Tongling
Tongling (simplified Chinese: 铜陵; traditional Chinese: 銅陵; pinyin: Tónglíng; Wade–Giles: T'ung-ling; lit. 'Copper Hillock') is a prefecture-level city in southern Anhui province of China. A river port along the Yangtze River, Tongling borders Wuhu to the east, Chizhou to the southwest and Anqing to the west.[3] As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,311,726 inhabitants whom 842,675 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of 3 urban districts. The asteroid 12418 Tongling was named after the city. History
Tongling has been famous as a beautiful mountain city since its origins in the Han dynasty over 1500 years ago. Owing to its copper and tin deposits, it was an important center in the past for bronze production. The scale of industrial activity gradually increased through the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) dynasties, the Japanese occupation of 1938–45, and especially under the Communist government since 1949. Tongling has been a mining center since the 7th century CE. While it has only been an industrial city for the second half of the 20th century.[4] GeographyTongling is located in southern Anhui on the southern (right) bank of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, with latitude ranging from 30° 45' 12" to 31° 07' 56" N and longitude ranging from 117° 42' 00" to 118° 10' 06" E; the maximal north–south extent is 42.5 kilometres (26.4 mi), and the greatest east–west width is 40.6 km (25.2 mi).[5] It borders Fanchang County to the southeast, Qingyang County and Nanling County to the south, Guichi District of Chizhou to the southwest, and, northwest across the Yangtze, Wuwei County and Zongyang County. Climate
AdministrationThe prefecture-level city of Tongling administers 4 county-level divisions, including 3 districts and 1 county.
In 2012, the provincial government made plans to cede Zongyang County from Anqing City to Tongling City, in order to grant the latter land across the Yangtze.[8]
TransportAs of November 2017, Tongling has two bridges across the Yangtze River. RailTongling is served by the Nanjing–Tongling, Tongling–Jiujiang, Lujiang-Tongling Railways, Nanjing–Anqing Intercity Railway and Hefei-Fuzhou High-Speed Railway. CultureThe famous poet of Tang Dynasty, Li Bai (c.700–762, also known as Li Po) praised the beauty and richness of Tongling. The Tongling Sports Centre Stadium is located in the city. The football stadium has a capacity of 30,000 and it opened in 2018. Local specialtiesTongling gingerTongling ginger is one of the "eight treasures" of Tongling. It is a perennial herb and an annual cultivated crop. Tongling ginger is scientifically identified by the Anhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences Horticulture and belongs to the type of white ginger. The fresh ginger skin is white and slightly yellow, the ginger is bergamot-shaped, and the petals are thick and thick. Tongling dried tofuTongling dried tofu which began production in the Ming Dynasty and has a history of more than 400 years. Because Datong Town is the only way to the Buddhist shrine Jiuhua Mountain, pilgrims worshipping Buddhas from all over the country and Korea, India and other countries must purchase Tongling dried tofu for vegetarian food. Twin townsThe contract of town-twinning with the city of Marbach am Neckar in Baden-Württemberg, Germany was established in 1990 and was among the first Sino-German town-twinnings, or sister city relationships. One lady citizen of Marbach am Neckar has been awarded honorary citizenship of Tongling City in 2005, recognizing her relentless effort to keep up the town-twinning. Marbach is the birthplace of the famous German poet Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805), as a symbol of friendship a statue was erected in local Tianjinhu-Lake-Park.[citation needed] Tongling has been twinned with the Borough of Halton in England since 1997. A Chinese friendship garden was created in the grounds of Runcorn Town Hall in 2006, including a bronze statue gifted by the twin city of Tongling.[9] References
"China Tongling". Tongling People's Government. Archived from the original on 12 January 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2013. "Tongline News". Tongling News. Retrieved 22 March 2013. External linksWikimedia Commons has media related to Tongling.
|