Second-tier city
Xuzhou, abbreviated as "Xu" and known as Pengcheng in ancient times, is a prefecture-level city under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province, a provincial sub-center city, a national famous historical and cultural city, a national comprehensive transportation hub, and a center city of the Huaihai Economic Zone, as approved by the State Council. As of 2021, Xuzhou has five municipal districts, three counties and two county-level cities under its jurisdiction, with a total area of 11,258 square kilometers and a resident population of 9,028,500.In 2021, Xuzhou's GDP was 811,744 million yuan.
Xuzhou is located in the southeastern part of the North China Plain and the northwestern part of Jiangsu Province, where the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal passes through, and the two main lines of the Longhai Railway and the Beijing-Shanghai Railway converge, and it is known as the "Thoroughfare of Five Provinces". Xuzhou is an important gateway city in East China, an important center of economy, science and education, culture, finance, medical care and foreign trade in East China, an important node city of the national "Belt and Road", a vice-center city of the northern wing of the Yangtze River Delta, a core city of the Xuzhou metropolitan circle, an international new energy base, and the "Capital of China Construction Machinery". It is also the important node city of the national "Belt and Road", the vice-center city of the northern wing of Yangtze River Delta, the core city of Xuzhou metropolitan area, the international new energy base, and has the reputation of "China's construction machinery capital".
Toward the end of primitive society, Emperor Yao's Pengzu built the state of Dapeng, which was the first city in Jiangsu Province. Historically, Xuzhou was one of the nine states of China, and since ancient times it has been the key to the north, the gateway to the south, the place of war and the center of commerce, as well as the political, economic and cultural center of the Huaihai region. Xuzhou has a civilization history of more than 6,000 years and a city history of 2,600 years, and it is the hometown of emperors and kings, and it is said that "the emperors and kings of nine dynasties are from Xuzhou". Xuzhou is the birthplace of the culture of the two Han dynasties, known as "the hometown of Peng Zu, the hometown of Liu Bang, the hometown of Xiang Yu", and is also known as the "Athens of the East" because of its large number of cultural heritages, scenic spots and deep historical heritage.
Xuzhou has a temperate monsoon climate with four distinct seasons, and there are tourist attractions such as Yunlong Lake, Yunlong Mountain, Pengzu Garden, Pan'an Lake, Dalong Lake, and other historical celebrities such as Pengzu, Liu Bang, Sun Quan, Liu Yu, Li Yu, and so on. Xuzhou has won the titles of China's Excellent Tourism City, National Civilized City, China's Happiest City, United Nations Habitat Award, and National Innovative City.