Yibin
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Yibin (simplified Chinese: 宜宾; traditional Chinese: 宜賓; Sichuanese Pinyin: ȵi2bin1; Sichuanese pronunciation: [ɲi˨˩pin˥]; pinyin: Yíbīn; Wade–Giles: I-pin) is a prefecture-level city in the southeastern part of Sichuan province, People's Republic of China, located at the junction of the Min and Yangtze Rivers.
Yibin 宜宾 | |
|---|---|
宜宾市 | |
 Night view of Yibin from the Nanmen Bridge (南门大桥) | |
 Location of Yibin City (jurisdiction) in Sichuan | |
| Country | People's Republic of China |
| Province | Sichuan |
| Area | |
| • Prefecture-level city | 13,283 km2 (5,129 sq mi) |
| • Urban | 1,123 km2 (434 sq mi) |
| • Metro | 1,123 km2 (434 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 321 m (1,053 ft) |
| Population (2010 census) | |
| • Urban | 836,383 |
| • Urban density | 740/km2 (1,900/sq mi) |
| • Metro | 836,383 |
| • Metro density | 740/km2 (1,900/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (China Standard) |
| Postal code | 644000 |
| Area code | 0831 |
| Licence Plate Prefix | 川Q |
| Website | yibin |
Its population is 4,472,001 inhabitants according to the 2010 census of whom 836,383 live in the built-up or metro area made up of Cuiping urban district.
History
Human habitation of Yibin dates back at least 40,000 years. Yibin was established as a county in the Han dynasty (206 BC − AD 220).
It was previously known as Suifu or Suifoo.
Geography
Yibin is located in the southeast portion of Sichuan, and borders Yunnan (Zhaotong prefecture) to the south, Luzhou to the east, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture and Leshan to the west, and Zigong to the north. The total area is 13,283 square kilometres (5,129 sq mi).
The city ranges in latitude from 27° 50'−29° 16' N, and in longitude from 103° 36'−105° 20' E, stretching 153 km (95 mi) east-west and 150 km (93 mi) north-south.
Yibin has a four-season, monsoon-influenced, humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa), with mild winters, and long and hot summers. Monthly average temperatures range from 7.8 °C (46.0 °F) in January to 26.6 °C (79.9 °F) in August. Though annual precipitation falls almost entirely during the summer months, humidity is high year-round and there are only 1018 hours of sunshine annually, one of the lowest totals in China.
| Climate data for Yibin (1971−2000) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 10.5 (50.9) |
12.5 (54.5) |
17.5 (63.5) |
23.2 (73.8) |
26.9 (80.4) |
28.9 (84.0) |
31.2 (88.2) |
31.5 (88.7) |
26.5 (79.7) |
21.5 (70.7) |
17.0 (62.6) |
11.9 (53.4) |
21.6 (70.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 5.9 (42.6) |
7.4 (45.3) |
10.9 (51.6) |
15.3 (59.5) |
19.0 (66.2) |
21.5 (70.7) |
23.4 (74.1) |
23.3 (73.9) |
20.1 (68.2) |
16.2 (61.2) |
12.0 (53.6) |
7.5 (45.5) |
15.2 (59.4) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 19.6 (0.77) |
26.3 (1.04) |
32.7 (1.29) |
60.2 (2.37) |
110.5 (4.35) |
161.7 (6.37) |
228.7 (9.00) |
188.4 (7.42) |
119.5 (4.70) |
64.4 (2.54) |
33.3 (1.31) |
17.8 (0.70) |
1,063.1 (41.86) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 11.2 | 12.5 | 13.2 | 14.1 | 16.3 | 17.1 | 14.7 | 13.4 | 16.3 | 16.6 | 12.0 | 10.5 | 167.9 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 85 | 83 | 79 | 76 | 76 | 81 | 82 | 80 | 83 | 85 | 84 | 85 | 82 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 32.1 | 39.6 | 78.5 | 116.0 | 116.9 | 107.7 | 147.2 | 169.0 | 81.6 | 53.1 | 45.8 | 30.7 | 1,018.2 |
| Source: China Meteorological Administration | |||||||||||||
Administrative divisions
| Map | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Name | Hanzi | Hanyu Pinyin | Population (2004 est.) | Area (km²) | Density (/km²) |
| 1 | Cuiping District | 翠屏区 | Cuìpíng Qū | 780,000 | 1,123 | 695 |
| 3 | Nanxi District | 南溪区 | Nánxī Qū | 410,000 | 704 | 582 |
| 2 | Yibin County | 宜宾县 | Yíbīn Xiàn | 980,000 | 3,034 | 323 |
| 4 | Jiang'an County | 江安县 | Jiāng'ān Xiàn | 540,000 | 910 | 593 |
| 5 | Changning County | 长宁县 | Chángníng Xiàn | 430,000 | 975 | 441 |
| 6 | Gao County | 高县 | Gāo Xiàn | 500,000 | 1,323 | 378 |
| 7 | Junlian County | 筠连县 | Jūnlián Xiàn | 390,000 | 1,254 | 311 |
| 8 | Gong County | 珙县 | Gǒng Xiàn | 420,000 | 1,150 | 365 |
| 9 | Xingwen County | 兴文县 | Xīngwén Xiàn | 440,000 | 1,373 | 320 |
| 10 | Pingshan County | 屏山县 | Píngshān Xiàn | 290,000 | 1,437 | 202 |
Economy
The city's industry focuses on electronics, food products, and power generation. It also produces paper, silk, and leather products. The surrounding region is rich in agricultural resources, growing rice, barley, oil seeds, sesame, and tea.
The largest employer in Yibin is Wuliangye, a company best known for Wuliangye, a brand of sorghum-based distilled spirits known as baijiu. The Wuliangye Group grew from a small company employing just 300 people in 1977 into a large company employing over 20,000 on a seven square kilometer plant. According to an August 2005 article in a securities weekly, the Wuliangye Group is 72% state owned and provides 70% of the revenues of Yibin City, a major regional center at the head of the Yangtze in southeastern Sichuan. In 2004 6,225 retired military worked for the company, out of a total work force of over 20,000. One third of top management positions are held by retired members of the military.[1] Unsuccessful efforts to diversify its business, poor transparency and a murky ownership pictures are among the company's problems today.[2] However, liquor is not the sole product of the WuLiangye Group. It also provides the specialized high-tech anti-counterfeit packaging and printing business and engineering services. Wuliangye now contributes about 60% of Yibin's GDP.
Transportation
The region's natural waterways provide transportation links with the surrounding area, and Yibin is also connected to Chongqing and Chengdu by rail and express highway. Yibin's proximity to the Yunnan and Guizhou borders also means that transportation to the provinces is available by rail and by bus.
Yibin Airport offers flights to Beijing, Shanghai, Kunming and Guangzhou.
Tourism
There are several hot springs near Yibin, plus many other tourist attractions. Such attractions include the Bamboo Sea in Changning County and the Xingwen Stone Forest. Cuiping mountain in the centre of the city provides wonderful views of Yibin. Yibin is also the confluence of the Min and Jinsha Rivers, which together form the Yangtze River.