Yibin

Yibin
宜宾市
Prefecture-level city

Location of Yibin City (jurisdiction) in Sichuan
Yibin
Location in China
Coordinates: 28°46′N 104°37′E / 28.767°N 104.617°E / 28.767; 104.617Coordinates: 28°46′N 104°37′E / 28.767°N 104.617°E / 28.767; 104.617
Country People's Republic of China
Province Sichuan
Area[1]
 • Prefecture-level city 13,293.89 km2 (5,132.80 sq mi)
 • Urban 80 km2 (30 sq mi)
 • Metro 1,131 km2 (437 sq mi)
Elevation 321 m (1,053 ft)
Population (2010 census)[2]
 • Prefecture-level city 4,471,896
 • Density 340/km2 (870/sq mi)
 • Urban (2018)[3] 595,000
 • Urban density 7,400/km2 (19,000/sq mi)
 • Metro 836,340
 • Metro density 740/km2 (1,900/sq mi)
Time zone UTC+8 (China Standard)
Postal code 644000
Area code(s) 0831
ISO 3166 code CN-SC-15
Licence Plate Prefix 川Q
Website yibin.gov.cn

Yibin (simplified Chinese: 宜宾; traditional Chinese: 宜賓; Sichuanese Pinyin: nyi2bin1; Sichuanese pronunciation: [ɲi˨˩pin˥]; pinyin: Yíbīn; Wade–Giles: I-pin) is a prefecture-level city in the southeastern part of Sichuan province, People's Republic of China, located at the junction of the Min and Yangtze Rivers.

Its population was 4,471,840 inhabitants according to the 2010 census of whom 836,340 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of Cuiping District.

History

Human habitation of Yibin dates back at least 4,000 years. Yibin was established as a county in the Han dynasty (206 BC − AD 220). Under the Ming and Qing, the town and its hinterland was known as Xuzhou Commandery (t 敘州府, s 叙州府, p Xùzhōufǔ), which was variously romanized as Suifu, Suifoo, and Suchow.[4] Its population around 1907 was estimated at 50,000.[5]

Geography and climate

The Yangtze at the confluence of the Min and Jinsha Rivers. Below Yibin, the Yangtze is known in Chinese as Chang Jiang or the "Long River". Above Yibin, the Yangtze is known as the Jinsha or Gold Sands River.

Yibin is located in the southeast portion of Sichuan at the southern end of the Sichuan Basin, bordering Zhaotong (Yunnan) to the south, Luzhou to the east, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture and Leshan to the west, and Zigong to the north, and has a total area is 13,283 square kilometres (5,129 sq mi). The city ranges in latitude from 27° 50'−29° 16' N, and in longitude from 103° 36'−105° 20' E, stretching 153 km (95 mi) east-west and 150 km (93 mi) north-south.

The city is located at the confluence of the Min and Yangtze Rivers. Above Yibin, the Yangtze is also known as the Jinsha River. Below Yibin, the Yangtze is known in Chinese as the Chang Jiang or "Long River."

As with the rest of the Sichuan Basin, Yibin has a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa) with high humidity year-round; winters are short and mild while summers long, hot, and humid. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from 7.9 °C (46.2 °F) in January to 26.9 °C (80.4 °F) in July and August; the annual mean is 18.03 °C (64.5 °F). Despite its location in the Yangtze River valley, it is still 1.5 to 2.0 °C (2.7 to 3.6 °F) cooler than Chongqing, located further downstream, in its warmest months. Frost is uncommon and the frost-free period lasts 347 days.[6] Rainfall is common year-round but is the greatest in July and August, with very little of it in the cooler months. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 10% in December and January to 42% in August, the city receives only 1,018 hours of bright sunshine annually; Yibin has one of the lowest annual sunshine totals nationally, lower than even nearby Chengdu and Chongqing. Spring (March–April) tends to be sunnier and warmer in the day than autumn (October–November).

