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1.1 Geographical position
Hunan Province is located in central south of China, between latitudes 24°39'N to 30°08'N, and longitudes 108°47'E to 114°15'E, covering an area of 210,000 km2. It is located in the south of the famous Dongting Lake, hence the name Hunan, which literally means south of the lake in Chinese. It is also called Xiang for short, named after the longest river in the province. In the north, there is Hubei province. The two provinces are separated by the Yangtze River. Linking the rivers and seas, Hunan belongs to the open and development belt of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River; In the south, it is adjacent to Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, closing with such open coastal areas and Hong Kong and Macao. The direct container trucks can get to Hong Kong in a single day; bonded Jiangxi province on the east, Chongqing City and Guizhou province on the west. Hunan, located between the south coastal open belt and the Yangtze open belt, enjoys a favorable geological location. The province is administratively divided into 13 municipalities under the jurisdiction of the provincial government, and 1 autonomous prefecture. The capital city of Hunan is Changsha. The province has a population of 68,057,000, including an urban population of 27,529.100 and a rural population of 40,527,900.
1.2 Natural Resources
Rich in natural resources, Hunan has long been known as a Land of Rice and Fish, the Home of Nonferrous Metals, Home of Non-metallic Minerals and a Tourists Resort. There are more than 2,000 species of woody plants, including 1,000 species of economic plants, 800 species of medicinal plants and 60 species of rare plants (put on the list of the state protection). The growing forest tree amount is 314 million m3, with the forest coverage rate of 56.1%. There are over 40 kinds of rare birds and animals, and over 160 kinds of natural fishes. The surface-water totals more than 200 million cubic meters and the underground water stock comes to 45.5 billion cubic meters. Waterpower resources add up to 15.32 million kW (15,320MW), and exploitable waterpower reaches 10.83 million kW (10830MW). Of all the more than 160 minerals discovered in the world, Hunan has 141, among which 41 kinds such as antimony, tungsten, manganese and etc., rank at the top five in China in terms of recoverable storage amount. There are 10 tourist areas and more than 100 scenic spots in Hunan. Mountain Hengshan or Nanyue Mountain is a special Buddhism mountain among China's five sacred mountains; Yueyang Pavilion is one of the three famous ancient pavilions south to the Yangtze River. Especially, the Wulingyuan Scenic Zone, with Zhangjiajie National Forest Park as the center, once being developed, reveals its wonderful, elegant, tranquil, and precipitous sceneries. Therefore, it is praised as great natural wonders by the travelers from China and abroad, and it is inscribed on the World Heritage List by United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Located in central subtropical zone, Hunan has a continental wet monsoon climate. Its annual temperature averages 16℃-18℃, sunshine time 1,300-1,800 hours, frost-free period 278-300 days, and precipitation 1,200-1,700mm. With sufficient sunshine, plentiful rain and distinct seasons, Hunan has favorable conditions for agricultural production.
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