Introduction to Changde City

Basic Overview. Changde is located in the northwest of Hunan Province, in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River within the Dongting Lake water system, along the lower reaches of the Yuan River and the middle-lower reaches of the Li River, at the northeastern edge of the Wuling and Xuefeng mountain ranges. To the east, Changde borders the West Dongting Lake, interlocking with the lake branches of Nanxian and Yuanjiang in Yiyang; to the west, it leans against the mountains of western Hunan, adjoining the Wuling Mountains that wind through Cili County and Yongding District of Zhangjiajie and Yuanling County of Huaihua...

This article has been compiled from historical materials in the "Zhangjiajie Tour Guide Network" (33519.com · City Overview section). Some administrative divisions, population, socioeconomic data, and policy information may be outdated and are for reference only; for the latest situation, please refer to official releases by the local government and scenic areas.

Basic Overview

Changde is located in the northwest of Hunan Province, in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, in the lower reaches of the Yuan River and the middle and lower reaches of the Li River of the Dongting Lake water system, and at the northeastern end of the Wuling Mountains and Xuefeng Mountains. To the east, Changde City borders the West Dongting Lake, with interlacing lake branches with Nanxian and Yuanjiang City of Yiyang City; to the west, it leans against the mountains of western Hunan, connecting with the Wuling Mountains winding through Cili County and Yongding District of Zhangjiajie City and Yuanling County of Huaihua City; to the north, it rests on the mountains of western Hubei and the Jianghan Plain, connecting with the mountainous areas of Hefeng County of Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture and Wufeng County of Yichang City in Hubei, as well as the plains of Songzi City, Gong'an County, and Shishou City of Jingzhou City; to the south, it reaches the Zishui River basin, with the Wuyun Mountains serving as the watershed between Changde City and Ziyang District, Taojiang County, and Anhua County of Yiyang City. The northernmost point of Changde City is Tongmu Village, Huping Mountain Town, Shimen County (30°07′53″N), the southernmost point is Xuejiachong Village, Xi'an Town, Taoyuan County (28°24′31″N), the westernmost point is the State-owned Dongshan Peak, and the easternmost point is Yanbaoshan Horticultural Farm, Bailuqiao Township, Hanshou County (112°17′52″E). The city's east-west width is 179.35 kilometers, north-south length is 190.80 kilometers, and it is 150 kilometers from the provincial capital Changsha. Historically known as the 'throat of Qian and Sichuan, gateway to Yunnan and Guizhou'. It is an important transportation hub, energy base, and political and cultural center in northwestern Hunan, and also a link and hub of the golden tourism corridor from the Three Gorges to Dongting Lake and from Mount Heng to Zhangjiajie. It has successively been awarded honorary titles such as 'International Garden City', 'National Sanitary City', 'National Civilized City', 'China Excellent Tourism City', 'National Garden City', 'National Excellent Traffic Management City', 'National Advanced City in Comprehensive Social Security Management', and 'National Advanced City in Comprehensive Urban Environmental Improvement'.

Changde City administers two districts, Wuling and Dingcheng, six counties, Anxiang, Hanshou, Lixian, Linli, Taoyuan, and Shimen, and Jinshi City. The city's total area is 18,200 square kilometers, including 15 ethnic groups such as Han, Tujia, Miao, Hui, and Uyghur. At the end of 2008, the registered population was 6.1416 million.

Changde has a long history and culture. Its history of civilization can be traced back 6,000 years. Changde city was first built during the Warring States period, more than 2,300 years ago. In ancient China, Changde was called Wuzhou, Langzhou, and Dingzhou. It has always been a place of flourishing culture and is an important birthplace of the Xiang-Chu culture.

Changde is rich in resources and products. Changde is an important agricultural production base in China. Its output of grain, cotton, oil, tea, citrus, poplar, freshwater fish, freshwater pearls, and other products ranks among the top in Hunan Province and occupies an important position nationwide. Changde is known in China as the 'home of non-metallic minerals.' A total of 145 mineral deposits have been proven in the area, among which realgar reserves rank first in Asia, and diamond, stone coal, and mirabilite reserves rank first in the country. The reserves and output of phosphate rock, gypsum, bentonite, and others all rank among the top in the province. The whole city has formed leading industries such as tobacco, aluminum, electric power, food, paper, textiles, machinery, building materials, medicine, and electronics, and has built the Deshan High-tech Industrial Park and 11 county-level industrial parks.

Changde has beautiful mountain and water scenery. It belongs to a humid monsoon climate zone. The area has mountain, hilly, plain, and lake landforms, an excellent ecological environment, beautiful lakes and mountains, and many scenic spots and historical sites. The Taohuayuan Scenic Area, a national 4A-level scenic spot in China; Jiashan Temple, a thousand-year-old Buddhist holy site; Huping Mountain, the roof of Hunan; and the 'China Changde Poetry Wall,' which is listed in the Guinness World Records, are famous at home and abroad. Changde is also close to the world-famous Zhangjiajie National Forest Park.

Changde, which has already ranked among China's outstanding tourist cities, boasts 4 national key cultural relics protection units, 40 provincial key cultural relics protection units, 2 national nature reserves, and 3 provincial-level scenic (tourist resort) areas. It has nearly 300 tourist accommodation facilities of various types with close to 10,000 standard guest rooms, 28 travel agencies, and 1,800 taxis. Six domestic air routes and 2 expressways have been opened; there are nearly ten water transport routes. The Shimen-Changsha Railway and the Zhicheng-Liuzhou Railway converge here, and two national highways, No. 319 and No. 207, run through the entire city, making transportation convenient and accessible. International direct-dial telephone service reaches all countries and regions, and the telephone penetration rate ranks first in Hunan Province. The Changde Information Port, multimedia communication network, and high-speed paging transmission system have been completed and put into operation. International postal remittance, electronic mail, and other services have all been opened, making communications fast and convenient. Urban construction is changing with each passing day, and the city has become an all-weather, multi-functional modern tourist city integrating sightseeing, archaeological exploration, leisure vacations, and business conferences and exhibitions.

Changde is currently carrying out in depth the creation activities for the National Model City for Traffic Management, the National Model City for Environmental Protection, and the China Best Human Settlements Award. According to the "Master Plan for Changde City from 2001 to 2020" approved by the State Council, by 2020 Changde will be built into a large city with a population of 800,000 to 1.2 million and an urban area of 100 square kilometers.

Physical Geography

The geomorphology of Changde is roughly composed of "three parts hills and mounds, two and a half parts mountains, and four and a half parts plains and water surfaces." The mountainous area is 6,776,100 mu, accounting for 24.8% of the city's total land area; the plain area is 9,789,800 mu, accounting for 35.9% of the total; the water surface is 2,207,600 mu, accounting for 8.1%; and the hilly and mound land is 8,530,000 mu, accounting for 31.2% of the total. The city currently has 7,022,700 mu of cultivated land, accounting for 38.15% of the total land area and 15% of the province's cultivated land.

The northwestern part of Changde City belongs to the Wuling Mountain system, a middle and low mountain area; the central part mostly features red rock hilly areas, among which fault-block uplift mountains (such as Taiyang Mountain) and residual island-shaped arc mountains (such as Taifu Mountain) also appear; the eastern part is the lower reaches of the Yuan and Li Rivers and the Dongting Lake plain area; the southwestern part is the remnant range of the Xuefeng Mountains, forming a middle mountain area. This constitutes the basic geomorphic outline of the region: high in the south and north, low in the middle, with two mountain ranges flanking a depression. The formation of the city's geomorphology has undergone multiple tectonic movements since the Proterozoic Wuling Movement. At the end of the Proterozoic, the city area was a broad ancient sea trough. Influenced by the Caledonian Movement, the Wuling Mountain area rose along with the Jiangnan Old Land, and the sea withdrew. At this time, Changde, Linli, Shimen, and other counties became land. The Indosinian Movement caused the sea to withdraw completely from the entire region, basically ending the history of marine sedimentation. The Yanshanian Movement laid the foundation and framework of the region's geomorphology, roughly similar to today. The Neotectonic Movement had the greatest impact on the present terrain, causing the western region to continue rising, leading to intense erosion and the formation of tectonic landforms. The central Changde-Taoyuan Basin rose weakly or remained stable, causing intense accumulation and weak erosion and denudation, forming fluvial landforms; the eastern region subsided intermittently, lacustrine deposition prevailed, and together with human factors, formed lacustrine-anthropogenic landforms and biological landforms. The entire city's terrain slopes from west to east, and the geomorphic types are distributed in the order of middle mountains, middle-low mountains or mountain plateaus, low mountains-eroded and denuded hills, mound land-fluvial accumulation plains, and lacustrine enclosed plains.

Northwestern Mountain Plateau Area:

It borders Cili to the west, Hubei to the north, and reaches the central-northern mountain area of the region to the east. Within the area, the Wuling Mountains wind along, with high mountain plateaus, continuous ridges, flat tops, steep slopes, and deep valleys, and well-developed karst landforms. There are 31 peaks with an elevation of over 1,000 meters. The terrain is high in the west and low in the east, sloping from northwest to southeast. Lofty mountains and ridges and valleys are mostly arranged in parallel, and the direction of the mountain ranges mostly conforms to the structural lines. Among the continuous rolling ridges, flat basins often emerge, or there are undulating hills. The main mountain ranges include Huping Mountain and Dongshan Peak. Huping Mountain has an elevation of 2,098.7 meters and 2,667 hectares of primeval secondary forest. It is one of the best-preserved "forest resource gene banks" in the central China flora of China's subtropical zone.

