Shouguang


Shouguang is a county-level city in the north-central part of Shandong Province, China, situated on the southwest shore of Laizhou Bay. Under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Weifang, it has people residing within the municipality and its surrounding towns and villages as of the 2010 Census, even though the built-up area is much smaller.
It is also known as the 'home of vegetables' in China, owing to its large agricultural output.

History

Shouguang is located on an alluvial plain drained by the Mihe River. This region of Shandong is one of the first places where grains were cultivated. It was also the site of the Neolithic Dawenkou and Beixin cultures. The settlement of Shouguang can be traced back to a Dongyi settlement around 3000 B.C. It was then ruled by State of Qi during the Eastern Zhou dynasty. After Qi was conquered by Qin, Shouguang was put under the administration of Qi Commandery.
During the Han dynasty , Shouguang was established as a county. During that time, it was already one of the largest grain cultivation bases in China, as well as a salt trading center. Shouguang was under the administration of Beihai Commandery from Han to Sui dynasty. In the 6th century, Jia Sixie was born and lived here, he wrote an ancient agricultural reference work Qimin Yaoshu. From 6th to 13th century, Shouguang was a county under Qing Prefecture.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Shouguang was under the administration of Qingzhou Prefecture, then vegetables from Shouguang were well regarded. In January 1868, the Nian army got completely annihilated at the mouth of Jiaolai River in Shouguang.
After the establishment of central planning under Mao Zedong's rule, the city lost its standing as a vegetable producer. In 1984, the city government built a vegetable wholesales market and improved transportation of produce. The market would grow to become China's largest vegetable trading center. In 1989, farmers started utilizing plastic greenhouses and started focusing on higher quality produce. In 2000, Shouguang hosted the World Vegetables Expo. Between 2000 and 2011, the annual growth rate of the local agricultural industry was 11.12%.

Administrative divisions

, this city is divided to 5 subdistricts and 9 towns.
;Subdistricts
  • Shengcheng Subdistrict
  • Wenjia Subdistrict
  • Gucheng Subdistrict
  • Luocheng Subdistrict
  • Sunjiaji Subdistrict
;Towns
  • Hualong
  • Yingli
  • Taitou
  • Tianliu
  • Shangkou
  • Houzhen
  • Jitai
  • Daotian
  • Yangkou

    Climate

Economy

Shouguang is a major hub for vegetables and produce in China, as well as being a major hub for chemical products. Alongside the agricultural industry, related industries such as the packaging and food processing and fertilizer industry have been established. In 2011, Shouguang was the largest glossy and coated paper producer in China. On the coastline fisheries, aquaculture and salt production sites are located.

Sports

The Shouguang Chengtou Stadium is located in Shouguang. The 25,000-capacity stadium is used mostly for association football matches and also sometimes for athletics.