Xuchang
许昌市
Hsuchang
Prefecture-level city
Xuzhou Fu Yamen, Ming Dynasty Weifeng Pagoda
Location of Xuchang City jurisdiction in Henan
Location of Xuchang City jurisdiction in Henan
Coordinates (Xuchang municipal government): 34°02′13″N 113°51′07″E / 34.037°N 113.852°E / 34.037; 113.852
CountryPeople's Republic of China
ProvinceHenan
Municipal seatWeidu District
Area
[1]
 • Prefecture-level city4,978.36 km2 (1,922.16 sq mi)
 • Urban
1,088.2 km2 (420.2 sq mi)
 • Metro
1,724 km2 (666 sq mi)
Elevation
71 m (234 ft)
Highest elevation
1,150.6 m (3,774.9 ft)
Lowest elevation
50.4 m (165.4 ft)
Population
 (2020 census for total, 2010 otherwise)[2]
 • Prefecture-level city4,379,998
 • Density880/km2 (2,300/sq mi)
 • Urban
1,265,536
 • Urban density1,200/km2 (3,000/sq mi)
 • Metro
1,952,666
 • Metro density1,100/km2 (2,900/sq mi)
GDP[3][4]
 • Prefecture-level cityCN¥ 237.8 billion
US$ 35.8 billion
 • Per capitaCN¥ 54,522
US$ 8,208
Time zoneUTC+8 (China Standard)
Area code374
ISO 3166 codeCN-HA-10
Major NationalitiesHan
County-level divisions6
License plate prefixes豫K
Websitexuchang.gov.cn
Xuchang
Traditional Chinese許昌
Simplified Chinese许昌

Xuchang (simplified Chinese: 许昌; traditional Chinese: 許昌; postal: Hsuchang) is a prefecture-level city in central Henan province in Central China. It is bordered by the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the northwest, Kaifeng to the northeast, Zhoukou to the east, Luohe to the southeast, and Pingdingshan to the southwest.

Its population was 4,307,488 inhabitants at the final 2010 census, of whom 1,952,666 lived in the built-up (or "metro") area made up of Weidu and Jian'an districts (named from Emperor Xian of Han’s era name) and Changge City largely being urbanized.[5] In 2007, the city was named as one of China's top ten livable cities by Chinese Cities Brand Value Report, which was released at 2007 Beijing Summit of China Cities Forum.[6]

Administration

The prefecture-level city of Xuchang administers 2 district, 2 county-level cities and 2 counties.

Map

History

During the early Zhou dynasty, the Xuchang region was granted to the Xu family (Xǔ (許/许)) of the Jiang surname and became the State of Xu, ruled by Xu Wenshu. During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period, Xuchang was successively occupied by the states of Zheng and Chu, and the Xu family was later relocated to Ye County by the Chu state.

Xuchang served as the warlord Cao Cao's de facto capital during the late Eastern Han Dynasty. After finding the old capital Luoyang ravaged by war, Cao moved the imperial court and Emperor Xian to what is now Xuchang in 196.

In 220, Cao Cao's son and successor Cao Pi officially declared the city as the capital of the newly established state of Cao Wei. The city was renamed "Xuchang" taken to mean "Xu Rising/". The Wei emperors held court at Xuchang until the capital was moved to Luoyang in the 220s.

Geography and climate

Xuchang ranges in latitude from 33° 16' to 34° 24' N and in longitude from 113° 03' to 114° 190' E.

Xuchang has a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa), with four distinct seasons. Winters are cool and dry, summers hot and humid, spring begins early and is warm, and autumn is mild and provides a reasonable transition. Rain mainly falls from May to September, as more than 70% of the annual precipitation occurs then. The city has an annual mean temperature of at 14.6 °C (58.3 °F), and its highest average monthly temperature is 27.0 °C (80.6 °F) in July and the lowest is 0.7 °C (33.3 °F) in January. Just over 700 millimetres (28 in) of precipitation falls each year, the growing season averages 217 days and there is 2280 hours of sunshine per year.

