Country China Population 770,749 (2000) Province Sichuan Area 1,420 km2 | Mayor Han Yi (??) | |
Pengzhou (Chinese: ; pinyin: ), formerly Peng County or Pengxian, is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, Peoples Republic of China, some 19 km (11.81 mi) northwest of Chengdu. There is an expressway that connects Pengzhou to Chengdu. It is bordered by the prefecture-level divisions of Deyang to the northeast and the Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture to the north.
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Map of Pengzhou
It has an area of 1420 square kilometers and a population of 803,400 in 2009. Pengzhou is famous for being one of the three national bases of peony plantation and one of the five national bases of vegetable plantation and merchandise. Pengzhous industry varies from pharmaceutical to petrochemical. The newly built oil refinery attracts a total investment of 38 billion yuan, considered to be the biggest single investment of Sichuan Province since 1949. Like other regions around the area, Pengzhou was badly affected by the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake.
History
Pengzhou area is believed to have been habituated since Western Zhou. Empress dowager Wu Zetian first set up Pengzhou in 686 AD (Tang Dynasty). In 1337 AD, Hongwu Emperor (Ming Dynasty) reduced Pengzhou to Pengxian, or Peng County (Chinese: ; Pinyin: Pengxian). Peng County later became Pengzhou City in 1993 (Peoples Republic of China).
As of late, Pengzhou is still occasionally referred to as Pengxian, or Peng County, even in official publications.