| Qingtian | |
| Other Name: | Tsingtien |
| Nickname: | Little Europe (Chinese: 小欧洲) |
| Settlement Type: | County |
| Pushpin Map: | China Zhejiang |
| Pushpin Label: | Qingtian |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of the seat in Zhejiang |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | People's Republic of China |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Zhejiang |
| Subdivision Type2: | Prefecture-level city |
| Subdivision Name2: | Lishui |
| Area Total Km2: | 2,493 |
| Population As Of: | 2022 |
| Population Demonym: | Qingtianese |
| Population Total: | 568,800 |
| Population Urban: | 168,500 |
| Timezone: | China Standard |
| Utc Offset: | +8 |
| Coordinates: | 28.1342°N 120.2908°W 28.123°N 120.283°W |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 323900 |
| Area Code: | 0578 |
| Website: | https://www.qingtian.gov.cn/ |
Qingtian, is a county located in the southeastern part of Lishui, Zhejiang, China. It is split in two by the Ou River, which flows 388 kilometers before finally reaching the city of Wenzhou and emptying into the East China Sea. The county has a recorded history since 711 AD, and its name originates from its rich rice paddy fields. It has subtropical monsoon climate, with an annual average temperature of, and an annual rainfall of 1747mm. It has a hilly territory with many ravines. Its capital is Hecheng, also known as Qingtian City.
The majority of inhabitants speak Qingtianese, while a small minority of residents in Wenxi town (温溪镇) speak Wenzhounese, both of which belong to the larger Wu language family.
The county is particularly famous in China for its diasporan communities spread all across the globe, forming the bulk of Chinese populations in many European states, especially in Spain where they constitute over 80% of the entire Chinese community. The area is also well known by its traditional stonecarving industry, that has been defined as "embroidery on stone" since the Northern and Southern dynasties period at least.[1] [2]
Qingtian county was officially established in the 2nd year of Jingyun (711) as a part of the Kuozhou prefecture (aliase of present-day Lishui).[3] The etymology of its name derives from a grass with bamboo-like leaves that can be turned into cyan-colored dyes, which is abundant in the paddy fields at the foot of the mountain in the county's northern corner.[4]
In 1197 (3nd year of Qingyuan, Southern Song), in a major reconstruction project initiated by the local notable Zheng Ruxie (郑汝谐), all the shabby thatched cottages in the county town were replaced with houses built of ceramic tiles, significantly improving the county's sanitary conditions whilst reducing the risk of fire.[5]
In the 35th year of Emperor Jiajing of Ming (1556), due to the constant attacks by Wokous coming from the coastal areas, the county magistrate Li Kai (李楷）ordered the construction of a 3 kilometers long stone wall surrounding the town, the section of wall along the Ou River still remains today,[6] and Qingtian is henceforth the only county in Lishui to have its own walled fortifications.[7]
In April, 1558, another assault on the town by Wokous was successfully repelled due to the protection by the wall.[8]
In the early years of the Republic of China, almost the entire county was devastated by the flood brought by a heavy rainstorm on August 29, 1912. Record says that the flood had affected as many as 16,133 households and destroyed 76,623 buildings,[9] and only 5000 people were left in Hecheng which had at once boasted more than 14,000 residents. Extreme hardship in the aftermath of the floods pushed many to emigrate abroad, which between 1912 and 1914, approximately a thousand people had left the county,[10] and around two thousand Qingtianese were among the 140,000 Chinese Labour Corps that served on the Western Front, following China's entry into the World War I on the side of Entente Powers in 1917.
Owing to its scarce arable lands and its vibrant overseas communities that brought ideas and news from the Western world, Qingtian was the earliest region where the Chinese Communist Party began its activities in southwestern Zhejiang.
As part of Zhejiang's provincial road network, a gravel road with a total length of 124.08 km that ran from Lishui to Wenzhou via Qingtian was completed and opened to traffic in 1934.[11] In 1948, to deal with the increasing Communist guerrilla activities and banditry in the climax of Chinese Civil War, Nantian township (南田乡), also known as the birthplace of Liu Bowen, was separated from Qingtian and incorporated into the newly established county of Wencheng (文成县); as a compensation, the town of Wenxi from the neighboring Yongjia county (永嘉县) was added into Qingtian, giving the county access to its inland port facility.[12]
The Nationalist rule in Qingtian ended with the arrival of the People's Liberation Army on May 13, 1949, and the People's Government of Qingtian was officially established in November 4 the same year.[13]
Waves of intense political violence occurred in Qingtian during the early phase of Cultural Revolution as part of the nationwide violent struggles.[14]
The Jinhua-Wenzhou railway that runs through Qingtian, as the first railway with investment from a joint venture, between Chinese state-owned enterprise and privately held companies in the infrastructural history of China was opened on June 11, 1998.
The county of Qingtian is divided into 4 subdistricts, 10 towns, 18 townships, and 363 villages, with a total area of 2493 km2[15]
Subdistricts:
Towns:[16]
Townships:
| 742 | ~36,000 | |
| 1551 | 41,567 | |
| 1776 | 89,667 | |
| 1911 | 219,206 | |
| 1942 | 271,073 | |
| 1946 | 257,657 | |
| 1949 | 227,800 | |
| 2000 | 361,062 | |
| 2010 | 336,542 | |
| 2020 | 509,053 |
By the end of 2013, the highway mileage in Qingtian county was 2,155.8 kilometers, including 67.3 kilometers of expressways, 145.7 kilometers of secondary roads, 16.8 kilometers of tertiary roads, 483.8 kilometers of quasi-fourth-class roads, and 1,442.2 kilometers of quasi-fourth-class roads. In 2013, the social passenger volume was 11.3 million, the freight volume was 4.53 million tons, the freight turnover was 717.49 million tons-kilometers, and the passenger turnover was 356.43 million person-kilometers. National Highway 330 passes through the county.
Qingtian is served by the Jinhua–Wenzhou high-speed railway.
The Port of Wenxi is the only port in Lishui prefecture that has direct access to the outer sea, with an annual cargo throughput of more than 1.4 million tons. Cargo ships departing from the Port of Wenxi can directly reach major ports in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.