1.
Fuling Mausoleum
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The Fuling Tomb also known as the East Mausoleum is the mausoleum of Nurhaci, the founding emperor of the Qing dynasty and his wife, Empress Xiaocigao. It served as the site for ritual ceremonies conducted by the imperial family during the entire Qing dynasty. Located in the part of Shenyang city, Liaoning Province, northeastern China. The tomb is located in a hilly area 10,000 meters east of the old city of Shenyang, the Fuling Tomb was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in an extension to the site Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in 2004. Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties
2.
District (China)
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The term district, in the context of China, is used to refer to several unrelated political divisions in both ancient and modern China. In the modern context, district or sub-city, formally city-governed district, city-controlled district, the rank of a district derives from the rank of its city. Districts of a municipality are prefecture-level, districts of a city are sub-prefecture-level. It was also used to refer the obsolete County-controlled districts. However, if the district is encountered in the context of ancient Chinese history, then it is a translation for xian. As a result, districts were also mostly urban or suburban in nature, after the 1980s, prefectures began to be replaced with prefecture-level cities. From then on, cities in mainland China became just like any other division, containing urban areas, towns, villages. These cities are subdivided into districts, counties, autonomous counties, at the same time, counties and county-level cities began to be replaced with districts, especially after 1990. From then onwards, districts were no longer strictly an urban entities — some districts today are just like counties, with a large towns, a regular district under a municipality or prefecture-level city. A type of city districts that are created for ethnic minorities. Currently there are 4 such ethnic districts, three in Henan and one in Heilongjiang, chanhe Hui District Guancheng Hui District Shunhe Hui District Meilisi Daur District Huimin District A special county-level division located in Guizhou. Liuzhi Special District, Liupanshui A special Sub-prefectural-level forestry district located in Hubei, shennongjia A county-controlled district sometimes translated as county-governed district, county district or sub-county, is a sub-county in the Peoples Republic of China. A branch of a county government, a public office is the administrative office in a district. A county-controlled district was once an important subdivision of a county all over China from 1950s to 1990s and it was common for there to be about 5 to 10 districts in a county, then about 3 to 5 towns and townships in a district. After the 1990s, county-controlled districts began to be phased out, if the word district is encountered in the context of ancient Chinese history, then the word is a translation for xian, another type of administrative division in China. Xian has been translated using several English terms, in the context of ancient history, district and prefecture are commonly used, while county is used for more contemporary contexts. See Counties of the Peoples Republic of China for more information on the xian of China, list of districts in China District
3.
China
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China, officially the Peoples Republic of China, is a unitary sovereign state in East Asia and the worlds most populous country, with a population of over 1.381 billion. The state is governed by the Communist Party of China and its capital is Beijing, the countrys major urban areas include Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Hong Kong. China is a power and a major regional power within Asia. Chinas landscape is vast and diverse, ranging from forest steppes, the Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir and Tian Shan mountain ranges separate China from much of South and Central Asia. The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the third and sixth longest in the world, respectively, Chinas coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500 kilometers long and is bounded by the Bohai, Yellow, East China and South China seas. China emerged as one of the worlds earliest civilizations in the basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. For millennia, Chinas political system was based on hereditary monarchies known as dynasties, in 1912, the Republic of China replaced the last dynasty and ruled the Chinese mainland until 1949, when it was defeated by the communist Peoples Liberation Army in the Chinese Civil War. The Communist Party established the Peoples Republic of China in Beijing on 1 October 1949, both the ROC and PRC continue to claim to be the legitimate government of all China, though the latter has more recognition in the world and controls more territory. China had the largest economy in the world for much of the last two years, during which it has seen cycles of prosperity and decline. Since the introduction of reforms in 1978, China has become one of the worlds fastest-growing major economies. As of 2016, it is the worlds second-largest economy by nominal GDP, China is also the worlds largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods. China is a nuclear weapons state and has the worlds largest standing army. The PRC is a member of the United Nations, as it replaced the ROC as a permanent member of the U. N. Security Council in 1971. China is also a member of numerous formal and informal multilateral organizations, including the WTO, APEC, BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the BCIM, the English name China is first attested in Richard Edens 1555 translation of the 1516 journal of the Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa. The demonym, that is, the name for the people, Portuguese China is thought to derive from Persian Chīn, and perhaps ultimately from Sanskrit Cīna. Cīna was first used in early Hindu scripture, including the Mahābhārata, there are, however, other suggestions for the derivation of China. The official name of the state is the Peoples Republic of China. The shorter form is China Zhōngguó, from zhōng and guó and it was then applied to the area around Luoyi during the Eastern Zhou and then to Chinas Central Plain before being used as an occasional synonym for the state under the Qing
4.
Chongqing
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Chongqing, formerly transliterated as Chungking, is a major city in Southwest China and one of the Five national central cities in China. Administratively, it is one of Chinas four direct-controlled municipalities, the municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the sub-provincial city administration that was part of Sichuan Province. Chongqings population as of 2015 is just over 30 million with a population of 18.38 million. The official abbreviation of the city, Yu, was approved by the State Council on 18 April 1997 and this abbreviation is derived from the old name of a part of the Jialing River that runs through Chongqing and feeds into the Yangtze River. Chongqing was also a Sichuan province municipality during the Republic of China administration, Chongqing has a significant history and culture and serves as the economic centre of the upstream Yangtze basin. It is a manufacturing centre and transportation hub, a July 2012 report by the Economist Intelligence Unit described it as one of Chinas 13 emerging megacities. Tradition associates Chongqing with the State of Ba, the Ba people supposedly established Chongqing during the Spring and Autumn period after moving from their first capital Yicheng in Hubei under pressure from Chu. This new capital was first named Jiangzhou, in 316 BC, however, the state of Ba was conquered by the State of Qin. Jiangzhou subsequently remained under Qin Shi Huangs rule during the Qin Dynasty, the successor of the Qin State, and under the control of Han Dynasty emperors. Jiangzhou was subsequently renamed during the Southern and Northern Dynasties to Chu Prefecture, then in 581 AD to Yu Prefecture, the name Yu however survives to this day as an abbreviation for Chongqing, and the city centre where the old town stood is also called Yuzhong. It received its current name in 1189, after Prince Zhao Dun of the Southern Song Dynasty described his crowning as king, in his honour, Yu Prefecture was therefore renamed Chongqing subprefecture marking the occasion of his enthronement. In 1362, Ming Yuzhen, a peasant rebelling leader, established the Daxia Kingdom at Chongqing for a short time, in 1621, another short-lived kingdom of Daliang was established by She Chongming with Chongqing as its capital. The Manchus later conquered the province, and during the Qing Dynasty, immigration to Chongqing, in 1890, the British Consulate General was opened in Chongqing. The following year, the city became the first inland commerce port open to foreigners, the French, German, US and Japanese consulates were opened in Chongqing in 1896–1904. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, it was Generalissimo Chiang Kai-sheks provisional capital, the city was also visited by Lord Louis Mountbatten, the Supreme Commander of SEAC which was itself headquartered in Ceylon, modern day Sri Lanka. Chiang Kai Shek as Supreme Commander in China worked closely with Stilwell, the Japanese Air Force heavily bombed it. Due to its mountainous environment, many people were saved from the bombing, due to the bravery, contributions and sacrifices made by the local people during World War II, Chongqing became known as the City of Heroes. Many factories and universities were relocated from eastern China to Chongqing during the war, in late November 1949 the Nationalist KMT government fled the city
5.
Time in China
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The time in China follows a single standard time offset of UTC+08,00, despite China spanning five geographical time zones. The official national standard time is called Beijing Time domestically and China Standard Time internationally, daylight saving time has not been observed since 1991. The special administrative regions maintain their own authorities, with standards called Hong Kong Time. These have been equivalent to Beijing time since 1992, in addition, a second time standard is used in Xinjiang, two hours less than the Beijing Time, which is called Ürümqi Time or Xinjiang Time. In 1912, the Republic of China established five standard time zones, namely Kunlun, Sinkiang-Tibet, Kansu-Szechwan, Chungyuan, and Changpai. The unified time zone policy was adopted by the Communist Party of China or the Central People’s Government some time between 27 September 1949 and 6 October 1949, the date is unknown. However, recent research suggests that the policy was most likely adopted on 27 September 1949, daylight saving time was observed from 1986 to 1991. In 1997 and 1999, Hong Kong and Macau were transferred to China from the United Kingdom and Portugal, although the sovereignty of the SARs belongs to China, they retain their own policies regarding time zones for historical reasons. Due to their locations, both are within the UTC+08,00 time zone, which is the same as the national standard — Beijing time. Xinjiang Time, also known as Ürümqi Time, is set due to its location in the westernmost part of the country. The time offset is UTC+06,00, which is two hours behind Beijing, and is shared with neighbouring Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Currently, timezone usage within Xinjiang is roughly split along the divide, with most ethnic Han following Beijing time. Some local authorities are now using both time standard side by side, the coexistence of two timezones within the same region causes some confusion among the local population, especially when inter-racial communication occur. Some ethnic Han in Xinjiang might not be aware of the existence of the UTC+6 Xinjiang Time because of language barrier, regardless, Beijing Time users in Xinjiang usually schedule their daily activities two hours later than those who live in eastern China. As such, stores and offices in Xinjiang are commonly opening from 10am to 7pm Beijing Time and this is known as the work/rest time in Xinjiang. Hong Kong maintains its own time authority after transfer of sovereignty in 1997, the Hong Kong Time is UTC+08,00 all year round, and daylight saving time has not been used since 1979. Greenwich Mean Time was adopted as the basis in 1904, before that, local time was determined by astronomical observations at Hong Kong Observatory using a 6-inch Lee Equatorial and a 3-inch Transit Circle. Macau maintains its own time authority after transfer of sovereignty in 1999, the Macau Standard Time is the time in Macau
6.
