Pucheng County, Shaanxi

Toponymy

According to the Taiping Huanyu Ji, the county derives its name from an ancient city named Pucheng () in the area that existed during the Western Wei.

History

During the Spring and Autumn period, a city named Chongquan () was established in the southeast of present-day Pucheng County.

During the Qin dynasty, the area was organized as Chongquan County (). Chongquan County would exist for more than 600 years, before eventually being abolished during the Northern Wei dynasty. In 487 CE, under the Northern Wei, the area was reorganized as Nanbaishui County (). In 540 CE, during the Western Wei, the area was renamed to Pucheng County (), its current name. Pucheng County was renamed to Fengxian County () in 716 CE, during the Tang dynasty. The new name, Fengxian, was derived from a phrase calling for people to worship Emperor Ruizong, who had died that year, and was buried in the located in the county. Fengxian County was renamed back to Pucheng County in 971 CE, during the Song dynasty, and has remained unnamed since.

In January 2025, there were in Pucheng County after the death of a student in disputed circumstances.

Geography

Pucheng County is located within the central portion of Weinan, in the eastern portion of Shaanxi. It spans an area of 1583.58 km2, with a maximum east to west distance of 55 km, and a maximum north to south distance of 49 km. The county is bordered by Chengcheng County and Dali County to the east, Linwei District to the south, Fuping County to the west, Yintai District of the prefecture-level city of Tongchuan to the northwest, and Baishui County to the north.

The county's landscape is split between the Loess Plateau of northern Shaanxi, and the Guanzhong Plain of central Shaanxi. Major rivers in the county include the Luo River, and its tributaries, the Baishui River () and the Dayu River ().

Climate

| Jan record high C = 15.9 | Jan record low C = -13.8 | Feb record high C = 23.3 | Feb record low C = -13.3 | Mar record high C = 29.1 | Mar record low C = -8.1 | Apr record high C = 36.9 | Apr record low C = -0.8 | May record high C = 38.4 | May record low C = 0.7 | Jun record high C = 41.8 | Jun record low C = 11.5 | Jul record high C = 42.1 | Jul record low C = 15.8 | Aug record high C = 39.6 | Aug record low C = 13.8 | Sep record high C = 38.4 | Sep record low C = 6.5 | Oct record high C = 31.8 | Oct record low C = -3.7 | Nov record high C = 24.3 | Nov record low C = -10.3 | Dec record high C = 17.3 | Dec record low C = -16.7 all-time extreme temperature{{cite web |access-date= 17 July 2025

Administrative divisions

As of 2023, Pucheng County is divided to 2 subdistricts and 15 townships. These 17 township-level divisions then, in turn, administered 25 residential communities and 269 administrative villages. ;Subdistricts

• Fengxian Subdistrict (奉先街道)
• Zijing Subdistrict (紫荆街道)

;Towns

• (罕井镇)
• (孙镇)
• (兴镇)
• (党睦镇)
• (高阳镇)
• (永丰镇)
• (荆姚镇)
• (苏坊镇)
• (龙阳镇)
• (洛滨镇)
• (陈庄镇)
• (桥陵镇)
• (尧山镇)
• (椿林镇)
• (龙池镇)

Demographics

At the end of 2022, Pucheng County had a population of 761,776. Of the county's population, 272,355 people lived in urban areas, and 489,421 lived in rural areas, giving it an urbanization rate of 35.75%. The population included 388,490 males and 373,286 females, giving it a sex ratio of 104.07 males per 100 females. In 2022, the county had a birth rate of 6.27‰, and rate of natural increase of -0.004‰. As of 2022, 18.32% of the county's population was 17 years old and younger, 21.25% was aged 18–34, 37.67% was aged 35–59, and 22.75% was 60 years old and older.

Economy

As of 2022, the county had 92,400 ha of cultivated land. Major crops grown in Pucheng County include wheat, corn, tubers, beans, cotton, rapeseed, apples, pears, peaches, jujubes, apricots, persimmons, and Sichuan peppercorn. The main types of livestock raised in Pucheng County include pigs, chickens, cattle, goats, and sheep.

The most prominent mineral deposits in Pucheng County are coal and limestone, although the county also has deposits of pyrite, bauxite, dolomite, clay, kaolin, mirabilite, geothermal water, humic coal.

Transport

• lies on the Xi'an–Yan'an Railway.

References

References

1. (2023-11-01). "". link. Pucheng County People's Government
2. (2023-08-28). "". link. Pucheng County People's Government
3. Wong, Tessa. (9 January 2025). "Violent protests in China after student falls to his death". [[BBC News]].
4. link. [[China Meteorological Administration]]
5. (2023). "". link. [[National Bureau of Statistics of China]]