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Xiangtan

Xiangtan
湘潭市
Prefecture-level city
Baishi Park
Baishi Park
Xiangtan is located in Hunan
Xiangtan
Xiangtan
Location of the city centre in Hunan
Coordinates: 27°51′N 112°54′E / 27.850°N 112.900°E / 27.850; 112.900Coordinates: 27°51′N 112°54′E / 27.850°N 112.900°E / 27.850; 112.900
Country People's Republic of China
Province Hunan
Government
 • Mayor Wu Qixiu (吴奇修)
 • Party Secretary Chen Sanxin (陈三新)
Area
 • Prefecture-level city 5,006 km2 (1,933 sq mi)
 • Urban 280 km2 (110 sq mi)
 • Metro 2,793 km2 (1,078 sq mi)
Population (2010 census)
 • Prefecture-level city 2,748,552
 • Density 550/km2 (1,400/sq mi)
 • Urban 684,600
 • Urban density 2,400/km2 (6,300/sq mi)
 • Metro 1,779,960
 • Metro density 640/km2 (1,700/sq mi)
Time zone China Standard (UTC+8)
Website www.xiangtan.gov.cn

Xiangtan (Chinese: 湘潭; pinyin: Xiāngtán; Wade–Giles: Hsiang-tan) is a prefecture-level city, Hunan province, China. The hometowns of several founding leaders of the Chinese Communist Party, including Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, and Peng Dehuai, are in the Xiangtan prefecture, as well as the hometowns of Qing dynasty painter Qi Baishi and scholar-general Zeng Guofan.

Xiangtan is located on the lower reaches of the Xiang River.

The name "Xiangtan" is derived from local geography, though there are several explanations for its origin vary somewhat in details. In any case, "Xiang" () refers to the Xiang River, while "Tan" () is a Chinese term that means "deep pool", specifically one produced by a moving current or waterfall; "Tan" in rivers generally are places where the current eddies. One reasoning is that the city was built by a large eddy in a bend of the Xiang River, and was thus called "Xiang-Tan". Another more likely story says the name originated in the Xiangzhou Eddy, today called the Zhao Eddy (昭潭). The Zhao Eddy is an ancient whirlpool located in a deep section of the Xiang River near the traditional border between Xiangtan and Changsha, and is named for King Zhao of Zhou, who is said to have died there.

Relics from the Daxi culture indicate that people inhabited the Xiangtan area in the 3rd millennium BC. Shang Dynasty bronzewares have been found in the region, as well as tombs from the Warring States period. During the Three Kingdoms Period, the kingdom of Eastern Wu built a city in the west of modern Xiangtan City and organized the Hengyang Commandery (衡陽郡) around it. In 749, the Tang Dynasty organized the area as Xiangtan County, centered at modern Yisu River (易俗河). By the time of the Northern Song Dynasty, Xiangtan's good access to both land and water trade routes had established it as the major commercial center of the region.


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