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66-746: The area has been inhabited by humans since around 8,000 years ago. In that time, the city has changed names several times, but it has been known as Changde since the 12th century. The city is well known for the Battle of Changde during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–45) and the atrocities committed then by the Imperial Japanese Army . In the past decade, the city has seen a massive construction boom. New highrises have sprung up, roads were rebuilt and new schools, parks and museums have opened. Locals and tourists often visit

132-597: A monsoon -influenced, four-season humid subtropical climate ( Köppen Cfa ), with cool, damp winters, and hot, humid summers. Winter begins relatively dry but not sunny and becomes progressively damper and cloudier; spring brings frequent rain and the highest humidity levels of the year. Summer is comparatively sunny, while autumn is somewhat dry. The monthly 24-hour average temperatures ranges from 5.0 °C (41.0 °F) in January to 28.9 °C (84.0 °F) in July, while

198-534: A group of singers accompanied by traditional Chinese stringed instruments such as the yangqin , pipa , sanxian , and huqin . The traditional repertoire has over 100 songs, most of which are based on history or folklore. After the founding of the People's Republic a modern socialist realist repertoire emerged. Changde Sixian has been revitalized since the 1980s with several songs receiving national awards. The style has also attracted some international attention since

264-618: A protected Ramsar site since 1992. In 2007 fears were expressed that China's finless porpoise , a native of the lake, might follow the baiji , the Yangtze river dolphin, into extinction. There have been calls for action to save the finless porpoise, of which there are about 1400 left living, with approximately 700 to 900 in the Yangtze, and approximately another 500 in Poyang and Dongting Lakes. The 2007 population levels were less than half

330-498: A total of only 24 BRT stations in the city. The system operates on the same flat fare as the city's normal innercity bus network, charging ¥1 yuan for transit between any two stops on the line except in the summer when the fare increases to ¥1.50. Changde BRT uses Huanghai CNG busses. The stations are located in the center of the roadway. Changde also has a public bike service begun in October 2012 with 30 rental stations throughout

396-476: A visiting performance by a Changde Sixian troupe to Malaysia. In 2006, the State Council included Changde Sixian in its first national intangible cultural heritage list. Changde has an extensive bus network with most short-distance busses within the city costing either CN¥ 1 or ¥1.50 depending on air-conditioning. Changde is a pedestrian friendly city with wide tree-lined avenues and streets. The city

462-571: Is a large, shallow lake in northeastern Hunan Province , China . It is a flood basin of the Yangtze River , so its volume depends on the season. The provinces of Hubei and Hunan are named after their location relative to the lake: Hubei means "North of the Lake" and Hunan , "South of the Lake". Dongting Lake is famous in Chinese culture as the place of origin of dragon boat racing . It

528-523: Is adjacent to Dongting Lake to the east, the city of Yiyang to the south, Wuling and Xuefeng Mountains to the west, and Hubei province to the north. Near the border with Hubei province in Shimen county is Huping Mountain ( 壶瓶山 ), the highest peaks in Hunan province with an altitude of 2,099 metres (6,886 ft). The Xuefeng and Wuling mountains have historically been part of the native habitat of

594-413: Is also rafted there and floated across Lake Dongting to Yueyang, 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 . Changde is the fifth most populous prefecture-level division in Hunan (after Changsha , Hengyang , Shaoyang and Yongzhou ), with a total population of 5,279,102 inhabitants as of

660-564: Is also said that Han Shizhong settled in the region after retired from military service. The fashion spread to Japan , where eventually other famous places were substituted for the Xiao and Xiang rivers. One of the famous ponds based on the geography of the lake is at the Daikaku-ji in Kyoto. The agricultural colonization of the region began in ancient times, and by the 19th century much of

726-552: Is by far Changde's largest industrial concern accounting for 4.22 billion (51.2%) of the city's 8.2 billion total industrial value added in 2012. Changde is also an administrative centre 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

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792-543: Is connected to the national passenger rail network, with connections to other Chinese cities via Changde Railway Station in Wuling district. Train tickets can be purchased at the station, before departure or once on the train. A planned high-speed Chongqing-Changsha special passenger line will connect Changde with Chongqing, Changsha and other cities along the line at 200 kilometres per hour (120 mph) once completed. The Qianjiang-Zhangjiajie-Changde section has been approved and