Central-Northern Mountain Area:

The landforms are mainly middle-low mountains and low mountains, with basins, valleys, and mountain gullies interlocking. The terrain is high in the northwest and low in the southeast. Within the area, there are nearly 100 peaks with an elevation of over 800 meters. The mountain bodies run east-west, with a relative elevation of 1,088 meters. Because the ridges are steep and the valleys deep, with crisscrossing streams and valleys, and because cultivation is not entirely rational and vegetation has been severely damaged, whenever the rainy season comes, gully erosion occurs, and large amounts of mud, sand, and gravel rush down from the mountains to the foot of the slopes with the flowing water, often silting up streams and gullies, destroying farmland, and forming bare mountains and bald ridges.

Central Hilly Area:

Within the area, the terrain in the west is slightly higher than in the east, and the south is slightly lower than the north, showing an alternating distribution of ridges, shallow hills, and valleys, with many flat-topped hills and mounds. Because Taifu Mountain and Taiyang Mountain face each other in a nearly north-south direction in the center, they form a "dustpan-shaped" basin opening to the north.

Eastern Plain Area:

Within the area, controlled by the "Dongting Depression," the terrain is low, flat, and open, with 97.5% of the area below 50 meters in elevation, winding rivers and ports, and numerous embankments and polders. At present, sedimentation in the lake area is becoming increasingly intense, and the riverbed and lakebed are continuously rising. The trend of rivers being higher than lakes and lakes being higher than fields is still accelerating.

Southwestern Mountain and Hilly Area:

Within the area, the mountain bodies are relatively tall, and ridges and valleys are distributed in alternating northwestward-protruding arcs. The terrain is high in the south and low in the north, sloping from southwest to northeast. Within the area, there are 43 peaks with an elevation of over 300 meters (including 7 with an elevation of over 1,000 meters). Streams and rivers are well developed, and water resources are very abundant.

Southern Hilly Plain Area:

Within the area, the terrain is high in the south and low in the north, arranged in sequence with low mountains, hills, mound land, and stream valley plains. The water system mostly originates from the southwestern mountains, flows through stream valley plains, and converges into the Yuan River. Within the area, there are 207,360 hectares below 100 meters in elevation.

The northwestern part of Changde City belongs to the Wuling Mountain system, a middle and low mountain area; the central part mostly features red rock hilly areas, among which fault-block uplift mountains (such as Taiyang Mountain) and residual island-shaped arc mountains (such as Taifu Mountain) also appear; the eastern part is the lower reaches of the Yuan and Li Rivers and the Dongting Lake plain area; the southwestern part is the remnant range of the Xuefeng Mountains, forming a middle mountain area. This constitutes the basic outline of the city: high in the south and north, low in the middle, with two mountain ranges flanking a depression.

The city has 515 peaks with an elevation of over 800 meters (1 in Li County, 469 in Shimen County, and 45 in Taoyuan County), including 43 peaks with an elevation of over 1,000 meters. The highest peak, Huping Mountain, has an elevation of 2,098.7 meters, the highest among all peaks in the province. They plunge from west to east into the Dongting Lake plain area.

Huping Mountain

Huping Mountain is located in Shimen County, at the northernmost tip of Hunan Province. The mysterious 30th parallel north passes through its hinterland. Its main peak, at 2,098.7 meters above sea level, is the highest peak in Hunan Province and is known as the 'Roof of Hunan'. The tourism development area is about 1,200 square kilometers, of which the nature reserve covers 665.8 square kilometers. It is the intersection of the Greater Xiangxi Tourism Circle and the Three Gorges Tourism Circle, and one of Hunan's top ten mountain landscapes. Huping Mountain is a 'precious biological species gene bank' in Central China, the most complete species treasure house in the same latitude zone of Eurasia, a national nature reserve, and one of the 200 key ecoregions worldwide (only 9 in China) identified by international organizations such as the World Wide Fund for Nature. Within the area there are 266 peaks above 1,000 meters above sea level, and the maximum relative height difference between peaks and valleys reaches more than 1,800 meters. The total length of the canyon reaches over 200 kilometers, with dozens of canyons forming 'a single line of sky' precipices, making it the region with the deepest, narrowest, and most majestic canyon development in central and eastern China. Huping Mountain has the most complete standard stratigraphic section of its era discovered so far in China and the world's largest Cambrian stratigraphic section. Huping Mountain has 7 radial deep ravines that surge out like snow from the dense forests and karst caves deep in the mountains, plunging a thousand meters, converging with thousands of cascades, rapids, clear pools, and waterfalls into the Xie River, a first-level tributary of the clear Lishui River several zhang wide. Huping Mountain was not invaded by Quaternary glaciers, with dense primeval forests and a forest coverage rate of 94%, preserving a large number of rare animals and plants. The total number of plants identified so far reaches over 6,500 species, including 34 rare and endangered plants such as dove tree, Shimen hornbeam, and long-fruited snowbell; there are 172 species of terrestrial vertebrates, including 53 rare and endangered animals such as South China tiger, Sumatran serow, and short-billed swiftlet. Here you can see plant strangling, parasitism, aerial roots, and buttress roots, landscapes found only in tropical rainforests. Huping Mountain is not hot in midsummer, and in winter, snow accumulation generally lasts about 60 days per year. The negative oxygen ion content can reach up to 100,000 per cubic centimeter. Huping Mountain is a Tujia ethnic settlement with rich folk customs and was once part of the Xiang-E-Xi and Xiang-E-Chuan-Qian revolutionary base areas. The poet immortal Li Bai once wandered here, leaving behind the famous lines: 'Huping flies waterfalls, peach blossoms fall at the cave entrance.'

Taifu Mountain

Taifu Mountain in Linli was originally named Zhanglong Mountain. It is said that Fuqiuzi practiced cultivation and attained the Dao here in the Han Dynasty, making it famous throughout the world, so it was renamed Taifu Mountain. Taifu Mountain is located 12 kilometers southwest of the county seat. National Highway 207 and the Shimen-Changsha Railway pass at the foot of the mountain. Provincial Highway 1801, which runs through Huayanxi, Taohuayuan, and Jiashan Temple, passes by the southwestern foot of the mountain. The entire Taifu Mountain covers an area of 4,300 hectares, with an elevation of 604.5 meters, 99 ridges, and 33 forks. Its "Twenty-Four Scenic Spots" are famous in Jiangnan. From the mid-Han Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty, it was a period of prosperity and development for Buddhism and Daoism. During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, it formed the four major Daoist holy sites in Hunan Province: Taohuayuan in Taoyuan County, Taifu Mountain in Linli County, Guanguo Mountain in Shimen County, and Wulei Mountain in Cili County. Temples built in successive dynasties were grand. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, there were still the Golden Summit Great Temple, Iron Tile Temple, Hanwang Temple, Susheng Temple, Wangtong Temple, Yuhuang Temple, Fushan Temple, Ershui Temple, Guanyin Temple, Guangle Temple, and others. It is one of the 48 blessed places of Dongting. Historically, tourists came in droves, and incense flourished for nearly two thousand years. Every year, tens of thousands of guests from home and abroad and compatriots from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao come here for sightseeing and tourism. In 2001, it was approved as a national forest park.

Xuefeng Mountains

The watershed between the different natural landscapes of eastern and western Hunan Province and between the Yuan River and the Zi River. Located in the central-western part of the province, it is the southern turning zone of China's second topographic step, the eastern edge where the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau transitions to the Jiangnan Hills; it is a relatively unique geographical unit.

The Xuefeng Mountains belong to the southwestern section of the "Primitive Jiangnan Old Land," presenting an arc-shaped structure protruding to the northwest. Widely distributed are the pre-Sinian Lengjiaxi Group and Banxi Group, a set of strata composed of lightly metamorphosed slate, metamorphic sandstone, and phyllite. Sinian metamorphic clastic rocks are also well developed. Strata composed of Cambrian-Silurian slate, limestone, and fine sandstone of the Early Paleozoic are exposed intermittently. Due to uplift by the Caledonian Movement, a series of NNE to NE trending uplifts and depressions were formed; then, strongly influenced by the Yanshanian Movement, a series of NNE trending faults and folds were produced, further laying the foundation for the tectonic geomorphological pattern of the Xuefeng Mountains.

The Xuefeng Mountains are an ancient uplifted mountain range of positive structure, starting from the Danan Mountains on the Hunan-Guizhou border in the south, with its tail plunging into the Dongting Lake area, stretching more than 300 kilometers and spanning 80-120 kilometers. It has peaks and ridges above 1,000 meters. The middle section has a ridge elevation of 1,200-1,700 meters. The main peak, Subao Ding of Luoweng Bamian Mountain, has an elevation of 1,934 meters. Influenced by inherited intermittent uplift activity and external forces, the mountain body presents multiple levels of denudation surfaces at 900-1,100 meters, 650-800 meters, 450-550 meters, and 240-350 meters. The depth of valley incision ranges from 150 to 750 meters. Coupled with fault development, ridges and ravines alternate and undulate. On both sides of the entire mountain body, the terrain generally shows a steep eastern slope and a gently inclined western slope. The Yuan River tributaries Wushui, Xushui, and Yiwangxi, and the western source of the Zi River and its tributaries Pingxi and Chenxi all originate from both sides of the mountain. The two main streams cut through the central-northern section of the Xuefeng Mountains, and the river channels turn in an "S" shape, forming canyons.

