Nanyang |
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Located in southwestern Henan and at the junction of the three provinces of Hubei, Henan and Shannxi, Nanyang covers an area of 26,600 square kilometers and has a  population of 10.7 million with 1 city, 2 districts and 10 counties under its jurisdiction.
Nanyang is a famous historical and cultural city, and was called "Wan" in ancient times. During the Warring States Period, Nanyang was one of the most well-known iron-smelting centers in China while in the Western Han Dynesty, it had developed into one of the six metropolises in the country. It was in Nanyang that Liu Xiu, Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty, rose to power, hence it was also called "Nandu" and " Dixiang", meaning the home of emperors. There are now 8 key units of cultural relics under state protection and 64 key units under provincial protection. Nanyang has produced a great number of historical celebrities, such as Zhang Heng, sage of science; Zhang Zhongjing, sage of Chinese traditional medicine; Zhuge Liang, a master of strategy, Fan Li, a master of business; Eryuehe, a  modern Chinese writer and Wang Yongmin, an inventor.
In addition to its profound cultural accumulation, Nanyang also features splendid natural scenery. Baotianman is placed in the list of the Human and Nature Biosphere Reserve Network of the world by UNESCO. Large quantity of fossil dinosaur eggs discovered in Nanyang were regarded as the "Ninth Wonder of the World". The Danjiangkou Resevior, the largest man-made freshwater lake in Asia, serves as the water source of the middle-route of the national project of diverting water from the south to the north. The picturesque Baihe Scenic Spot is also charming and appealing. There are more than 920,000 hectares of woodland in Nanyang and percentage of forest cover here is 34%. Nanyang was elected ¡°China Excellent Tourism City¡± and the ¡°National Garden City¡± in 2005.
The reserves of trona and andalusite in Nanyang rank first in Asia. The reserves of kyanite, blue asbestos and rutile take the first place in China. The city has gained a fine reputation of "natural granary", and serves as a national production base of commodity grain, cotton and edible oil. Nanyang's cattle is one of the eight fine breeds in China and jade produced here is one of the four famous kinds in the country.
A number of enterprises well-known both at home and abroad have made considerable investments in Nanyang, such as Asia Pulp & Paper Company Ltd. (APP), Delixi Group Import & Export Co., Ltd., Hangzhou Wahaha Group Corporation, China Building Materials Company. Local enterprises like Nanyang Cigarette Factory, the Second Film Factory of Lucky Group, Henan Wanxi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., and Henan Oilfield Company have been placed in the list of key enterprises of the country. In 2005, Nanyang's GDP reached RMB£¤105 billion. Statistics show that it has been favored by 4.26 million tourists from home and broad last year. Nanyang has also established friendly relationship with Nanyou, Japan; Kiryatgat, Israel and Belem, Brazil.
Transportation in Nanyang is convenient. The Jiaozuo-Zhicheng Railway traverses the city from the south to the north, while the Nanjing-Xi¡¯an Railway from the east to the west; and state and provincial highways crisscross the area. The Nanyang Airport is one of the civil airports in Henan Province and flight services to Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen are available. |
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