858-646: Is culturally distinct from the Uyghur communities of Xinjiang . While Islam plays a central role in Xinjiang Uyghur culture, Islam and religious orthodoxy are much less prominent in Changde Uyghur culture. In particular, young Changde Uyghurs often do not practice Islam and consume pork, strictly forbidden among Xinjiang Uyghurs and Muslims in general, but common for the Han Chinese . In addition,

924-616: Is expected to begin construction in 2014. The Changde-Changsha section has already begun construction. On December 26, 2012, Changde officially launched its bus rapid transit (BRT) system. As of July 2013, the BRT system in Changde has eight lines operating both inside and outside BRT roads. These include the H1 main line running from Changde Bus Station to Deshan Bus Station and seven branch lines, H11, H12, H13, H15, H16, L12, and L13 although there are

990-560: Is located approximately 12.2 kilometres (7.6 mi) south of the city. Since the Yuan river has a minimum channel depth of over two meters year-round, it is navigable by thousand-ton ships. Yuanguan port in Changde is the second largest port in Hunan province covering an area of 200 mu (13 hectares). Construction of the new port began in 1999 and the first and second stages were completed in 2008 with two thousand-ton berths, two five-hundred-ton berths and one three-hundred-ton berth. Since 2012,

1056-477: Is the site of Junshan Island and is home to the critically endangered Yangtze finless porpoise . In the July–September period, flood water from the Yangtze flows into the lake, enlarging it greatly. The lake's area, which normally is 2,820 km or 1,090 sq mi (data before 1998), may increase to 20,000 km (7,700 sq mi) in flood season, when vast amounts of water and sediment from

1122-430: Is usually made with sesame, peanut, meng bean, rice, tea and ginger. According to legend, the custom of drinking lei cha began in Changde over two thousand years ago when general Ma Yuan and his army passed through Wuling county, where Changde is now located. There was a sudden epidemic in the barracks which they were only able to cure with a home remedy given to Ma Yuan by a mysterious old lady. Lei cha has been popular in

1188-448: The 2020 Chinese census , of which 1,469,055 reside in the built-up area (metro) made of Dingcheng and Wuling Districts. As of the 2010 Chinese census 13.23% of the population was found to be under 15 years old, while the population over 65 comprised 11.43% of the total. The Tujia people are native to Shimen county, having occupied parts of the area for over 2000 years. Other significant ethnic minority populations in Changde include

1254-711: The Hui , Uyghur , Miao and Zhuang peoples . Fengshu Hui and Uyghur Autonomous Township ( 枫树维吾尔族回族乡 ) in Taoyuan County is the largest Uyghur community outside of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region . Fengshu is one of four Hui and Uyghur Autonomous Townships in Changde. The other three are Qinglin ( 青林 ) also in Taoyuan county, Xujiaqiao ( 许家桥 ) in Dingcheng district, and Maojiatan ( 毛家滩 ) in Hanshou county. Changde has

1320-597: The Imperial Japanese 11th Army , deployed the 39th , 58th , 13th , 3rd , 116th and 68th divisions —a total of around 60,000 troops—to attack Changde from the north and the east. The Changde region was defended by the Chinese 6th War Zone's 10th, 26th, 29th and 33rd Army Groups, as well as a river defense force and two other corps, for a total of 14 corps. On 14 November the Japanese 13th Division, with aid from collaborators , drove south and broke through

1386-556: The Lake Dongting system, Changde is a natural center of the northwest Hunan plain. The city was historically situated on the north bank of the Yuan River, and has since expanded development south of the river. The Chinese phrase " 三山三水 " (literally "Three mountains and three rivers") is often used in reference to the general physical geography of the city. Around the city are three nearby mountains- Taiyang Mountain ( 太阳山 ) to

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1452-600: The Pengtoushan site was excavated leading to the identification of the "Pengtoushan Culture". The site contains the earliest evidence of a settled village yet discovered in China. Archeological research from 2011 suggests that a settlement called Shanlonggang, part of the Pengtoushan civilization, may have cultivated rice 8,000-9,000 years ago, making it the possible birthplace of rice cultivation. In historical times it

1518-519: The South China tiger . This species is critically endangered and believed to be extinct in the wild. In recent years, the Chinese government has worked to identify potential sites for the establishment of a tiger reserve for the reintroduction of captive-born tigers into the wild. Hupingshan-Houhe National Natural Reserve Complex in Shimen county was selected as one of several potential sites. It has