The mountains are cold in winter and cool in summer, humid and rainy. The Xuefeng Meteorological Station, located high at 1,405 meters, has an annual average temperature of 10.5°C, a January average temperature of -0.5°C, a July average of 18.3°C, annual precipitation of 1,780 millimeters, relative humidity of 87%, 247 foggy days, annual sunshine hours of 1,144 hours, and annual snow cover days of 19. The main soil in the mountains is yellow soil, distributed in the 200-1,000 meter zone; yellow-brown soil is distributed in the 1,000-1,400 meter zone, and mountain meadow soil at the top. Forest vegetation has a relatively obvious vertical spectrum. The vegetation is in the intersection zone of the central China flora and the south China flora, and has many elements of the Guizhou-Guangxi flora. It belongs to the mid-subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest belt. Forest resources account for about 50-60% of the province's total. In primeval secondary forest areas such as Naxi (Dongkou), Bamian Mountain (Qianyang), Huangsang (Suining), Zhucha Mountain (Chengbu), Yunshan (Wugang), and Jiefu Mountain (Xinning), one can see Cephalotaxus, Machilus, Emmenopterys henryi, Schima argentea, Taxus chinensis, Michelia foveolata, Liriodendron chinense, Fagus lucida, five-needle pine, Tsuga longibracteata, ginkgo, Yunshan Bretschneidera, Yunshan Tilia, Yunshan Michelia, Cathaya argyrophylla, and other endemic and rare ancient precious tree species. Forest musk deer, tufted deer, sambar deer, South China tiger, leopard, and rare birds and animals such as red-bellied tragopan, Cabot's tragopan, golden pheasant, silver pheasant, and lovebird often inhabit the area. Minerals include iron, manganese, antimony, tungsten, lead, zinc, copper, and gold. The river channels originating in and flowing through the mountainous area are rich in hydropower resources. Many water conservancy and hydropower projects such as the Zhexi Hydropower Station and the Dazhen Reservoir have been built. For land transportation, the main highway from Shaoyang and Changde in the east crosses mountain passes into the Xiangxi region; the Hunan-Guizhou Railway connects the east and west sides along the mountain passes between the Zi River and the Yuan River.

Hefu Mountain

Hefu Mountain is located on the north bank of the Yuan River, close to the urban area of Changde, at the foot of the lush Hefu Mountain. There is a small town with a simple and rustic charm. It is said that this place was already a market more than two thousand years ago. It was formerly called Pingshan and later called Hefu Mountain. In the early days of liberation, Hefu Town was formally established. Today, as long as you come to Hefu Town, you can see that at the foot of the mountain, high-rise buildings and factories are hidden in the green shade, the market is bustling with traffic, and a scene of prosperity and flourishing is everywhere.

Hefu Mountain is a remnant range of the Wuling Mountains, extending from Gaowu Mountain in Taoyuan, with a length of ten li. Ancient trees reach the sky, and the mountain terrain winds back, making it a place contested by military strategists of successive dynasties. At the same time, it was the main battlefield of the Changde Anti-Japanese Battle. The highest point of the mountain is called Beauty Peak, with fantastic and beautiful peaks and a gorgeous, colorful appearance. During the Republic of China period, Daoist Yang, who lived at Taihe Temple on the mountain, once wrote a couplet embedding the eight scenic spots of Hefu Mountain: "Chisel and see Zhuodao Spring, gaze afar at Five Streams, play out wild deer holding the bright moon; quench thirst at Cuipo Well, sing loudly at Tutu, hear the rhinoceros released chasing white clouds." Among the eight scenic spots in the couplet, Zhuodao Spring, Cuipo Well, Rhinoceros Mouth, and White Cloud Cave are especially widely circulated and known to everyone.

Yuan River

The Yuan River, also known as Yuanshui, is the second largest river in Hunan, a province in central-southern China. It has two sources, north and south. The southern source is Longtou River, originating from Yunwu Mountain in Duyun, Guizhou Province. The northern source is Chong'an River, originating from the great mountains between Pingyue in Majiang County, Guizhou Province. After the two sources merge, it is called Qingshui River. At Luanshan it enters Zhijiang County, Hunan Province. Flowing east to the confluence with Wushui at Qiancheng, it is called the Yuan River. It flows through Huitong, Hongjiang, Zhongfang, Xupu, Chenxi, Luxi, Yuanling, Taoyuan, and Changde, and empties into Dongting Lake at Deshan in Changde. The main stream has a total length of 1,033 kilometers (568 kilometers in Hunan), a basin area of 89,163 square kilometers, of which 51,066 square kilometers are in Hunan Province, and a multi-year average runoff of 39.33 billion cubic meters.

Li River

The Li River is one of the four major rivers in Hunan Province. The main stream of the Li River has three sources: north, middle, and south, with the northern source as the main one. The northern source originates from Shanmujie in Sangzhi County, Hunan Province; the middle source originates from the eastern foot of Badagong Mountain in Sangzhi County; and the southern source originates from Longjiazhai in Yongshun County, Hunan. After the three sources merge at Nancha in Sangzhi County, they flow east. Along the way, it receives tributaries such as the Lou River, Xie River, Dao River, and Cen River, and empties into Dongting Lake at Xiaodukou in Jinshi City. The main stream has a total length of 388 kilometers, a basin area of 18,496 square kilometers (15,505 square kilometers in Hunan), and a multi-year average runoff of 13.12 billion cubic meters.

Historical Evolution

In the seventh year of the Zhenghe era of the Northern Song Dynasty (1117), it was named Changde Army, taking the meaning of the minor preface to "Chang Wu" in the Book of Songs: "There is constant virtue to establish military affairs."

Changde has a long history. In 277 BC (the 30th year of King Zhaoxiang of Qin), Zhang Ruo, the Shu commandery governor, "attacked and took Wu Commandery and Jiangnan," and built a city wall east of present-day Wuling District, giving it a history of more than 2,200 years. Historically known as Wuling, Langzhou, and Dingcheng, it was once the seat of commandery governance for seven dynasties, a military headquarters for seven dynasties, and a fiefdom for seven generations of vassal kings. Its jurisdiction once extended as far as northwestern Hunan, southwestern Hubei, northeastern Guizhou, and northeastern Guangxi, and it has long been known as the "lips and teeth of Western Chu" and the "throat of Guizhou and Sichuan."

As early as 300,000 BC, primitive people already lived and gathered in the plains and mountains of the Yuan and Li river basins in the Changde area. More than 40 Paleolithic sites have been found in Linan Township and Zhanggongmiao Town of Li County, Yaopo Township of Jinshi City, the lower reaches of the Xieshui River in Shimen, and Gangshi in Guanxi Town of Dingcheng District. Excavated stone tools include flakes, hammers, balls, points, and choppers. Primitive people used these crude tools to gather fruits and hunt wild animals.

The excavation of the Pengtoushan site in Li County proves that Changde entered the Neolithic Age about 9,000 years ago. By this time, primitive people had mastered stone polishing and pottery-making techniques. The lower-layer culture of Zaoshi in Shimen, dating back more than 7,000 years, is one of the representatives of China's early Neolithic culture. During this period, production tools already included axes, chisels, and other cutting tools made from polished river cobbles, as well as fishing net weights, and people had mastered primitive pottery-making techniques to produce simple eating and drinking vessels.

The Tangjiagang site in Anxiang, dating back more than 6,500 years, reflects the prosperous life of a matrilineal clan society in Changde at that time, in which women held the dominant position. The Huachengang site in Anxiang, dating back more than 5,000 years, is strong evidence that Changde had entered a patrilineal clan society. During this period, production tools were greatly improved; stone drilling, cutting, and polishing techniques became relatively mature; and pottery was generally finished using a slow wheel.

During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, Changde had a thriving population and a prosperous economy. The city has more than 550 sites from the Shang and Zhou periods, and unearthed objects include arrowheads, hairpins, fishhooks, and bronze-melting furnaces. The Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods were an era of social change in history. Changde has more than a thousand Warring States tombs, as well as Warring States city sites such as Cailing City in Taoyuan, Shenming City in Linli, Jijiao City in Li County, and Songyu City in Linli.

In the 22nd year of King Qingxiang of Chu (277 BC), Zhang Ruo, the Qin governor of Shu Commandery, "attacked and took Wu Commandery and Jiangnan, making it Qianzhong Commandery," and built a fort east of present-day Changde to guard it. This marked the beginning of Changde as a walled city. In the Qin dynasty, Changde belonged to Qianzhong Commandery, with the commandery office set in Linyuan County. During the reign of Emperor Gaozu of the Western Han, taking the meaning "to stop weapons is wu (martial), and high and level is ling (mound)," Qianzhong Commandery was renamed Wuling Commandery, under the Jingzhou Inspectorate. Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han restored Wuling Commandery, and in the 26th year of Jianwu (AD 50), the commandery seat was moved from Yiling (present-day Xupu County) to Linyuan County. In the 3rd year of Yangjia during the reign of Emperor Shun (AD 134), the Jingzhou Inspectorate was moved to Suo County (present-day Chengzhi Village, Hangongdu Town, Dingcheng District). During the Three Kingdoms period, Changde City was under the jurisdiction of the State of Wu, still called Wuling Commandery and belonging to Jingzhou. In the Western Jin, Changde City was divided among Wuling, Tianmen, and Nanping commanderies. In the Tang dynasty, Wuling and Lizhou were under Jiangnan West Circuit. In the Northern Song, Langzhou was changed to Dingzhou, and Lizhou was changed to Liyang Junzhou, both under Jinghu North Circuit. In the 7th year of Zhenghe during the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song (AD 1117), Dingzhou Tuanlian was upgraded to Changde Jun Jiedushi. The name "Changde" comes from Kong Yingda's commentary on the Shijing, Daya, Changwu: "It says that when commanders are appointed and troops are trained, without cruelty, the people can pursue their livelihoods; this can always be taken as a model, and this is having constant virtue (changde)." The name "Changde" began here. In the 1st year of Qiandao of the Southern Song (AD 1165), Dingzhou was upgraded to Changde Prefecture. In the Yuan dynasty, Changde Prefecture and Liyang Junzhou were changed respectively to Changde Route and Liyang Route, under the Jiangnan North Circuit of Huguang Branch Secretariat. In the early Ming dynasty, Changde Prefecture was restored, and Liyang Route was changed to Liyang Prefecture, both under the Huguang Provincial Administration Commission's Shangjingnan Circuit. In the 9th year of Hongwu (AD 1376), Liyang Prefecture was downgraded to Lizhou. In the 7th year of Yongzheng of the Qing dynasty (AD 1729), Lizhou was upgraded to a directly administered prefecture. In the Qing dynasty, Changde Prefecture and Zhili Lizhou both belonged to the Yue-Chang-Li Circuit. By the late Qing, Changde Prefecture governed four counties—Wuling, Taoyuan, Longyang, and Yuanjiang; Zhili Lizhou governed five counties—Shimen, Cili, Anxiang, Anfu, and Yongding.