Chinese language
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Chinese is a group of related, but in many cases mutually unintelligible, language varieties, forming a branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. Chinese is spoken by the Han majority and many ethnic groups in China. Nearly 1.2 billion people speak some form of Chinese as their first language, the varieties of Chinese are usually described by native speakers as dialects of a single Chinese language, but linguists note that they are as diverse as a language family. The internal diversity of Chinese has been likened to that of the Romance languages, There are between 7 and 13 main regional groups of Chinese, of which the most spoken by far is Mandarin, followed by Wu, Min, and Yue. Most of these groups are mutually unintelligible, although some, like Xiang and certain Southwest Mandarin dialects, may share common terms, all varieties of Chinese are tonal and analytic. Standard Chinese is a form of spoken Chinese based on the Beijing dialect of Mandarin. It is the language of China and Taiwan, as well as one of four official languages of Singapore. It is one of the six languages of the United Nations. The written form of the language, based on the logograms known as Chinese characters, is shared by literate speakers of otherwise unintelligible dialects. Of the other varieties of Chinese, Cantonese is the spoken language and official in Hong Kong and Macau. It is also influential in Guangdong province and much of Guangxi, dialects of Southern Min, part of the Min group, are widely spoken in southern Fujian, with notable variants also spoken in neighboring Taiwan and in Southeast Asia. Hakka also has a diaspora in Taiwan and southeast Asia. Shanghainese and other Wu varieties are prominent in the lower Yangtze region of eastern China, Chinese can be traced back to a hypothetical Sino-Tibetan proto-language. The first written records appeared over 3,000 years ago during the Shang dynasty, as the language evolved over this period, the various local varieties became mutually unintelligible. In reaction, central governments have sought to promulgate a unified standard. Difficulties have included the great diversity of the languages, the lack of inflection in many of them, in addition, many of the smaller languages are spoken in mountainous areas that are difficult to reach, and are often also sensitive border zones. Without a secure reconstruction of proto-Sino-Tibetan, the structure of the family remains unclear. A top-level branching into Chinese and Tibeto-Burman languages is often assumed, the earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones from around 1250 BCE in the late Shang dynasty
7.
Simplified Chinese characters
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Simplified Chinese characters are standardized Chinese characters prescribed in the Table of General Standard Chinese Characters for use in mainland China. Along with traditional Chinese characters, it is one of the two character sets of the contemporary Chinese written language. The government of the Peoples Republic of China in mainland China has promoted them for use in printing since the 1950s and 1960s in an attempt to increase literacy and they are officially used in the Peoples Republic of China and Singapore. Traditional Chinese characters are used in Hong Kong, Macau. Overseas Chinese communities generally tend to use traditional characters, Simplified Chinese characters may be referred to by their official name above or colloquially. Strictly, the latter refers to simplifications of character structure or body, character forms that have existed for thousands of years alongside regular, Simplified character forms were created by decreasing the number of strokes and simplifying the forms of a sizable proportion of traditional Chinese characters. Some simplifications were based on popular cursive forms embodying graphic or phonetic simplifications of the traditional forms, some characters were simplified by applying regular rules, for example, by replacing all occurrences of a certain component with a simplified version of the component. Variant characters with the pronunciation and identical meaning were reduced to a single standardized character. Finally, many characters were left untouched by simplification, and are identical between the traditional and simplified Chinese orthographies. Some simplified characters are very dissimilar to and unpredictably different from traditional characters and this often leads opponents not well-versed in the method of simplification to conclude that the overall process of character simplification is also arbitrary. In reality, the methods and rules of simplification are few, on the other hand, proponents of simplification often flaunt a few choice simplified characters as ingenious inventions, when in fact these have existed for hundreds of years as ancient variants. However, the Chinese government never officially dropped its goal of further simplification in the future, in August 2009, the PRC began collecting public comments for a modified list of simplified characters. The new Table of General Standard Chinese Characters consisting of 8,105 characters was promulgated by the State Council of the Peoples Republic of China on June 5,2013, cursive written text almost always includes character simplification. Simplified forms used in print have always existed, they date back to as early as the Qin dynasty, One of the earliest proponents of character simplification was Lubi Kui, who proposed in 1909 that simplified characters should be used in education. In the years following the May Fourth Movement in 1919, many anti-imperialist Chinese intellectuals sought ways to modernise China, Traditional culture and values such as Confucianism were challenged. Soon, people in the Movement started to cite the traditional Chinese writing system as an obstacle in modernising China and it was suggested that the Chinese writing system should be either simplified or completely abolished. Fu Sinian, a leader of the May Fourth Movement, called Chinese characters the writing of ox-demons, lu Xun, a renowned Chinese author in the 20th century, stated that, If Chinese characters are not destroyed, then China will die. Recent commentators have claimed that Chinese characters were blamed for the problems in China during that time
8.
Chinese postal romanization
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Postal romanization was a system of transliterating Chinese place names developed by the Imperial Post Office in the early 1900s. The system was in use until the 1980s. For major cities and other places that already had widely accepted European names, with regard to other place names, the post office revised policy several times. Spellings given could reflect the pronunciation, Nanjing pronunciation, or Beijing pronunciation. At a conference held in 1906 in Shanghai, the post office selected a system of romanization developed by Herbert Giles called Nanking syllabary, although Beijing dialect had served as a national standard since the mid-19th century, the system adopted was based on Nanjing pronunciation. The system corresponded to traditional romanizations that were adopted in the 18th century when Nanjing dialect was considered standard. French-appointed administrators ran the post office at time, and they sought a less anglicized alternative to Wade-Giles. An imperial edict issued in 1896 renamed the Maritime Customs Post, reorganized this agency as a postal service. In 1899, Robert Hart, as general of posts. Although Hart asked for transliterations according to the pronunciation, most postmasters were reluctant to play lexicographer. The spellings that they submitted generally followed a system created by Thomas Francis Wade, the system had been developed in 1859 and was based on the Beijing pronunciation. It became the method of romanizing Chinese after Herbert Giles published a dictionary, using the system. The post office published a draft romanization map in 1903, disappointed with the Wade-based map, Hart made another attempt to promote localism in 1905. He directed the postmasters to submit romanizations not as directed by Wade, local missionaries could be consulted, Hart suggested. However, Wades system reflected pronunciation in most areas served by the post office, a more serious disadvantage was that the French viewed Wades system as anglophone. The top position in the post office was held by Postal Secretary Théophile Piry, until 1911, the post office remained part of the Maritime Customs Service. As customs inspector general, Hart was Pirys boss, but French backing effectively gave Piry a postal fiefdom, Piry responded to Harts moves by organising an Imperial Postal Joint-Session Conference in Shanghai in the spring of 1906. As it was a joint postal and telegraphic conference, it allowed Piry to go over Harts head, the conference resolved that existing spellings would be retained for all names already transliterated
9.
Standard Chinese
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Its pronunciation is based on the Beijing dialect, its vocabulary on the Mandarin dialects, and its grammar is based on written vernacular Chinese. Like other varieties of Chinese, Standard Chinese is a language with topic-prominent organization. It has more initial consonants but fewer vowels, final consonants, Standard Chinese is an analytic language, though with many compound words. There exist two standardised forms of the language, namely Putonghua in Mainland China and Guoyu in Taiwan, aside from a number of differences in pronunciation and vocabulary, Putonghua is written using simplified Chinese characters, while Guoyu is written using traditional Chinese characters. There are many characters that are identical between the two systems, in English, the governments of China and Hong Kong use Putonghua, Putonghua Chinese, Mandarin Chinese, and Mandarin, while those of Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia, use Mandarin. The name Putonghua also has a long, albeit unofficial, history and it was used as early as 1906 in writings by Zhu Wenxiong to differentiate a modern, standard Chinese from classical Chinese and other varieties of Chinese. For some linguists of the early 20th century, the Putonghua, or common tongue/speech, was different from the Guoyu. The former was a prestige variety, while the latter was the legal standard. Based on common understandings of the time, the two were, in fact, different, Guoyu was understood as formal vernacular Chinese, which is close to classical Chinese. By contrast, Putonghua was called the speech of the modern man. The use of the term Putonghua by left-leaning intellectuals such as Qu Qiubai, prior to this, the government used both terms interchangeably. In Taiwan, Guoyu continues to be the term for Standard Chinese. The term Putonghua, on the contrary, implies nothing more than the notion of a lingua franca, Huayu, or language of the Chinese nation, originally simply meant Chinese language, and was used in overseas communities to contrast Chinese with foreign languages. Over time, the desire to standardise the variety of Chinese spoken in these communities led to the adoption of the name Huayu to refer to Mandarin and it also incorporates the notion that Mandarin is usually not the national or common language of the areas in which overseas Chinese live. The term Mandarin is a translation of Guānhuà, which referred to the lingua franca of the late Chinese empire, in English, Mandarin may refer to the standard language, the dialect group as a whole, or to historic forms such as the late Imperial lingua franca. The name Modern Standard Mandarin is sometimes used by linguists who wish to distinguish the current state of the language from other northern. Chinese has long had considerable variation, hence prestige dialects have always existed. Confucius, for example, used yǎyán rather than colloquial regional dialects, rime books, which were written since the Northern and Southern dynasties, may also have reflected one or more systems of standard pronunciation during those times
10.