1584-553: The 1997 levels, and the population continues to drop at a rate of 7.3 per cent per year. Pressure on the finless porpoise population on Poyang Lake comes from the high numbers of ships passing through, as well as sand dredging . After flooding of the Yangtze River in late June 2007, approximately 2 billion mice were displaced from the islands of the lake when water was released from the Three Gorges Dam to control

1650-906: The 8th Asian Rowing Championship. The lake is an important recreation area for the city. Outside the city in Taoyuan county is the famous Taohuayuan ( 桃花源 ) or "Peach Blossom Spring" in English, named after the fable by Tao Yuanming . The area is famous for its plentiful peach blossoms and natural scenery. Changde is home to several institutions of higher education. Changde is twinned with: Battle of Changde Japanese claim: 1,274 dead 2,977 wounded American and British claims: 40,000+ killed and wounded Second Sino-Japanese War Taishō period Shōwa period Asia-Pacific Mediterranean and Middle East Other campaigns Coups The Battle of Changde ( Battle of Changteh ; simplified Chinese : 常德会战 ; traditional Chinese : 常德會戰 ; pinyin : Chángdé Huìzhàn )

1716-686: The Chang Jiang flow into the lake. The lake is also fed by four major rivers: the Xiang , Zi , Yuan and Li rivers. Small rivers also flow in, the most famous being the Miluo River , where the loyal official and poet Qu Yuan committed suicide in the early 3rd century BC, according to tradition. In addition, the Xiao River flows into the Xiang near Yongzhou , before the Xiang flows into

1782-794: The Changde Evening News ( 常德晚报 ), both published by Changde Daily Media Group ( 常德日报传媒集团 ). The Changde Livelihood Newspaper ( 常德民生报 ) is published every Monday, Wednesday and Friday by Changde City Broadcasting Department which also manages Changde's local television and radio. The five local television networks run by Changde Television (HNCDTV), a sub-division of Changde City Department of Broadcasting, are Changde News Channel, Changde Public Channel, Changde City Channel, Changde Wuling Channel, and Changde Teletext Channel. The department of broadcasting also manages Changde People's Radio Traffic Channel (97.1 FM) and Changde People's Radio News Channel (105.6 FM). Taoyuan county's Uyghur community

1848-760: The Changde Poetry Wall, covered in a variety of poems mostly from ancient China. The wall stretches for 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) along the Yuan River downtown and functions as a flood wall . It is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest wall with engraved arts in the world. Changde is known for its many Paleolithic and Neolithic sites. About 500 of them have been discovered to date. In 1984 neolithic human settlements were discovered in Li County , part of Changde. In 1988,

1914-483: The Changde Uyghurs speak Chinese instead of Uyghur . Those who practice Islam also learn Arabic for religious purposes. Drinking Lei cha , a beverage made from tea and other dry ingredients ground together and steeped in boiled water, is popular in Changde, especially in the urban districts of Wuling and Dingcheng and Taoyuan and Hanshou counties. Wuling Lei cha, as the Changde variety is sometimes called,

1980-554: The Chinese air force since the Battle of Wuhan . Reporter Israel Epstein witnessed and reported on the battle. Witold Urbanowicz , a Polish fighter ace engaged in air combat over China in 1943, saw the city just after the battle. The 2010 Chinese war film Death and Glory in Changde is based on the events in this battle. Order of Battle: Battle of Changde 29°02′00″N 111°40′59″E  /  29.0333°N 111.6830°E  / 29.0333; 111.6830 Dongting Lake Dongting Lake ( Chinese : 洞庭湖 )

2046-407: The Chinese stubbornly held onto the city. Eleven days and nights of fierce fighting saw heavy casualties on both sides. When the Chinese reinforcements finally arrived in the city, they managed to evacuate the remaining 100 survivors in the 57th Division, all of whom were wounded, from the city. On 6 December the city of Changde fell to the Japanese control. While the Chinese 57th Division pinned down

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2112-504: The Hui, Uyghur, Miao, and Zhuang peoples respectively comprise 0.5% (33,500 people), 0.08% (4,800 people), 0.08% (4,500 people), and 0.02% (1,300 people) of the total population of Changde. People of Changde do not speak Hunanese , the locals speak the Chang–He 常鹤 dialect of Southwestern Mandarin . Most people still speak Mandarin. The current CPC party secretary of Changde is Zhou Derui, and

