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]

Tongling
铜陵市
Clockwise from top: skyline, wall sculpture depicting Tongling as the "capital of copper", Tongling from the far side of the Yangtze, and the University of Tongling.
Location of Tongling City jurisdiction in Anhui
Location of Tongling City jurisdiction in Anhui
Coordinates (Tongling municipal government): 30°56′42″N 117°48′40″E / 30.945°N 117.811°E / 30.945; 117.811
CountryPeople's Republic of China
ProvinceAnhui
County-level divisions3 districts
1 county
Municipal seatTongguan District
Government
 • CPC SecretaryLi Meng (李猛)
 • MayorHu Qisheng (胡启生)
Area
2,982 km2 (1,151 sq mi)
 • Urban
1,489.8 km2 (575.2 sq mi)
 • Metro
1,489.8 km2 (575.2 sq mi)
Population
 (2020 Census)[1]
1,311,726
 • Density440/km2 (1,100/sq mi)
 • Urban
842,675
 • Urban density570/km2 (1,500/sq mi)
 • Metro
842,675
 • Metro density570/km2 (1,500/sq mi)
GDP[2]
 • Prefecture-level cityCN¥ 116.6 billion
US$ 14.5 billion
 • Per capitaCN¥ 89,248
US$ 13,834
Time zoneUTC 8 (China Standard)
Area code0562
ISO 3166 codeCN-AH-07
License plate prefix皖G
Websitetl.gov.cn (in Chinese)

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

edit

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]

Geography

edit

Tongling 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

edit
Climate data for Tongling (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1981–2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 21.4
(70.5)
28.2
(82.8)
32.4
(90.3)
33.5
(92.3)
35.1
(95.2)
38.2
(100.8)
40.1
(104.2)
40.1
(104.2)
38.5
(101.3)
33.0
(91.4)
28.8
(83.8)
22.1
(71.8)
40.1
(104.2)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 7.6
(45.7)
10.6
(51.1)
15.5
(59.9)
21.9
(71.4)
27.0
(80.6)
29.5
(85.1)
32.9
(91.2)
32.4
(90.3)
28.2
(82.8)
22.9
(73.2)
16.7
(62.1)
10.1
(50.2)
21.3
(70.3)
Daily mean °C (°F) 3.9
(39.0)
6.5
(43.7)
11.0
(51.8)
17.1
(62.8)
22.2
(72.0)
25.5
(77.9)
28.9
(84.0)
28.2
(82.8)
23.9
(75.0)
18.4
(65.1)
12.2
(54.0)
6.2
(43.2)
17.0
(62.6)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 1.2
(34.2)
3.4
(38.1)
7.5
(45.5)
13.2
(55.8)
18.4
(65.1)
22.3
(72.1)
25.7
(78.3)
25.2
(77.4)
20.7
(69.3)
14.9
(58.8)
8.9
(48.0)
3.2
(37.8)
13.7
(56.7)
Record low °C (°F) −7.8
(18.0)
−8.9
(16.0)
−3.1
(26.4)
3.0
(37.4)
9.2
(48.6)
13.0
(55.4)
19.1
(66.4)
16.7
(62.1)
12.8
(55.0)
4.6
(40.3)
−3.8
(25.2)
−8.2
(17.2)
−8.9
(16.0)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 74.8
(2.94)
82.7
(3.26)
121.4
(4.78)
133.0
(5.24)
147.8
(5.82)
244.7
(9.63)
198.4
(7.81)
130.5
(5.14)
83.3
(3.28)
65.5
(2.58)
71.4
(2.81)
48.0
(1.89)
1,401.5
(55.18)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 11.5 10.9 13.6 11.9 12.3 13.2 11.9 11.9 9.1 8.4 9.3 8.3 132.3
Average snowy days 4.5 2.4 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.2 1.6 9.7
Average relative humidity (%) 77 76 74 73 74 79 78 80 79 76 77 75 77
Mean monthly sunshine hours 105.6 112.3 136.6 163.1 179.7 156.9 213.4 199.2 160.3 160.0 137.8 126.8 1,851.7
Percent possible sunshine 33 36 37 42 42 37 50 49 44 46 44 40 42
Source: China Meteorological Administration[6][7]

Administration

edit

The 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]

Map
Defunct divisions

Transport

edit

As of November 2017, Tongling has two bridges across the Yangtze River.

Rail

edit

Tongling is served by the Nanjing–Tongling, Tongling–Jiujiang, Lujiang-Tongling Railways, Nanjing–Anqing Intercity Railway and Hefei-Fuzhou High-Speed Railway.

Culture

edit

The 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 specialties

edit

Tongling ginger

edit

Tongling 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 tofu

edit

Tongling 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 towns

edit
 
Statue of Schiller located at Tongling Tianjinghu park

The 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

edit
  1. ^ "China: Ānhuī (Prefectures, Cities, Districts and Counties) - Population Statistics, Charts and Map".
  2. ^ "《安徽统计年鉴2022》电子查阅版". tjj.ah.gov.cn. Archived from the original on 2022-10-18. Retrieved 2022-10-18.
  3. ^ "Tongling | China". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2021-10-31.
  4. ^ "Tongling | Copper Mining, Ancient City & Yangtze River | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2024-11-05.
  5. ^ 铜陵城市介绍 (in Simplified Chinese). Weather China. Retrieved 2013-01-07.
  6. ^ 中国气象数据网 – WeatherBk Data (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  7. ^ "Experience Template" 中国气象数据网 (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  8. ^ 我省出台方案落实中部崛起新政 细化83项重点工程. Tongling People's Government. Retrieved 2013-01-07.
  9. ^ "Friendship garden is full of Eastern promise". Cheshire Live. Reach plc. 22 June 2006. Retrieved 2 November 2020.

"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.

edit