Pinyin
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Pinyin, or Hànyǔ Pīnyīn, is the official romanization system for Standard Chinese in mainland China, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan. It is often used to teach Standard Chinese, which is written using Chinese characters. The system includes four diacritics denoting tones, Pinyin without tone marks is used to spell Chinese names and words in languages written with the Latin alphabet, and also in certain computer input methods to enter Chinese characters. The pinyin system was developed in the 1950s by many linguists, including Zhou Youguang and it was published by the Chinese government in 1958 and revised several times. The International Organization for Standardization adopted pinyin as a standard in 1982. The system was adopted as the standard in Taiwan in 2009. The word Hànyǔ means the language of the Han people. In 1605, the Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci published Xizi Qiji in Beijing and this was the first book to use the Roman alphabet to write the Chinese language. Twenty years later, another Jesuit in China, Nicolas Trigault, neither book had much immediate impact on the way in which Chinese thought about their writing system, and the romanizations they described were intended more for Westerners than for the Chinese. One of the earliest Chinese thinkers to relate Western alphabets to Chinese was late Ming to early Qing Dynasty scholar-official, the first late Qing reformer to propose that China adopt a system of spelling was Song Shu. A student of the great scholars Yu Yue and Zhang Taiyan, Song had been to Japan and observed the effect of the kana syllabaries. This galvanized him into activity on a number of fronts, one of the most important being reform of the script, while Song did not himself actually create a system for spelling Sinitic languages, his discussion proved fertile and led to a proliferation of schemes for phonetic scripts. The Wade–Giles system was produced by Thomas Wade in 1859, and it was popular and used in English-language publications outside China until 1979. This Sin Wenz or New Writing was much more sophisticated than earlier alphabets. In 1940, several members attended a Border Region Sin Wenz Society convention. Mao Zedong and Zhu De, head of the army, both contributed their calligraphy for the masthead of the Sin Wenz Societys new journal. Outside the CCP, other prominent supporters included Sun Yat-sens son, Sun Fo, Cai Yuanpei, the countrys most prestigious educator, Tao Xingzhi, an educational reformer. Over thirty journals soon appeared written in Sin Wenz, plus large numbers of translations, biographies, some contemporary Chinese literature, and a spectrum of textbooks
11.
Traditional Chinese characters
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Traditional Chinese characters are Chinese characters in any character set that does not contain newly created characters or character substitutions performed after 1946. They are most commonly the characters in the character sets of Taiwan, of Hong Kong. Currently, a number of overseas Chinese online newspapers allow users to switch between both sets. In contrast, simplified Chinese characters are used in mainland China, Singapore, the debate on traditional and simplified Chinese characters has been a long-running issue among Chinese communities. Although simplified characters are taught and endorsed by the government of Mainland China, Traditional characters are used informally in regions in China primarily in handwriting and also used for inscriptions and religious text. They are often retained in logos or graphics to evoke yesteryear, nonetheless, the vast majority of media and communications in China is dominated by simplified characters. Taiwan has never adopted Simplified Chinese characters since it is ruled by the Republic of China, the use of simplified characters in official documents is even prohibited by the government in Taiwan. Simplified characters are not well understood in general, although some stroke simplifications that have incorporated into Simplified Chinese are in common use in handwriting. For example, while the name of Taiwan is written as 臺灣, similarly, in Hong Kong and Macau, Traditional Chinese has been the legal written form since colonial times. In recent years, because of the influx of mainland Chinese tourists, today, even government websites use simplified Chinese, as they answer to the Beijing government. This has led to concerns by residents to protect their local heritage. In Southeast Asia, the Chinese Filipino community continues to be one of the most conservative regarding simplification, while major public universities are teaching simplified characters, many well-established Chinese schools still use traditional characters. Publications like the Chinese Commercial News, World News, and United Daily News still use traditional characters, on the other hand, the Philippine Chinese Daily uses simplified. Aside from local newspapers, magazines from Hong Kong, such as the Yazhou Zhoukan, are found in some bookstores. In case of film or television subtitles on DVD, the Chinese dub that is used in Philippines is the same as the one used in Taiwan and this is because the DVDs belongs to DVD Region Code 3. Hence, most of the subtitles are in Traditional Characters, overseas Chinese in the United States have long used traditional characters. A major influx of Chinese immigrants to the United States occurred during the half of the 19th century. Therefore, the majority of Chinese language signage in the United States, including street signs, Traditional Chinese characters are called several different names within the Chinese-speaking world
12.
Zha cai
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Zha cai is a type of pickled mustard plant stem originating from Sichuan, China. The name may also be written in English as cha tsai, tsa tsai, jar choy, jar choi, ja choi, ja choy, the pickle is made from the knobby, fist-sized, swollen green stem of Brassica juncea, subspecies tatsai. The stem is first salted, pressed, and dried before being rubbed with hot red chili paste and this preservation process is similar to that used to produce Korean kimchi. The taste is a combination of spicy, sour, and salty and its unique texture—crunchy, yet tender—can only be vaguely compared to Western pickled cucumbers. Zha cai is generally washed prior to use in order to remove the chili paste, excess salt in the preserved vegetable is leached out by soaking in fresh water. Depending on the region and the brand, the flavor can be on the sweet, spicy, salty, or sour side. It is generally sliced into strips and used in small amounts due to its extreme saltiness. A popular Chinese dish featuring zha cai is Noodles with Zha Cai, Zha cai is also an ingredient of ci fan tuan, a popular dish in Shanghai cuisine. In Japan, the pickle is common in Chinese restaurants, like other vegetable stems in Chinese cuisines, particularly Celtuce, Zha Cai can also be sliced and sautéed
13.
Tuber
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Tubers are enlarged structures in some plant species used as storage organs for nutrients. They are used for the plants perennation, to energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing season. Stem tubers form from thickened rhizomes or stolons, common plant species with stem tubers include potato and yam. Some sources also treat modified lateral roots under the definition, these are encountered in sweet potato, cassava, the term originates from Latin tuber, meaning lump, bump, swelling. Some sources define the term tuber to mean only structures derived from stems, a stem tuber forms from thickened rhizomes or stolons. The top sides of the tuber produce shoots that grow into stems and leaves. They tend to form at the sides of the parent plant and are most often located near the soil surface, the underground stem tuber is normally a short-lived storage and regenerative organ developing from a shoot that branches off a mature plant. The offsprings or new tubers are attached to a parent tuber or form at the end of a hypogeogenous rhizome, some plants also form smaller tubers and/or tubercules which act like seeds, producing small plants that resemble seedlings. Stem tubers generally start off as enlargements of the section of a seedling. Tuberous begonia, yams, and Cyclamen are commonly grown stem tubers, mignonette vine produces aerial stem tubers on 12-to-25-foot-tall vines, the tubers fall to the ground and grow. Enlarged stolons thicken to develop into storage organs, the tuber has all the parts of a normal stem, including nodes and internodes. The nodes are the eyes and each has a leaf scar, the nodes or eyes are arranged around the tuber in a spiral fashion beginning on the end opposite the attachment point to the stolon. The terminal bud is produced at the farthest point away from the stolon attachment, internally, a tuber is filled with starch stored in enlarged parenchyma like cells. The inside of a tuber has the cell structures of any stem, including a pith, vascular zones. The tuber is produced in one growing season and used to perennate the plant, as the main shoot develops from the tuber, the base of the shoot close to the tuber produces adventitious roots and lateral buds on the shoot. The shoot also produces stolons that are long etiolated stems, the stolon elongates during long days with the presence of high auxins levels that prevent root growth off of the stolon. Before new tuber formation begins, the stolon must be a certain age, the enzyme lipoxygenase makes a hormone, jasmonic acid, which is involved in the control of potato tuber development. The stolons are easily recognized when potato plants are grown from seeds, as the plants grow, stolons are produced around the soil surface from the nodes
14.
Peace Corps
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The Peace Corps is a volunteer program run by the United States government. The work is related to social and economic development. Each program participant, a Peace Corps Volunteer, is an American citizen, typically with a college degree, Volunteers work with governments, schools, non-profit organizations, non-government organizations, and entrepreneurs in education, business, information technology, agriculture, and the environment. After 24 months of service, volunteers can request an extension of service, from 1961 to 2015, nearly 220,000 Americans have joined the Peace Corps and served in 141 countries. The Peace Corps shows the willingness of Americans to work at the level in order to help underdeveloped countries meet their needs. The Peace Corps has affected the way people of other countries view Americans, how Americans view other countries, following the end of World War II, various members of the United States Congress proposed bills to establish volunteer organizations in developing countries. In that calling, these men would follow the work done by the religious missionaries in these countries over the past 100 years. In 1952 Senator Brien McMahon proposed an army of young Americans to act as missionaries of democracy, privately funded nonreligious organizations began sending volunteers overseas during the 1950s. The President, knowing how I felt, asked me to introduce legislation for all three, I introduced the first Peace Corps bill in 1957. It did not meet with much enthusiasm, Some traditional diplomats quaked at the thought of thousands of young Americans scattered across their world. Many senators, including liberal ones, thought it silly and an unworkable idea, now, with a young president urging its passage, it became possible and we pushed it rapidly through the Senate. It is fashionable now to suggest that Peace Corps Volunteers gained as much or more and that may be true, but it ought not demean their work. They touched many lives and made them better, Only in 1959, however, did the idea receive serious attention in Washington when Congressman Henry S. Reuss of Wisconsin proposed a Point Four Youth Corps. In 1960, he and Senator Richard L. Neuberger of Oregon introduced identical measures calling for a study of the ideas advisability and practicability. Both the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee endorsed the study, in this form it became law in June 1960. He later dubbed the proposed organization the Peace Corps, a brass marker commemorates the place where Kennedy stood. In the weeks after the 1960 election, the group at Colorado State University. Kennedys opponent, Richard M. Nixon, predicted it would become a cult of escapism, others doubted whether recent graduates had the necessary skills and maturity
15.
