Houma, Shanxi

Administrative divisions

Houma directly administers 5 subdistricts and 3 townships, which are subsequently divided into 76 administrative villages and 28 residential communities. The city's five subdistricts are , , , Shangma Subdistrict, and . The city's three townships are , , and . Houma's administrative offices are located in the Ludong Subdistrict.

Geography and Climate

Houma experiences an average annual temperature of 12.6 °C. The forest coverage rate of the whole of Houma is 22.5%, with 44.9% of its urban area being forested. Mineral deposits in Houma include iron, copper, gold, and granite.

|Jan record high C = 14.3 |Jan record low C = -19.0 |Feb record high C = 22.4 |Feb record low C = -19.2 |Mar record high C = 29.0 |Mar record low C = -11.0 |Apr record high C = 35.8 |Apr record low C = -3.9 |May record high C = 39.4 |May record low C = 1.4 |Jun record high C = 40.9 |Jun record low C = 9.6 |Jul record high C = 41.2 |Jul record low C = 14.8 |Aug record high C = 39.1 |Aug record low C = 12.0 |Sep record high C = 38.8 |Sep record low C = 2.9 |Oct record high C = 31.8 |Oct record low C = -5.4 |Nov record high C = 25.4 |Nov record low C = -14.8 |Dec record high C = 15.2 |Dec record low C = -21.4

History

In 585 BCE, the Jin State moved their capital to Xintian, an ancient city located in present-day Houma. Xintian remained the capital until the fall of the Jin State in 376 BCE.

Chinese Communist revolutionary and politician Peng Zhen was born in Houma, and his former residence has been converted to a tourist destination, attracting red tourism from throughout China.

Archaeology

In 1956, the famous Houma bronze casting site was discovered in the Xintian site, which is the largest and most abundant bronze-casting site ever discovered in China. The site was used from around 600BC to 380BC or even later, and a large number of very exquisite bronze casting pottery models were unearthed, commonly known as Houma pottery models. The site has been excavated several times and more than 500 identifiable pottery molds have been unearthed. The striking feature of Houma debris is the reusable clay pattern blocks used essentially as models for decoration.

Compared with making an overall model of an object, the parting model can save a lot of manpower and material resources, which reflects the skillful grasp of the utensils by the craftsmen of that period. The craftsmen make a complex object into parts, separate the mold, and make only one module for the same position and pattern, which can improve the consistency of the pattern when remodeling, and make each pattern on the same horizontal section, which improves the quality of the casting.

At the same time, there is an evidenced rise of the lost-wax casting in Eastern Zhou China. Surprisingly, no evidence of the lost-wax casting has been found in Houma so far.

Economy

Houma reported a GDP of 115.2 billion Renminbi in 2019, a 3.3% increase from 2018. In 2016, the per capita disposable income was 25,725 Renminbi for the city's urban residents, and 13,177 Renminbi for the city's rural residents. By 2019, this had risen to 31,248 Renminbi and 16,413 Renminbi, respectively.

Houma's economy is reliant on the tertiary sector, which accounts for approximately 70% of the city's GDP. Over 60,000 people in the city are employed in the city's 25 large-scale wholesale markets.

Transportation

• China National Highway 108
• Houma–Xi'an Railway
• Houma–Yueshan Railway

References

References

1. (2019). "China Urban Construction Statistical Yearbook 2017". China Statistics Press.
2. link. (2017-08-27). Houma People's Government
3. link. (2016-10-18)
4. link. [[China Meteorological Administration]]
5. (2017). "From Houma Dingmo to see the Eastern Zhou bronze ware parting and moulding process从侯马鼎模看东周青铜器分型制模工艺". Zhongyuan wenwu.
6. (2020). "Metalworking in Bronze Age China: The Lost-Wax Process By Peng Peng". Cambria Press.
7. (2020). "Metalworking in Bronze Age China: The Lost-Wax Process By Peng Peng". Cambria Press.
8. link. (2020-04-27). Houma People's Government