Climate data for Xuchang (1991–2012 normals, extremes 1971–2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 20.2
(68.4) 		23.5
(74.3) 		28.3
(82.9) 		34.2
(93.6) 		39.3
(102.7) 		41.9
(107.4) 		40.4
(104.7) 		38.9
(102.0) 		37.2
(99.0) 		35.1
(95.2) 		27.7
(81.9) 		21.4
(70.5) 		41.9
(107.4)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 6.1
(43.0) 		10.0
(50.0) 		14.8
(58.6) 		21.7
(71.1) 		27.1
(80.8) 		32.3
(90.1) 		32.0
(89.6) 		30.3
(86.5) 		26.9
(80.4) 		22.2
(72.0) 		14.6
(58.3) 		8.0
(46.4) 		20.5
(68.9)
Daily mean °C (°F) 0.7
(33.3) 		4.2
(39.6) 		9.0
(48.2) 		15.6
(60.1) 		21.1
(70.0) 		26.1
(79.0) 		27.2
(81.0) 		25.6
(78.1) 		21.2
(70.2) 		15.9
(60.6) 		8.7
(47.7) 		2.8
(37.0) 		14.8
(58.7)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −3.3
(26.1) 		−0.4
(31.3) 		4.1
(39.4) 		10.0
(50.0) 		15.6
(60.1) 		20.6
(69.1) 		23.4
(74.1) 		22.1
(71.8) 		17.0
(62.6) 		11.1
(52.0) 		4.0
(39.2) 		−1.2
(29.8) 		10.2
(50.5)
Record low °C (°F) −16.4
(2.5) 		−19.6
(−3.3) 		−11.5
(11.3) 		−2.9
(26.8) 		3.2
(37.8) 		11.6
(52.9) 		16.4
(61.5) 		11.7
(53.1) 		6.3
(43.3) 		−0.9
(30.4) 		−13.1
(8.4) 		−14.0
(6.8) 		−19.6
(−3.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 12.4
(0.49) 		14.4
(0.57) 		27.3
(1.07) 		40.9
(1.61) 		65.0
(2.56) 		86.5
(3.41) 		167.4
(6.59) 		123.6
(4.87) 		80.9
(3.19) 		44.0
(1.73) 		32.6
(1.28) 		11.5
(0.45) 		706.5
(27.82)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 4.3 4.9 5.9 6.1 7.7 7.9 11.5 10.6 8.9 6.6 6.0 4.0 84.4
Average snowy days 4.0 3.0 1.3 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.2 2.7 12.3
Average relative humidity (%) 65 65 65 68 67 65 79 83 78 70 70 65 70
Mean monthly sunshine hours 111.1 122.1 160.8 188.8 201.6 181.7 175.1 164.0 147.5 140.3 125.4 118.8 1,837.2
Percent possible sunshine 35 39 43 48 47 42 40 40 40 40 41 39 41
Source 1: China Meteorological Administration[7][8]
Source 2: Weather China[1]

Economy

Xuchang is an important center of the Chinese tobacco industry.

The manufacturing industry the city is best known for is wigs and hair extensions with exports worth about $1 billion in 2016. The industry started around 1900 when German merchants purchased hair from the local area. It was revived in the 1980s and in 1990 a local entrepreneur Zheng Youquan merged a number of smaller hair manufacturing workshops into Rebecca Hair Products, a larger entity that quickly expanded to international markets and became the largest wig maker in the world.[9]

Education

Xuchang University is in the city.

Tourism

Famous tourist attractions include Baling Bridge and Chunqiu Tower.

Sister city

On 18 December 2006, the Oromia Region government in Ethiopia signed an agreement with Henan Province to establish a sister city program with Ambo.[10] Bolingbrook, Illinois is also a sister city of Xuchang.

Notes

  1. ^ a b 许昌 - 气象数据 -中国天气网 (in Chinese). Weather China. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  2. ^ "China: Hénán (Prefectures, Cities, Districts and Counties) - Population Statistics, Charts and Map".
  3. ^ 河南省统计局、国家统计局河南调查总队 (November 2017). 《河南统计年鉴－2017》. 中国统计出版社. ISBN 978-7-5037-8268-8. Archived from the original on 2018-11-15. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  4. ^ "河南统计年鉴—2017". www.ha.stats.gov.cn. Archived from the original on 2018-11-15. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  5. ^ "China: Hénán (Prefectures, Cities, Districts and Counties) - Population Statistics, Charts and Map". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  6. ^ "China's Top 10 Most Livable Cities". hnloudi.gov.cn. Hunan Loudi Official Government. 2012-03-28. Retrieved 2014-08-04.
  7. ^ 中国气象数据网 – WeatherBk Data (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  8. ^ "Experience Template" 中国气象数据网 (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  9. ^ "China Focus: Century-old wig industry reviving under B&R initiative". Xinhua. May 10, 2017.
  10. ^ "Oromia State Regional Government and the delegation of Henan Province sign an agreement on the Establishment of Friendship City Relationship" (Oromia State government website)

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Xuchang.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Xuchang.
Look up Xuchang, Hsu-ch'ang, or Hsü-ch'ang in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Henan topics
County-level divisions of Henan Province
Prefecture-level divisions of China
Authority control databases
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