height of 9.6m. It was designed and rebuilt on the site by the Protection and Research Institute of Ancient Architecture of Anyang City in 2002. .
  17. News: Precious Hall of the Great Hero . Tianning Temple . The Precious Hall of the Great Hero, Tianning Temple, The Precious Hall of the Great Hero, as architecture of single-eave and gabled roof, is 11.65 m long and 17.8 m wide. Rebuilt in the 25th year of Qianlong in Qing Dynasty, it was thoroughly restored by the Protection and Research Institute of Ancient Architecture of Anyang City in 2001. .