Zhaoyuan, Shandong Province, China

🇨🇳 Zhaoyuan is a county-level city within the prefecture-level city of Yantai, Shandong Province, China, located on the Bohai Sea. Zhaoyuan is well known for its abundant gold deposit and production, and is occasionally nicknamed "China's gold capital" (中国金都; 中國金都).

The city spans an area of 1,432.32 square km (553.02 sq mi), and has a population of 560,234 as of 2019.

History The area was first incorporated under the Han dynasty as Qucheng County (曲成县; 曲成縣).

Gold was discovered at Zhaoyuan in the Tang dynasty. The myth accompanying the city's discovery of gold is that a giant tortoise named Ao once told villagers struggling with famine to dig, and upon digging, they struck gold.

The county was named Zhaoyuan County (招远县; 招遠縣) in 1131.

People's Republic of China Five townships in Zhaoyuan were upgraded to towns on September 1, 1988.

On December 21, 1991, Zhaoyuan was upgraded from a county to a county-level city.

Throughout the mid-1990s, three more townships were upgraded to towns.

On January 11, 1999, the town of Zhaocheng (招城镇; 招城鎮) was divided into three subdistricts: Luofeng Subdistrict Quanshan Subdistrict, and Mengzhi Subdistrict.

The Fifth National Population Census of the People's Republic of China reported that Zhaoyuan had a population of 593,705.

On December 19, 2000, Dahuchenjia Township (大户陈家乡; 大戶陳家鄉) became the city's last township to be upgraded to a town.

Geography Zhaoyuan's city centre is located approximately 90 km (56 mi) south-west of Yantai's urban center. The city's terrain is higher in the north-east, middle and west, and lower in the north-west and southeast

Administrative divisions Zhaoyuan administers five subdistricts and nine towns.

Subdistricts Zhaoyuan's five subdistricts are Luofeng Subdistrict Quanshan Subdistrict, Mengzhi Subdistrict Wenquan Subdistrict and Daqinjia Subdistrict.

Towns Zhaoyuan's nine towns are Xinzhuang Canzhuang Jinling Biguo Linglong Zhangxing Xiadian Fushan and Qishan.

Economy The city has a significant amount of gold deposits, largely concentrated in its northeast. Zhaojin Mining has its headquarters located in the city. Additionally, Linglong Tire is headquartered in the city.

Transport National Highway 206 runs through Zhaoyuan.

Tourist attractions A large golden statue of Ao, a Chinese mythical giant turtle is located in the village of Oujiakuang (欧家夼村; Ōujiākuǎng Cūn), in the town of Linglong. Located in Luoshan National Forest Park (罗山国家森林公园; 羅山國家森林公園), the statue is Asia's largest statue of Ao, and is located at 37°27′36″N 120°28′22″E. The statue is 15 meters tall and 20 meters long.

The Qucheng Ancient City Site  is located in Zhaoyuan.