In 1914, the Hunan provincial government abolished prefectures, subprefectures, and departments, retaining only "circuits." The Yue-Chang-Li Circuit was changed to Wuling Circuit, and the counties of the former Changde Prefecture and Zhili Lizhou were directly under Wuling Circuit, with the circuit seat at Changde. In 1922, Hunan Province abolished the "circuit" system, leaving only the provincial and county levels, and the counties of Changde were directly under provincial jurisdiction. In 1935, the Nationalist Government established the Xiangxi Pacification Office in Yuanling County, dividing 19 pacification counties into 5 administrative inspection districts, each with an administrative inspector who also served concurrently as the county magistrate of the seat. In 1936, the Nationalist Government formally established commissioner offices, and Shimen, Linli, and Li County were placed in the Second District. In 1937, Hunan Province generally established administrative inspection districts. The Second District governed 11 counties—Changde, Huarong, Nanxian, Anxiang, Yuanjiang, Hanshou, Li County, Linli, Shimen, Cili, and Taoyuan—and the seat of the commissioner's office was moved from Cili County to Changde County. In the 29th year of the Republic of China, Hunan Province adjusted its administrative divisions, and the Second Administrative Inspection District was changed to the Fourth District. In November 1938, the Fourth District was moved from Changde to Li County, and the Fourth Administrative Inspection District Commissioner's Office was also called the Chang-Li District Commissioner's Office.

From mid-July to early August 1949, the counties of the Fourth Administrative Inspection District were successively liberated. On August 4, the Chang-Li District Administrative Commissioner's Office, formed during the southward march, and all its staff arrived in Changde City. The Chang-Li Commissioner's Office was an agency dispatched by the Hunan Provincial People's Government and governed 9 counties: Changde, Huarong, Nanxian, Anxiang, Li County, Linli, Cili, and Taoyuan. In mid-August, the counties successively established people's governments, and on August 5 and August 15 respectively, Changde City and Jinshi City were established, with people's governments set up. On August 28, the Chang-Li District was renamed the "Hunan Provincial People's Government Changde District Administrative Commissioner's Office" (abbreviated as Changde Commissioner's Office).

On February 16, 1955, in accordance with the notice that the provincial people's government had been changed to the provincial people's committee, the Hunan Provincial People's Government Changde District Commissioner's Office was changed to the Hunan Provincial Changde Commissioner's Office. Subsequently, the people's governments of all counties and cities were changed to people's committees.

On December 30, 1962, approved by State Council Document No. 424, Yiyang Prefecture was restored, and Yiyang City and the six counties of Yiyang, Taojiang, Nanxian, Yuanjiang, Huarong, and Anhua were placed under the jurisdiction of the Yiyang Commissioner's Office.

In March 1966, the Changde Prefecture Production Leading Group was established, replacing the Changde Commissioner's Office in exercising its functions and powers. On April 10, the prefecture production leading group was abolished, and the Changde Prefecture Grasp Revolution and Promote Production Command was established. In November, its name was changed to the Changde Region Grasp Revolution and Promote Production Leading Group. On February 28, 1968, the Changde Region Revolutionary Committee was established, exercising the functions and powers of the former commissioner's office. From March to September, all counties (cities) successively established revolutionary committees, replacing the people's committees.

On March 24, 1979, the Changde Region Revolutionary Committee was abolished, and the Changde Region Administrative Office was established. From November 1979 to December 1980, all counties (cities) abolished their revolutionary committees and restored county (city) people's governments.

In January 1988, approved by State Council Document Guohan [1988] No. 18, Changde Region was abolished and provincial-level Changde City was established, implementing a system of cities governing counties. On April 18, the Hunan Provincial People's Government notified by Document Xiangzheng Han [1988] No. 22 that Changde Region and Changde County were abolished and two districts were established: the former Changde City was changed to Wuling District, and the former Changde County was changed to Dingcheng District, with the administrative areas of the two districts unchanged. Jinshi City became a provincial-level county-level city, with the provincial government entrusting Changde City to administer it on its behalf. From June 20 to 24, Changde City held its First People's Congress, formally establishing the Changde City People's Government and electing the mayor and deputy mayors.

In 2002, Changde City governed 2 municipal districts and 6 counties, and administered 1 county-level city on behalf of the province; the whole city had 10 subdistricts, 104 towns, and 105 townships; 434 residents' committees and 4,004 villagers' committees.

As of December 31, 2004, Changde City governed 2 municipal districts and 6 counties, and administered 1 county-level city on behalf of the province; the whole city had 10 subdistricts, 104 towns, and 106 townships.

As of December 31, 2005, Changde City governed 2 municipal districts and 6 counties, and administered 1 county-level city on behalf of the province; the whole city had 10 subdistricts, 104 towns, 99 townships, and 4 ethnic townships.

Sister Cities

Higashiomi City, Japan, established on July 27, 2005

Anne Arundel County, United States, established on January 27, 2005

Dimitrovgrad, Russia, established on November 7, 2006

Ipswich, Australia, established on July 12, 2007

Local Customs and Traditions

The Changde dialect belongs to the Southwest Mandarin branch of the Northern dialects. This is closely related to large-scale migration in history. According to historical records, northern residents moved south continuously from the Qin and Han dynasties onward. The Yongjia turmoil at the end of the Western Jin caused the first great southward migration of the northern population, with large numbers of people moving south along the Han River basin and crossing the Yangtze to reach the Dongting basin; this great migration continued until the Northern and Southern Dynasties. The An Lushan Rebellion in the Tang dynasty once caused "the common people of Xiangdeng (Xiangyang in Hubei and Nanyang in Henan) and the nobles of the two capitals (Chang'an and Luoyang) all to flee to Jiangxi and Hunan, so the towns of Jingnan became ten times their original number."① The migration of northern residents was large in scale, numerous in people, and concentrated in region, so their language was not only difficult to assimilate by the local indigenous language, but instead dealt a huge impact to the local indigenous language. This is the historical origin of the kinship between the Changde dialect and northern speech. In addition, from the Tang dynasty to the end of the Southern Song, Li and Lang prefectures (present-day Changde) always belonged to the administrative region centered on Jingzhou (Jiangling Prefecture), which objectively promoted the exchange, fusion, and assimilation between the Changde dialect and northern speech. It can be said that the Changde dialect has been soaked and washed by northern speech since ancient times, and finally merged with it. Although since the Ming and Qing dynasties a large number of Jiangxi residents moved to Changde, because the scale was relatively small and the region and time were not sufficiently concentrated, they did not have a major impact on the Changde dialect and were ultimately assimilated by it.

The Changde dialect also belongs to Southwestern Mandarin, and there is considerable internal consistency within the dialect. For example, in the Changde dialect, all ancient voiced stop initials have become voiceless; the ancient Lai and Ni initials are mixed in pronunciation, and n and l do not distinguish meaning; the syllables fu and xu are both pronounced as f, so 'fu' and 'hu' are homophones; there are few words with rounded medial finals, and rounded medials often change to open ones, so 'duan' is pronounced dan, homophonous with 'dan'; ancient level tone consistently splits into yinping and yangping, ancient fully voiced rising tone all merges into departing tone, most ancient entering tones have not split, and there are generally 5 tone categories; in the ancient Xie rhyme group, see-initial and xia-initial open-mouth second-division characters all have literary and colloquial readings. In addition, erhua in the Changde dialect generally requires reduplication; there are the same particles 'da', 'dao', 'qi', and so on. Of course, there are also obvious differences within the Changde dialect. The Yuan and Li rivers that run across the region divide the Changde dialect into two major dialect areas. The dialects of the Yuan River basin (Wuling, Dingcheng, Taoyuan, Hanshou) and the Li River basin (Shimen, Linli, Lixian, Anxiang, Jinshi) show their own characteristics. From the phonetic perspective alone, the dialects of the Yuan River basin (mainly referring to the urban area) all lack tStS'S and tsts's; when combined with open-mouth finals, the initial is tStS'2, when combined with closed-mouth finals, the initial is t?t??, and the final is rounded-mouth; in the dialects of the Li River basin, tsts's and tsts'S are clearly distinguished, the same as in Mandarin (except Jinshi and Anxiang); In the Yuan River basin, when x is combined with closed-mouth finals, the initial is always f; 'huan' is pronounced as f plus a, homophonous with 'fan'. In the Li River basin, f and x are mixed only before u, otherwise same as Putonghua (except Shimen dialect). In the Yuan River basin, the departing tone splits in complex ways: Taoyuan dialect splits into yin qu and yang qu, but the zi initial splits independently and does not merge with other tone categories; Hanshou dialect merges yin qu with yang ping; Dingcheng and Wuling dialects have no split in the departing tone. In the Li River basin, the departing tone always splits, and yin qu always merges into yang ping, e.g., 'ming' and 'gai' have the same tone. Anxiang and Jinshi dialects belong to the Li River basin but also show characteristics of Yuan River basin dialects, such as no retroflex initials tS, tS', S; Shimen borders Xiangxi, and its dialect also shows characteristics of Xiangxi dialects, such as the rising tone value of 41. Anxiang dialect has a distinction between Xibianhua and Nanbianhua; Xibianhua belongs to Mandarin and is dominant, while Nanbianhua belongs to Xiang dialect. This is because in the past hundred years, migrants from the Xiang-speaking area moved to Anxiang. Most of their descendants have retained the features of their ancestral Xiang dialect, while also being able to speak Mandarin, forming a situation where Mandarin and Xiang coexist.

