Zhongshan

Names

Until 1925, Zhongshan was generally known as Xiangshan or Heung-san (Chinese: 香山; literally: "Fragrant Mountain"), in reference to the many flowers that grew in the mountains nearby. The city was renamed in honor of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, who had adopted the name Zhongshan. Sun is considered by both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China to be the "Father of Modern China", and was from Cuiheng village – now part of Nanlang Town in Zhongshan.

History

Thousands of years ago, much of the Zhongshan area lay within the Pearl River estuary, with only scattered islands above the surface. Gradually from south to north, the area filled in with alluvial silt and became dry land. The northern parts of today's Zhongshan did not fill in until the time of the Ming Dynasty.

The Zhongshan area was part of an extended Dongguan County during the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 AD), and was a significant sea salt producer. In 1082, during the Northern Song Dynasty, a fortified settlement called Xiangshan was founded in the area, marking the first official use of the name by which it would be known throughout most of its modern history. The prosperous settlement was then upgraded to a county in 1152. After the collapse of the Southern Song Dynasty, many descendants of Song court officials, including members of the imperial family, settled in Xiangshan. Under the Qing Dynasty, embankments were built to prevent flooding in the new alluvial lands, and the area of cultivation was extended.

Much of the First Opium War took place in and around Xiangshan. In 1839, the official Lin Zexu arrived in Xiangshan and ordered the expulsion of Sir Charles Elliot and other British traders from the area. Qing Dynasty soldiers resisted British attacks on the area in 1840, but were ultimately overwhelmed.

After the Opium Wars opened the region to foreign influence, a number of Xiangshan residents, including Sun Zhongshan (Yatsen), left to study overseas and were among the creators of modern China. Xiangshan was one of the first counties in China liberated as part of the Xinhai Revolution. After Sun Zhongshan's death in 1925, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the Republic of China decided to memorialize Sun by renaming his county of birth from Xiangshan to Zhongshan.

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, in July 1937, the Imperial Japanese Army seized several islands belonging to Zhongshan. During March 1940, the Japanese army occupied most of Zhongshan. The Japanese army implemented Unit 8604 or Nami Unit, a secret military medical unit, related to Unit 731, that researched biological warfare and other topics through human experimentation. It was headquartered at Zhongshan Medical University (Hal Gold, Unit 731 Testimony, 2003, p. 50). Nationalist and Communist units launched guerrilla attacks on Japanese forces beginning in 1942. On August 15, 1945, Japanese forces declared an unconditional surrender, and Zhongshan was liberated.

Zhongshan was the scene of fighting during the Chinese Civil War and was held for much of the war by Nationalists. On October 30, 1949, however, the People's Liberation Army defeated Nationalist forces in Zhongshan, and the county came under the control of the People's Republic of China.

In 1983, Zhongshan was elevated in administrative status from a county to a county-level city under the administration of Foshan. In 1988 Zhonshan became a prefecture-level city.

Geography

Zhongshan is located along the west side of the mouth of the Pearl River, directly opposite Shenzhen and Hong Kong. It lies south of Guangzhou and Foshan and north of Zhuhai and Macau. The northern part of Zhongshan, including most of the urbanized area, lies on the alluvial plains of the Pearl River Delta, while the southern part of the city's territory reaches into a range of coastal hills.

The most notable of these are the Wugui Hills (Chinese: 五桂山; pinyin: Wǔguī Shān; Jyutping: Ng⁵gwai³ Saan¹). The city's current geography is typical of southern China: numerous steep mountains and hills with alluvial plains in between down to the coastline. The main summit of the Wugui Hills is the highest point in the city, at 531 metres (1,742 ft) above sea level.

Like nearly all of southern China, Zhongshan's climate is warm and humid most of the year, with an average temperature of 22 °C (72 °F) and 175 centimetres (69 in) of rainfall each year. Southern China experiences fairly frequent typhoons and thunderstorms, and most rain falls between April and September.

