Changde

Changde is a city in China.

It sits by the Yuan River. There are mountains near the city too.

People lived here a long time ago. They may have grown rice here. A very long wall has many poems on it. This wall also helps stop floods. It is a very long wall of art. The city has many new buildings and parks now.

Changde is a city in Hunan province, China.

It sits near the west side of Dongting Lake. The Yuan River flows through the city. Mountains like Wuling and Xuefeng are nearby.

People lived in this area for a very long time. Some people may have grown rice here 8,000 years ago. This could make it a birthplace for rice farming. The city has had many names in its history. It has used the name Changde since the 12th century.

There is a famous place called the Changde Poetry Wall. It runs along the Yuan River. The wall is covered in many ancient poems. It is the longest wall with art in the world. This wall also helps stop floods.

The city has seen many new buildings and roads lately. Many people work in trade or transport. Tobacco is a very important industry there. The weather has four seasons. Summers are hot and wet. Winters are cool and damp. Floods are a danger to the city.

Changde is a large city in the northwest part of Hunan province, China.

It sits on the west side of Dongting Lake and near the Yangtze River. The Yuan River flows right through the city, which is a natural center for the local plains. Three mountains, called Taiyang, De, and Hefu, sit near the city area. To the north, the city borders Hubei province.

This place is known as a gateway to other regions like Yunnan and Guizhou.

History tells us that people have lived here for a very long time. Scientists have found about 500 ancient sites in this area. One site called Shanlonggang might be the birthplace of rice farming. This happened as far back as 8,000 or 9,000 years ago. The city has had many different names over the centuries. It has used the name Changde since the 12th century. In the past, the city was a busy center for trading rice, cotton, and timber.

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Changde saw a famous battle in 1943.

Soldiers fought to stop an invasion from the Imperial Japanese Army. The city has also faced many natural challenges over time. Floods are a big danger and happen about every two to four years. To help with this, the city uses a smart warning system. This system uses sensors and AI to watch the rain and water levels. It helps keep people safe in low areas when it gets too wet.

Today, Changde is a very busy place with over five million people.

Many people work in trade, transport, or making things. One of the biggest industries is making tobacco. The city has also seen many new highrises, roads, and parks built recently. You can visit the Changde Poetry Wall along the river. This wall is special because it has many ancient poems on it. It is even in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the longest wall with art.

Many different groups of people live in Changde together. The Tujia people have lived in the Shimen county area for over 2,000 years. There are also many Hui, Uyghur, Miao, and Zhuang people living there. Most people speak a local version of Mandarin called the Chang-He dialect. The weather changes with the four seasons. Summers are hot and humid, while winters are cool and damp. It is a place where ancient history meets a very modern way of life.

Changde is a major prefecture-level city located in northwest Hunan province, China.

It serves as a vital geographic hub within the region. The city sits on the west side of Dongting Lake. It is positioned south of the Yangtze River and at the base of the Wuling Mountains. Historically, it has been described as a gateway to Yunnan and Guizhou. It also acted as a throat for Sichuan and Guizhou. The city manages several areas, including the county-level city of Jinshi and six other counties.

The geography of Changde is defined by its water and mountains. Local tradition refers to the area as having "three mountains and three rivers." The three nearby mountains are Taiyang Mountain to the north, Mount De to the south, and Mount Hefu to the west.

The Yuan River is a central feature, flowing through the urban Wuling district. Other rivers, such as the Chuanzi and Xin Rivers, also move through the city. To the northeast lies Liuye Lake. The region's climate is a monsoon-influenced, four-season humid subtropical climate, known as Köppen Cfa. This means summers are hot and humid, while winters are cool and damp. The city receives about 1,602 hours of sunshine every year.

Archaeological evidence shows that humans have inhabited this land for roughly 8,000 years. Scientists have discovered about 500 Paleolithic and Neolithic sites in the area. The Pengtoushan site is particularly important because it revealed the Pengtoushan Culture. This site contains some of the earliest evidence of a settled village in China. Research from 2011 suggests the Shanlonggang settlement may have grown rice 8,000 to 9,000 years ago. This could make the area a possible birthplace of rice cultivation. Over the centuries, the city has held many names, such as Wuling, Langzhou, and Dingcheng. It has been known as Changde since the 12th century.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Changde became a wealthy commercial center. It acted as the main agricultural market for the Yuan River basin. The city's economic reach extended into Hubei, Sichuan, and Guizhou. Merchants traded goods like rice, cotton, timber, and tung oil. After 1905, foreign firms also opened branches to participate in this trade. By the early 1900s, Changde was the second largest city in Hunan province. However, the city faced significant hardship during the Second Sino-Japanese War. In 1943, the Battle of Changde occurred between the National Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Japanese Army.

This conflict included the use of chemical weapons and the contamination of the area with plague.

Today, Changde is a large and growing urban center. The population was approximately 5,279,102 according to the 2020 census. The economy is supported by several major industries. Tobacco is the most important industry in the city. The Changde Cigarette Factory is one of six key cigarette companies in China. This factory alone accounts for 51.2% of the city's total industrial value added as of 2012. The city also processes ceramics, textiles, and food. Recent years have seen a massive construction boom. New highrises, roads, schools, and museums have changed the skyline.

Modern technology helps the city manage its natural environment. Flooding is a significant danger, occurring roughly every two to four years. To combat this, Changde uses an urban waterlogging early warning system. This system uses a network of IoT sensors and AI-based predictive modeling. It monitors rainfall and water levels in real time to provide alerts. This is part of a larger "sponge city" effort to build climate resilience. Visitors can also see the Changde Poetry Wall along the Yuan River.

This wall serves as a flood defense and is in the Guinness Book of World Records. It is the longest wall in the world with engraved arts.

Changde is also home to diverse ethnic groups. The Tujia people have lived in Shimen county for over 2,000 years. They make up more than half of the population in that county. Other groups include the Hui, Uyghur, Miao, and Zhuang peoples. The Fengshu Uyghur and Hui Autonomous Township is the largest Uyghur community outside of Xinjiang. Most residents speak the Chang–He dialect, a variety of Southwestern Mandarin.

This mix of ancient history, diverse culture, and modern technology makes Changde a unique part of Hunan province.