Peter Hessler
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Peter Hessler is an American writer and journalist. He is the author of four acclaimed books about China and has contributed articles to The New Yorker and National Geographic. Hes also well known in China as a writer and journalist under the Chinese name 何伟, Peter Hessler grew up in Columbia, Missouri and graduated from Hickman High School in 1988. He went on to study English and creative writing at Princeton University, where, during his year, he took John McPhees writing seminar. Hessler graduated in 1992 and won a Rhodes Scholarship to study English language, the summer before graduating from Princeton, Hessler worked as a researcher for the Kellogg Foundation in southeastern Missouri. He wrote an extensive ethnography about a town called Sikeston. He later worked in China as freelance writer for publications such as the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, the South China Morning Post. Hessler joined The New Yorker as a writer in 2000. He is best known for his four books on China, river Town, Two Years on the Yangtze is a Kiriyama Prize-winning book about his experiences in two years as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching English in China. In 2013, he published his latest book, Strange Stones, Dispatches from East and West, which, consistently with his previous works, also covers Chinas ordinary people and life. Hessler left China in 2007 and settled in Ridgeway, Colorado and has continued to publish articles in The New Yorker on topics including the Peace Corps in Nepal and small towns in Colorado. In October 2011, Hessler and his moved to Cairo. In an interview upon being named a MacArthur Fellow in September 2011 and he has stated that he envisions spending five or six years in the Middle East. Hessler is married to journalist and writer Leslie T. Chang and they are the parents of twin daughters born in 2010. Official website Peter Hesslers articles at The New Yorker Peter Hessler profiled on Rolf Potts Vagabonding, oracle Bones by Peter Hessler - Sunday Book Review. Dr. Moira Gunn speaks with Peter Hessler on Tech Nation, meet the Writers - Peter Hessler. Video, Peter Hessler discusses his book Country Driving
16.
Area
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Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a two-dimensional figure or shape, or planar lamina, in the plane. Surface area is its analog on the surface of a three-dimensional object. It is the analog of the length of a curve or the volume of a solid. The area of a shape can be measured by comparing the shape to squares of a fixed size, in the International System of Units, the standard unit of area is the square metre, which is the area of a square whose sides are one metre long. A shape with an area of three square metres would have the area as three such squares. In mathematics, the square is defined to have area one. There are several formulas for the areas of simple shapes such as triangles, rectangles. Using these formulas, the area of any polygon can be found by dividing the polygon into triangles, for shapes with curved boundary, calculus is usually required to compute the area. Indeed, the problem of determining the area of plane figures was a motivation for the historical development of calculus. For a solid such as a sphere, cone, or cylinder. Formulas for the areas of simple shapes were computed by the ancient Greeks. Area plays an important role in modern mathematics, in addition to its obvious importance in geometry and calculus, area is related to the definition of determinants in linear algebra, and is a basic property of surfaces in differential geometry. In analysis, the area of a subset of the plane is defined using Lebesgue measure, in general, area in higher mathematics is seen as a special case of volume for two-dimensional regions. Area can be defined through the use of axioms, defining it as a function of a collection of certain plane figures to the set of real numbers and it can be proved that such a function exists. An approach to defining what is meant by area is through axioms, area can be defined as a function from a collection M of special kind of plane figures to the set of real numbers which satisfies the following properties, For all S in M, a ≥0. If S and T are in M then so are S ∪ T and S ∩ T, if S and T are in M with S ⊆ T then T − S is in M and a = a − a. If a set S is in M and S is congruent to T then T is also in M, every rectangle R is in M. If the rectangle has length h and breadth k then a = hk, let Q be a set enclosed between two step regions S and T
17.
Population
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A population is the number of all the organisms of the same group or species, which live in a particular geographical area, and have the capability of interbreeding. In sociology, population refers to a collection of humans, Demography is a social science which entails the statistical study of human populations. This article refers mainly to human population, in population genetics a sexual population is a set of organisms in which any pair of members can breed together. This means that they can regularly exchange gametes to produce normally-fertile offspring and this also implies that all members belong to the same species. If the gamodeme is very large, and all gene alleles are uniformly distributed by the gametes within it, however, there may be low frequencies of exchange with these neighbours. This may be viewed as the breaking up of a sexual population into smaller overlapping sexual populations. The overall rise in homozygosity is quantified by the inbreeding coefficient, note that all homozygotes are increased in frequency – both the deleterious and the desirable. The mean phenotype of the collection is lower than that of the panmictic original – which is known as inbreeding depression. It is most important to note, however, that some lines will be superior to the panmictic original, while some will be about the same. The probabilities of each can be estimated from those binomial equations, in plant and animal breeding, procedures have been developed which deliberately utilise the effects of dispersion. It can be shown that dispersion-assisted selection leads to the greatest genetic advance and this is so for both allogamous and autogamous gamodemes. In ecology, the population of a species in a certain area can be estimated using the Lincoln Index. As of todays date, the population is estimated by the United States Census Bureau to be 7.496 billion. The US Census Bureau estimates the 7 billion number was surpassed on 12 March 2012, according to papers published by the United States Census Bureau, the world population hit 6.5 billion on 24 February 2006. The United Nations Population Fund designated 12 October 1999 as the day on which world population reached 6 billion. This was about 12 years after world population reached 5 billion in 1987, the population of countries such as Nigeria, is not even known to the nearest million, so there is a considerable margin of error in such estimates. Researcher Carl Haub calculated that a total of over 100 billion people have probably been born in the last 2000 years, Population growth increased significantly as the Industrial Revolution gathered pace from 1700 onwards. In 2007 the United Nations Population Division projected that the population will likely surpass 10 billion in 2055
18.
Geographic coordinate
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
19.
Spring and Autumn period
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The Spring and Autumn period was a period in Chinese history from approximately 771 to 476 BC which corresponds roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou dynasty. The periods name derives from the Spring and Autumn Annals, a chronicle of the state of Lu between 722 and 479 BC, which associates with Confucius. The gradual Partition of Jin, one of the most powerful states, marked the end of the Spring and Autumn period, in 771 BC, the Quanrong invasion destroyed the Western Zhou and its capital Haojing, forcing the Zhou king to flee to the eastern capital Luoyi. The event ushered in the Eastern Zhou dynasty, which is divided into the Spring and Autumn, during the Spring and Autumn period, Chinas feudal system of fengjian became largely irrelevant. The Zhou court, having lost its homeland in the Guanzhong region, held nominal power, during the early part of the Zhou dynasty period, royal relatives and generals had been given control over fiefdoms in an effort to maintain Zhou authority over vast territory. As the power of the Zhou kings waned, these became increasingly independent states. The most important states came together in regular conferences where they decided important matters, during these conferences one vassal ruler was sometimes declared hegemon. As the era continued, larger and more powerful states annexed or claimed suzerainty over smaller ones, by the 6th century BC most small states had disappeared and just a few large and powerful principalities dominated China. Some southern states, such as Chu and Wu, claimed independence from the Zhou, in Chengzhou, Prince Yijiu was crowned by his supporters as King Ping. The Zhou court would never regain its authority, instead. Though the king de jure retained the Mandate of Heaven, the title held little actual power, a total of 148 states are mentioned in the chronicles for this period,128 of which were absorbed by the four largest states by the end of the period. The kings prestige legitimized the military leaders of the states, over the next two centuries, the four most powerful states—Qin, Jin, Qi and Chu—struggled for power. These multi-city states often used the pretext of aid and protection to intervene, during this rapid expansion, interstate relations alternated between low-level warfare and complex diplomacy. Duke Yin of Lu ascended the throne in 722 BC, from this year on the state of Lu kept an official chronicle, the Spring and Autumn Annals, which along with its commentaries is the standard source for the Spring and Autumn period. Corresponding chronicles are known to have existed in states as well. In 717 BC, Duke Zhuang of Zheng went to the capital for an audience with King Huan, during the encounter the duke felt he was not treated with the respect and etiquette which would have been appropriate, given that Zheng was now the chief protector of the capital. In 715 BC Zheng also became involved in a dispute with Lu regarding the Fields of Xu. The fields had been put in the care of Lu by the king for the purpose of producing royal sacrifices for the sacred Mount Tai
20.
Warring States period
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The Warring States Period derives its name from the Record of the Warring States, a work compiled early in the Han dynasty. The political geography of the era was dominated by the Seven Warring States, namely, Qin, The State of Qin was in the far west, with its core in the Wei River Valley and Guanzhong. This geographical position offered protection from the states of the Central Plains, the Three Jins, Northeast of Qin, on the Shanxi plateau, were the three successor states of Jin. These were, Han, south, along the Yellow River, Zhao, the northernmost of the three. Qi, located in the east of China, centred on the Shandong Peninsula, described as east of Mount Tai, Chu, located in the south of China, with its core territory around the valleys of the Han River and, later, the Yangtze River. Yan, located in the northeast, centred on modern-day Beijing, late in the period Yan pushed northeast and began to occupy the Liaodong Peninsula Besides these seven major states, some minor states also survived into the period. Yue, On the southeast coast near Shanghai was the State of Yue, Sichuan, In the far southwest were the States of Ba and Shu. These were non-Zhou states that were conquered by Qin late in the period, in the Central Plains comprising much of modern-day Henan Province, many smaller city states survived as satellites of the larger states, though they were eventually to be absorbed as well. Zhongshan, Between the states of Zhao and Yan was the state of Zhongshan, the Spring and Autumn period was initiated by the eastward flight of the Zhou court. There is no one single incident or starting point for the Warring States era, some proposed starting points are as follows,481 BC, Proposed by Song-era historian Lü Zuqian, since it is the end of the Spring and Autumn Annals. 476–475 BC, The author, Sima Qian, of Records of the Grand Historian who chose the year of King Yuan of Zhou. 403 BC, The year when Han, Zhao and Wei were officially recognised as states by the Zhou court, author Sima Guang of Zizhi Tongjian tells us that the symbol of eroded Zhou authority should be taken as the start of the Warring States era. The Spring and Autumn period led to a few states gaining power at the expense of many others, during the Warring States period, many rulers claimed the Mandate of Heaven to justify their conquest of other states and spread their influence. Other major states also existed, such as Wu and Yue in the southeast, the last decades of the Spring and Autumn era were marked by increased stability, as the result of peace negotiations between Jin and Chu which established their respective spheres of influence. This situation ended with the partition of Jin, whereby the state was divided between the houses of Han, Zhao and Wei, and thus enabled the creation of the seven major warring states. This allowed other clans to gain fiefs and military authority, and decades of struggle led to the establishment of four major families. The Battle of Jinyang saw the allied Han, Zhao and Wei destroy the Zhi family, with this, they became the de facto rulers of most of Jins territory, though this situation would not be officially recognised until half a century later. The Jin division created a vacuum that enabled during the first 50 years expansion of Chu and Yue northward
21.
