Songyuan

Infobox Settlement
name =Songyuan
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settlement_type =Prefecture-level city
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translit_lang1=Chinese
translit_lang1_type=Characters
translit_lang1_info=松原
translit_lang1_type1=Pinyin
translit_lang1_info1=Sōngyuán


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map_caption = Location in Jilin


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pushpin_map_caption =Location in China
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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = China
subdivision_type1 = Province
subdivision_name1 = Jilin
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seat_type = City seat
seat = Ningjiang
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population_total =2800000
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timezone = China Standard
utc_offset = +8
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latd=45 |latm=10 |lats=11 |latNS=N
longd=124 |longm=49 |longs=27 |longEW=E
postal_code_type = Postal code
postal_code = 138000
area_code = 0438
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website =http://www.jlsy.gov.cn
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Songyuan (Chinese: 松原; Pinyin: Sōngyuán) is a prefecture-level city in Jilin province, People's Republic of China.

History

Songyuan has a long history dated back to the Neolithic age. The ancient monuments and ruins in the city speak volume of the long history and magnificent culture of Songyuan. There was the ancient state of Fuyu 2000 years ago. There was the state of Bohai in 1000 years ago. And there was the militaristic state of Jin founded by the Nuzhen tribe after their victorious arms conquered the state of Liao.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the great revolutionary pioneer Sun Yat-sen proposed to build a transportation hub in where Songhua River and Nen River meet, which materialized as the current city of Songyuan.

Authorized by the national government, Songyuan was founded as a prefecture-level city in 1992.

In 2007, it is chosen to be one of the cities for 2008 Olympic torch relay, and is the first relay stop of the province, on which occasion there will be more than 300 media companies, domestic and international, to report on the city. The National Astronomical Observatories of Chinese Academy named a meteor after Songyuan, an honor bestowed only on eight cities in the nation. This series of exciting activities and accomplishments increased the renown and influence of the city.

Geography

Songyuan is in the intersection of the Province of Jilin, Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia. Located in the middle west of Jilin Province, right at the center of the Northeast China, the city covers 22,000 square kilometers with a population of 2.8 million.

There are 7,600 square kilometres of arable land, with an annual food production of about 6 million tons, a quarter of the total production of Jilin Province. The urban area is 71.76 square kilometers. The second Songhua River crosses the city, which makes it one of the few not completely developed riverside cities in the nation.

There are five railways and six provincial or national highways passing through the city. It takes only 90 mintues to reach Changchun or Harbin airport from the city. Changchun or Harbin can also be easily reached through waterway.

A circle drawn with Songyuan as center, and with a radius of 200 kilometers, will cover a population of 31 million, with Songyuan being the important transportation hub and commerce center of the northeastern China and Inner Mongolia. In the next few years Songyuan will become the regional center of northeastern China.

Administrative divisions

Songyuan has one district and four counties:
*Ningjiang District (宁江区)
*Qian'an County (乾安县)
*Changling County (长岭县)
*Fuyu County (扶余县)
*Qian Gorlos Mongol Autonomous County (前郭尔罗斯蒙古族自治县)

There are three provincial level development areas: Songyuan economy and technology development area, Songyuan agricultural new technology development area and the Chagan Lake tourism development area.

Economy

Songyuan is an oil-petroleum city in the Songnan Plain, with the sixth largest land-based oil field of China, Jilin Oil Field, located in the city. It sits on the world-famous Golden Corn Belt, and is a national commercial food and oil base.

In 2006, the city had a revenue of 47.4 billion Yuan, with a profit of 4.5 billion Yuan, the third of the province in terms of overall economic achievement. In 2007, the total revenue is expected to be 60 billion Yuan, with a profit of 6.5 billion Yuan.

In 2006, the city was among the top 20 cities in China with best investment potential for multi-national companies. (It is ranked the 19th.)

Songyuan is famous for its food, meat, fish and oil production, with abundant materials above and below ground. There are five categories of materials above ground. 1. Food. Jilin is a big food-production province, and Songyuan is a big food-production city. In 2006 the city is ranked the 2nd of the province in food production, with a total output of 6.412 million tons of food, among which are 4.808 million tons of corn. 2. Water. There is plenty of water resource. There are several rivers and lakes in the city, which yield more than 40 billions cubic meters of water. There are 1.557 billion cubic meters of water reserve, which can meet the need of water-demanding industry. 3. Grassland. The grassland is wide and far. The city is in the east end of the Kerqin grassland, with 53,000 square kilometres of grassland yielding 0.3 million tons of grass annually. It is a natural land for pastoral industry. 4. Electricity. The city is expanding its electricity generation capacity. 5. Tourism. There are 20 important tourist destinations, including the beautiful Chagan Lake, which is one of the ten largest fresh water lakes of the nation; the wonderful Qianan Forest; the ancient temples and monuments that have witnessed the vicissitude of ages.

Underground materials are oil and gas. Currently ascertained are 1.134 billion tons of oil and 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas. Last year Jilin Oil Field production exceeds 6 million tons of oil and gas. In addition, the city boasts bountiful minerals.

Taking advantage of abundant materials, special locations and easy transportation, the city has reserved and developed many important projects, gradually building a complete industry of oil production, oil refinery, oil chemistry, biological chemistry, agricultural and pastoral products, pharmaceutical, textile, machinery, electricity etc., laying down a solid foundation for further development.

References

*GEOnet|6418604
*zh [http://www.jlsy.gov.cn/public/zjsy/zjsy_context.jsp?zjsy_class_id=1210110000 Profile of Songyuan] , Official website of Songyuan Government

External links

* [http://www.jlsy.gov.cn/ Official website of Songyuan Government]