Taoyuan County | |
|---|---|
| Country | People's Republic of China |
| Province | Hunan Province |
| County | Taoyuan County |
| Area | |
| • Total | 4,441 km2 (1,715 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 40–1,130 m (130–3,700 ft) |
| Population (2007) | |
| • Total | 976,000 |
| • Density | 220/km2 (600/sq mi) |
| Time zone | GMT+08 |
| Area code | 736 |
| Website | http://www.taoyuan.gov.cn/ |
Taoyuan County (Chinese: 桃源县; Pinyin: Táoyuán Xiàn) is located in Changde, Hunan Province of the People's Republic of China. The Yuanjiang river, a tributary of Yangtze, flows through Taoyuan. Taoyuan covers 4441 square kilometer area, among which the arable land is 895 square kilometers. It is 229 kilometers from Zhangjiang Town, the capital of Taoyuan county, to Changsha, the capital city of Hunan province.
History
The area of present Taoyuan county belongs to Chu (state) during Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period, and is a portion of Linyuan county during Western Han Dynasty. In AD 50, the 26th year of Jianwu, Eastern Han Dynasty, it is merged to Yuannan county, administered by Wuling prefecture, by set apart from Linyuan county. In AD 783, the third year of Sui Dynasty, Wuling county is built by annexed three counties of Linyuan, Yuannan and Hanshou, administered by Langzhou prefecture.
In AD 963, the third year of Song Dynasty, Taoyuan County is officially established by set apart from Wuling county, named it Taoyuan due to its famous Taohuayuan, or the Peach Blossom Spring.
Its capital is situated at north bank of Yuanjiang river, called Zhangjiang town.
Economy
Agricultural products include rice, wheat, edible oils, sesame seeds, peanuts, cotton, and tobacco. Manufactured goods produced include machinery, textiles, chemicals, wood products, and leather goods. Local mine extract gold, silver, iron ore, and diamonds.
Education
Taoyuan has 123,000 students enrolled among its elementary schools, middle schools and high schools. 99.99% of children in their compulsory education ages are enrolled in schools, and 93.2% of children with disabilities are enrolled in schools.
Approximate 2000 of high school graduates are admitted by colleges and universities each year.
Taoyuan Yizhong, The First Middle School of Taoyuan, is the most prestigious school in Taoyuan County, composed of high school section and middle school section.
Geography and climate
Geography
Taoyuan County is located in northwestern portion, 28°55′N 111°29′E / 28.917°N 111.483°EInvalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function,Template:GR, of Hunan Province. It is 118 km from its northernmost point, LaoPeng village, Reshi Town, to its southernmost point, Shizi Ling, Xuejiachong village, Xi'an Town and 75 km from its easternmost post, Caoxiezhou, Renfeng village, Mutangyuan Township, to its westernmost post, Wanjiahe, Gaofeng village, Niuchehe Township. Its total area is 4441.22 km2, which is the fourth largest in Hunan province. The arable land is 895 km2 (221,000 acres), which is the largest in Hunan province.
The agricultural landscape consists of 13.4% of the alluvial pains of Yuanjiang river, 49.3% of hillock and 36.0% of hills and mountains.
Climate
Taoyuan county is located in transition zone from subtropical to north subtropical with the humid subtropical climate with seasonal prevailing winds. The four seasons are distinctive.
The average annual temperature is 16.5 degrees Celsius. The average temperature is 4.5 degrees Celsius in January and 28.5 degrees Celsius in July.
The average annual precipitation is 147 centimeters (58 inches), gradually decreasing from south to north. The annual average relative humidity is 82%, the annual sunshine hour 1531 hours and frost-free period 284 days.
Demographics
Taoyuan County has 976,000 population, which is composed of dominant majority Han ethnic group and other 12 minority ethnic groups of Hui, Uyghur, Tujia, Man, Dong, Zhuang and Yao, among which Uyghur and Hui has more than 3000 population, respectively.
Taoyuan Uyghurs
Around 5,000 Uyghurs live around Taoyuan County and Changde, Hunan.[1][2][3][4] They are descended from a Uyghur leader Hala Bashi, from Turpan, who the Ming Emperor sent to Hunan in the 14th century, (mid 1300s).[5][6] Along with him came Uyghur soldiers from which the Hunan Uyghurs also descend from. During the 1982 census 4,000 Uyghurs were recorded in Hunan.[7] They have genealogies which survive 600 years later to the present day. These Uyghurs were given the surname Jian by the Emperor. A prominent Hunan Uyghur was Jian Bozan (1898-1968), they receive Chinese eudcation.[8] He was a member of the Chinese Communist Party.[9] There is some confusion as to whether they practice Islam or not. Some say that they have assimilated with the Han and do not practice Islam anymore, and only that their genealogies indicate their Uyghur ancestry.[10] Chinese news sources report that they are Muslim.[11]
The Uyghur troops led by Hala were ordered by the Ming Emperor to crush Miao rebellions and were given titles by him. Jian is the predominant surname among the Uyghur in Changde, Hunan. Another group of Uyghur have the surname Sai.[12]
Language
Taoyuan dialect is profoundly influenced by northern dialect since the commute of government messengers，speaking northern dialect, travelling to Yunnan and Guizhou from Song to Qing dynasty passes through Taoyuan and by dialect in central Jiangxi since substantial residents in Jishui, Zhangshu and Fengcheng of Jiangxi relocate to Taoyuan successively from Ming dynasty to early Qing dynasty.