2178-409: The Japanese in the city, the rest of the 74th Corps, as well as the 18th, 73rd, 79th and 100th Corps and the 9th War Zone's 10th Corps, 99th Corps and Jiangxi 's 58th Corps, arrived at the battlefield, forming a counter-encirclement on the Japanese forces. Fang Xianjue 's 10th Corps was first to strike, successfully retaking Deshan on 29 November before attacking the Japanese positions at Changde from

2244-602: The Japanese lines and into the city, which resulted in intense house-to-house fighting . The Chinese then proceeded to cut the Japanese supply lines. Depleted of food and ammunition, the Japanese retreated on 13 December. The Chinese pursued them for more than 20 days. By 5 January 1944 Japanese forces had withdrawn to their original positions before the offensive. Following the battle, the Chinese displayed an array of captured Japanese weapons and equipment, as well as numerous Japanese troops taken as prisoners, for inspection by allied military observers. During this campaign, apart from

2310-519: The Reserve 10th Division's Sun Mingjin, two other Chinese division commanders were killed: the 44th Corps' 150th Division's Lieutenant General Xu Guozhang was killed at Taifushan in Changde's northwest, aged 37, while the 73rd corps' 5th Division's Lieutenant General Peng Shiliang ( zh:彭士量 ) was killed at the Taoyuan-Shimen line, aged 38. The Changde campaign saw the largest participation of

2376-457: 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

2442-564: The annual mean is 17.37 °C (63.3 °F). The annual precipitation is about 1,366 mm (54 in). With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 22% in February and March to 53% in July, the city receives 1,602 hours of bright sunshine annually. The municipal executive, legislature and judiciary is in Wuling District , together with the city's Communist Party headquarters and Public security bureau . Wuling sits on

2508-501: The battle as a Chinese victory. American government film footage showed victorious Chinese troops with Japanese prisoners and captured Japanese flags and equipment on display after the battle. In addition, an American newsreel titled Chinese troops drive Japs from Changteh showed Chinese troops firing, with dead and captured Japanese on display. A British newsreel titled Japs Loose Changteh Aka Japs Lose Changte showed similar footage. On 2 November 1943 Isamu Yokoyama , commander of

2574-641: The city and a thousand bicycles. The system has continued to expand and plans at least a 120 rental stations and 3,200 bicycles by 2015. It is the second such system to be implemented in Hunan province after a similar bike rental program was begun in Zhuzhou in May 2011. Changde Taohuayuan Airport (CGD) was constructed in 1958 and links Changde with several other Chinese cities including Haikou , Beijing , Shanghai , Kunming , Shenzhen , Guangzhou , Nanjing , Tianjin , Liuzhou , Chongqing , and Wuhan . The airport

2640-402: The city of Changde, which forced civilians to evacuate. The Japanese were pinned down in the city by a Chinese division long enough for other Chinese units to surround them with a counterencirclement. Heavy casualties and the loss of their supply lines then forced the Japanese to withdraw, which returned territorial control to the original status quo. Some contemporary Western newspapers depicted

2706-547: The current mayor is Cao Lijun. The Changde dialect is a variety of Southwestern Mandarin . As such, it lacks the retroflex consonants found in Standard Chinese . Changde dialect adds the initial consonant /ŋ/ not present in standard Chinese. In addition, /n/ and /l/ are merged. The dialect has the same four tones as standard Chinese. Changde has two major daily newspapers, the Changde Daily ( 常德日报 ) and

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2772-550: The defensive lines of the Chinese 10th and the 29th Group Armies. On 16 November, Japanese airborne forces landed in Taoyuan County to support the assault on the city proper. At the same time, the Japanese 3rd and 116th Divisions also joined the combined assault. The city was guarded by one Chinese division - the 74th Corps' 57th. Division commander Yu Chengwan led 8,000 men to fight against the two invading Japanese divisions. Despite being outnumbered by more than three to one,

2838-454: The excess. The mice invaded surrounding communities, damaging crops and dikes and forcing the government to construct walls and ditches to control the population. Villagers killed an estimated 2 million mice by beating them to death or using poisons, which also had an adverse effect on their predators. The lake was also featured on news services as having a problem with schistosoma and malaria infected mosquitoes. A restoration project,

