Mug Shot — «Wuhu - Jiuzi Sculpture»

City: Wuhu Country: China Edition: 2008 Icon Edition Belongs to: 238 users (28 trading, 99 seeking)

Wuhu is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Anhui province, People's Republic of China. Wuhu is known to have been inhabited since at least 770 BCE. It became a strategically important town during the Three Kingdoms period, when it was controlled by the Eastern Wu. At this time it was known as Jiuzi. Under the Ming dynasty Wuhu developed into a major commercial center and river port, and since that time has been known as a center of the rice trade. In 1644, the Hongguang Emperor, one of the last emperors of the Ming Dynasty, was captured by forces of the new Qing Dynasty in Wuhu. The city became a treaty port in 1876 and has remained a commercial center since that time. The city's Roman Catholic cathedral, St. Joseph Cathedral dates from this time. Most downtown area alongside the Yangtze River was ceded as the British concession. Trade in rice, wood, and tea flourished at Wuhu until the Warlord Era of the 1920s and 1930s, when bandits were active in the area. At the beginning of Second Sino-Japanese War, also part of the Second World War, Wuhu was occupied by Japan which was also a prelude to the Battle of Nanking, ending in Nanking Massacre. Under the Japanese occupation in the Second World War, Chinese resistance fighters hid in the lakes around Wuhu, by submerging themselves and breathing through reeds. Major industries began to be developed in Wuhu after the Second World War, with the development of the textile industry, shipbuilding, and paper mills. Despite this, Wuhu had been lagged behind Ma'anshan and Tongling in industrial production for decades after the establishment of PRC, and remained primarily as a commercial center for trade in rice, silk, cotton, tea, wheat and eggs. However, with recent years' economic rise, Wuhu has also been a hub for manufacturing in the area.

Jiuzi sculpture is located in Jiuzi Square, placed right in the city center. It was built on the former location of Wuhu municipal government occupying an area of 67.8 thousand sq. m. It was declared in 1999 that a square was to be built for public recreation after relocating the city government. After one-year construction, the square was opened to the public in April 2000. Along with the nearby Mirror Lake and the walking street, it has formed an ideal place for tourism, recreation and shopping. Set in the center of the square is a theme statue representing the diligence, wisdom, and initiative of the native people. The statue, cast in bronze and 33 meters high, is shaped after a legendary bird “jiuzi” which is also the ancient name of Wuhu. Upon the nine flying birds is a golden ball symbolizing prosperous hope.

photo by mobydick74
edited by mobydick74

  China, Wuhu

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