There are two types of accents in Taoyuan dialect, one of which called native accent, spoken in the central area of Taoyuan, including Zhangjiang Town, Zoushi Town, Qihe Town, Sanyanggang Town and part of Jianshi Town, the other of which called periphery accent, spoken in the strip area bordering other counties.
Taoyuan dialect is a fusion of northern dialect and Jiangxi dialect. Its accent is close to those of Sichuan dialect, Chongqing dialect and Hubei dialect. It is categorized into Southwestern Mandarin.
Culture and folk customs
Taoyuan has its unique folk custom characteristics since it is located in the transition zone between Han nationality and ethnics.
In diet, Lei Cha, a "five flavors soup" by smashing a mixture of tea leaves, ginger, cornel, green beans and salt into powder, is a popular drink in Taohuanyuan area. According to legend, Lei Cha prevented the soldiers from pestilence caused by the soldiers unable to acclimatize to the environment in Taoyuan during the Eastern Han general Ma Yuan fought southward to Taoyuan.
Taoyuan has unique local operas. Wuling Opera is a popular local opera performed by professionals. Musty Notes received the National Artist Award for its performance and script writing. Nuo Opera drama, called a "living fossil", is still widespread. Sangyanggang Town known as the hometown of Nuo Opera.
Other folk customs include dragon dance and lion dance during Spring Festival. Meanwhile, the Three Bar Drum, Yugu Drum, and String are very popular as well.
Notable residents
- Song Jiaoren (Chinese: 宋教仁, Apr 5, 1882 - Mar 22, 1913), a Chinese republican revolutionary, political leader and a founder of the Kuomintang.
- Liu Kan (Chinese: 刘戡 1906 – Mar 03, 1948), posthumously awarded General of the Republic of China Army in 1953, was born in Zhengaotian village, Taohuanyuan Town.
- Wang Qimei (Chinese: 王其梅, Dec 27, 1914—Aug 15, 1967), awarded Major General of PLA in 1955, was born in Wangjiaping village, Sanyanggang Town.
- Jian Bozan (Chinese: 翦伯赞, 1898-Dec 18, 1968), a prominent Marxist historian, Vice President of Beijing University from 1952 to 1968, was born in Huiwei village, Fengshu Uyghur Autonomous Township.
Towns
Tourist attractions
- Peach Blossom Spring, (Chinese: 桃花源), a land then secluded from the outside mortal world depicted as an idyllic shangri-la by Tao Yuanming, (365–427), an Eastern Jin Dynasty poet, in his intriguing prose of Peach Blossom Spring
References
- ^ stin Jon Rudelson, Justin Ben-Adam Rudelson (1992). Bones in the sand: the struggle to create Uighur nationalist ideologies in Xinjiang, China. Harvard University. p. 30. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
- ^ Ingvar Svanberg (1988). The Altaic-speakers of China: numbers and distribution. Centre for Mult[i]ethnic Research, Uppsala University, Faculty of Arts. p. 7. ISBN 9186624202. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
- ^ Ingvar Svanberg (1988). The Altaic-speakers of China: numbers and distribution. Centre for Mult[i]ethnic Research, Uppsala University, Faculty of Arts. p. 7. ISBN 9186624202. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
- ^ Kathryn M. Coughlin (2006). Muslim cultures today: a reference guide. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 220. ISBN 0313323860. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
- ^ "Ethnic Uygurs in Hunan Live in Harmony with Han Chinese". People's Daily. 29 December 2000.
- ^ Justin Ben-Adam Rudelson, Justin Jon Rudelson (1997). Oasis identities: Uyghur nationalism along China's Silk Road. Columbia University Press. p. 178. ISBN 0231107862. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
- ^ Zhongguo cai zheng jing ji chu ban she (1988). New China's population. Macmillan. p. 197. ISBN 0029054710. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
- ^ Yangbin Chen (2008). Muslim Uyghur students in a Chinese boarding school: social recapitalization as a response to ethnic integration. Lexington Books. p. 58. ISBN 073912112X. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
- ^ Daily report: People's Republic of China, Issue 34; Issues 36-41. Distributed by National Technical Information Service. 1979. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
- ^ David Westerlund, Ingvar Svanberg (1999). Islam outside the Arab world. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 197. ISBN 0312226918. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
- ^ "Ethnic Uygurs in Hunan Live in Harmony with Han Chinese". People's Daily. 29 December 2000.
- ^ Chih-yu Shih, Zhiyu Shi (2002). Negotiating ethnicity in China: citizenship as a response to the state. Psychology Press,. p. 133. ISBN 0415283728. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
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