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| Jingzhou |
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Jingzhou Municipality is located on the middle reaches of the Yangtze
River in the Jianghan Plain. To its east is Wuhan, to its west are
the famous Yangtze Three Gorges, to its south is Hunan Province and
to its north is Jingmen. Under its jurisdiction are the districts
of Jingzhou and Shashi, three counties of Jiangling, Gong'an,
Jianli and three cities of Songzi, Shishou and Honghu. The municipality
has an area of 14,067 square kilometers and a population of 6.3 million.
Jingzhou, with a long history and brilliant culture, is known as
'a land of fish and rice';, one of the richest areas
in China, and has been a transportation hub and distribution center
of commodities since ancient times. As early as 6,000 years ago
human activities began in Jingzhou, creating the Daxi Culture. The
ancient city of Jingzhou (also called Jiangling) is among the first
24 historical and cultural cities designated by the State Council.
Archaeologists and tourism specialists put it as one of the very
few best preserved ancient cities in southern China.
Shashi, known in ancient times as Jiangjin and Shatou, became a
trading port in 1985, one of the four inland river ports of China
first opened to the outside world. Jingzhou, the birthplace of the
Chu Culture, was the capital of 20 kings over 411 years of the Chu
State during the Zhou Dynasty (11th century –771 B.C.) Numerous
sites have been preserved from that time. There are also many natural
scenic attractions. They include ruins of five Chu cities, 73 sites
of the Chu Culture and more than 800 large ancient tombs, including
those of 18 Chu kings.
There are also historical sites from the Three Kingdoms period(A.D.220-280),
such as the Wulin Battlefield, Huarong Path and the place where
Army Commander Zhou Yu was humiliated for three times. A corpse
excavated from a Westen Han tomb, silk fragments from the Warring
States Period (475-221 B.C.) and the sword of King Goujian of Yue
State are national treasures.
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