About the City-Zhangzhou

History

In the early 20th century, Zhangzhou-fu was surrounded by 42 miles (68 km) of wall (in circumference). Its streets were paved with granite, but struck some Western visitors as dirty, as reported in the Encyclop?dia Britannica. The Jiulong River was crossed by an 800-foot bridge of wooden planks supported on twenty-five stone piers.[2] At this time, heavy silk trading activity occurred in the city, while brick kilns and sugar-manufactures were among its primary industrial activities.[2] In 1911, its population was estimated around 1,000,000.[2]

Zhangzhou's central urban area (now Xiangcheng District) was occupied in April and May 1932 by a column of Communist guerrillas under Mao Zedong. Due to the presence of Western gunboats in Xiamen Bay, arms shipments from the Soviet Union were unable to get up the Jiulong River to Mao's forces and on to the main Communist base area. According to some reports, Mao's forces took with them a substantial amount of loot from bourgeois residents when his column retreated from the city.

Climate

Zhangzhou has a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate (K?ppen Cfa), with mild to warm winters and long, very hot and humid summers. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from 13.2 °C (55.8 °F) in January to 28.8 °C (83.8 °F) in July, and the annual mean is 21.3 °C (70.3 °F). The frost-free period lasts 330 days.

Transportation

Two passenger stations serve Zhangzhou:

Zhangzhou East Railway Station on the older Yingtan–Xiamen Railway, northeast of the city

Zhangzhou Railway Station on the high-speed Longyan–Xiamen Railway, opened in 2012, south of the city