Shaoyang (), formerly named Baoqing (Paoking) (), is a prefecture-level city in southwestern Hunan province, China, bordering Guangxi to the south. It has a history of 2500 years and remains an important commercial and transportation city in Hunan. As of the 2020 Chinese census, its total population was 6,563,520 inhabitants, of whom 1,415,173 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of three urban districts and Xinshao County largely conurbated.

One of the major forest areas in Hunan, Shaoyang has a forest coverage of 42.7%. The NanShan Pastures is one of the biggest in South Central China and provide dairy products and meat for Hunanese.

Shaoyang is home to Shaoyang University. The school is composed of the former Shaoyang Normal College and Shaoyang College.

The Shaoyang dialect of Lou Shao group of dialects of Xiang is generally spoken here.

History During the later Spring and Autumn period, official Bai Shan () of Chu used to construct a city named Baigong () in today Shaoyang. After the First emperor of Qin reunited China, Shaoyang was under jurisdiction of Changsha Commandery, one of thirty-six Commandery in the empire. Under the Eastern Han dynasty, Shaoyang was administered by Linling Commandery. During the Three Kingdoms era, northern part of Linling including today Shaoyang city was divided from it and designated new Zhaoling commandery (). Following Western Jin reunited Wu in 280 (or first year of Taikang era), emperor Wu changed the Commandery's name Zhaoling to Shaoling () to avoid taboo of his father (Sima Zhao). Under the Southern Song period, Shao Prefecture was renamed and promotedshaoqing Baoqing-fu by Lizong, whom used to take charge of Shao Prefecture defender () when he was prince. The term "Baoqing" was used until 17 years of Republic of China (1928), when it was renamed Shaoyang County. After communists won the Chinese Civil War, Shaoyang city was established in 1950.

Climate Shaoyang has a monsoon-influenced, four-season humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), with cool, damp winters, and hot, humid summers. Winter begins relatively dry but not sunny and becomes progressively damper and cloudier; spring brings both the most frequent and heaviest rain of the year. Summer is comparatively sunny, while autumn is somewhat dry. The monthly 24-hour average temperatures ranges from in January to in July, while the annual mean is . The annual precipitation is about .

Administrative divisions

Shaoyang administers three districts, two county-level cities, six counties, and one autonomous county.

Districts: Shuangqing District () Daxiang District () Beita District ()

County-level City: Wugang City () Shaodong city ()

Counties: Shaoyang County () Xinshao County () Longhui County () Dongkou County () Suining County () Xinning County () Autonomous county: Chengbu Miao Autonomous County ()

Map

Demographics According to the Sixth National Census in 2010, Shaoyang's permanent residence population of 7,071,741 ranked it 2nd out of 14 prefecture-level divisions of Hunan; the male-female ratio was 107.95 to 100. Educational attainment levels were as follows: 4.49% bachelor's or higher, 60.01% middle school () or higher, and the illiteracy rate was 3.24%. There were 1,950,605 households in which 6,913,913 resided, forming 97.77% of the provincial population (hukou) and resulting in an average of 3.54 persons/household. Age distribution was as follows: 1,512,664 (21.39%) ≤14 years, 4,862,468 (68.76%) 15−64 years, 696,609 (9.85%) 65+ years.

+ Shaoyang administrative and population data Division Area (km2) Permanent residents (2010 Census) Hukou permits (late 2009) Divisions Subdistricts Towns Townships Includingethnictownships Residentialcommunities Villages Shaoying 20,829.63 7,071,741 7,705,957 21 97 99 21 335 5551 Shuangqing District 137.08 307,980 270,458 6 2 4 54 63 Daxiang District 214.66 340,605 309,752 6 2 4 44 81 Beita District 84.39 104,609 87,714 2 3 14 40 Shaodong city 1,776.38 896,625 1,260,966 3 16 9 33 977 Xinshao County 1,762.97 743,073 764,905 11 4 28 652 Shaoyang County 1,996.88 915,600 999,148 12 10 23 633 Longhui County 2,871.16 1,095,392 1,156,917 15 11 2 41 964 Dongkou County 2184.01 770,473 833,003 10 12 3 23 566 Suining County 2,898.89 351,139 363,740 6 19 14 14 348 Xinning County 2,751.31 560,742 607,055 9 9 2 15 474 Chengbu Miao Autonomous County 2,619.76 250,633 267,921 6 5 21 271 Wugang City 1,532.15 734,870 784,378 4 8 9 25 482

