Zhanjiang

Zhanjiang is a prefecture-stage metropolis at the southwestern stop of Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, facing Hainan to the south. Its populace turned into 6,994,832 population on the 2010 census. 1,611,868 live in the constructed-up region made of 4 urban districts: Chikan, Xiashan, Potou and Mazhang. In 2007, the city is called China's top ten livable cities by means of Chinese Cities Brand Value Report, which changed into released at 2007 Beijing Summit of China Cities Forum. During the Qin Dynasty, the location belonged to Xiang Shire. The valuable government of the Han Dynasty set Xuwen County administering the complete Leizhou Peninsula.

It became one of the earliest departure points at the Maritime Silk Road. The populace spiked during the Tang and Song dynasties. Large numbers of Putian human beings immigrated to the peninsula at some stage in the Song dynasty and soon fashioned Zhanjiang's linguistic and ethnic majority. The vicinity was still a small fishing port whilst it become occupied by means of the French in 1898. The next year, the French pressured the Chinese to lease a small enclave of Zhanjiang to them for 99 years because the territory of Kouang-Tchéou-Wan. The French desired to increase the port, which they called Fort-Bayard, to serve southern China, in elements wherein France had specific rights to railway and mineral development. Their efforts, however, had been hindered by the poverty of the encompassing land.