Since liberation, and especially since reform and opening up, economic development, improved transportation, cultural prosperity, the continuous opening of social life, and especially the rapid development of radio and television have promoted the gradual popularization of Putonghua and also prompted the Changde dialect to move continuously closer to Putonghua. This is prominently shown in two aspects: first, the differences between urban dialects and Putonghua have clearly narrowed; second, the Putonghua proficiency of urban and rural residents, especially young people, has clearly improved. For example, the old pronunciations of many characters coexist with Putonghua pronunciations, and a large number of literary-colloquial and old-new variant readings have appeared. Some old pronunciations have already disappeared from the spoken language of young people. Many dialect words are also being replaced by Putonghua words, such as zixingche gradually replacing "danche" and "xianche." With social development, the differences between the Changde dialect and Putonghua will become smaller and smaller; this is an indisputable general trend of development.

Economic Overview

I. Long-renowned advantages in agricultural products

Changde's unique climatic conditions and rich water and soil resources have created the famous Jiangnan "granary, wine market, tobacco capital, textile city, and tea hometown." The city ranks first in the province in total output of grain, cotton, oil crops, livestock pigs, silkworm cocoons, and aquatic products, and is an important national production base for commercial grain, cotton, oil, pigs, and fish. Of the city's nine districts, counties (cities), 8 are national commercial grain base counties, 2 are commercial cotton base counties, 5 are commercial fish base counties, 1 is a green food production base county, and 1 is a comprehensive high-quality commercial agricultural product base county. For many years, Changde's agriculture has occupied an important position in the province and even the whole country. It not only has advanced crop farming but also relatively developed aquaculture and fruit and forestry industries, with very rich agricultural and sideline products. In addition to grain, cotton, oil, pigs, fish, and pearls ranking among the top in the province, fruits, hemp, sugar, tea, cocoons, tobacco, cattle, sheep, poultry, eggs, turtles, soft-shelled turtles, eels, and bullfrogs are famous nationwide for their high output and excellent quality. The highest annual output of major crops: more than 3.3 million tons of grain, more than 110,000 tons of cotton, and 375,000 tons of rapeseed. In 2001, the city's total rural social output value was 9.8 billion yuan (at constant prices of the 1990s), ranking among the top in the province. In recent years, a large number of high-quality agricultural products developed, such as the Jinjian series of grain and oil products, the Dongting Aquaculture series of aquatic products, Dongting hairy crabs, Hanshou Chinese soft-shelled turtles, Shimen Matou goats, Zhang Laotou beef jerky, Taoyuan large-leaf tea, Dongshan Xiufeng tea, Shimen extra-early-maturing citrus, Jinshi sweet-and-sour Chinese onions, and Wuling sauce-marinated duck, have entered the domestic market and become renowned at home and abroad. Hanshou County alone puts commercial soft-shelled turtles on the market each year accounting for one third of the national total, and has been named "China's Hometown of Soft-shelled Turtles" by the Ministry of Agriculture. Since last year, proceeding from Changde's actual conditions, the municipal party committee and municipal government have vigorously promoted the strategic adjustment of the agricultural structure and proposed the development strategy of implementing the "Five Million-Mu Project," that is, through three years of effort, bringing the city's areas of high-quality forage grass and feed grain, high-quality fast-growing and high-yield poplar, high-quality vegetables, high-quality fruit forests, and high-efficiency aquaculture water surface to 1 million mu each. Through implementing the "Five Million-Mu Project," the city's citrus area has reached 920,000 mu, with an output of 300,000 tons, making it the largest extra-early-maturing citrus production base in the country. Last year, the Ministry of Agriculture successfully held the First China Citrus Festival in Shimen County of the city, greatly enhancing the visibility of the city's citrus. The city's poplar area has reached 790,000 mu, making it one of the largest poplar production bases in the country, and Hanshou County has been named "China's Hometown of Black Poplar" by the Ministry of Agriculture. The city's high-efficiency aquaculture water surface, mainly for pearls, river crabs, soft-shelled turtles, and rare fish, has reached 1 million mu, of which pearl cultivation has developed to 130,000 mu, with 120 million pearl mussels suspended for cultivation, producing more than 1 billion grams of high-quality pearls annually, accounting for about one quarter of the national output. The city's herbivorous livestock development is gaining strong momentum. At present, a number of herbivorous livestock bases such as Sunshine Dairy, Xingguang Cattle, Shuguang Sheep, and Nanfang Grass have been formed, with a development scale of 2,000 dairy cows, 360,000 beef cattle, and 1.38 million mutton sheep.

II. Industrial Advantages Taking Initial Shape

1. Special aquatic products as a pillar industry. The city has 1.27 million mu of waters suitable for aquaculture, including over 600,000 mu of intensive culture ponds, ranking first in the province. This year, the city's aquatic product output is expected to reach 270,000 tons, with total output and quality ranking among the top in the province. During the "Tenth Five-Year Plan" period, the focus will be on developing valuable fish species. In Anxiang, Dingcheng, and Lixian, a mandarin fish and catfish breeding demonstration base will be established respectively, developing 100,000 mu of intensive culture of valuable fish, raising the per-unit yield to 400 kilograms, and gradually phasing out the four major Chinese carps. At the same time, vigorously develop other special aquatic product farming. Through five years of effort, the city will form a scale of 10,000 mu of pond crab farming and 80,000-100,000 mu of large-water-surface river crab stocking, with total output reaching 2.5 million kilograms. More than 200 million pearl oysters will be suspended for cultivation, achieving an output value of 1 billion yuan. Making full use of the city's 175,000 mu of farmable reservoirs and 266,000 mu of farmable lakes, develop icefish in the vast waters, forming a production capacity of 1.5 million kilograms annually and achieving an output value of 200 million yuan. At the same time, vigorously develop the aquatic product processing industry. The city's aquatic product processing is a weak link, with small enterprise scale, monotonous products, and low processing levels. In the coming years, the city plans to build a number of aquatic product processing enterprises with a certain scale and advanced technology in the central aquatic product counties and districts of Anxiang, Dingcheng, and Hanshou. Develop food processing products mainly based on the four major fish, so that aquatic processed products reach scale, grade, and a new level. By 2005, strive to achieve an output value of over 500 million yuan in the aquatic product processing industry.

2. Meat as a pillar industry. Live pigs are the second largest pillar product of the city's agricultural economy, with an expected slaughter of 4.6 million head this year. During the "Tenth Five-Year Plan" period, first, establish two major pig breeding bases in the Yuan River and Li River basins, focusing on developing the city's characteristic pig breed, the Taoyuan black pig. Taoyuan is required to develop into a major pig county with over 1 million Taoyuan black pigs slaughtered, and Dingcheng and Lixian should each form a production scale of over 1 million head. By 2005, the city's total pig slaughter will reach 5.5 million head. Second, vigorously develop herbivorous animals. The city is rich in grassland resources, and developing herbivorous animals has the characteristics of low cost and broad market prospects. In conjunction with the smooth implementation of the "Five Million-Mu Project," the lake area should focus on the introduction and domestication of beef cattle and mutton sheep, the mountainous area should focus on the production of Matou goats and meat rabbits, and the plain and hilly areas should focus on dairy cattle breeding, taking herbivorous animals as a breakthrough in the strategic adjustment of the city's agricultural structure. By 2005, the city will form a development scale of 30,000 dairy cattle, 300,000 beef cattle, and 10 million mutton sheep. Third, focus on developing the meat processing industry. The city has 360 large and small slaughterhouses, of which 5 have an annual slaughtering capacity of over 10,000 head. Changde Meat Processing Plant has an annual slaughtering capacity of 300,000 head and an annual processing output value of over 200 million yuan. However, most meat processing plants are limited to simple slaughtering and processing, and the processing volume is not saturated. In the future, the city's meat processing enterprises should focus on developing processed products with local characteristics such as Taoyuan black pig, Matou goat, and meat rabbit, and make efforts in developing segmented, fresh-keeping, and cooked flavored meat products. Fourth, vigorously develop the dairy processing industry, so that the city's daily fresh milk processing capacity reaches over 300 tons. By the end of the "Tenth Five-Year Plan," the output value of the animal husbandry industry should reach 6.8 billion yuan. The comprehensive processing output value should reach over 2 billion yuan.

3. Eggs and poultry as a pillar industry. The city has abundant water surface resources and a large amount of vacant land, and also has excellent local breeds such as Taoyuan large chicken and Binhu brown duck. In recent years, through the introduction of famous new breeds such as Avian chickens, Jiangnan No. 1 ducks, and Cherry ducks, a good foundation has been laid for the great development of the city's eggs and poultry. In 2001, the city produced 97.77 million birds and 283,300 tons of poultry eggs, with an output value of 1.69 billion yuan. It is expected that this year's total egg production will reach 290,000 tons, and the number of poultry produced will exceed 100 million birds. During the "Tenth Five-Year Plan" period, the focus will be on developing excellent new breeds such as Taoyuan chicken, quail, American meat pigeon, silkie, seven-colored pheasant, and Qingshui duck, with improved breeds of poultry accounting for over 50%. By 2005, 30 million waterfowl will be developed, of which Dingcheng, Hanshou, Anxiang, and Lixian will each develop 5 million, and 120 million chickens, with total egg production reaching over 400,000 tons. In major poultry breeding counties such as Anxiang, Linli, and Dingcheng, poultry processing enterprises should be planned, developing high-end products such as "board chicken" and "board duck," promoting the experience of Taiping in Linli, developing large-scale broiler breeding and series processing, and developing export products. By the end of the "Tenth Five-Year Plan," the output value of egg and poultry production will reach 3 billion yuan, and the comprehensive processing output value will reach 500 million yuan.

