Yulin, Guangxi

Yulin 玉林市 • Yilinz Si
Prefecture-level city
Yulin in 2013 Yulin in 2013
Location of Yulin City jurisdiction in Guangxi
Coordinates:
Country	People's Republic of China
Region	Guangxi
Area
• Total	12,839 km2 (4,957 sq mi)
Population (2013)
• Total	6,910,000
Time zone	China Standard (UTC+8)
Postal code	537000
Area code(s)	0775
Website	http://www.yulin.gov.cn/

Yulin (Chinese: 玉林; pinyin: Yùlín; literally: "Jade Forest") is one of the fourteen prefecture-level cities of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China.

Geography and climate

Yulin is located in southeastern Guangxi province along the border with Guangdong. It is a hilly basin with a total area of 12,838 km² (4,957 sq mi).

Yulin's climate is subtropical and monsoonal. Average annual temperatures is 21 °C. Yearly precipitation is 1,650 mm. Annual sunlight hours are more than 1,795.

History

Artifacts suggest that the area was settled before the Qin Dynasty but a commandery by the name of Yulin was not established until early Han Dynasty. The urban centre of Yulin became a zhou in 996. Since ancient times, Yulin has been important for trade and communications between central China and the south, especially the coast of the Tonkin Gulf.

Administration

Yulin has 1 city, 2 districts, 4 counties, and 119 towns and townships.

City:

• Beiliu

Districts:

• Yuzhou
• Fumian

Counties:

• Rongxian
• Luchuan
• Bobai
• Xingye

Demographics:

• Yulin has a population of approximately 6.7 million. The majority of Yulin's population is Han but there are Zhuang, Miao, and other ethnic minorities totaling more than 100,000 people.

Language and culture

Some Chinese linguists have suggested that the Yue dialect of Yulin is the best surviving example of what ancient spoken Chinese would have sounded like based on rhyme patterns in Tang dynasty poetry.

Dog meat festival

Main article: Lychee and Dog Meat Festival

Yulin is also known for its annual dog meat festival which takes place on 21 June. Over 10,000 dogs are killed at this festival for human consumption. Reports of inhumane treatment, including torture, caused celebrities and others to protest against the Festival. A woman named Yang Xiaoyun went as far as to pay 150,000 yuan to save 360 dogs and dozens of cats from the festival in 2014 and 7,000 yuan to save 100 dogs in 2015. Some Chinese celebrities such as Ai Weiwei, Chen Kun and Yang Mi, as well as international celebrities like Ricky Gervais, Stella McCartney, Jonas Mekas, Ian Somerhalder, Lindsay Lohan, Seth MacFarlane, Uma Thurman, Morrissey, James Marsden, Rooney Mara, Joaquin Phoenix, Colin Morgan, Sia Furler, Brigitte Bardot, Leona Lewis, Olivia Wilde, Clint Eastwood, Lori Alan, Erykah Badu, Tom Kenny, Pope Francis and many more have also publicly expressed a distaste for the festival.

Economy

Yulin is rich in natural resources. Important mineral resources include granite, limestone, iron, and gemstones. It is also Guangxi's biggest source of porcelain clay. Major agricultural products are rice, bananas, tomatoes, mandarin oranges, mangoes, longan, anise, tea, sugarcane, livestock such as cattle, pigs, geese, and chickens. Industrial goods include machinery, construction materials, processed food, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, cigarettes, and ceramics.

Tourism

It is famous for its many mineral hot springs and one of China's oldest and most famous towers, Shiyi Tower (石嶷文塔).

Education

Yulin is home to Yulin Normal University, where there are 13 departments with 38 four-year undergraduate specialties, 14 three-year specialties, more than 17,200 students including 12,000 full-time students and 5,200 higher education students.

External links

• The numbers from zero to ten in the Yulin dialect, The Iroha Project