Chu (state)
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Chu was a hegemonic, Zhou dynasty era state. From King Wu of Chu in the early 8th century BCE, with its continued expansion Chu became a great Warring States period power. Also known as Jing, Jingchu and Shu, Chu included most of the provinces of Hubei and Hunan, along with parts of Chongqing, Guizhou, Henan, Anhui, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Zhejiang. For more than 400 years, the Chu capital Danyang was located at the junction of the Dan and Xi Rivers near present-day Xichuan County, Henan, but later moved to Ying. The ruling house of Chu originally bore the clan name Nai and lineage name Yan, according to legends recounted in Sima Qians Records of the Grand Historian, the royal family of Chu descended from the Yellow Emperor and his grandson and successor Zhuanxu. Zhuanxus great-grandson Wuhui was put in charge of fire by Emperor Ku, wuhuis son Luzhong had six sons, all born by Caesarian section. The youngest, Jilian, adopted the ancestral surname Mi, jilian’s descendant Yuxiong was the teacher of King Wen of Zhou. After the Zhou overthrew the Shang dynasty, King Cheng awarded Yuxiongs great-grandson Xiong Yi with the fiefdom of Chu, Xiong Yi built the first capital of Chu at Danyang. In 977 BCE, during his campaign against Chu, King Zhao of Zhous boat sank, after this death, Zhou ceased to expand to the south, allowing the southern tribes and Chu to cement their own autonomy much earlier than the states to the north. The Chu viscount Xiong Qu overthrew E in 863 BCE but subsequently made its capital Ezhou one of his capitals, in either 703 or 706, the ruler Xiong Tong proclaimed himself king, establishing Chus full independence from the Zhou dynasty. In its early years, Chu was a successful expansionist and militaristic state that developed a reputation for coercing and absorbing its allies, Chu grew from a small state into a large kingdom. King Zhuang was even considered one of the five Hegemons of the era, after a number of battles with neighboring states, sometime between 695 and 689 BCE, the Chu capital moved southeast from Danyang to Ying. Chu first consolidated its power by absorbing lesser states in its original area, the threat from Chu resulted in multiple northern alliances under the leadership of Jin. These alliances kept Chu in check, with the first major victory won at the Chengpu in 632 BCE, at the beginning of the sixth century BCE, Jin strengthened the state of Wu near the Yangtze delta to act as a counterweight against Chu. Wu defeated Qi and then invaded Chu in 506 BCE, following the Battle of Boju, it occupied Chus capital at Ying, forcing King Zhao to flee to his allies in Yun and Sui. King Zhao eventually returned to Ying but, after another attack from Wu in 504 BCE, Chu began to strengthen Yue in modern Zhejiang to serve as allies against Wu. Yue was initially subjugated by King Fuchai of Wu until he released their king Goujian, freed from its difficulties with Wu, Chu annexed Chen in 479 BCE and overran Cai to the north in 447 BCE. This policy of expansion continued until the last generation before the fall to Qin, however, by the end of the 5th century BCE, the Chu government had become very corrupt and inefficient, with much of the states treasury used primarily to pay for the royal entourage
22.
State of Qin
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Qin was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. Following extensive Legalist reform in the 3rd century BC, Qin emerged as one of the dominant powers of the Seven Warring States, the empire it established was short-lived but greatly influential on later Chinese history. Its courts and bureaus functioned without delays and with such smoothness that it was as if there were no government at all. According to the 2nd century BC historical text Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian, one of his descendents, Boyi, was granted the family name of Ying by King Shun. During the Xia and Shang dynasties, the Ying split in two, a branch in Quanqiu and another branch that lived east of the Yellow River. The latter became the ancestors of the rulers of the Zhao state, the western Ying at Quanqiu were lords over the Xichui, the Western March of the Shang. One, Elai, was killed defending King Zhou during the rebellion that established the Zhou dynasty, the family was allied with the marquesses of Shen, however, and continued to serve under the Zhou. A younger son of line, Feizi, so impressed King Xiao with his horse breeding skills that he was awarded a fief in the valley of Qin. Both lines of the western Ying lived in the midst of the Rong tribes, sometimes fighting their armies and sometimes intermarrying with their kings. In 771 BC, the Marquess of Shen formed an alliance with the Zeng state and Quanrong nomads, Duke Xiang of Qin led his troops to escort King Yous son King Ping of Zhou to Luoyi, where the new capital city of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty was established. In recognition of Duke Xiangs efforts, King Ping formally enfeoffed Duke Xiang as a feudal lord, King Ping further promised to give Qin the land west of Qishan, the former heartland of Zhou, if Qin could expel the Rong tribes that were occupying the land. The Qin viewed the Zhou rulers Wen and Wu as their predecessors, Qins interaction with other states in eastern and central China remained minimal throughout the Spring and Autumn period, except with its neighbour Jin, a large, mainstay vassal of the Zhou. During the early reign of Duke Mu of Qin, the Jin state was a power under the leadership of Duke Xian of Jin. However, after the death of Duke Xian, Jin plunged into a state of conflict as Duke Xians sons fought over the succession. One of them won the contention and became Duke Hui of Jin, Duke Mu of Qin sent relief food supplies and agricultural equipment to Jin. However, Qin was struck by famine later and by then, Jin had recovered, Qin and Jin engaged in several battles over the next few years. During the battles with Jin, Duke Mu heard that one of Duke Xians sons, Chonger, was in exile in the Chu state. After consulting his subjects, Duke Mu sent an emissary to Chu to invite Chonger to Jin, Duke Wen was grateful to Duke Mu and relations between Qin and Jin improved
23.
Sui dynasty
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The Sui Dynasty was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China of pivotal significance. It was succeeded by the Tang dynasty, which inherited its foundation. Founded by Emperor Wen of Sui, the Sui dynasty capital was Changan and they also spread and encouraged Buddhism throughout the empire. By the middle of the dynasty, the unified empire entered a golden age of prosperity with vast agricultural surplus that supported rapid population growth. A lasting legacy of the Sui dynasty was the Grand Canal, the dynasty, which lasted only thirty-seven years, was undermined by ambitious wars and construction projects, which overstretched its resources. Particularly, under Emperor Yang, heavy taxation and compulsory labor duties would eventually induce widespread revolts, the dynasty is often compared to the earlier Qin dynasty for unifying China after prolonged division. Wide-ranging reforms and construction projects were undertaken to consolidate the newly unified state, after crushing an army in the eastern provinces, Yang Jian usurped the throne to become Emperor Wen of Sui. In a bloody purge, he had fifty-nine princes of the Zhou royal family eliminated, Emperor Wen abolished the anti-Han policies of Zhou and reclaimed his Han surname of Yang. In his campaign for southern conquest, Emperor Wen assembled thousands of boats to confront the forces of the Chen dynasty on the Yangtze River. The largest of ships were very tall, having five layered decks. They were outfitted with six 50-foot-long booms that were used to swing and damage enemy ships, besides employing Xianbei and other Chinese ethnic groups for the fight against Chen, Emperor Wen also employed the service of people from southeastern Sichuan, which Sui had recently conquered. In 588, the Sui had amassed 518,000 troops along the bank of the Yangtze River. The Chen dynasty could not withstand such an assault, by 589, Sui troops entered Jiankang and the last emperor of Chen surrendered. Although Emperor Wen was famous for bankrupting the treasury with warfare and construction projects. He established granaries as sources of food and as a means to market prices from the taxation of crops. The large agricultural surplus supported rapid growth of population to historical peak, the state capital of Changan, while situated in a military-secured heartland of Guanzhong, was remote from the economic centers to the east and south of the empire. Emperor Wen initiated the construction of the Grand Canal, with completion of the first route that directly linked Changan to the Yellow River, Later Emperor Yang would enormously enlarge the scale of the Grand Canal construction. Externally, the emerging nomadic Turkic Khaganate in the north posed a threat to the newly founded dynasty
24.
