Heze, Shandong Province, China

History | City flower | Administration | Demographics | Government | Culture | Places of Interest | Foods | Transport | Economy

🇨🇳 Heze, formerly known as Caozhou, is the westernmost prefecture-level city in Shandong province, China, it borders Jining to the east and the provinces of Henan and Anhui to the west and south respectively.

The total area is 12238.62 square km and the population is 10.58 million. It governs Mudan District and Dingtao District, 2 districts and 7 counties including Caoxian, Chengwu, Shanxian, Juye, Yuncheng, Juancheng and Dongming.

There are more than 100 cultural relics and historic sites in the territory, 6 national-level cultural relics protection units, and 52 provincial-level cultural relics protection units. Places of interest include Caozhou Peony Garden, Yuncheng Water Margin, Sunbin Tourist City, Dingtao Han Tomb, Shanxian Archway, Jinshan Mountain, Fangshan Mountain, Fulong Lake, the scenery of the old Yellow River route, etc.

History Caozhou was at the centre of the Nian Rebellion during the 1850s and 60s.

In August 1949, Heze was detached from Shandong and given to the experimental province of Pingyuan, but was later returned to Shandong just over three years later.

In April 1953, Heze and Jining gained counties from the former prefecture of Huxi after its abolition.

City flower Mudan is the city flower of Heze. The earliest documentary of Mudan is in Classic of Poetry, written almost 3,000 years ago. Mudan is also called the "king of flowers" from the Bencao Gangmu. It is a symbol of honor, peace, wealth, love, aristocracy and feminine beauty. There are 9 types of Mudan based on the colors: red, white, purple, yellow, blue, green, black, pink, and multi-colored.

Administration The prefecture-level city of Heze administers nine county-level divisions. The municipal executive, legislature and judiciary are in Mudan District (牡丹区), together with CPC and public security bureaux.

There are two districts, seven counties, and 2 additional development zones: • Mudan District (牡丹区) • Dingtao District (定陶区) • Cao County (曹县) • Chengwu County (成武县) - originally in Huxi • Shan County (单县) - originally in Huxi • Juye County (巨野县) - originally in Huxi • Yuncheng County (郓城县) • Juancheng County (鄄城县) • Dongming County (东明县) • Heze Economic and Technological Development Zone (菏泽经济技术开发区) • Heze High-Tech Development Zone (菏泽高新技术开发区); These are further divided into 158 township-level divisions.

Demographics According to the 2020 Chinese census, Heze was home to 8,287,693 people, of whom 1,346,717 live in the built-up area around the seat of government in Mudan District. The permanent population in the territory is mainly Han, and the ethnic minorities include Hui, Manchu, Tibetan, Miao, Uyghur, Kazakh, Zhuang, Mongolian and other ethnic groups.

Government The current mayor is Li Chunying and the chairman of the Municipal Council is Wang Weidong.

Culture Heze is rich in cultural tourism resources and is known as the capital of peonies, the hometown of opera, martial arts, calligraphy and painting, and folk art. Peony cultivation began in the Sui Dynasty, flourished in the Tang Dynasty, and flourished in the Ming Dynasty. By the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it had become the centre of peony cultivation in China. It is known as "Caozhou has the best peonies in the world, and Heze has the best peonies in the world".

Places of Interest • Caozhou Mudan Garden: It is the largest Mudan Garden in Heze with the most varieties. • One Hundred Lion Square: It is famous for its column carved 100 different posture stone lions. It is the symbol of best wishes and longevities. The archway is 14 meters high and 9 meters wide. The 100 lions with different shapes represent superb architectural skills and immortal artistic value, which fully embodies the wisdom and strength of the ancient people. • Shui Hu Hero City: It is famous for the teaching and communication of martial arts and ancient buildings. It is also the Chinese ancient residence museum, CCTV recommended tour routes, and the source of Water Margins.

Foods • Shanxian lamb soup: The soup was first made in 1807. The taste is fresh but not mutton, and fragrant but not greasy. After more than 200 years of development and innovation of soup, it can be carried forward and accepted in many years. It is not only refreshing, but also functional in medicinal meal. • Peony cake: During a flower festival in which season when peonies are in full bloom, Wu Zetian led a maid to enjoy the flowers in the garden and ordered the maid to pluck a large number of flowers of various colors. After return to the palace, according to her design, she mashed them with rice, steaming them to make a cake known as the "hundred-flower cake" and used this dessert as a gift to officials. • Pijia roast chicken: The sauce is in color red, and you can smell the rich roast chicken scent just a few feet away from the pot. Its outstanding characteristics are fresh, fragrant, and tender with consistent taste inside and out. • Caozhou sesame cake: Its shape is round as a moon, tender inside with a crispy crust. Its ingredients include wheat essence powder, sesame oil, salt, pepper, fennel powder and other oil-based products. • Ju Ye pot of soup: Jar soup is the most representative of Shandong is the most representative characteristics of the south-west of Shandong traditional food. Originating from Daxieji Town, Juno County, Heze City, Shandong Province, it is the most authentic soup in Daxieji Town. Has been registered in the State Administration for Industry and Commerce ‘Xieji authentic jar soup’ trademark. It is one of the most popular soups among the local people, and has been listed as one of the famous foods in Southwest Shandong Province and Shandong Province, and was named as one of the famous Chinese foods in 2004.