Government

The current CPC Party Secretary of Shaoyang is Gong Congmi and the current mayor is Liu Shiqing.

Transportation Railway Shaoyang has four main railway station: Shaoyang Railway Station () (Fast Train, K and Highspeed train, G), Old Shaoyang Railway Station () (Old, North, Freight), (Fast Train, K and Highspeed train, G) and Shaoyang North railway station, in Xinshao County (Highspeed train, G and D). The and Shanghai–Kunming high-speed railway pass through Shaoyang.

Airport

Shaoyang Wugang Airport was opened on 28 June 2017. It is located north of Wugang, a county-level city under the administration of Shaoyang, and from the urban center of Shaoyang.

The airport has a 2,600-meter runway and a 3,000-square-meter terminal building. It is projected to handle 250,000 passengers and 500 tons of cargo annually by 2020.

Economy + 2011 Shaoyang GDP figures). 2011 conversion from CNY to USD according to the-then exchange rate of 6.4588 CNY/1 USD, purchasing power based on an April 2012 report that used an exchange rate of 4.1731 CNY/1Geary–Khamis dollar (Intl. $).(GDP in millions CNY/USD; per capita GDP in CNY)DivisionRMBUSDPurchasing power(USD)Growth (%)Percentage (%)Per capita GDP Shaoying 90,72314,04621,74013.210012,797City proper18,3082,8354,387 20.18Shuangqing District8,175.091,265.731,959.0012.69.01Daxiang District8,063.651,248.471,932.2915.28.89Beita District2,069.27320.38495.8615.12.2819,698Outlying76,35811,82218,298 84.17Shaodong County20,220.003,130.614,845.3214.422.2922,299Xinshao County7,429.811,150.341,780.4113.68.199,998Shaoyang County8,108.551,255.431,943.0512.28.947,796Longhui County9,332.001,444.852,236.2311.610.298,499Dongkou County9,012.001,395.312,159.5512.69.9311,784Suining County5,018.45776.991,202.5712.25.53Xinning County5,307.47821.741,271.8311.75.859,425Chengbu County2,320.63359.30556.0911.52.569,238Wugang City7,932.571,228.181,900.8813.88.7410,746

Although it is, by 2010 Census permanent resident population, the second-largest prefecture-level division of Hunan, its GDP (4.62% of provincial output) places it ninth within the province, making it an archetypal example of a large-population, relatively backwards-economy city. The GDP per capita of 12,797 CNY is the lowest in the province, and is only 42.9% of the provincial average, 36.5% of the national average, and 78% of even Guizhou's corresponding figure. Primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors respectively accounted for 23.9%, 38.2%, and 37.9% of the economy.

Noted residents Tsiang Tingfu, historian and diplomat Wei Yuan, late Qing scholar He Luting, composer Cai E, revolutionary leader Liao Yaoxiang, high-ranking Kuomintang general in World War II Li Wangyang, labour rights activist whose "suicide" was allegedly staged by the local police Zhou Shen, singer-songwriter Tang Kai, first ever male Chinese world champion in mixed martial arts history George H. Pearson, founder and manager of Shaoyang Hospital from 1920 to 1951 Zhang Jingyi, actress and model Shen Yue, actress-singer and model Fu Jing, actress-singer and former member of Rocket Girls 101

Twin cities Saratov, Russia

References

External links

Shaoyang, China