Shiyanisbuiltandprosperedbycars.ItisnotonlythehometownofDongfengMotor,theautomobilecityknownas"OrientalDetroit",butalsoamountaincity,touristcityandecologicalgardencitysurroundedbybeautifulmountainsandwatersandattractivesceneryinfourseasons.
Shiyanhasalonghistoryandsplendidculture.ThisisanimportantbirthplaceoftheChinesenation.In1991,archaeologistsexcavatedtwocompleteskullsofAustralopithecusinQuyuanRiver,YunxianCounty,andnamedthem"Yunxianpeople".Anthropologistsbelievethatthisdiscoveryfillsagapinthe"chain"ofhumandevelopmentinAsia,andislistedasthefirstofthe"toptenarchaeologicaldiscoveriesintheworld"atthattime.Today'surbanareawasnamedShiyanintheQingDynastybecausepeopledammedtheBaierRiverandtheZhiheriverforirrigation.ThisisthebirthplaceofTaoismand"Wudangboxing".WudangTaoismhasahistoryofmorethanonethousandyears.WudangancientbuildingshavebeenlistedintheworldculturalheritagelistbytheUnitedNations.
ShiyanCity,locatedinthenorthwestofHubeiProvince,governsfivecounties,onecity,twodistrictsandoneeconomicandTechnologicalDevelopmentZone,namelyYunCounty,YunxiCounty,ZhushanCounty,ZhuxiCounty,FangCounty,ZhangwanDistrict,MaojianDistrict,DanjiangkouCityandBailangeconomicandTechnologicalDevelopmentZone.ShiyanCityisnotonlyacarcitybuilt,prosperedandfamousforcars,butalsoamountaincityandtouristcitysurroundedbybeautifulmountainsandwatersandcharmingsceneryinfourseasons.ItisthecentralcityoftheadjacentareasofHubei,Henan,Sichuan,ShaanxiandChongqing.
ThisisanimportantbirthplaceoftheChinesenation.In1991,archaeologistsexcavatedtwocompleteskullsofAustralopithecusinQuyuanRiver,YunxianCounty,andnamedthem"Yunxianpeople".Anthropologistsbelievethatthisdiscoveryfillsagapinthe"chain"ofhumandevelopmentinAsia,andislistedasthefirstofthe"toptenarchaeologicaldiscoveriesintheworld"atthattime.ShiyanCitybelongstoJiaoandYongstatesinShangandZhouDynasties;ChustateinWarringStates;ChangliCountyinHanzhongCountyinQinandHanDynasties;XicountyinEasternHanandWeidynasties;YunxiangCountyinWudangCountyinTangandSongDynasties;YuncountywasestablishedinYuanDynasty.Today'surbanareawasnamedShiyanintheQingDynastybecausepeopledammedtheBaierRiverandtheZhiheriverforirrigation.In1967,inordertobuildthesecondautomobilefactory(nowDongfengMotorCompany),thestatesetuptheShiyanofficeinYunxianCounty.InDecember1969,theStateCouncilapprovedtheestablishmentofShiyanCity(county-levelcity),andin1973,itwasupgradedtoaprovincialcity.InOctober1994,theformerShiyanCityandYunyangDistrictmergedtoformanewShiyanCity.ThisisthebirthplaceofTaoismand"Wudangboxing".WudangTaoismhasahistoryofmorethanonethousandyears.WudangancientbuildingshavebeenlistedintheworldculturalheritagelistbytheUnitedNations.
Thereareabundantmineralresources,includingmorethan50kindsofprovenmineraldeposits,suchasturquoise,gold,silver,stonecoal,rareearth,iron,tin,vanadium,antimony,lead,zinc,marble,asbestos,barite,uranium,potassium,molybdenumandcobalt.Thetheoreticalreservesofwaterenergyresourcesare5millionKW,ofwhich340kWcanbedevelopedandutilized;FangxianCountyisknownasthe"hometownofYan'er"inChinaforitsabundantteaandediblefungiandhighqualityproducts.Therearemanykindsofmedicinalmaterials,producingmorethan2700kindsofmedicinalmaterials.Amongthe363keyvarietiesdeterminedbythestate,thereareabout235kindsofmedicinalmaterialsinourcity,knownasthe"naturalmedicinebank";ShiyanisashiningpearlonthegoldentourismlineofThreeGorges-Shennongjia-WudangMountain-Xi'an.Thereare25uniquescenicspotsinsixcategoriesalloverthecity.ThereareWudangMountain,theholylandofTaoism,Yunxianapemansiteanddinosaureggfossilgroup,Danjiangkoureservoir,thefirstman-madelakeinAsia,andthenewlydevelopedlakeThepresentskeletonfossilsofornithopods.
Shiyanisatouristattraction.Itisabrightpearlonthegoldentourismlineof"ThreeGorgesoftheYangtzeRiverShennongjiaGulongzhongWudangMountainDanjiangkouReservoirancientcityXi'an".ThereareWudangMountain,aTaoistHolyLandlistedintheworldculturalheritagelistandawardedthetitleof4Atouristarea,Danjiangkoureservoir,knownasAsia'sfirstartificiallake,Yunxianapemansite,dinosaureggfossilgroupanddinosaureggfossilsDinosaurskeletonfossilisararedinosaurhometownintheworld.Therearehotsprings,waterfalls,Tianchi,canyons,caves,virginforestsandmodernautomobilecities.Shiyan,aplacewithnoseverecoldinwinter,nointenseheatinsummer,nostrongwindinfourseasons,beautifulmountainsandpleasantscenery,isatreasurelandofgeomanticomen.
ShiyanisthesourceofSouthtonorthwaterdiversion.Danjiangkoureservoir,locatedinShiyan,isthewatersourceareaandwaterintakeoftheMiddleRouteProjectofSouthtonorthwaterdiversion.TheMiddleRouteProjectofSouth-to-NorthWaterDiversiondirectlysupplieswatertoBeijing,Tianjin,HebeiandHenanprovinces,withanannualwaterdiversionof13billioncubicmeters.TheconstructionofthemiddlerouteofthesouthtoNorthWaterDiversionProjectwillmakeShiyanthe"watercapitaloftheworld,TianchiofAsia"andbringnewdevelopmentopportunitiestoShiyan.
Shiyanisanecologicalbarrier.BecauseoftheintersectionofQinlingandBashanmountainsinShiyan,itformsthegeographicalboundaryoftheclimatebetweenthenorthandthesouthofChina.Therefore,ShiyanisanecologicalregulatorandtheecologicalheartofChina.