Changde
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2008-06-26T15:09:16Z
81.129.157.230
add photo of battle
[[Image:Changde.png|right|140px|]]
{{For|the Changde meteorite of 1977|meteorite falls}}
'''Changde''' (常德) is a city in the north of [[Hunan]] Province, [[China]], with a population of around 6,000,000.
==Geography==
Situated on the north bank of the [[Yuan River]] above its junction with the [[Dongting Lake]] system, Changde is a natural center of the northwest Hunan plain.
Changde is known for its many [[Old Stone Age|Old Stone]] and [[New Stone Age]] sites. About 500 of them have been discovered to date.
In 1975, Changde was hit by [[Typhoon Nina (1975)|Typhoon Nina]].
==History and economy==
In historical times it was also a centre from which governments controlled the mountain tribes of western Hunan. A county, named ''Linyuan'', was established there in the 2nd century BC.
In 589 its name was changed to ''Wuling'', and under the [[Tang dynasty]] (618–907) it became the seat of Lang prefecture. Under the [[Song dynasty]] (960–1279) the name of the prefecture was changed to ''Tingzhou'', and in 1164–74 it became a superior prefecture called ''Changde''. This status was retained until 1912, when the superior prefecture was abolished and the city became a county seat.
In the late 19th century Changde became a prosperous commercial center and the chief agricultural central market of the Yuan River basin. Many Chinese firms, and — after 1905, when it was opened to [[foreign trade]] — foreign firms as well, maintained branches there to buy [[rice]], [[cotton]], [[tung oil]], and [[timber]], so that Changde's economic influence reached out into northern [[Guizhou]], southwestern [[Hubei]], and parts of southeastern [[Sichuan]] province. The merchants of the Taho quarter of the city controlled much of the northwestern Hunan economy, and early in the 20th century Changde was the [[second city]] of Hunan, after [[Changsha]]. Although the commercial dominance of Changde firms disappeared with the advent of [[Communist Party of China|communist]] rule in 1949, the city remained an important center of trade, with the majority of its population engaged either in [[commerce]] or in [[transportation]].
[[Image:Changde battle.jpg|left|240px]]In the [[Battle of Changde]] between China and Japan, [[Changde chemical weapon attack|chemical and biological weapons]] were employed by the Japanese forces as part of the [[Sichuan invasion]] in 1943. During the [[Khabarovsk War Crimes Trials]], the proof of an operation of contamination by [[Bubonic plague|plague]] of the area in 1941 and 1942 was made.
Today Changde is now an administrative center and a storage and shipping point for tung oil, grain, cotton, medicinal herbs, and wood. Manufactures include ceramics, machine tools, textiles, leather, and processed foods. [[Grain]], [[oil]], [[cotton]], and other [[commodities]] are loaded into medium-sized ships and taken to [[Yueyang]], [[Changsha]], or [[Hankou]] ([[Wuhan]], Hubei province) for onward shipment. [[Timber]] is also rafted there and floated across the [[Dongting Lake]] to Hueyang, and thus to the [[Yangtze River]]. After 1949 the city developed some [[light industry]], mostly based on such local products as [[wood]], [[leather]], and [[bristles]].
== External links ==
{{commons|Changde|Changde}}
*[http://www.changde.gov.cn/ Government webportal of Changde]
{{Hunan}}
[[Category:Changde]]
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