The name "Xiangtan" is derived from local geography, but the explanations for its origin vary somewhat in details. In any case, "Xiang" (湘) refers to the Xiang River, while "Tan" (潭) is a Chinese term that means "deep pool", specifically one produced by a moving current or waterfall; "Tan" in rivers generally are places where the current eddies. One reasoning is that the city was built by a large eddy in a bend of the Xiang River, and was thus called "Xiang-Tan". Another more likely story says the name originated in the Xiangzhou Eddy, today called the Zhao Eddy (昭潭). The Zhao Eddy is an ancient whirlpool located in a deep section of the Xiang River near the traditional border between Xiangtan and Changsha, and is named for King Zhao of Zhou, who is said to have died there.
Relics from the Daxi culture indicate that people inhabited the Xiangtan area in the 3rd millennium BC. Shang dynasty bronzewares have been found in the region, as well as tombs from the Warring States period. During the Three Kingdoms period, the kingdom of Eastern Wu built a city in the west of modern Xiangtan City and organized the Hengyang Commandery (衡陽郡) around it. In 749, the Tang dynasty organized the area as Xiangtan County, centered at modern Yisu River (易俗河). By the time of the Northern Song dynasty, Xiangtan's good access to both land and water trade routes had established it as the major commercial center of the region.
Ming and Qing dynasties
Xiangtan prospered throughout the Ming dynasty and Qing dynasty upon an economic foundation of trading in rice and traditional Chinese medicinal ingredients, and was sometimes referred to as "Little Nanjing" or "Golden Xiangtan". Prior to the Second Opium War, Xiangtan was a central transfer point for import and export goods going to and from ports in Canton, Shanghai, and Wuhan, supported by approximately 200,000 inhabitants.
Population
As of 2010 census, Xiangtan had 2,748,552 inhabitants, of whom 1,877,919 lived in the built-up area (2 urban districts plus Xiangtan county). Together with the four adjoining urban districts of Zhuzhou, its built-up area is home to 2,933,069 inhabitants. In 2007, the city was named China's top ten livable cities by Chinese Cities Brand Value Report, which was released at the 2007 Beijing Summit of China Cities Forum.[5]
Geography and climate
Map including Xiangtan (labeled as HSIANG-T'AN (SIANGTAN) 湘潭) (AMS, 1954)
Xiangtan has a humid subtropical climate with long, hot summers, and cool to cold, cloudy, damp winters with occasional snow flurries. Within its administrative area, the annual mean temperature is 17.4 °C (63.3 °F), with the coolest month being January, which averages 5.1 °C (41.2 °F), and the hottest July, at 29.1 °C (84.4 °F).
Climate data for Xiangtan (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1981–present)
In 2006, Xiangtan's nominal GDP was ¥42.2 billion (US$6.2 billion), a year-on-year growth of 13.2% from the previous year. Its per capita GDP was ¥15,455 (US$2,265).
Xiangtan is famous for its production of lotus seed and soy sauce. People in Xiangtan like to chew areca nut (槟榔; bīngláng), though the area itself doesn't grow them. Most raw areca nut fruits are from Hainan and processed locally. The history of consuming areca nut dates back to 400 years ago, when people chewed it for pandemic prevention. Nowadays, it is quite common to see people chewing areca nut in Hunan.[8] In 2003, the sales revenue of areca nut industry in Xiangtan had reached ¥800 million.
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