Cityscape

Zhongshan is a city of numerous leafy parks, wide boulevards, and monuments. Notable sights include:

Administration

Zhongshan is a prefecture-level city of the Guangdong province. An uncommon administrative feature is that it has no county-level division. The city government directly administers 6 Subdistricts and 18 towns:

Language

The main ethnic group in Zhongshan is Han Chinese, but there is no dominant language spoken, Zhongshan is known as one of the most diverse cities in China. Dialects spoken varies from the Yue to the Hakka and to the Min, dialects include the Shiqi dialect, Shatian dialect, Longdu dialect, Nanlang dialect, Sanxiang dialect, Guzhen dialect, Sanjiao dialect, Zhangjiabian dialect and the only Hakka Dialect in the City, Wuguishan dialect. But most shares the common language, Cantonese.

Yue

Min

Hakka

Primary industries

Primary productions are agricultural, such as rice, lychee, banana, and sugar cane. Added to this, horticulture in Xiaolan Town is famous throughout southern China for its blooming chrysanthemum.

Manufacturing industries

Zhongshan, Dongguan, Nanhai, and Shunde are dubbed the 'Four Little Tigers' in Guangdong. The proximity of Zhongshan to Hong Kong and Macau is an advantage to its economic development, especially in manufacturing.

In the 1980s, Zhongshan had a relatively developed state-owned enterprise (SOE) sector that was used to stimulate Township and Village Enterprises (TVE) development in the countryside. Currently, the SOE sector is much weaker, and the economy is dominated by foreign investment and TVEs, and by specialized 'manufacturing towns'. Each of these towns specializes in making a particular product. Most of the towns are so successful that they earn a reputation as leading manufacturers in their pillar industries. Indeed, "One Industry in One Town" has become a unique economic feature in Zhongshan.

Pillar industries in specialized manufacturing towns in Zhongshan include:

The government of Zhongshan encourages "Research and Design" in the region by setting up national level research centres and specialized industrial regions. For example, the Zhongshan National Torch High-Tech Industrial Development Zone (中山国家级火炬高技术产业开发区) was established in 1990 in the east of the city by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the governments of Guangdong province and Zhongshan. Zhongshan Port, which ranks among the top 10 ports nationwide in container-handling capacity, is in the zone. Since 2001, it has included the Zhongshan Electronic Base of China (中国电子中山基地) for its reputation in the electronic acoustics industry. Following possible development in Nansha, the city considers its eastern part, of which 400 square kilometres (154 square miles) of land is available, a focus of future development.

Currently, the city is trying to re-organize its fragmented industrialization. Meanwhile, the light and labour-intensive industry characteristic of the local economy faces the problem of a shortage of land in Zhongshan.

Tourism, recreation and leisure

The World Lamp King Museum, a lamp museum in the form of a giant lamp scheduled to open in 2015, will be a major tourist attraction.

Zhongshan is home to a number of forest parks which are designed to protect the natural features of the land and offer visitors a chance to get closer to nature. Zhongshan Tianxin Forest Park (Chinese: 中山田心森林公园) was opened in 2015 as part of the city's "green lung" initiative.

Colleges and universities

High schools and institutions

Public Buses

Zhongshan Public Transport Group Co., Ltd. operates many bus routes throughout the city. Stop announcements are voiced in Mandarin and Cantonese on all buses. On BRT system buses, announcements are also voiced in English. By purchasing a Zhongshan Tong card from authorized retailers, riders can receive a discount of 50% on all bus rides. Elderly citizens are allowed to ride for free.

Ferry Transport

Chu Kong Passenger Transport (CKS) connects Zhongshan with Hong Kong with multiple daily scheduled high-speed ferry services to both Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal on Hong Kong Island and Hong Kong China Ferry Terminal in Kowloon. The trip by ferry takes about 1.5 hours.

High-Speed Rail

Guangzhou–Zhuhai Intercity Railway Multiple stations serve the city of Zhongshan.

Major Projects Under Construction

Twin towns – sister cities

See Twin towns and sister cities of Zhongshan