Xiaogan (孝感)

1. Introduction

Xiaogan City, historically known as Xiaochang, is a prefecture-level city under the jurisdiction of Hubei Province, People's Republic of China, located in the northeastern part of Hubei Province. The city borders Huanggang City to the northeast, Wuhan City to the east, Xiantao City to the south, Tianmen City to the southwest, Jingmen City to the west, Suizhou City to the northwest, and Xinyang City of Henan Province to the north. Situated at the northern edge of the Jianghan Plain, its northeastern part is the hilly area of the Dabie Mountains, and its northwestern part is the foothills of the Tongbai Mountains. The terrain is higher in the north and lower in the south. The Han River and the Hanbei River flow through the southern part, while the Yunshui (Fu River) and the Huan River run from north to south, converging in the southern part of the urban area to form the Fuhuan River. The city covers a total area of 8,904 square kilometers, with a population of 4.27 million. The municipal People's Government is located in Xiaonan District.

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2. History

2.1 Migration History

During the Song Dynasty, migrants to the Huangxiao region were no longer solely from the north; there were also migrants from the south. In the eleventh year of the Chunxi era, displaced people from Jiangdong continuously flocked to Huangzhou to "request to cultivate idle land" (from Chengzhai Ji, Volume 125, "Epitaph for Wu Yu"). According to the "Clan Records" in the Xuantong edition of Huang'an Local Gazetteer, six clan lineages among the local families during the Qing Dynasty had migrated from areas within present-day Jiangxi, such as Nanchang, Jiujiang, and Ji'an, during the Southern Song Dynasty. Among the 26 clans listed by Zhang Guoxiong as having migrated during the Song Dynasty, Qichun had 6 clans, Huanggang 3, Guangji 3, Macheng 2, and Hong'an and Huangmei each had 1, collectively accounting for 62% of the Song Dynasty clans surveyed. Clearly, among the population of northeastern Hubei during the Song Dynasty, migrants from Jiangxi constituted a significant proportion. This should mark the beginning of the systematic influence of Jiangxi migrants on the eastern Hubei region.

During the Song-Jin wars, eastern and northern Hubei were located on the southern side of the Song-Jin demarcation line, suffering immense casualties. The Song-Yuan wars and the late Yuan peasant uprisings also caused significant casualties in eastern and northern Hubei. Against this backdrop, the great migration during the late Yuan and early Ming Hongwu periods represented a demographic restructuring migration for the Huangxiao region, fundamentally altering its population and linguistic composition. Among the clans that migrated to Huangzhou Prefecture (administered in present-day Huanggang City) during the Yuan Dynasty and the Hongwu period, Jiangxi migrants were the most significant group. Among them, migrants from Raozhou, Nanchang, and Jiujiang were comparable in number. Prior to the early Ming Hongwu migration, there had been sporadic migrations throughout previous dynasties; these migrants, relative to the new migrants of the early Ming, had already become the new indigenous population. Excluding the indigenous people who migrated within the region during the late Yuan and Hongwu periods, migrants from outside the region during the late Yuan and Hongwu periods accounted for approximately 62% of the total population, making it a "demographically reconstructed migrant area." Jiangxi migrants were the most important part of these migrant sources, with those from northern Jiangxi regions like Raozhou and Nanchang being the most numerous. For a more detailed explanation, refer to the Great Hongwu Migration and the Huangxiao subgroup of Jianghuai Mandarin.

2.2 Evolution of Administrative Divisions

In the first year of the Xiaojian era of the Song Dynasty during the Southern Dynasties (454 AD), because local folklore spoke of three great filial sons—Dong Yong, Huang Xiang, and Meng Zong—in this area, signifying "prosperity of filial piety," a county was established and named "Xiaochang." In the second year of the Tongguang era of the Later Tang Dynasty (924 AD), Emperor Zhuangzong Li Cunxu, because the character "昌" (chang) in the county name "Xiaochang" violated the naming taboo of his grandfather Li Guochang, and based on local folklore and historical records of local historical figures—such as the Western Han filial son Dong Yong who sold himself to bury his father, the Eastern Han filial son Huang Xiang who fanned the pillow and warmed the quilt, and the Three Kingdoms period filial son Meng Zong who wept by bamboo until shoots sprouted—deemed it a case where "filial piety moved heaven," and thus renamed it "Xiaogan County." This marks the origin of the name "Xiaogan."

On April 10, 1993, the State Council approved the abolition of the Xiaogan Prefecture and the county-level Xiaogan City, establishing Xiaogan City (a prefecture-level city). The southern part of the former county-level Xiaogan City was designated as Xiaonan District, and the northern part as Xiaochang County, both under the jurisdiction of the newly established prefecture-level Xiaogan City.