4. Tea as a pillar industry. The city currently has 200,000 mu of tea gardens, of which 168,000 mu are for picking, initially forming an integrated production, processing, and sales industrial system mainly based on high-quality famous teas such as "Dongshan Xiufeng," "Shimen Yinfeng," "Taoyuan Wuyun Maojian," and "Taoyuan Daye Tea." During the "Tenth Five-Year Plan" period, with the northwestern mountainous area of Shimen and the southwestern mountainous area of Taoyuan as the main body, vigorously transform old tea gardens and establish a 300,000-mu high-quality tea production base. At the same time, improve tea-making techniques and packaging, enhance tea quality and grade, and while focusing on expanding the production scale of famous teas such as "Taoyuan Daye Tea," "Wuyun Maojian," "Taoyuan Shanzhen," and "Dongshan Feng Xiufeng," cultivate export-oriented enterprises producing high-grade famous teas such as black tea, scented tea, oolong tea, and Tieguanyin.

5. Poplar as a pillar industry. In accordance with the national policy of encouraging the development of fast-growing and high-yield forests, making full use of the opportunities of returning farmland to forest and grassland, and relying on the currently developed triploid Populus tomentosa company, vigorously develop the poplar industry. By 2005, the city's high-quality poplar area will reach 2 million mu, gradually replacing the original black poplar with high-quality poplars such as triploid Populus tomentosa and Populus deltoides, and supporting processing, so that the annual output value of the entire poplar industry reaches over 2 billion yuan, and produces good ecological, economic, and social benefits.

6. Fruits and vegetables as a pillar industry. This year, the city's high-quality vegetable base and high-quality fruit forest base areas will reach 1 million mu respectively, with annual vegetable output reaching 2 million tons and various fruit output reaching 300,000 tons. However, processing is still a weak link, and the development potential is still great. During the "Tenth Five-Year Plan" period, while focusing on cultivating fruit and vegetable wholesale markets, vigorously support 10 fruit and vegetable processing enterprises, so that the annual output value of the fruit and vegetable industry reaches over 2.5 billion yuan.

According to the "Tenth Five-Year" development plan of Changde City, combined with the requirement of building a strong economic city, in the coming period, the focus of the city's agriculture and rural work is to comprehensively implement the "Five Million-Mu Project," promote the strategic adjustment of the agricultural structure and rural economic structure, promote agricultural efficiency, increase farmers' income, and enhance financial strength, and gradually build the city into a major city of high-quality agricultural products, a major city of ecological economy, and a major city of food and biological industry.

Solid Agricultural Foundation

The city has 430,000 hectares of arable land, more than two-thirds of which is alluvial plain of Dongting Lake, with fertile soil and a humid climate, making it a good place where a handful of seeds sown in spring yields a barn full of grain in autumn. There are 6.46 million mu of usable grassland, 1 million mu of farmable water surface, and 7 million mu of forest land, with innate conditions for developing animal husbandry, aquaculture, and forestry and fruit industries. Five counties and districts in the city are national agricultural product commodity bases. The output of grain, cotton, and oilseeds ranks first in the province. Fruits, hemp, tea, sugar, silkworms, tobacco, and pigs, cattle, sheep, poultry, fish, turtles, soft-shelled turtles, bullfrogs, and pearls are famous throughout the province and the country for their high output and excellent quality.

Increasingly Sound Industrial Pattern

Changde City is an industrial base in northwestern Hunan, forming an industrial system with food, textiles, machinery and electronics, chemicals, and building materials as pillars. Among them, the output of yarn, cloth, liquor, cement, and cigarettes ranks among the top in the province. Changde's developed agriculture and rich mineral resources provide a large amount of raw materials for industry, forming the current industrial pattern dominated by processing. Among the 39 major industrial categories designated by the state, except for a few industries such as oil and natural gas extraction, more than 30 major categories are distributed, forming an industrial structure with light industry as the dominant and light and heavy industries basically developing in a balanced manner.

As of the end of 2004, Changde City had 401 scale industrial enterprises, including 4 large enterprises and 49 medium-sized enterprises. As the "two replacements" reform of Changde's state-owned enterprises enters the final stage, only 68 scale industrial enterprises are state-owned and state-controlled. Of the 63 industrial and transportation enterprises included in the reform scope directly under the city, 60 have completed employee resettlement work. All 213 state-owned enterprises included in the reform scope in 9 districts and counties (cities) have completed the final work, achieving a fundamental transformation of the system.

In 2004, the city's scale industries completed an industrial added value of 13.27 billion yuan, an increase of 30%, 6 percentage points higher than the provincial average, ranking third in the province in absolute amount and second in the province in speed; completed sales output value of 28.09 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 26.7%, with a production and sales rate of 100%; realized profits of 1.95 billion yuan, ranking second in the province, an increase of 38.3%; the comprehensive index of industrial economic efficiency was 242.6%, more than 100 percentage points higher than the provincial average, ranking first in the province.

The Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government, in accordance with national industrial policies and combined with Changde's industrial reality, after scientific demonstration, have identified eleven advantageous industries for key development in Changde City in recent years, namely: tobacco industry, aluminum industry, power industry, forest and paper industry, food industry, machinery and electronics industry, textile industry, building materials industry, pharmaceutical industry, pearl industry, and salt chemical industry. In 2004, the city's top ten advantageous industries (excluding the pearl industry) completed a total industrial output value of 24.61 billion yuan, realized sales revenue of 22.33 billion yuan, realized sales tax of 6.53 billion yuan, and realized profits of 1.75 billion yuan, accounting for 87.6%, 86.7%, 97.9%, and 90.2% of the city's total respectively.

Tobacco Industry Changde Cigarette Factory is the only tobacco production enterprise in Changde. The factory's main products are the "Furong" series of cigarettes, among which "Furong Wang" has been awarded the "China Well-Known Trademark" by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. The products cover 31 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions across the country and the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions, and are exported to the United States, Southeast Asia, and other countries and regions. Its market share has ranked among the top in China's high-grade cigarettes for many years. In 2001, Changde Cigarette Factory invested 1 billion yuan to build a new joint workshop and introduce advanced cigarette production and scientific research equipment, enabling the factory to have world-class technical equipment levels. In 2004, the factory completed an output value of 11.24 billion yuan and realized profits of 1.19 billion yuan. Facing the global changes of the century, Changde Cigarette Factory has set its own "2231" goal: by the end of the "Eleventh Five-Year Plan," ensure the cigarette brand scale reaches over 2 million large boxes, the brand's annual revenue exceeds 20 billion yuan, and the enterprise's annual profit exceeds 3 billion yuan, entering the ranks of first-class enterprises in the industry and ranking among the world's top 10 tobacco companies.

Aluminum Industry In 2002, Chuangyuan Aluminum settled in Taoyuan County, Changde City, 30 kilometers from the city center. Relying on the power advantage of Wuqiangxi Hydropower Station, Chuangyuan Aluminum's electricity cost per ton of aluminum accounts for 33% of the aluminum ingot cost (15,000 kWh per ton of aluminum, electricity price 0.26 yuan/kWh), 5 percentage points lower than the domestic average (16,000 kWh per ton of aluminum, electricity price 0.305 yuan/kWh). In 2004, it completed an output value of 1.15 billion yuan and realized profits of 46.43 million yuan. From 2004 to 2007, Chuangyuan Aluminum plans to complete an investment of 5 billion yuan, reaching a production scale of 280,000 tons of electrolytic aluminum, 100,000 tons of aluminum materials, 160,000 tons of anodes, and 4.2 billion kWh of power generation (self-built 600,000 kW thermal power plant) annually, with an annual output value of 7.5 billion yuan and profits and taxes of 1 billion yuan. The medium- and long-term industrial development plan of Hunan Province has designated Changde City as an aluminum industry development base. To increase the development of the aluminum industry, the municipal government has established a leading group for the coordination of aluminum and aluminum alloy series product deep processing projects. The project site has been determined in Deshan Economic Development Zone and Taoyuan Chuangyuan Industrial Park, and preliminary market research for the project is currently underway.

Power Industry Changde currently has 5 thermal power plants and 33 hydropower stations, with a total installed capacity of 1.36 million kilowatts, of which Shimen Thermal Power Plant has 900,000 kilowatts. In 2004, the city completed a power output value of 1.56 billion yuan and realized profits of 36.56 million yuan.

Forest and Paper Industry Changde currently has 23 papermaking and paper product processing enterprises, with an annual production capacity of 250,000 tons. There are 4 medium-sized enterprises, namely Changde Heng'an Paper, Changde Tianhong Paper, Jinshi Xueli Paper, and Anxiang Heng'an Sanitary Paper. In 2004, the forest and paper industry completed an output value of 1.25 billion yuan and realized profits of 110 million yuan. According to the relevant national policies on returning farmland to lakes and returning farmland to forest, Changde City has implemented the "Five Million-Mu Project" to change the agricultural industrial structure, one of which is to plant 3 million mu of poplar trees within five years, which will provide sufficient raw material guarantee for the development of the pulp and paper industry.