Transport • Highway: China National Highway 220; China National Highway 105; China National Highway 106; China National Highway 240; China National Highway 327 • Heze Mudan Airport opened on April 2, 2021. • Conventional rail services call at Heze railway station, high-speed services call at Heze East railway station.

Economy Heze is the largest centre in China for the cultivation of the "national flower" peony, after which the Mudan District was named. Over 30% of its GDP comes from the sale of peony.

Heze, Shandong Province, China 
<b>Heze, Shandong Province, China</b>
Image: Balanced Sam

Heze has a population of over 1,346,717 people. Heze also forms the centre of the wider Heze prefecture which has a population of over 8,287,693 people.

To set up a UBI Lab for Heze see: https://www.ubilabnetwork.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBILabNetwork

Twin Towns, Sister Cities Heze has links with:

🇺🇸 Baton Rouge, USA 🇰🇷 Gimpo, South Korea 🇺🇸 Mobile, USA
Text Atribution: Wikipedia Text under CC-BY-SA license

South of: 35.234

🇰🇷 Geumjeong 35.233

🇮🇷 Kāshmar 35.233

🇺🇸 Searcy 35.233

🇰🇷 Gimhae 35.233

🇯🇵 Kitanagoya 35.233

🇰🇷 Haman 35.233

🇺🇸 Newcastle 35.233

🇺🇸 Gastonia 35.233

🇺🇸 Rio Rancho 35.228

🇺🇸 Norman 35.221

East of: 115.48

🇮🇩 Tanjung 115.5

🇨🇳 Yanbei 115.533

🇨🇳 Zhangshu 115.546

🇮🇩 Karangasem 115.6

🇮🇩 Amlapura 115.6

🇦🇺 Bunbury 115.637

🇨🇳 Donghai 115.652

🇨🇳 Lufeng 115.652

🇨🇳 Shangqiu 115.656

🇨🇳 Qinghe 115.668

West of: 115.48

🇨🇳 Baoding 115.464

🇨🇳 Qichun 115.437

🇮🇩 Klungkung 115.405

🇮🇩 Semarapura 115.4

🇨🇳 Shanwei 115.376

🇨🇳 Gao'an 115.361

🇨🇳 Anguo 115.327

🇮🇩 Gianyar 115.322

🇮🇩 Blahbatuh 115.3

🇮🇩 Sukawati 115.294

Antipodal to Heze is: -64.52,-35.234

Locations Near: Heze 115.48,35.2343

🇨🇳 Puyang Chengguanzhen 115.029,35.763 d: 71.5  

🇨🇳 Puyang 115.029,35.763 d: 71.5  

🇨🇳 Shangqiu 115.656,34.415 d: 92.5  

🇨🇳 Neihuang 114.9,35.967 d: 96.9  

🇨🇳 Shanghai 114.901,35.972 d: 97.3  

🇨🇳 Jining 116.587,35.415 d: 102.4  

🇨🇳 Fengcheng 116.582,34.704 d: 116.4  

🇨🇳 Kaifeng 114.314,34.798 d: 116.7  

🇨🇳 Hebi 114.297,35.748 d: 121.4  

🇨🇳 Liaocheng 115.985,36.456 d: 143.3  

Antipodal to: Heze -64.52,-35.234

🇦🇷 Parera -64.502,-35.147 d: 20005.2  

🇦🇷 Santa Rosa -64.283,-36.617 d: 19859.9  

🇦🇷 Villa Mercedes -65.467,-33.667 d: 19820.4  

🇦🇷 Río Cuarto -64.35,-33.133 d: 19780.9  

🇦🇷 La Carlota -63.3,-33.433 d: 19785.6  

🇦🇷 San Luis -66.333,-33.3 d: 19743  

🇦🇷 Villa María -63.267,-32.583 d: 19698.4  

🇦🇷 Maria Teresa -61.967,-33.75 d: 19728.8  

🇦🇷 Venado Tuerto -61.967,-33.75 d: 19728.8  

🇦🇷 Bell Ville -62.683,-32.633 d: 19679.9  

Bing Map

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