Wanzhou District


Wanzhou District is Chongqing's second most populated urban core area on the upper reaches of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River in China. It is currently governed as a district of Chongqing Municipality, bordering Sichuan to the northwest and Hubei to the southeast. It was formerly known as Wanxian or Wan County. Prior to Chongqing's formation as a direct-controlled municipality, Wanzhou was part of Sichuan province. The urban core of Wanzhou is away from Chongqing's city proper.
"Wanzhou" literally means "myriad-prefecture", where "a myriad rivers converge and a myriad traders gather". Due to the construction of the Three Gorges Dam, 47% of Wanzhou's old urban area will be underwater by the time the reservoir is filled. Buildings in the submerged area have been torn down and new ones rebuilt on higher ground.

History

The district was part of Wanxian Prefecture, then the prefectural Wanxian City. It was renamed to Wanzhou in late 1990s.
It was part of Quren County of Ba Commandery in the Qin Dynasty. It became Yangqu County in 216. In 230, it was renamed to Nanpu ; in 553, to Yuquan ; in 557, to Anxiang ; in 584, to Wanchuan ; and in 598, to Nanpu again.
In 619, Nanpu Commandery was established. In 625, the name was changed to Pu Prefecture, and in 634, to Wan Prefecture. In 1373, Wan was demoted to a county.
In the 19th century, it was known in English as Wanhsien and Wan County. In 1935, it became Wanxian Prefecture. On December 12, 1992, the State Council abolished Wanxian Prefecture and its subordinate Wanxian City and created the prefecture-level Wanxian City, which administered the districts of Longbao, Tiancheng, Wuqiao and the counties of Kai, Zhong, Liangping, Yunyang, Fengjie, Wushan, Wuxi, and Chengkou.
The entire Wanxian City was merged into Chongqing on December 20, 1997. The merge necessitated the abolishment of Wanxian City and creation of Wanxian District and Wanxian Migration Development Area. Wanxian City's three districts were converted to administrative committees of Wanxian District. The migration development area included the counties formerly in Wanxian City, except Liangping and Chengkou, which were administered by Chongqing directly.
On May 22, 1998, the State Council approved that the two areas named Wanxian were both renamed to Wanzhou. The migration development area later dissolved and its counties were directly controlled by Chongqing. On July 19, 2000, the district's administrative committees were changed to migration development areas.

Sports

The 26,000-capacity Wanzhou Pailou Sports Stadium is located in Wanzhou. It is used mostly for association football and also sometimes for athletics. One stand is covered with a roof.

Geography and climate

Wanzhou spans 30°24′−31°14′ N latitude and 107°55′−108°53′ E longitude, and is situated at the eastern edge of the Sichuan Basin. It reaches a maximal north-south extent of and east-west width of, covering an area of. Elevations range from in the town of Tailong to at Shaping Peak of the Qiyao Mountains. Bordering county-level divisions:
Similar to the city proper of Chongqing, Wanzhou has a monsoon-humid subtropical climate with short, mild winters, and very hot, humid summers, and is in fact on average warmer during the day. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from in January to in August, while the annual mean is.

Subdivisions

The 4 primary subdivisions were 3 migration development areas and Jiangnan New District. Now Wanzhou is subdivided into 92 township divisions are 16 sub-districts, 33 towns, and 43 townships. In 2000, the district included 32 towns, 45 townships, 14 sub-districts, and 1277 neighborhood and village committees.
NameChinese Hanyu PinyinPopulation Area
Gaosuntang Subdistrict高笋塘街道Gāosǔntáng Jiēdào103,9823
Taibai Subdistrict太白街道Tàibái Jiēdào108,38713.1
Pailou Subdistrict牌楼街道Páilóu Jiēdào104,3519.8
Shuanghekou Subdistrict双河口街道Shuānghékǒu Jiēdào33,71523
Longdu Subdistrict龙都街道Lóngdōu Jiēdào36,13424
Zhoujiaba Subdistrict周家坝街道Zhōujiābà Jiēdào88,49412
Shahe Subdistrict沙河街道Shāhé Jiēdào24,91511.2
Zhonggulou Subdistrict钟鼓楼街道Zhōnggǔlóu Jiēdào85,87338.7
Bai'anba Subdistrict百安坝街道Bǎi'ānbà Jiēdào91,94715.8
Wuqiao Subdistrict五桥街道Wǔqiáo Jiēdào20,67225.7
Chenjiaba Subdistrict陈家坝街道Chénjiābà Jiēdào24,74534.75
Xiaozhou town小周镇Xiǎozhōu Zhèn9,13649
Dazhou town大周镇Dàzhōu Zhèn12,18464
Xinxiang town新乡镇Xīnxiāng Zhèn6,683140.2
Sunjia town孙家镇Sūnjiā Zhèn9,73746.6
Gaofeng town高峰镇Gāofēng Zhèn19,55046.2
Longsha town龙沙镇Lóngshā Zhèn28,12725
Xiangshui town响水镇Xiǎngshuǐ Zhèn16,88959.5
Wuling town武陵镇Wǔlíng Zhèn24,63234.4
Rangdu town瀼渡镇Ràngdù Zhèn11,61330.7
Ganning town甘宁镇Gānníng Zhèn30,873104.8
Tiancheng town天城镇Tiānchéng Zhèn41,76252.4
Xiongjia town熊家镇Xióngjiā Zhèn33,17682.5
Gaoliang town高梁镇Gāoliáng Zhèn49,35737.7
Lihe town李河镇Lǐhé Zhèn23,26438.7
Fenshui town分水镇Fēnshuǐ Zhèn60,308220.96
Yujia town余家镇Yújiā Zhèn30,45478.2
Houshan town后山镇Hòushān Zhèn15,33878.86
Danzi town弹子镇Dànzǐ Zhèn18,31854.6
Changling town长岭镇Zhǎnglǐng Zhèn34,96253.2
Xintian town新田镇Xīntián Zhèn34,145104.4
Baiyang town白羊镇Báiyáng Zhèn38,07834.4
Longju town龙驹镇Lóngjū Zhèn31,982241.5
Zouma town走马镇Zǒumǎ Zhèn26,01776.5
Luotian town罗田镇Luōtián Zhèn27,66981.7
Tailong town太龙镇Tàilóng Zhèn14,14863
Changtan town长滩镇Chángtān Zhèn17,904101.3
Tai'an town太安镇Tài'ān Zhèn19,58347.2
Baitu town白土镇Báitǔ Zhèn16,79054.6
Guocun town郭村镇Guōcūn Zhèn21,32624.4
Zhushan Township柱山乡Zhùshān Xiāng16,33153.9
Tiefeng Township铁峰乡Tiěfēng Xiāng7,93450
Xikou Township溪口乡Xīkǒu Xiāng5,69539.2
Changping Township长坪乡Chángpíng Xiāng8,58044.3
Yanshan Township燕山乡Yànshān Xiāng9,84556.4
Lishu Township梨树乡Líshù Xiāng6,11651.02
Puzi Township普子乡Pǔzi Xiāng8,295 85.7
Huangbo Township黄柏乡Huángbò Xiāng10,94931
Jiuchi Township九池乡Jiǔchí Xiāng17,70521.5
Cizhu Township茨竹乡Cízhú Xiāng5,27237.8
Debao Tujia Ethnic Township地宝土家族乡Debǎo Tǔjiāzú Xiāng5,50244.4
Henghe Tujia Ethnic Township恒合土家族乡Hénghé Tǔjiāzú Xiāng13,60681.9

Colleges and universities

Wanzhou has three Yangtze River crossings.