Administrative divisions

Ethnic townships in South Sichuan: Yibin and Luzhou. Light green -Yi. Blue - miao.
Map
Name Hanzi Hanyu Pinyin Population (2004 est.) Area (km²) Density (/km²)
Cuiping District 翠屏区 Cuìpíng Qū 780,000 1,123 695
Nanxi District 南溪区 Nánxī Qū 410,000 704 582
Xuzhou District 叙州区 Xùzhōu Qū 980,000 3,034 323
Jiang'an County 江安县 Jiāng'ān Xiàn 540,000 910 593
Changning County 长宁县 Chángníng Xiàn 430,000 975 441
Gao County 高县 Gāo Xiàn 500,000 1,323 378
Junlian County 筠连县 Jūnlián Xiàn 390,000 1,254 311
Gong County 珙县 Gǒng Xiàn 420,000 1,150 365
Xingwen County 兴文县 Xīngwén Xiàn 440,000 1,373 320
Pingshan County 屏山县 Píngshān Xiàn 290,000 1,437 202
翠屏山俯瞰
View of Yibin from Cuiping Mountain

Economy

The city's industry focuses on electronics, food products, and power generation. It also produces paper, silk, and leather products. The surrounding region is rich in agricultural resources, growing rice, barley, oil seeds, sesame, and tea.

The largest employer in Yibin is Wuliangye, a company best known for Wuliangye, a brand of sorghum-based distilled spirits known as baijiu. The Wuliangye Group grew from a small company employing just 300 people in 1977 into a large company employing over 20,000 on a seven square kilometer plant. According to an August 2005 article in a securities weekly, the Wuliangye Group is 72% state owned and provides 70% of the revenues of Yibin City, a major regional center at the head of the Yangtze in southeastern Sichuan. In 2004 6,225 retired military worked for the company, out of a total work force of over 20,000. One third of top management positions are held by retired members of the military.[7] Unsuccessful efforts to diversify its business, poor transparency and a murky ownership pictures are among the company's problems today.[8] However, liquor is not the sole product of the WuLiangye Group. It also provides the specialized high-tech anti-counterfeit packaging and printing business and engineering services. Wuliangye now contributes about 60% of Yibin's GDP.

Transportation

The region's natural waterways provide transportation links with the surrounding area, and Yibin is also connected to Chongqing and Chengdu by rail and express highway. Yibin's proximity to the Yunnan and Guizhou borders also means that transportation to the provinces is available by rail and by bus.

Yibin has three bridges over the Chang Jiang section of the Yangtze and ten bridges over the Jinsha.

Yibin Airport offers flights to Beijing, Guangzhou, Guiyang, Hangzhou, Kunming, Lhasa, Sanya, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Xi'an, and Yichang.

Tourism

There are several hot springs near Yibin, plus many other tourist attractions. Such attractions include the Bamboo Sea in Changning County and the Xingwen Stone Forest. Cuiping mountain in the centre of the city provides wonderful views of Yibin. Yibin is also the confluence of the Min and Jinsha Rivers, which together form the Chang Jiang as the Yangtze River is known in Chinese from Yibin to Shanghai.

The most significant scenic resource is Mountain Park (dashan gongyuan,大山公园??????), which stretches for hundreds of kilometers.

Yibin in Literature

Notes

  1. ↑ Cox, W (2018). Demographia World Urban Areas. 14th Annual Edition (PDF). St. Louis: Demographia. p. 22.
  2. ↑ "China: Administrative Division of Sìchuān / 四川省". citypopulation.de.
  3. ↑ Cox, W (2018). Demographia World Urban Areas. 14th Annual Edition (PDF). St. Louis: Demographia. p. 22.
  4. ↑ EB (1887).
  5. ↑ EB (1911).
  6. ↑ "宜宾 - 气象数据 -中国天气网". weather.com.cn.
  7. ↑ "An Army of Production Out of Uniform: Retired Soldiers at Wuliangye", PLA Daily July 29, 2004
  8. ↑ "Stockholder Interests Poorly Represented, This is How Profits Slip Away," Bond Market Weekly, August 22, 2005
  9. ↑ "Readers relishing Cao Wenxuan's latest novel". africa.chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 2018-10-07. Text "Books " ignored (help); Text "chinadaily.com.cn" ignored (help)

References

  • Wikisource Baynes, T.S.; Smith, W.R., eds. (1887), "Su-chow", Encyclopædia Britannica, 22 (9th ed.), New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, p. 617 .
  • Wikisource Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911), "Su-chow", Encyclopædia Britannica, 26 (11th ed.), Cambridge University Press, p. 7 .
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