Zhanjiang

Zhanjiang, is a city at the southwestern end of Guangdong province, People's Republic of China,the east is close to the South China Sea, opposite Hainan Province and separated by Qiongzhou Strait just, is next to Guangxi in the west, adjoin Maoming of Guangdong in the north.

The population was 6,994,832 inhabitants at the 2010 census. 1,611,868 live in the built-up area made of four urban districts: Chikan, Xiashan, Potou and Mazhang. In 2007, the city is named China's top ten livable cities by Chinese Cities Brand Value Report, which was released at 2007 Beijing Summit of China Cities Forum.

During the Qin Dynasty (221–206 BC), the area belonged to Xiang Shire. The central government of the Han Dynasty (206 BC−220 AD) set Xuwen County administering the whole Leizhou Peninsula.

The region was a small fishing port when it was occupied by the French in 1898. The next year, the French forced the Chinese to rent a small enclave of Zhanjiang to them for 99 years as the territory of Kouang-Tchéou-Wan. The French wanted to develop the port, which they called Fort Bayard, to serve southern China, in parts where France had exclusive rights to railway and mineral development. Their efforts, however, were hindered by the poverty of the surrounding land. The French took charge of control of the region until 1943, when the Japanese occupied the area during World War II. At the end of the war, the region returned briefly under French rule before being formally returned to China in 1946 by general Charles de Gaulle, then French head of state.

Following the establishment of the People's Republic in 1949, Zhanjiang developed new interest. In 1955 a rail link was built to Litang in Guangxi province, where it joined the Hunan-Guangxi Railway. Since then, Zhanjiang has developed into a major modern port serving southern China, usable by ships of up to 50,000 tons.  The Port of Zhanjiang was identified as a base for China-ASEAN shipping and logistical cooperation, and the Fenyong Economic Zone of Zhanjiang was named China-ASEAN Economic Development Zone.  In 1984 Zhanjiang was designated one of the "open" cities of China, where the central government invited foreign investment. This drove the city's industrial development. It has shipyards and engineering works, automobile, electrical-appliance, and textile plants; and sugar refineries, flour and rice mills, and chemical works.

In the early 1990s a new rail line was completed, linking Zhanjiang and Guangzhou, the capital province. The line was later extended to Hai'an, at the southernmost tip of Leizhou Peninsula, where trains could be transported by Guangdong–Hainan Ferry across the Hainan Strait to Haikou.

Now, It is a developing modern city, many people speak chinese with a strong accent. The locals of Zhangjiang speak cantonese and Leizhouhua.

Source :


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhanjiang

http://www.whatsonsanya.com/news-23436-zhanjiang-set-to-benefit-from-the-greater-emphasis-placed-on-hainan.html

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2013-04/17/content_16413498.htm

http://china-zhanjiang.com/leisure/suite_article.php?ch_id=5