2904-437: The inlets. Influenced by the monsoon, the lake shows a significant seasonal change in its flow regime. The lake water level fluctuates dramatically throughout a year, up to 12.9 m (42 ft). The water surface area also varies with the fluctuation of the water level from thousands of square kilometers in the flood season to only a few hundred square kilometers in the dry season. The earliest rice paddies yet discovered in

2970-594: The lake surface. The Dongting Lake catchment begins to enter the rainy season in April and the rainfall reaches its maximum in June. Then, the rainy area moves to the upper part of the Yangtze River Basin in July and flood water flowing into the lake from upstream increases significantly. The rainy season may continue until the end of September. The flow regime of Dongting Lake maintains the same temporal pattern as

3036-442: The lake's shallower areas had been destroyed to create farmland. After 1949 a new round of wetland drainage destroyed much of what remained, leaving only a fraction of the original wetland intact, though some of that area has subsequently been returned to wetland conditions. Nonetheless, along with Poyang Lake, it remains one of the largest lakes in China, and is an important wintering area for migratory birds. It has been designated as

3102-714: The lake. In addition, some of water of the Yangtze River also flows into the lake through the Sankou distributary channels. The catchment has highly complex flow regimes featuring strong river-lake interactions. Dongting Lake receives water from the upper Jingjiang reach of the Yangtze River. The water in Dongting Lake finally flows into the lower Jingjiang reach of the Yangtze River at the Chenglingji Station and discharges downstream. The water in Dongting Lake mainly comes from surface runoff and direct rainfall on

3168-462: The lake. Ocean-going vessels can travel through the Xiang to reach Changsha . The Dongting Lake catchment area is 257,000 km (99,000 sq mi). The lake's only outlet is a natural channel 14 km long and on average 1 km wide. There are four main rivers in the catchment (excluding the area whose water flows directly into the Yangtze River, the same hereafter): the Xiang , Zi , Yuan , and Lishui rivers, which flow directly into

3234-473: The largest Hui population in the province. Minority ethnicities represented 7.2% of the total population of Changde in 2010, 0.8% less than in 2000. By far the largest group of ethnic minority residents is the Tujia with 361,200 people or approximately 6.3% of the total population. The Tujia made up over half the population of Shimen county as of 2009. As for the other major minority ethnic groups present in Changde,

3300-459: The left bank of the Yuan River . Opposite Wuling is the administrative centre for Dingcheng District . Changde prefecture-level city oversees two districts, one county-level city and six counties : Tobacco is the most important industry in Changde. Changde Cigarette Factory (CDCF), now a subsidiary of China Tobacco Hunan Industrial Co., Ltd., is one of six key cigarette companies in China and employs 8,300 workers in Changde as of 2013. CDCF

3366-514: The main flood-basin of the Yangtze. The rich sediment of the marsh attracted farmers. Embankments were built, keeping the river out, and the Dongting Lake area south of the Yangtze gradually became the river's main flood-basin. The Han state was actively involved in the colonization of the region, maintaining dikes in Liyang to protect farmland from flooding. At that time, Dongting Lake was China's largest freshwater lake. Because of its size, it gained

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3432-568: The name Eight-hundred-li-Dongting ( 八百里洞庭 ). Nowadays, it is the second-largest, after Poyang Lake , as much of the lake has been turned into farmland . The area is well known in Chinese history and literature . "Dongting" literally means "Grotto Court", and the lake was named for the huge hall or cavern, which was believed to exist beneath the lake, where the spirits of the Sage-King Shun 's wives Ehuang and Nüying were said to be

3498-594: The north, Mount De ( 德山 ) to the south, and Mount Hefu ( 河洑山 ) in the west. In addition to the Yuan River, the city has plentiful water resources with the Chuanzi and Xin Rivers both flowing through Wuling urban district. The other major geographic feature of the area is Liuye Lake ( 柳叶湖 ), to the northeast of the city center. There are also numerous lakes, ponds, and streams in the city although many have been diverted or buried. The larger prefecture-level city of Changde

3564-566: The northwestern Hunan economy, and early in the 20th century Changde was the second city of Hunan, after Changsha . In the 1943 Battle of Changde , the Kuomintang 's National Revolutionary Army attempted to stop the invading Imperial Japanese Army from completing their invasion of Sichuan . Frustrated, the Japanese side employed chemical weapons to clear their way. During the Khabarovsk War Crime Trials , proof

