Yichang

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Yichang (Chinese: 宜昌; pinyin: Yíchāng) is a prefecture-level city in Hubei province of China.

Geography

Yichang covers 21,084 km² in Western Hubei Province at the Eastern end of the Xiling Gorge (西陵峡), one of the Three Gorges on the Yangtze River. The temperature averages 16-18°C (60-65°F).

Demographics

The actual city of Yichang has a population of 869.092 (2000). Including the surrounding area it has a population 3.89 million and is home of the Tujia ethnic group.

Yichang also formed the border between the cultures of Ba in the west (an ancient state in the eastern part of what is now Sichuan Province) and the Chu State in the east (an ancient state in what is now Hubei Province and northern Hunan Province).

History

Since 2002, Yichang City has been home of the China Three Gorges University (the result of the merger of the University of Hydraulic & Electric Engineering, Yichang and of Hubei Sanxia University), the largest comprehensive university in Hubei Province outside Wuhan, with over 20,400 full-time students.

Economy

Yichang (宜昌) has long been a major transit port and distribution center of goods. It is fueled by the Gezhouba Hydra Project (Gezhouba Dam) and the Three Gorges Dam, which is 40 km upstream.

History

In ancient times Yichang was known as Yiling. There are historical records telling that in the year 278 BC during the Warring States period the Qin general Bai Qi set fire to Yiling. Yichang was also the site of a famous battle during the Three Kingdoms era, the Battle of Yiling.

In 1876, under the Qing Emperor Guangxu, Yichang was opened to foreign trade as a trading port after the Second Opium War with Britain. The imperial government set up a navigation company there. Wharves were built as well, but before 1949 the wharf area was only less than half a kilometer in length.After 1949, more than 50 wharves have been constructed at the port so that its wharf area is now over 15 km long. There are the shiplocks at Gezhouba Water Control Project.

During WWII when China was fighting with Japan, an encounter battle (Hui Zhan) happened in the area.

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Last updated on Sunday February 17, 2008 at 09:49:04 PST (GMT -0800)
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