Food Industry Changde currently has more than 20,000 food industry enterprises and self-employed individuals, with fixed assets of over 2 billion yuan, an annual output value of 3.5 billion yuan, and annual profits and taxes of 500 million yuan. There are 20 enterprises with an annual output value of over 10 million yuan and 3 with over 100 million yuan. A number of large and medium-sized backbone enterprises have emerged, such as Jinjian Rice Industry, Xiangli Salt Mine, Taoyuan Lu Sugar, Guoren Beer, Deshan Daqu, Wuling Liquor Industry, Hanshou Rongqi, and West Dongting Sugar Factory. Jinjian Rice Industry is "China's No. 1 Grain Stock." In 2004, it completed sales revenue of 420 million yuan, and "Jinjian Rice" won a national well-known brand. Among the city's food industry products, 5 won national silver quality awards, 92 won provincial excellent product awards, and 10 won "Hunan Brand."

Machinery and Electronics Industry Changde currently has 137 machinery and electronics manufacturing enterprises, including 78 scale enterprises, covering 15 industries such as automobiles and parts, electronic information, textile machinery, tobacco machinery, bearings, motors, and electrical appliances, with 235 types and nearly 400 specifications and models of products. There are 9,100 sets of various equipment, including 15 sets at the international advanced level, 791 sets at the domestic advanced level, and 8,294 sets at the general level. It has 4,072 employees with college degrees or above, 2,319 scientific and technological personnel with intermediate technical titles or above, 69 senior engineers and senior technicians, accounting for 12.5% of the total number of employees, 29 people with doctoral and master's degrees, and 9 people enjoying national-level treatment.

The "Juying Brand" cradles produced by Changde Textile Machinery have formed 7 major series and 29 varieties, and are the most complete, largest in output, and best in quality among similar domestic products. Among them, the YJ2-142C cradle has been included in the National Key Torch Plan. In September 2003, the "Juying Brand" cradle entered Germany, the kingdom of cradles, exporting 40,000 sets. Warp knitting machines have 4 major series and more than 30 varieties, including Tricot high-speed models, Raschel double needle bed models, and Jacquard models. Their quality, performance, and market share all rank first in the country.

The valve seats of Hunan Anfu Valve and the Wuling brand 35KV and below power transformers and combined transformers of Guoli Transformer Co., Ltd. have been awarded provincial famous brands.

Products such as the DVR system, "X"-ray machine television system, barcode customer information entry module, IC card management module, and security inspection process hard disk video recording management network retrieval module of Huanan Technology Co., Ltd. have high technological content and good market response.

The YJ17-YJ27 cigarette making and plug assembling units and YF12-YB17 storage and conveying systems produced by Changde Tobacco Machinery occupy 70% and 80% of the market share of similar domestic units. The newly developed high-grade household paper packaging unit products can replace imports.

The "Jinlong Brand" Y2 series three-phase asynchronous motors developed and produced by Jinlong Motor fill a gap in the province. The power complies with the German DIN42673 standard, and 70% of the Y1 and Y2 series products are exported to European and American markets.

Textile Industry The city currently has more than 160 textile enterprises, with a spinning capacity of 600,000 spindles, 6,000 looms, and a printing and dyeing capacity of 150 million meters/year. Among them, there are 42 textile enterprises above designated size, with total assets of 3.042 billion yuan and 23,200 employees.

Changde City is a major high-quality cotton-producing area in Hunan Province, with an annual cotton output of about 2 million dan, accounting for half of the province's total. In the earlier stage, the city's textile enterprises mainly carried out a series of technical transformations aimed at internal upgrading and filling gaps, focusing on renovating and replacing the outdated and backward equipment of former state-owned enterprises, and working hard to increase output and quality, reduce energy and material consumption, and control pollution, thereby raising their equipment and technical levels. In the later stage, development should shift toward introducing advanced fabric finishing technology, increasing the concentration of specialty industrial apparel fabrics, and cultivating terminal textile brands. In the near term, full advantage can be taken of Changde Textile Machinery's leading position in China's warp-knitting machine manufacturing industry to bring about a perfect local integration of warp-knitting machine and warp-knitted fabric manufacturing, identify a breakthrough point, provide strong support, and strive to form a warp-knitted grey fabric industrial cluster within a relatively short period, then introduce finishing plants in due course. The development plan for the textile industry in the next 3-5 years: cultivate regional cluster industries, with the annual output value of the textile industry reaching 5 billion yuan, spinning capacity reaching 800,000 spindles, and 20,000 new jobs created; build an important textile and garment production base in our province marked by Jiexin Textile, Dongxin Cotton Industry, and Yunjin Textile; build Asia's largest ramie degumming and spinning base; and build a warp-knitting industrial park with considerable influence in China.

Building Materials Industry Changde currently has 46 large-scale building materials enterprises, mainly producing cement, with a total of 40 above-scale cement production enterprises and 59 cement production lines, including 8 rotary kiln lines and 51 vertical kiln lines, with an annual production capacity of 4.84 million tons. The city's basic reserves of cement limestone are 1.5 billion tons, ranking first in the province, with high rock grade and a calcium oxide content of 51-54%; ore in most mining areas is exposed, making low-cost mining possible.

The "Badao" brand cement of Shimen Special Cement Company is a famous brand product in the province, reaching the national advanced level, and passed the strict inspection of the Three Gorges Corporation to be selected as the main construction material for the Three Gorges Dam project. Over 8 years of construction, product quality has been stable and reliable, winning praise from the Three Gorges Corporation. The "Xiangma" brand cement of Li County Yinfeng Company was selected as the main construction material for Hunan University and Wanshun Garden of Changsha Construction Bank, and the product has recently been sold to Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and other places. The "Xinxia" brand cement of Linli Xinxia Group Company and the "Ganxi" brand cement of Li County Ganxi Cement Company are both provincial quality products. Shimen Qiangsheng Cement, Taoyuan Xiongjin Special Cement, Linli Longfengshan Cement, and Dingcheng Xiangbei Cement all have considerable influence and competitiveness within the province.

Pharmaceutical Industry Changde has a complete range of pharmaceutical industries, with 26 pharmaceutical industrial enterprises, including 21 pharmaceutical manufacturers, 2 medical device companies, and 1 each in medical oxygen manufacturing, sanitary materials, and traditional Chinese medicine machinery. In addition, there are more than 80 pharmaceutical trading enterprises. Most industrial enterprises have undergone GMP technical transformation, and 5 trading enterprises have undergone GSP transformation, with both the number and standards ranking among the top in the province.

The city's pharmaceutical industrial enterprises can produce more than 100 kinds of chemical bulk drugs, 10 categories and more than 200 varieties of chemical pharmaceutical preparations, and 49 varieties of traditional Chinese medicine preparations. At present, there are 2 enterprises with output value exceeding 100 million yuan and 7 with output value exceeding 10 million yuan.

Pearl Industry Changde is one of China's main pearl-producing areas, accounting for 1/3 of the national output, with quality ranking first in the country. At present, Changde has a pearl cultivation area of 300,000 mu and 300 million pearl mussels in ponds. Because Changde has no pearl deep-processing enterprises, pearls are generally sold when the mussels are 1-2 years old. If calculated on the basis of 5-year-old mussels, the annual pearl output can reach 1,000 tons. Among them, grade I, II, and III pearls account for 40% of total output and are mainly used for ornaments; after deep processing, their output value can increase tenfold to 6 billion yuan. Grade IV and V pearls account for about 60% of total output and are mainly used for medicines and health products; after deep processing, their output value can increase at least 6-8 times to 4 billion yuan. Each year, adult pearl mussels can also provide 12,000 tons of shell, and if all were used to produce pearl layer powder, it could generate an output value of 190 million yuan. Therefore, the development prospects of Changde's pearl industry are very broad.

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Changde Laoji Chuntang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. acquired the Pearl Health Products Factory in Hekou Town, Linli County, using 8.1 tons of pearls annually, producing 27 million bottles of pearl powder medicine with an output value of 21 million yuan; it uses about 3.2 million mussel shells, produces 800 tons of pearl layer powder, and generates an output value of 13 million yuan.

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Salt Chemical Industry Changde's salt chemical industry currently mainly consists of two enterprises: Xiangli Salt Mine and Li County Xinli Chemical Co., Ltd. Xiangli Salt Mine is located in Jinshi City, an important town in northern Hunan, and is one of China's largest well and rock salt enterprises, integrating water-solution mining, vacuum salt making, and freezing nitrate extraction. It has original fixed assets of 280 million yuan and net assets of 164 million yuan, with an annual production capacity of 500,000 tons of refined salt, 45,000 tons of industrial anhydrous sodium sulfate (mirabilite), and 80 tons of potassium iodate. Its technical equipment and production process level have always been in a leading position in the industry. Li County Xinli Chemical Co., Ltd. was established in 2002 by Sichuan Xinjin Chemical Company with an investment of 80 million yuan, with an annual production capacity of 700,000 tons of mirabilite.

Rock salt and mirabilite are among Changde's advantageous mineral resources, mainly distributed in Yanjing Town and Cennan Township of Li County. Rock salt is an advantageous mineral resource of Li County and coexists with mirabilite. Two medium-sized deposits have been proven at Yanjing and Zengjiahe, with basic reserves of rock salt each exceeding 100 million tons and NaCl content of 50%-80%. The Zengjiahe mining area has reserves of 18 million tons of anhydrous mirabilite and 74 million tons of glauberite; the Yanjing mining area has 125 million tons of associated glauberite.

An increasingly perfected market economy system

Changde has established first-class foreign economic and trade, investment promotion, import and export commodity inspection and quarantine, customs, foreign exchange management, export cargo intermodal transport, and foreign investor complaint coordination and other outward-oriented economic service institutions in the province, and maintains economic and trade exchanges with more than 80 countries and regions. Schools, hospitals, research institutes, and news media of all kinds are fully available. Financial, consulting, lawyer, auditing, and notarization services are standardized. Commodity, technology, information, real estate, and talent markets are active and prosperous. With the boldness and courage to be the first, the people of Changde took the lead among inland cities in launching the tough battle of state-owned enterprise reform in 2000. Up to now, the government has invested a total of 1.8 billion yuan to bear the cost of reform, basically withdrawing state-owned capital from enterprises at both the municipal and county levels. The people of Changde have achieved a fundamental emancipation in their thinking and concepts, and enterprise production and operation, labor employment, and income distribution are completely operated according to the laws of the market economy, greatly enhancing the market competitiveness of enterprises.