3630-626: The phrase "Hunan of the Xiao and Xiang rivers" ( 潇湘湖南 ; Xiāo-Xiāng Húnán ). The scenery of the Jiuyi Mountains and of the Xiao and Xiang rivers below is often mentioned in Chinese poetry . The late Tang dynasty poet Yu Wuling is supposed to have been fond of the scenery of Dongting Lake. During the Song dynasty , it became the fashion to paint this region's scenery in a set of eight scenes, usually entitled as Eight Views of Xiaoxiang . It

3696-458: The port of Changde is linked directly to the port of Shanghai. Changde is home to several tourist attractions. A few of them are located within the city but the most important of them are in the counties outside the city. Inside the city tourist areas include Liuye Lake, Taiyang Mountain, Changde Poetry Wall, and Walking street. Liuye Lake is now a national AAA tourism area with facilities for local, national, and international sporting events such as

3762-418: The rainfall regime. The flood season is from April to September. In general, flood water comes mainly from the catchment from April to June and from water diversion of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River from July to September. The annual runoff from Dongting Lake to the Yangtze River is 278.6 km /a (8,830 m /s), of which to 92.3 km /a (2,920 m /s) is received from the Yangtze River through

3828-403: The region ever since. In the 17th century, folk music from Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces began influencing the popular music scene in Changde's Yuan and Li river district. A unique style of theatrical folk music called Changde Sixian ( 常德丝弦 ; lit. "Changde strings") evolved from this combination. It includes short expressive sections of lyrics spoken and sung in turns in Changde dialect by

3894-525: The rulers of this grotto, which was claimed to have underground passages opening to all parts of the empire. Dragon boat racing is said to have begun on the eastern shores of Dongting Lake as a search for the body of Qu Yuan , the Chu poet (340–278 BC), and a dragon-king is said to live at the bottom of the lake. Junshan was also named after the goddess-wives of Shun, who lived there after his death by drowning, while they mourned him and sought for his body all

3960-424: The seat of Lang prefecture. In 1117, Changde county was established, and around 1165,Changde superior prefecture/ fu was established. The name Changde has been used for the city ever since. 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

4026-498: The south. Unable to withstand the fierce Chinese assault, the Japanese utilized chemical weapons. The battle lasted for six days and nights, during which the Chinese Reserve 10th Division's commander Lieutenant General Sun Mingjin received 5 gunshot wounds to the body and was killed in action. At this time other Chinese units were also pressing onto the Japanese positions. On 11 December Chinese reinforcements broke through

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4092-496: The way from the source of the Xiang River, in which he drowned, and then on down to where it could have drifted, into the lake. Junshan Island, a former Taoist retreat, is a famous 1 km (0.62 mi)-wide island with 72 peaks in the middle of the lake. The island is also famous for its Junshan Yinzhen tea . The basin of Dongting Lake and its surrounding area is famous for its scenic beauty, which has been encapsulated in

4158-577: The world were in the Liyang plain, which was then on the western edge of Dongting lake. The state of Chu occupied the region in the Eastern Zhou period , and its territory there was taken over by Qin in the 3rd century BCE. During the Han dynasty , Yunmeng Marsh ( 雲夢大澤 ; Yúnmèng dàzé literally "Great Marsh of Cloud Dream"), which lies to the north of Dongting Lake in Hubei Province, served as

4224-621: Was a major engagement in the Second Sino-Japanese War in and around the Chinese city of Changde (Changteh) in the province of Hunan . The purpose of the Japanese offensive was to maintain pressure on the Chinese National Revolutionary Army to reduce its combat ability in the region and its ability to reinforce the Burma Campaign . The Japanese were initially successful in their offensive operation by bacteria-infected bombs and captured parts of

4290-510: 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 the Han dynasty the area was called "Wuling County". The name is retained in the urban Wuling District . In the Sui dynasty , it was called Langzhou. During the Song dynasty , it was called Dingcheng. In the Tang dynasty (618–907) it became

4356-447: Was presented of operations to contaminate the area with plague as early as 1941 and 1942. Although the commercial dominance of Changde firms disappeared with the advent of 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 . In 1975, Changde was hit by Typhoon Nina . Located on the Yuan River upstream from its junction with

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