Name: Yanzhou

Population: 540,700 by the end of 2020

Area: 535 square kilometers

Culture

Yanzhou district in Jining was one of China's nine ancient provinces, with a long history and profound culture. It is influenced by Jiuzhou (nine ancient provinces) culture, Dayu (the hero who curbed the flooding of the Yellow River) culture, and Buddhism culture.

Transportation

Yanzhou district is an important transportation hub, at the intersection of the Jinghu (Beijing-Shanghai) and Yanshi (Yanzhou-Shijiusuo) railways. Dozens of highways such as Rilan (Rizhao-Lankao) Expressway and National Road 327 pass through the district and form a convenient traffic network.

Natural resources

Yanzhou has rich natural resources, with more than 20 billion tons of coal reserves and proven reserves of 1 billion tons of iron ore.

Administrative divisions

Yanzhou district governs six towns, four subdistricts, 37 communities and 437 villages.

Economy

From January to November 2021, the district's GDP increased by 9.5 percent over the previous year to 41.17 billion yuan ($6.47 billion). The added value of the service industry totaled 4.31 billion yuan, while that of industries above the designated size increased by 13.1 percent year-on-year. The retail sales of consumer goods increased by 18.6 percent year-on-year to 17.75 billion yuan. The per capita disposable income for urban residents was 34,996 yuan, up 8.9 percent, while that of rural residents was 17,981 yuan, up 11.7 percent.

A sea of flowers in Niulou in Yanzhou, Jining [Photo by Kong Lingfang/Official WeChat account of the information office of the Jining municipal government]

A warm spring day in Yanzhou, Jining [Photo by Wang Weidong/Official WeChat account of the information office of the Jining municipal government]