A highly competitive logistics system

Changde lies at the junction of China's central and western regions and has long been a bustling hub for commodity distribution. The Qiaonan Grand Market, one of the nation's top ten wholesale markets for industrial goods, along with a number of specialized markets, is thriving. Goods from here reach Guangzhou, Shanghai, Guizhou, Sichuan, Yunnan, Chongqing, and other provinces and cities, serving a regional population of 30 million. Each year, 1 million tons of goods enter and leave via water transport, 500,000 tons via road, and 4 million tons via rail. This vast, well-regulated, and comprehensive logistics industry cluster makes Changde's logistics costs one-third lower than those of neighboring cities.

Thriving Development Zones and Industrial Parks

Changde currently has more than 30 development zones and industrial parks of various types. In Deshan, the provincial-level Deshan Economic and Technological Development Zone and Changde High-tech Industrial Park have been established. Li County Liyang Industrial Park is a national-level township industrial park and a central-western cooperation demonstration zone. Linli Taiping Development Zone and Dingcheng Guanxi Industrial Park are provincial-level industrial parks. The above industrial parks have more than 300 resident enterprises in total, and the characteristic economies of the parks are springing up like bamboo shoots after rain and thriving day by day. In recent years, Changde has firmly grasped the opportunities of Pan-Pearl River Delta regional economic cooperation and the gradient industrial transfer from developed coastal areas, especially Shanghai, and has planned characteristic parks such as "Shanghai Industrial City" and "Zhejiang Industrial City," and has sent professional investment promotion teams to actively seek joint venture and cooperative partners, also achieving good results.

Economic Development in 2008

In 2008, the city completed a gross regional product of 104.97 billion yuan, an increase of 13.2% over the previous year. Among this, the primary industry completed an added value of 23.93 billion yuan, an increase of 6.1%, contributing 10.2% to the growth of gross regional product; the secondary industry completed an added value of 46.82 billion yuan, an increase of 17.3%, contributing 55.3% to the growth of gross regional product; the tertiary industry completed an added value of 34.23 billion yuan, an increase of 12.8%, contributing 34.5% to the growth of gross regional product. Per capita gross regional product reached 19,021 yuan (calculated by permanent resident population), an increase of 19.6%. The structure of the three industries was adjusted from 24.1:42.2:33.7 the previous year to 22.8:44.6:32.6, further optimizing the structure.

Administrative Divisions

Changde City is located in the northwest of Hunan, in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, the lower reaches of the Yuan River in the Dongting Lake water system and the middle and lower reaches of the Li River, as well as the northeastern end of the Wuling Mountains and Xuefeng Mountains.

Changde Shi

0736

415000

The Municipal People's Government is stationed in Wuling District.

As of December 31, 2005, Changde City administered 2 municipal districts and 6 counties, and managed 1 county-level city on behalf of the province.

Wuling District

Area 269.5 square kilometers, of which the urban area is 28 square kilometers, population 500,000 (2003).

Dingcheng District

Area 298 square kilometers, population 460,000. Postal code 415000. The district people's government is stationed in Wuling Town.

Jinshi City

Area 558 square kilometers, population 260,000. Postal code 415400. The city people's government is stationed on Datong Road, Jinyuling.

Anxiang County

Area 1,087 square kilometers, population 580,000. Postal code 415600. The county people's government is stationed in Chengguan Town.

Hanshou County

Area 2,089 square kilometers, population 810,000. Postal code 415900. The county people's government is stationed in Longyang Town.

Li County

Area 2,075 square kilometers, population 880,000. Postal code 415500. The county people's government is stationed in Liyang Town.

Linli County

Area 1,203 square kilometers, population 440,000. Postal code 415200. The county people's government is stationed in Anfu Town.

Taoyuan County

Area 4,458 square kilometers, population 970,000. Postal code 415700. The county people's government is stationed in Zhangjiang Town.

Shimen County

Area 3,970 square kilometers, population 690,000. Postal code 415300. The county people's government is stationed in Chujiang Town.

Famous People of Changde

Song Jiaoren (1882-1913), courtesy name Dunchu, pseudonym Yufu, a native of Taoyuan County, Changde, Hunan, was a famous revolutionary.

Lin Boqu (1886-1960), originally named Zuhan, courtesy name Boqu, style name Suiyuan, was born on March 20, 1886 in Liangshuijing Village, Xiumei Town, Anfu, Hunan (present-day Linli County, Changde). He came from an ordinary rural family and was a famous proletarian revolutionary and educator.

Ding Ling (October 12, 1904 – March 4, 1986), a modern female writer. Originally named Jiang Wei, courtesy name Bingzhi, also known as Jiang Wei, Jiang Wei, and Ding Bingzhi. Pen names included Binzhi and Congxuan, among others. A native of Linli, Changde, Hunan.

Jian Bozan (1898-1968), a famous Chinese historian and social activist. A native of Taoyuan, Changde, Hunan, of Uyghur ethnicity.

Kuncan (1612–1692 AD), a painter of the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. One of the Four Monks of the early Qing. His secular surname was Liu, and he was a native of Wuling (present-day Changde City, Hunan Province), residing in Nanjing. He lost his mother in childhood and thus became a monk. His dharma name was Kuncan, courtesy name Shixi, also Jieqiu, style names Baitu, Can Daozhe, Dianzhu Daoren, and Shidaoren.

Colleges and Universities in Changde

Changde has one undergraduate institution, Hunan University of Arts and Science

Education Overview

Changde borders the Wuling and Xuefeng Mountains to the west and the Dongting Lake to the east. Historically known as the "lips and teeth of Western Chu," the "throat of Wu and Shu," and the "doorway of Yunnan and Guizhou," it "embraces the peril of Dongting on the left and commands the strategic pass of the Five Streams on the right." It administers two districts, Wuling and Dingcheng, and six counties: Hanshou, Taoyuan, Linli, Li County, Shimen, and Anxiang, as well as the Deshan Development Zone, the West Lake and West Dongting Management Districts, and two farms, Hejiashan and Dongshanfeng. It also administers Jinshi City on behalf of the province. With an area of 18,190 square kilometers and a population of 6.02 million, it is a provincially administered city newly established in June 1988 after the abolition of the Changde Prefecture. It has long been known as a granary, a textile city, a tobacco capital, a liquor market, and a tea hometown. It is a land of fish and rice with a long history and outstanding people! It is even more a famous cultural city that upholds morality and values education!

With its profound cultural heritage and the glorious civilization of Southern Chu, the people of Wuling in times past opened up a fertile land of education here, nurturing generation after generation of illustrious figures. In modern and contemporary history alone, the famous names are too numerous to count: Song Jiaoren, Jiang Yiwu, Lin Xiumei, Qiu Jin, and other founding heroes of the 1911 Revolution who commanded the winds and clouds; Huang Ai, Xiang Jingyu, Wang Erzhuo, and other revolutionary martyrs who heroically laid down their lives for the birth of New China; Lin Boqu, Su Yu, Teng Daiyuan, Shuai Mengqi, Liao Hansheng, and other proletarian revolutionaries of the older generation who struggled for the cause of communism throughout their lives; and literary master Ding Ling, history authority Jian Bozan, biologist Xin Shuzhi, and other cultural celebrities renowned at home and abroad—all are favored children nurtured by this land!

The municipal party committee and municipal government attach great importance to education, placing it in a strategic position of priority development. They have successively issued a series of documents and policies concerning educational reform and development, enabling Changde's educational undertakings to develop rapidly. The level of basic education has been comprehensively raised, higher education has achieved a leap forward, adult education has produced gratifying results, vocational education is flourishing, and schools run by social forces have sprung up. An educational development pattern with relatively complete categories, a reasonably structured system, and a scale that basically meets demand at multiple levels and in multiple specifications has taken initial shape.

By the end of 2006, the city had 1,944 schools of all levels and types, with 809,431 students enrolled. Among them, there were 504 kindergartens with 68,273 children enrolled, averaging 135 per kindergarten; 1,051 regular primary schools with 307,894 students, averaging 293 per school; 252 junior middle schools with 203,119 students, averaging 806 per school; 59 regular senior high schools with 120,941 students, averaging 2,049 per school; 69 vocational middle schools with 77,267 students, averaging 1,120 per school; 2 regular institutions of higher education, offering 10 teacher-training undergraduate majors in Chinese Language and Literature, Ideological and Political Education, History, English, Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Geographical Science, Biological Science, and Computer Science and Technology, 4 non-teacher-training undergraduate majors in Electronic Information Technology and Technology, Automation, Mechanical Design, Manufacturing and Automation, and Agronomy, 4 teacher-training junior college majors in Primary Education, Music, Fine Arts, and Physical Education, 9 non-teacher-training junior college majors in Law, Computer Information Management, Urban Planning and Real Estate Management, Public Relations and Hotel Management, Economics and Trade, Electronic Technology, Architectural Engineering, Mechatronics, and Fine Chemicals, and 4 higher vocational technical education classes (majors) in Animal Husbandry and Fisheries, Electronic Technology, Public Relations and Hotel Management, and Art Design. In addition, it jointly runs 4 undergraduate majors with Shanghai Fisheries University in Aquaculture, Food Science and Engineering, Thermal Energy and Power Engineering, and International Economics and Trade, with 14,181 students enrolled; 2 vocational colleges with 7,691 students; and 1 adult higher education institution with 2,000 students.

Source & reference