Tang dynasty
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The Tang dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. It is generally regarded as a point in Chinese civilization. Its territory, acquired through the campaigns of its early rulers, rivaled that of the Han dynasty. The dynasty was founded by the Lǐ family, who seized power during the decline, the dynasty was briefly interrupted when Empress Wu Zetian seized the throne, proclaiming the Second Zhou dynasty and becoming the only Chinese empress regnant. In two censuses of the 7th and 8th centuries, the Tang records estimated the population by number of registered households at about 50 million people. Various kingdoms and states paid tribute to the Tang court, while the Tang also conquered or subdued several regions which it controlled through a protectorate system. Besides political hegemony, the Tang also exerted a powerful influence over neighboring states such as those in Korea, Japan. Like the previous Sui dynasty, the Tang dynasty maintained a service system by recruiting scholar-officials through standardized examinations and recommendations to office. This civil order was undermined by the rise of military governors known as jiedushi during the 9th century. Chinese culture flourished and further matured during the Tang era, it is considered the greatest age for Chinese poetry. Two of Chinas most famous poets, Li Bai and Du Fu, belonged to this age, as did many famous painters such as Han Gan, Zhang Xuan, there was a rich variety of historical literature compiled by scholars, as well as encyclopedias and geographical works. The adoption of the title Tängri Qaghan by the Tang Emperor Taizong in addition to his title as emperor was eastern Asias first simultaneous kingship, there were many notable innovations during the Tang, including the development of woodblock printing. Buddhism became an influence in Chinese culture, with native Chinese sects gaining prominence. However, Buddhism would later be persecuted by the state, subsequently declining in influence, although the dynasty and central government were in decline by the 9th century, art and culture continued to flourish. This family was known as the Longxi Li lineage, which includes the Tang poet Li Bai, the Tang Emperors also had Xianbei maternal ancestry, from Emperor Gaozu of Tangs Xianbei mother Duchess Dugu. He had prestige and military experience, and was a first cousin of Emperor Yang of Sui, Li Yuan rose in rebellion in 617, along with his son and his equally militant daughter Princess Pingyang, who raised and commanded her own troops. In winter 617, Li Yuan occupied Changan, relegated Emperor Yang to the position of Taishang Huang or retired emperor, and acted as regent to the puppet child-emperor, Emperor Gong of Sui. On the news of Emperor Yangs murder by General Yuwen Huaji on June 18,618, Li Yuan declared himself the emperor of a new dynasty, the Tang
25.
Yuan dynasty
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The Yuan dynasty, officially the Great Yuan, was the empire or ruling dynasty of China established by Kublai Khan, leader of the Mongolian Borjigin clan. His realm was, by point, isolated from the other khanates and controlled most of present-day China and its surrounding areas. Some of the Mongolian Emperors of the Yuan mastered the Chinese language, while others used their native language. The Yuan dynasty is considered both a successor to the Mongol Empire and an imperial Chinese dynasty and it was the khanate ruled by the successors of Möngke Khan after the division of the Mongol Empire. In official Chinese histories, the Yuan dynasty bore the Mandate of Heaven, following the Song dynasty, the dynasty was established by Kublai Khan, yet he placed his grandfather Genghis Khan on the imperial records as the official founder of the dynasty as Taizu. In addition to Emperor of China, Kublai Khan also claimed the title of Great Khan, supreme over the other khanates, the Chagatai, the Golden Horde. As such, the Yuan was also referred to as the Empire of the Great Khan. However, while the claim of supremacy by the Yuan emperors was at times recognized by the khans, their subservience was nominal. In 1271, Kublai Khan imposed the name Great Yuan, establishing the Yuan dynasty, dà Yuán is from the clause 大哉乾元 in the Commentaries on the Classic of Changes section regarding Qián. The counterpart in Mongolian language was Dai Ön Ulus, also rendered as Ikh Yuan Üls or Yekhe Yuan Ulus, in Mongolian, Dai Ön is often used in conjunction with the Yeke Mongghul Ulus, resulting in Dai Ön Yeke Mongghul Ulus, meaning Great Mongol State. Nevertheless, both terms can refer to the khanate within the Mongol Empire directly ruled by Great Khans before the actual establishment of the Yuan dynasty by Kublai Khan in 1271. Genghis Khan united the Mongol and Turkic tribes of the steppes and he and his successors expanded the Mongol empire across Asia. Under the reign of Genghis third son, Ögedei Khan, the Mongols destroyed the weakened Jin dynasty in 1234, Ögedei offered his nephew Kublai a position in Xingzhou, Hebei. Kublai was unable to read Chinese but had several Han Chinese teachers attached to him since his early years by his mother Sorghaghtani and he sought the counsel of Chinese Buddhist and Confucian advisers. Möngke Khan succeeded Ögedeis son, Güyük, as Great Khan in 1251 and he granted his brother Kublai control over Mongol held territories in China. Kublai built schools for Confucian scholars, issued paper money, revived Chinese rituals and he adopted as his capital city Kaiping in Inner Mongolia, later renamed Shangdu. Many Han Chinese and Khitan defected to the Mongols to fight against the Jin, two Han Chinese leaders, Shi Tianze, Liu Heima, and the Khitan Xiao Zhala defected and commanded the 3 Tumens in the Mongol army. Liu Heima and Shi Tianze served Ogödei Khan, Liu Heima and Shi Tianxiang led armies against Western Xia for the Mongols
26.
Qing dynasty
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It was preceded by the Ming dynasty and succeeded by the Republic of China. The Qing multi-cultural empire lasted almost three centuries and formed the base for the modern Chinese state. The dynasty was founded by the Jurchen Aisin Gioro clan in Manchuria, in the late sixteenth century, Nurhaci, originally a Ming vassal, began organizing Banners, military-social units that included Jurchen, Han Chinese, and Mongol elements. Nurhaci formed the Jurchen clans into an entity, which he renamed as the Manchus. By 1636, his son Hong Taiji began driving Ming forces out of Liaodong and declared a new dynasty, in 1644, peasant rebels led by Li Zicheng conquered the Ming capital, Beijing. The Ten Great Campaigns of the Qianlong Emperor from the 1750s to the 1790s extended Qing control into Central Asia, the early rulers maintained their Manchu ways, and while their title was Emperor, they used khan to the Mongols and they were patrons of Tibetan Buddhism. They governed using Confucian styles and institutions of government and retained the imperial examinations to recruit Han Chinese to work under or in parallel with Manchus. They also adapted the ideals of the system in dealing with neighboring territories. The Qianlong reign saw the apogee and initial decline in prosperity. The population rose to some 400 million, but taxes and government revenues were fixed at a low rate, corruption set in, rebels tested government legitimacy, and ruling elites did not change their mindsets in the face of changes in the world system. Following the Opium War, European powers imposed unequal treaties, free trade, the Taiping Rebellion and the Dungan Revolt in Central Asia led to the deaths of some 20 million people, most of them due to famines caused by war. In spite of disasters, in the Tongzhi Restoration of the 1860s, Han Chinese elites rallied to the defense of the Confucian order. The initial gains in the Self-Strengthening Movement were destroyed in the First Sino-Japanese War of 1895, in which the Qing lost its influence over Korea, New Armies were organized, but the ambitious Hundred Days Reform of 1898 was turned back by Empress Dowager Cixi, a conservative leader. Sun Yat-sen and other revolutionaries competed with reformist monarchists such as Kang Youwei, after the deaths of Cixi and the Guangxu Emperor in 1908, the hardline Manchu court alienated reformers and local elites alike. The Wuchang Uprising on October 11,1911, led to the Xinhai Revolution, General Yuan Shikai negotiated the abdication of Puyi, the last emperor, on February 12,1912. Nurhaci declared himself the Bright Khan of the Later Jin state in both of the 12–13th century Jurchen Jin dynasty and of his Aisin Gioro clan. His son Hong Taiji renamed the dynasty Great Qing in 1636, there are competing explanations on the meaning of Qīng. The character Qīng is composed of water and azure, both associated with the water element and this association would justify the Qing conquest as defeat of fire by water
27.
