The city is a rising commercial and industrial centre in the southeastern area of Shanxi. In 2011, its GDP ranked 1st out of 11 prefecture-level cities in the province.[3] According to the latest census, in 2020 the city was home to 3,180,884 residents whom 1,214,940 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of Luzhou and Shangdang Districts. The other 2 urban districts Tunliu and Lucheng are not conurbated yet.
History
In ancient times the area around Changzhi (Including Jincheng) was known as Shangdang.[4] Changzhi was the site of the 1945 Shangdang Campaign, the first battle between the Kuomintang and the People's Liberation Army after the end of World War II. The campaign began in August 1945 and lasted until October. It began when the local Shanxi warlord, Yan Xishan, attempted to retake the region from Communist forces. Yan's forces were eventually defeated by an army led by Liu Bocheng, who was later named one of China's Ten Great Marshals. Liu's political commissar was Deng Xiaoping, who later became China's "paramount leader". The campaign ended with the complete destruction of Yan's army (Jingsui army, 晋绥军), most of which joined the Communists after surrendering. Following the Shangdang Campaign, the Communists remained in control of the region until they won the civil war in 1949.[4]
Changzhi is located in southeastern Shanxi province, along the southern section of the Taihang Mountains.[5] The majority of the city's area is mountainous, and much of the remaining geography is hilly in nature.[5] The average elevation in the city is approximately 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) above sea level, with prominent peaks including Liyu Mountain (Chinese: 历峪山; pinyin: Lìyù Shān) and Shigao Mountain (Chinese: 石膏山; pinyin: Shígāo Shān), reaching 2,012 metres (6,601 ft) and 2,541 metres (8,337 ft) above sea level, respectively.[5]
Climate
Changzhi has a rather dry, monsoon-influenced humid continental climate (KöppenDwa),[6] with cold and very dry winters, and very warm, somewhat humid summers. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from −4.7 °C (23.5 °F) in January to 22.5 °C (72.5 °F) in July, and the annual mean is 9.89 °C (49.8 °F). Typifying the influence of the East Asian Monsoon, a majority of the annual 547 millimetres (21.5 in) of precipitation occurs from June to August.
In 2013, a major chemical spill occurred at a fertilizer plant in Changzhi operated by Tianji Coal Chemical Industry Group, polluting major waterways in the region, and impacting areas downstream, such as the city of Handan.[12] Government officials in Handan blamed the city government of Changzhi for covering up the spill for five days, and remaining silent on the spill for the subsequent two months.[12] In February 2013, the Xinhua News Agency announced the results of an official investigation into the spill, resulting in the punishment of 39 people, including then-mayor of Changzhi, Zhang Bao, who was removed from his position.[12]
In 2019, officials from the Shanxi Provincial Government publicly reprimanded officials from seven cities within the province, including Changzhi, following a noticeable spike in pollution.[13]
Other major expressways which run through Changzhi include the Changzhi-Handan Expressway [zh], and expressways which link the city to Handan, Jincheng, and Taiyuan.[5] The Changzhi-Linfen Expressway [zh] also runs through the city.[14]
^ abLew, Christopher R. The Third Chinese Revolutionary War, 1945-1949: An Analysis of Communist Strategy and Leadership. The USA and Canada: Routelage. 2009, p.22–23. ISBN0-415-77730-5
^ abcdef地理位置 [Geographic Position] (in Chinese). Changzhi Municipal People's Government. 2013-12-18. Archived from the original on 2017-06-06. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
^Peel, M. C., Finlayson, B. L., and McMahon, T. A.: Updated world map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 11, 1633-1644, doi:10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007, 2007.
^山西里程最长的高速公路长临高速预计10月全线通车 [Shanxi’s longest expressway, Changlin Expressway, is expected to open to traffic in October]. The Paper (in Chinese). 2018-08-06. Archived from the original on 2021-06-03. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
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