It is located 40 km (25 mi) west of central Ningbo, 120 km (75 mi) east of Hangzhou, bordering Hangzhou Bay in the north. Yuyao covers an area of 1,527 km2 (590 sq mi).
Demographics
As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,254,032. Its built-up (or metro) area with the county-level city of Cixi largely conurbated, had 3,083,520 inhabitants.[2] However, recently the migrated workers and their families have increase the total population to about 1.6 million, but they do not show up in the official census and other related statistics data.
Geography and climate
Yuyao lies in a subtropicalmonsoon zone, rich in sunshine and rain fall, warm and humid, distinct in the four seasons. The mean annual sunshine is 2,061 hours and the annual rate of sunshine is 47%. The mean annual temperature is 16 degrees Celsius, and the coldest months perennially are January and February, the hottest are July and August. The mean annual precipitation is around 1,300 millimeters and changes greatly from year to year. The hyetal distribution is also uneven during a year, and the rainfall centers on East Asian rainy season (梅雨) (aka bai-u rainy period) from April to June and typhoon period from July to December.
Yuyao is well known for its rich heritage of civilization. The NeolithicHemudu culture formed in Yuyao about 5,000 B.C. is one of the earliest sites of human civilization on earth. The material and ethical relics revealed large-scale rice plantation and other agricultural activities, hurdle style architecture, paddling and boating and respecting birds and sun.
Yuyao also produced many famous scholars in history—for example, Yan Zi-Ling during the Han dynasty; Yu Fan during the Three Kingdoms period; Yu Xi during the Jin dynasty; Yu Shinan during the Sui and Tang dynasties; and Wang Yangming, Zhu Shunshui, and Huang Zongxi during the Ming dynasty. Wang Yangming and Huang Zongxi were ranked among China's top 10 ideologists. Yuyao was then named as "the Most Famous County" and "the Famous State on Literature". During the Anti-Japanese War, Yuyao was one of China's 19 bases against Japanese invaders and was the center of anti-Japanese bases of eastern Zhejiang province.
Yuyao is known as a place for rice and fish. Its economy has been booming as private enterprises dominate after the economic reform began in late 1970s. In 2007, GDP will reach RMB 34 billions, with double digit annual growth rates over the past 20 years. It ranked as one of the top-20 counties in terms of comprehensive economic strength out of all the 2100 counties in China. The industry products are mainly electric appliances, plastic moulding, machinery and textiles. High-tech industries such as materials, optical, electro-mechanical integration and fine chemical industry are developing rapidly. The main agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry products of Yuyao are tea, fruits like waxberry and mandarin orange, bamboo, silkworm, fowl, livestock and fish. Fresh produce is available in all seasons.