3. Geography

The topography of Xiaogan transitions from plains in the south to hills and then mountainous areas in the north. Its climate combines the advantages of both northern and southern regions, featuring fertile land and numerous lakes, making it an important production base for grains, cotton, and oil crops.

| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year | |-------------------------|-----------|-----------|------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|-----------|-----------|------------|------------| | Record high °C | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | | Record high °F | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | | Average high °C | 7.8 | 10.4 | 14.9 | 21.7 | 26.7 | 29.7 | 32.2 | 32.0 | 28.2 | 22.7 | 16.6 | 10.4 | 21.1 | | Average high °F | 46.0 | 50.7 | 58.8 | 71.1 | 80.1 | 85.5 | 90.0 | 89.6 | 82.8 | 72.9 | 61.9 | 50.7 | 70.0 | | Daily mean °C | 3.4 | 6.0 | 10.3 | 16.8 | 22.0 | 25.5 | 28.3 | 27.6 | 23.2 | 17.3 | 11.1 | 5.5 | 16.4 | | Daily mean °F | 38.1 | 42.8 | 50.5 | 62.2 | 71.6 | 77.9 | 82.9 | 81.7 | 73.8 | 63.1 | 52.0 | 41.9 | 61.5 | | Average low °C | 0.2 | 2.5 | 6.5 | 12.7 | 18.1 | 22.2 | 25.2 | 24.3 | 19.5 | 13.4 | 7.2 | 1.8 | 12.8 | | Average low °F | 32.4 | 36.5 | 43.7 | 54.9 | 64.6 | 72.0 | 77.4 | 75.7 | 67.1 | 56.1 | 45.0 | 35.2 | 55.1 | | Record low °C | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | | Record low °F | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | | Average precipitation mm | 38.6 | 52.5 | 78.1 | 115.6 | 154.6 | 181.4 | 194.5 | 120.1 | 65.9 | 74.8 | 52.8 | 23.4 | 1,152.3 | | Average precipitation inches | 1.52 | 2.07 | 3.07 | 4.55 | 6.09 | 7.14 | 7.66 | 4.73 | 2.59 | 2.94 | 2.08 | 0.92 | 45.36 | | Average relative humidity (%) | 77 | 77 | 78 | 78 | 78 | 82 | 83 | 82 | 79 | 79 | 77 | 75 | 79 |

4. Administrative Divisions

Xiaogan City administers 1 district, 3 counties, and oversees 3 county-level cities.

• District: Xiaonan District
• County-level cities: Yingcheng City, Anlu City, Hanchuan City
• Counties: Xiaochang County, Dawu County, Yunmeng County Xiaogan High-Tech Industrial Development Zone is a national-level high-tech industrial development zone established by Xiaogan City.

| Division Code | Division Name | Chinese Pinyin | Area (km²) | Resident Population (2020 Census) | Government Seat | Postal Code | Subdistricts | Towns | Townships | |-------------------|-------------------|--------------------|----------------|---------------------------------------|---------------------|-----------------|------------------|-----------|---------------| | 420900 | Xiaogan City | Xiàogǎn Shì | 8,904.41 | 4,270,371 | Xiaonan District | 432000 | 13 | 72 | 23 | | 420902 | Xiaonan District | Xiàonán Qū | 1,018.32 | 988,479 | Shuyuan Subdistrict | 432000 | 4 | 8 | 3 | | 420921 | Xiaochang County | Xiàochāng Xiàn | 1,191.48 | 483,367 | Huayuan Town | 432900 | 8 | 4 | | | 420922 | Dawu County | Dàwù Xiàn | 1,982.33 | 486,153 | Chengguan Town | 432800 | 14 | 3 | | | 420923 | Yunmeng County | Yúnmèng Xiàn | 605.31 | 434,124 | Chengguan Town | 432500 | 9 | 3 | | | 420981 | Yingcheng City | Yīngchéng Shì | 1,095.61 | 476,596 | Chengzhong Subdistrict | 432400 | 5 | 10 | | | 420982 | Anlu City | Ānlù Shì | 1,352.80 | 498,356 | Fucheng Subdistrict | 432600 | 2 | 9 | 4 | | 420984 | Hanchuan City | Hànchuān Shì | 1,658.56 | 903,296 | Xiannüshan Subdistrict | 432300 | 2 | 14 | 6 |