Taiwan
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Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, is a state in East Asia. Neighbours include China to the west, Japan to the northeast, Taiwan is the most populous state that is not a member of the United Nations, and the one with the largest economy. The island of Taiwan, also known as Formosa, was inhabited by Taiwanese aborigines before the 17th century. After a brief rule by the Kingdom of Tungning, the island was annexed by the Qing dynasty, the Qing ceded Taiwan to Japan in 1895 after the Sino-Japanese War. While Taiwan was under Japanese rule, the Republic of China was established on the mainland in 1912 after the fall of the Qing dynasty, following the Japanese surrender to the Allies in 1945, the ROC took control of Taiwan. However, the resumption of the Chinese Civil War led to the ROCs loss of the mainland to the Communists, and the flight of the ROC government to Taiwan in 1949. As a founding member of the United Nations, the ROC continued to represent China at the United Nations until 1971, in the early 1960s, Taiwan entered a period of rapid economic growth and industrialization, creating a stable industrial economy. In the 1980s and early 1990s, it changed from a one-party military dictatorship dominated by the Kuomintang to a multi-party democracy with universal suffrage, Taiwan is the 22nd-largest economy in the world, and its high-tech industry plays a key role in the global economy. It is ranked highly in terms of freedom of the press, health care, public education, economic freedom, the PRC has consistently claimed sovereignty over Taiwan and asserted the ROC is no longer in legitimate existence. Under its One-China Policy the PRC refused diplomatic relations with any country that recognizes the ROC, the PRC has threatened the use of military force in response to any formal declaration of independence by Taiwan or if PRC leaders decide that peaceful unification is no longer possible. There are various names for the island of Taiwan in use today, the former name Formosa dates from 1542, when Portuguese sailors sighted the main island of Taiwan and named it Ilha Formosa, which means beautiful island. The name Formosa eventually replaced all others in European literature and was in use in English in the early 20th century. This name was adopted into the Chinese vernacular as the name of the sandbar. The modern word Taiwan is derived from this usage, which is seen in forms in Chinese historical records. Use of the current Chinese name was formalized as early as 1684 with the establishment of Taiwan Prefecture, through its rapid development, the entire Formosan mainland eventually became known as Taiwan. The official name of the state is the Republic of China and it was a member of the United Nations representing China until 1971, when it lost its seat to the Peoples Republic of China. Over subsequent decades, the Republic of China has become known as Taiwan. In some contexts, especially ones from the ROC government
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Circuit (administrative division)
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A circuit was a historical political division of China and is a term for an administrative unit still used in Japan. The system fell into disuse after the collapse of the Western Jin dynasty, the administrative division was revived in 627 when Tang Emperor Taizong made it the highest level administrative division, and subdivided China into ten circuits. These were originally meant to be purely geographic and not administrative, during the Later Jin and Song dynasties, circuits were renamed from dao to lu, both of which literally mean road or path. Dao were revived during the Yuan dynasty, circuits were demoted to the second-level after the Yuan dynasty established provinces at the very top, and remained there for the next several centuries. Under the Qing, they were overseen by a circuit intendant or tao-tai, the circuit intendant of Shanghai was particularly influential. During the Republic of China era, circuits still existed as high-level, though not top-level, in 1928, all circuits were replaced with committees or simply abandoned. During the Asuka period, Japan was organized into five provinces and seven circuits, known as the Gokishichidō, though these units did not survive as administrative structures beyond the Muromachi period, they did remain important geographical entities up until the 19th century. It is currently the only prefecture of Japan named with the dō suffix, since the late 10th century, the do has been the primary administrative division in Korea. See Eight Provinces, Provinces of Korea, Subdivisions of South Korea, prefectures of Japan Provinces of Japan
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Sichuan
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In antiquity, Sichuan was the home of the ancient states of Ba and Shu. Their conquest by Qin strengthened it and paved the way for the First Emperors unification of China under the Qin Dynasty, during the Three Kingdoms era, Liu Beis Shu was based in Sichuan. The area was devastated in the 17th century by Zhang Xianzhongs rebellion and the areas subsequent Manchu conquest, during the Second World War, Chongqing served as the temporary capital of the Republic of China, making it the focus of Japanese bombing. It was one of the last mainland areas to fall to the Communists during the Chinese Civil War and was divided into four parts from 1949 to 1952, with Chongqing restored two years later. It suffered gravely during the Great Chinese Famine of 1959–61 but remained Chinas most populous province until Chongqing Municipality was again separated from it in 1997, the people of Sichuan speak a unique form of Mandarin, which took shape during the areas repopulation under the Ming. The family of dialects is now spoken by about 120 million people, in Modern Chinese, the name Sichuan has the meaning four rivers and this folk etymology is usually extended to list the provinces four major rivers, the Jialing, Jinsha, Min, and Tuo. In addition to its map and Wade-Giles forms, the name has also been irregularly romanized as Szű-chuan and Szechuan. In antiquity, the area of modern Sichuan was known to the Chinese as Ba and Shu, in reference to the ancient states of Ba and it was the refuge of the Tang court during the An Lushan Rebellion of the mid-8th century. The region had its own religious beliefs and worldview. The most important native states were those of Ba and Shu, Ba stretched into Sichuan from the Han Valley in Shaanxi and Hubei down the Jialing River as far as its confluence with the Yangtze at Chongqing. Shu occupied the valley of the Min, including Chengdu and other areas of western Sichuan, the existence of the early state of Shu was poorly recorded in the main historical records of China. It was, however, referred to in the Book of Documents as an ally of the Zhou and this site, believed to be an ancient city of Shu, was initially discovered by a local farmer in 1929 who found jade and stone artefacts. The Sichuan basin is surrounded by the Himalayas to the west, the Qin Mountains to the north, Qin armies finished their conquest of the kingdoms of Shu and Ba by 316 BC. Any written records and civil achievements of earlier kingdoms were destroyed, Qin administrators introduced improved agricultural technology. Li Bing, engineered the Dujiangyan irrigation system to control the Min River and this innovative hydraulic system was composed of movable weirs which could be adjusted for high or low water flow according to the season, to either provide irrigation or prevent floods. The increased agricultural output and taxes made the area a source of provisions, Sichuan was subjected to the autonomous control of kings named by the imperial family of Han Dynasty. Shu-Han claimed to be the successor to the Han Dynasty, in 263, the Jin dynasty of North China, conquered the Kingdom of Shu-Han as its first step on the path to unify China again, under their rule. Salt production becomes a business in Ziliujing District
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Fengdu County
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Fengdu County is a county located in Chongqing Municipality, Peoples Republic of China. The Fengdu Ghost City is a tourist attraction modelled after Diyu and it was built over 1,800 years ago. The ghost city will become an island once the Three Gorges Dam project is completed, specifically, part of the Fengdu Ghost City will be submerged, but scenery above the Door of Hell will remain. Fengdu has one Yangtze crossing, the Fengdu Yangtze River Bridge
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Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County
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Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County, or Shizhu County for short is located in southeastern Chongqing, China. Its in the zone of Three Gorges Reservoir Region. Shizhu literally means Stone Pillars, which is named after two big human-like natural stone pillars standing on Wanshou Mountain, the two stone pillars were once a loving couple in a native Romeo and Juliet style love story. To fight against feudal oppression of free love, they died together tragically, and turned into two stone pillars standing face-to-face on Wanshou Mountain, never to be apart again. Area,3012.51 km² Population,510,000 County seat, Nanbin Town Geographic coordinates, 29°39′-30°32′ North, 107°59′-108°34′, East Shizhu County covers 3010 km² with 856,200 mu park and farm land. By the end of 1992, the population of Shizhu County had increased up to 462,100, the existing capital of the County is Nanbin Town which will not be involved in the submersion of the water storage of the reservoir region of the Three Gorges Project. Shizhu County is located in the monsoon zone with the clear seasons. It is warm and wet with enough rain, the forests cover 10. 97% of the total area of Shizhu County. There are many varieties of trees in the forests, such as metasequoias, tricuspid trees, ormosia firs. There are also more than 50 varieties of trees in the territories of the county for production purposes, in addition, there are more than 170 varieties of wild animals in the forests of the county such as tigers, leopards, otters and wild boars. One can also see more than 10 varieties of mushrooms, such as xianggu mushrooms, edible fungus. In addition, there are various Chinese medical herbs such as Coptis chinensis, Shizhu County is particularly famous for Coptis chinensis and the Chinese people usually call it the home town of Coptis chinensis. More than 20 varieties of ores have been found in Shizhu County, such as coal, natural gas, copper, iron, silver, cadmium, lead, gold and barite. 4 townships,26 villages and 16 fabrication/ ore-mining enterprises have been/ will have involved in the submersion of the reservoir water storage of the Three Gorges Project. The official website of Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County
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Wulong District
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Wulong District is a district level subdivision of Chongqing Municipality, in South-Central China. Chongqing is one of four provincial level municipalities of China. Numerous Wulong Karst limestone rock formations are scenic landmarks in Wulong and they are protected within the UNESCO South China Karst World Heritage Site. Three Natural Bridges — in Xiannüshan Town, Furong Cave —on the Furong River. Er Wang Dong — in Houping Miao and Tuzi Ethnic Township, media related to South China Karst at Wikimedia Commons
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Pengshui County
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Pengshui Miao and Tujia Autonomous County is located in southeastern Chongqing, China. It is 270 kilometres away from Downtown Chongqing. 27. 3% of Pengshui is covered by forest. 5% of Pengshui residents are members of the following 11 ethnic minorities, Miao, Tujia, Mongols, Hui, Gelao, Dong, Tibetans, Manchus, Zhuang, Yi, and Hani. There are 270,000 Miao and 90,000 Tujia in Pengshui, in 593, Pengshui District was established. Pengshui means Peng River, and was the old name for the Yu River, by 1645 during the Qing Dynasty, it was part of Chongqing Prefecture. In 1913, it was part of Dongchuan Circuit, in 1927, it was reassigned to Changgong Bureau of Sichuan Province. And in 1935, of the Eighth Administrative Inspection Area of Sichuan, on November 16,1949, Pengshui was captured by the communists. In January 1950, it was part of Fuling Special District of Chuandong administrative territory, in September 1952, Fuling Special District was transferred to Sichuan, and was changed to a prefecture in June 1968. The autonomous county status was approved by the State Council on November 14,1983, the official status began November 10 of the following year. In 1987, it was assigned to Qianjiang Prefecture, in June 1997, it was directly governed by Chongqing Municipality. 10 towns and 29 townships, which contain 602 villages,41 neighborhood committees and 4902 village committees
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Changshou District
