Liuzhou

Location of Liuzhou in China

Location of Liuzhou in Guangxi

Liuzhou ( Zhuang Liujcouh Si ; Chinese 柳州市 , Pinyin Liǔzhōu Shì ) is a district-free city in the Guangxi Autonomous Region of the Zhuang nationality, in the People's Republic of China .

The administrative area of Liuzhou has an area of 18,677 km² and approx. 3.54 million inhabitants (end of 2004). Liuzhou is located in the center of Guangxi and is therefore one of the transport and economic hubs in the area. Industry: iron and non-ferrous metal smelting, mechanical engineering , vehicle construction . In the rural areas of Liuzhou, sugar cane cultivation dominates.

The Liu River meanders through the city in a 180-degree arc. It is spanned by eight road bridges and one railway bridge. In early summer it is often colored yellow by sediments brought from the headwaters.

history

Liuzhou is one of the oldest cities in China. A 70,000 year old skull was found nearby, interpreted as the earliest trace of anatomically modern humans ( Homo sapiens ) in Southeast Asia. The original population belonged to the Zhuang people , a Tai people who probably immigrated via Vietnam . 221 BC The region was incorporated into the Chinese Empire under the Qin Dynasty . The city was founded in 111 BC. Founded under the name Tan Zhong . Since 592 AD it was called Ma Ping . Under the Tang Dynasty , it was renamed Longcheng ("Dragon City") in 742 . It served as a place of exile for officials who had fallen out of favor, u. a. for Liu Zongyuan (773-819). In 1736 the city received its current name. The Taiping Rebellion (1851–1864), led by Hong Xiuquan , broke out in Guiping near the city and believed to have killed around 20 to 30 million people.

In October 1938 the Korean government-in-exile tried to organize the resistance of Koreans abroad against Japan from here, but had to flee in April because of the Japanese threat. The city later served as the headquarters of the US 14th Air Fleet in the air war against Japan . It was only conquered by the Japanese in November 1944 and was recaptured in June 1945 by Chinese and American troops in a badly damaged state.

In 1942, Ho Chi Minh was arrested by the Kuomintang government in Guangxi and lived in Liuzhou for a year after his release in 1943. In July 1954 he held secret talks here with the Chinese Prime Minister Zhou Enlai . During the Cultural Revolution in Liuzhou, clashes between different factions took place for years.

Administrative division of Liuzhou

At the county level, Liuzhou is made up of five city districts , three counties and two autonomous counties. These are:

Chengzhong district (城中区 = "city center"), 125 km², 120,000 inhabitants, city center, seat of the city government;
Yufeng District (鱼峰区), 98 km², 220,000 inhabitants;
District Liunan District (柳南区), 162 square kilometers, 300,000 inhabitants;
Liubei district (柳北区), 282 km², 330,000 inhabitants;
Liujiang District (柳江区), 2,504 km², 540,000 inhabitants;
Liucheng district (柳城县), 2,124 km², 410,000 inhabitants, main town: Dabu municipality (大埔镇);
Luzhai County (鹿寨县), 3,358 km², 480,000 inhabitants, capital: Luzhai Municipality (鹿寨镇);
County Rong'an (融安县) 2,904 km², 320,000 inhabitants, capital: greater community Chang'an (长安镇);
Sanjiang der Dong Autonomous County (三江侗族自治县), 2,455 km², 350,000 inhabitants, capital: Guyi municipality ((宜镇);
Rongshui Autonomous County of the Miao (融水苗族自治县), 4,665 km², 470,000 inhabitants, capital: Rongshui Municipality (融水镇).

traffic

There are direct flight connections to Beijing , Chengdu , Chongqing , Guangzhou and Shanghai as well as train connections to Beijing, Shanghai and Xi'an .

Construction of an eco-district

Under the direction of the Italian architect Stefano Boeri , a new residential district for 30,000 residents has been built in the city of Liuzhou since 2017, in which all buildings are covered with plants. On an area of 40 hectares, 40,000 trees and around a million plants of more than 100 species will be planted, which will absorb 10,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year and filter 57 tons of soot and fine dust from the air. In 2020 the residents should move in.

languages

The residents of Liuzhou speak Cantonese , often also Mandarin or a local dialect derived from Southwest Chinese Mandarin (柳州话 liǔ zhōu huà). A larger number of people also speak Zhuang (壮语 zhuàng yǔ).