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5. Transportation

• Railway: Beijing–Guangzhou Railway, Handan–Danjiangkou Railway, Changjiang–Jingmen Railway, Beijing–Guangzhou High-Speed Railway, Wuhan–Yichang High-Speed Railway, Wuhan–Shiyan High-Speed Railway, Xiaogan Railway Station, Xiaogan North Railway Station, Xiaogan East Railway Station
• Aviation: Wuhan
• National Highways: National Highway 316, National Highway 107, National Highway 347
• Expressways: G4 Beijing–Hong Kong–Macau Expressway, G42 Shanghai–Chengdu Expressway, G70 Fuzhou–Yinchuan Expressway, S17 Qiaoxiao Expressway, Wuhan Metropolitan Area Expressway
• Water Transport: The Han River, Fu River, Huan River, and Hanbei River within the territory connect to the Yangtze River, providing direct access to various regions along the Yangtze River.

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6. Population

At the end of 2022, the city's total registered population was 5.003 million. Throughout the year, there were 26,000 births, with a birth rate of 5.21‰; there were 31,900 deaths, with a death rate of 6.37‰, resulting in a natural population growth rate of -1.16‰.

According to the Seventh National Population Census in 2020, the city's permanent resident population was 4,270,371. Compared with the 4,814,542 people from the Sixth National Population Census, there was a total decrease of 544,171 people over the ten years, a decline of 11.3%, with an average annual growth rate of -1.19%. Among them, the male population was 2,212,223, accounting for 51.8% of the total population; the female population was 2,058,148, accounting for 48.2% of the total population. The overall sex ratio (with females as 100) was 107.49. The population aged 0-14 was 715,475, accounting for 16.75% of the total population; the population aged 15-59 was 2,665,456, accounting for 62.42% of the total population; the population aged 60 and above was 889,440, accounting for 20.83% of the total population, of which the population aged 65 and above was 644,236, accounting for 15.09% of the total population. The urban population was 2,582,246, accounting for 60.47% of the total population; the rural population was 1,688,125, accounting for 39.53% of the total population.

6.1. Ethnic Groups

Among the city's permanent resident population, the Han ethnic group population was 4,259,035, accounting for 99.73%; the population of various ethnic minorities was 11,336, accounting for 0.27%. Compared with the Sixth National Population Census in 2010, the Han ethnic group population decreased by 550,641, a decline of 11.45%, and its proportion of the total population decreased by 0.16 percentage points; the population of various ethnic minorities increased by 6,470, a growth of 132.96%, and its proportion of the total population increased by 0.16 percentage points.

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7. Culture

7.1 Chu Culture

Xiaogan is one of the important birthplaces of Chu culture, featuring numerous ancient tombs, buildings, and fortresses, represented by the Yuwangcheng Site and the Chuwangcheng Site. Over 1,000 bamboo slips from the Qin Dynasty were unearthed from the Qin tombs at Shuihudi in Yunmeng County. An Eastern Han pottery tower, modeled after the "multi-story pavilions" of the deceased's residence during their lifetime, was excavated from Zhoutian Village. The Neolithic Menbanwan Site is located in the Chengbei Subdistrict Office of Yingcheng City.

7.2 Filial Piety Culture

Among the "Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars," the three major stories and legends of filial piety—Dong Yong selling himself to bury his father, Huang Xiang fanning the pillow and warming the quilt, and Meng Zong weeping for bamboo shoots—originate from Xiaogan.

7.3 Folk Arts

• Xiaogan Paper-cutting
• Makou Pottery
• Yunmeng Shadow Puppetry
• Yingcheng Gypsum Carving
• Dawu Brocade Weaving
• Huangxiao Drum

7.4 Scenic Spots and Memorial Sites

• Dong Yong Park
• Guanyin Lake
• Shuangfeng Mountain
• Taohua Cliff
• Tangchi Hot Springs
• Li Bai Memorial Hall
• Baizhao Mountain National Forest Park
• Zhu Lake Wetland Park

7.5 National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units

• Site of the Fifth Division Headquarters of the New Fourth Army
• Menbanwan Site
• Taojiahu Site
• Site of the Central Plains Military Region
• Yeji Temple Site
• Caodianfangcheng Site

7.6 Xiaogan Specialties

• Xiaogan Rice Wine
• Xiaogan Sesame Candy
• Zhu Lake Glutinous Rice
• Diaocha Lake Lotus Seeds
• Yangdian Early Honey Peach
• Bai Lake Lotus Root
• Huangtan Soy Sauce
• Anlu Ginkgo

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Xiaonan District

Xiaonan District

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Camphor tree

Gardenia