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Changshou is one of districts in Chongqing, China, located by Yangtze river, with a history spanning several thousands years. Changshou is 80 km away from Yuzhong of Chongqing city, Changshou District administers 14 townships and 4 subdistricts, with a total area of 1415. Changshou enjoys a history of 2300 years, in 316 BC, a Zhi county was establied here. In 226 AD, it was renamed Jiangzhou county, in 519, it was renamed as Lewen county. In 1362, it was renamed as Changshou county, in 1959, Changshou county was put under the administration of Chongqing city. In 2002, Changshou city was changed into Changshou district, Chongjin, until the end of 2013, there are 369321 households，the total population is 906732. Among them, the non-agriculture population is 310531 ，agriculture population is 596201. Changshou is located in 106°49’22” E-107°27’30”E of longitude and 29°43’ N-30°12’30”N of latitude, with 56.56 km wide from south to north, and 57.5 km long from east to west. The altitude in the area is between 154-1034. 2m, changShou is classified as shallow hill area, sloops in the area are relatively smooth. Chongqing- Fuling Freeway and other two freeways are intersected in Changshou area, chongqing- Wanzhou Railway is under construction to provide transportation for businesses and tourists. Changshou has two Yangtze River crossings, a road and a railway bridge, Changshou District is 50 kilometers away from Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport. In 2006, the total annual GDP was CNY8.8 billion, famous tourist attractions include Lake Changshou, which is a man-made lake of 60 km², Changshou Ancient Town, Puti Mountain and Dongling Temple. Changshou Grapefruit Changshou Rice Noodle Blood Tofu Government website of Changshou
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Qianjiang District
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Qianjiang District is a district in the southeastern part of Chongqing Municipality in China. While it is governed as a district, in practice Qianjiang is its own city proper far removed from the centre of Chongqing. The Miao and Tujia ethnic groups constitute 50. 03% of the Qianjiang population, Qianjiang is nicknamed The Throat of Sichuan and Hubei because it sits on the intersection of Sichuan-Hubei and Sichuan-Hunan Roads. There used to be a region called Qianjiang Prefecture containing the contemporary jurisdiction area of Qianjiang District. Qianjiang District used to be a county under a now-abolished prefecture by the same name, at the beginning of the Han Dynasty, Qianjiang was administratively part of the Fuling District. In 585, Shicheng District was established as part of Yong Prefecture, in 607, Yong Prefecture was replaced by Badong Commandery. In 618, Shicheng became part of Qina Prefecture, with seat at Wuci Town and, in 630. In 742, Shicheng was renamed Qianjiang and was part of An Commandry, from 960 to 1368, Qianjiang at this time was half-barbarian and dominated by the local rich bourgeois of the Gongs, Hus, Qins, and Xiangs according Qianjiang County Records of the Qing Dynasty. In 1285, Qianjiang was part of Ming Yuzhens Daxia Empire, in 1372, it was part of Pengshui District. In 1378,1216 soldiers were dispatched here to guard the place, in early Qing, Qianjiang District was under Chongqing Subprefecture. In 1912, Qianjiang County was under Liuxiang Fangqu, in 1935, it was under of the Eighth Administrative Region of Sichuan Province, also known as Youyang Special District. The county seat was at Sanduo Town, on November 12,1949, Qianjiang came under CPC control, and the Peoples Government was established on November 25, as part of Chuandong Administrative Special District. The county seat changed to Lianhe Town, on January 23,1950, it was under Youyang Special District, which also administered Youyang and Xiushan Counties. In September 1952, Youyang was merged into Fuling Special District, on November 14,1983, the State Council approved to change the county status to a Tujia and Miao autonomous county, Qianjiang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County. The assembly was established November 13 of the following year, on May 18,1988, the State Council halved Fuling, making Qianjiang County, as well as four other counties, into a new prefecture, Qianjiang Prefecture. At this time the area was 16,900 km² with a population of 2,700,000, Qianjiang County, along with Qianjiang District, was incorporated into Chongqing Municipality in 1997. On March 17,1997, the status was changed to a development area. On May 22,1998, Qianjiang Development Area and Qianjiang Autonomous County were abolished, Qianjiang Autonomous County became Qianjing District, directly administered by Chongqing
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Youyang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County
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Youyang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County, or Youyang County for short is located in southeastern Chongqing Municipality, China. Area,5,173 km² Population,840,000 Youyang, also called Youzhou in ancient time, is located east of Wu River and it is the largest county of Chongqing, having a 5,173 km² area and an 840,000 population. It is an enclave for about 16 minority nationalities, including Tujia minority, Mao minority. And is known as the Cradle of Tujia people for its rich Tujia culture, Youyang has a broad space for development, which contains about 1.5939 million mu of Arable land,4.46 million mu of forestry land, and 2. Baishou Dance is the most symbolic tradition of Tujia pelple and it is a sacred dance generally featured by waving hands. It was used to worship totem, ancestors of chieftain, former NPC chairman and member of the Standing Committee of the political bureau, Li Peng, danced Baishou Dance at Taohuayuan Square with his Youyang folks during his visit in 2001, December. Youyang Taohuayuan is located at the corner of Youyang town, and it is a 5A scenery spot. Taohuayuan is a place at first described in The Peach Blossom Spring written by Tao Yuanming and it is notable that there are more than one Taohuayuan spots in china, and the one in Youyang is a nationwide recognised Taohuayuan. Gongtan is located at the intersection of Wu River and Apeng River and it has a history of more than 1,700 years. More than 200 courtyards and stilted building from Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty remain well in Gongtan, Wu River Gallery is the 60 km long, naturally formed river bank of Wu River in Chongqing Youyang, and it is a 4A scenery spot. It is famous for the strangely shaped mountains along the gallery, introduction of Tujia people Senery of Youyang Taohuayuan Senery of Youyang Gongtan ancient town Senery of Tujia stilted buildings Senery of Wu River Gallery
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Dianjiang County
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Dianjiang County is a county in the northeast of Chongqing Municipality in China. As of 2015, it has two subdistricts, two townships, and 22 towns under its administration, Dianjiang County was developed in the time of the Western Wei Emperor Gong Di in 555 CE. Before the Chongqing area became a municipality, Dianjiang belonged to other regions, from October 1,1949, to March 14,1997, it belonged to Dazhu, Fuling prefecture. Dianjiang has two subdistricts, two townships, five regional center towns and 17 general towns, based on statistics from October 2015, in the first three quarters, Dianjiang County achieved a GDP of 16.63 billion yuan. The contributions to the GDP were composed of the primary sector producing 2.17 billion yuan, the secondary sector producing 8.78 billion yuan, and the tertiary sector producing 5.68 billion yuan
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Prefectures of the People's Republic of China
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Prefectures, formally prefecture-level divisions as a term in the context of China, are used to refer to several unrelated political divisions in both ancient and modern China. There are 333 prefecture-level divisions in China and they include 17 prefectures and 283 prefecture-level cities. Other than provincial level divisions, prefectural level divisions are not mentioned in the Chinese constitution, the prefectural government is an administrative branch office with the rank of a national ministerial department and dispatched by the higher-level provincial government. The leader of the government, titled as prefectural commissioner, is appointed by the provincial government. The prefectures working committee of the committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference is a part of the prefectures committee of the CPPCC. This means that the working committee of CPPCC is a branch of the provincial committee of CPPCC. The same is valid for provincial CPPCC, which are sections of the national CPPCC. Prefectures are administrative subdivisions of provincial-level divisions, the term prefecture was developed from the former Circuit, which was a level between the provincial and the county level during the Qing dynasty. Consequently, in 1932, provinces were subdivided into several prefectures. At one point, prefectures were the most common type of prefecture-level division, today they have been mostly converted into prefecture-level cities, and the trend is still ongoing with only 8 prefectures remaining in China. Prefecture-level cities are municipalities that are given prefecture status and the right to govern surrounding counties, in practice, prefecture-level cities are so large that they are just like any other prefectures, and not cities in the traditional sense of the word at all. Prefecture-level cities are the most common type of division in mainland China today. Leagues are the prefectures of Inner Mongolia, the name comes from a kind of ancient Mongolian administrative unit used during the Qing Dynasty in Mongolia. To preempt any sense of Mongolian unity or solidarity, the Qing Dynasty executed divide, Leagues had no true ruler-ship, they only had conventional assemblies consisting of banners. During the ROC era, the leagues had an equivalent to provinces. Leagues contain banners, equivalent to counties, after the establishment of the provincial-level Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in 1947, leagues of Inner Mongolia became equal to prefectures in other provinces and autonomous regions. The governments of the league, is the branch office dispatched by Peoples Government of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The leader of the government, titled as league leader, is appointed by Peoples Government of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region
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County-level city
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A county-level municipality, county-level city, or county city is a county-level administrative division of mainland China. County-level cities are governed by prefecture-level divisions, but a few are governed directly by province-level divisions. Most county-level cities were created in the 1980s and 1990s by replacing counties, a county-level city is a city and county that have been merged into one unified jurisdiction. As such it is simultaneously a city, which is an entity. County-level cities are not cities in the strictest sense of the word, since they usually contain rural areas many times the size of their urban and this is because the counties that county-level cities have replaced are themselves large administrative units containing towns, villages, and farmland. To distinguish a city from its actual urban area, the term 市区 shìqū. In France, an equivalent of a city is an agglomeration community. For example, in New South Wales such a unit may often be called a city, city of Blue Mountains is made of a number of towns. Another example would be municipal government in the Canadian province of Ontario and this agglomeration includes all of the townships in the county of Kent, with cities and towns like Wallaceberg, Thamesville, Dresden, Wheatley. This amalgamation as it is referred to, was controversial when it was forced upon the constituents through provincial legislation. Today, instead of each city having its own mayor and city councillors, as of January 2017, there are 360 County-level city in total, A sub-prefecture-level city is a county-level city with powers approaching those of prefecture-level cities. Examples include, Xiantao, Qianjiang, Tianmen and Jiyuan, administrative divisions of China Counties of the Peoples Republic of China Prefecture-level city List of cities in China
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Three Gorges
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The Three Gorges are three adjacent gorges along the middle reaches of the Yangtze River in the Peoples Republic of China. The Three Gorges have long been renowned for their scenery. The Yangtze River —Three Gorges region has a length of approximately 200 kilometres. The Three Gorges occupy approximately 120 kilometres within this region, although it is primarily famous for its scenery, the Three Gorges region is also a historically and culturally important location in China. Many settlements and archeological sites are under submersion from the rising Three Gorges Dam, the Three Gorges Dam was constructed at a place called Sāndòupíng in the middle of the Xiling Gorge. The reservoir dam was completed in the summer of 2006, the project was completed by the end of 2008, although a ship lift is still in course of construction, and expected to be completed in 2015. The dam and Three Gorges Reservoir has had an impact upon the regions ecology and people, involving the mass relocation of towns. The higher water level has changed the scenery of the Three Gorges, so that the river is wider, however, the mountains still tower above the river, and the gorges continue to offer spectacular views of the surrounding cliffs. The riverboat companies that operate in the Three Gorges are experiencing a boom in demand for river cruises. The increased width and depth of the river permits larger ships through the gorges, baiheliang Underwater Museum Chinese yuan note — the westernmost gorge image is on the ten yuan note. Three Gorges Locks Three Gorges Museum
