Dezhou () is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. It borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the southeast, Liaocheng to the southwest, Binzhou to the northeast, and the province of Hebei to the north.

History

thumb|Map including Dezhou (labeled as TE-HSIEN (TEHCHOW) (walled) ) ([[Army Map Service|AMS, 1954)]]

Sulu royal family

In 1417, the pre-sultanate East King of Sulu, Paduka Pahala, sailed to China on a tribute mission to the Yongle Emperor. While on his way home from the mission, he died in Dezhou, and his two sons and wife were left in the care of Hui people in the city. The two families descended from the two sons were given the surnames An and Wen by the Ming dynasty. They lived through the Ming and Qing dynasties, and still live in Dezhou today.

Soon after, Sharif ul-Hāshim of Sulu arrived in Sulu and married a princess of the previous non-Hashemite royal family, founding the Sulu Sultanate. Since then, various Tausūg delegations from Sulu have visited Dezhou to meet the descendants of the previous royal family.

Death of Empress Xiaoxianchun

While on a boat in Dezhou, on 5 April 1748, the Qianlong Emperor's first empress, Empress Xiaoxianchun, died at the age of 37. The circumstances of her death are not well documented by historical sources.

Administration

The municipality of Dezhou comprises thirteen county-level sub divisions:

;Districts

  • Decheng District (). The government of the prefecture-level city is located in this sub division.
  • Lingcheng District ()

;Cities

Cities ( xianji shi) administered by Dezhou are:

  • Laoling ()
  • Yucheng ()

;Counties

Counties (县 xian) administered by Dezhou are:

  • Pingyuan ()
  • Xiajin ()
  • Wucheng ()
  • Qihe ()
  • Linyi ()
  • Ningjin ()
  • Qingyun ()

;Development zones

  • Tianquxin-Qu (天衢新区), which is the former:
  • Dezhou Economic Development District ()
  • Dezhou Yunhe Economic Development District ()

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Climate

Transport

Historical

The Yellow River and the Grand Canal both run through Dezhou, making it an important hub for cargo transit since ancient times. In antiquity, it was described as "Junction of Nine Arteries" () and "Portal of the Capital" ().

Modern era

Dezhou is on the Shijiazhuang-Dezhou railway, the Shijiazhuang–Ji'nan railway, the Beijing–Shanghai railway, and the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway. In addition, a small single-track railway connects Dezhou with Dongying.

Dezhou serves as a key stop on the Beijing-Shanghai High-speed Railway, providing exceptional transport links that enable travelers to make same-day return trips to both Beijing and Shanghai.

The main expressway passing Dezhou is the G3 Beijing–Taipei Expressway, running north–south from it. Other highways include the Dezhou–Shanghai Expressway, National Highway 104, and National Highway 105, offering connections in other directions.

G2 Beijing–Shanghai Expressway passes through the Laoling urban area and Linyi, making Laoling a sub-center of Dezhou.

Tourism

Dezhou's biggest historical attraction is the tomb of Sultan Paduka Pahala of Sulu (Philippines), who died in Dezhou on his return journey from a visit to the Yongle Emperor in 1417.

Quancheng Oulebao is a large theme park and animal world, while Laoling Shiguang is a cultural park converted from an old factory in the last century, attracting many local and foreign tourists.

Industry

A new industrial zone hailed as the "Solar Valley" is being built for experimenting with clean-energy urban projects and massive use of household utilities such as solar-powered water-heaters. The Washington Post describes Dezhou's Solar Valley as the "clean-tech version of Silicon Valley".

Nowadays one of the biggest and most famous industries in Dezhou is solar energy industry, with two main corporations included—Himin Group () and its partner Ecco Solar Group (). Dezhou increased its international reputation when it was selected to follow previous hosts, Daegu, South Korea (2004), Oxford, UK (2006) and Adelaide, Australia (2008) as host of the 2010 International Solar City Congress. Himin Group has developed into the world's largest solar water heater manufacturer and is also discovering new areas such as photoelectricity.

Greenpeace China cited Dezhou in May 2009 as an example of how renewable energy can become a more common reality throughout the world.

Dezhou houses the world's largest solar-powered office building, covering around 75,000 square meters. Dezhou also has semiconductor and sports equipment manufacturing industries. China's largest seasoning production base is located in Laoling, Dezhou.

The sports industry is an emerging industry in Dezhou, mainly focusing on the production of fitness equipment and sports equipment, competitive bicycle manufacturing, etc., mainly led by Laoling and Ningjin.

Dezhou is also rapidly developing its semiconductor industry and has introduced many advanced semiconductor companies.

Dezhou is home to more than 10 A-share listed companies, with over half of them located in county-level regions. These listed enterprises span various industries, particularly concentrated in the industrial sector, including several manufacturing companies listed on the A-share main board.

Culture

As a city along the Grand Canal since ancient times, Dezhou's culture has developed alongside canal shipping and railways. As a traditional agricultural region, many of Dezhou's delicacies are deeply connected to the history and legends of the Qing Dynasty, such as the famous Dezhou Braised Chicken, Golden Silk Jujubes, and Daliu Noodles.

Dezhou Braised Chicken is the most famous dish in Dezhou.

Golden Silk Jujubes are the most famous agricultural product in Laoling, Dezhou, and an important carrier of agricultural culture.

Education

thumb|220x220px|Dezhou No.2 Middle school High school

  • Dezhou University: a comprehensive university which was approved by the National Education Committee in March 2000. It is the aggregation of Dezhou Teachers’ College, Dezhou Education College and Evening College Municipality, which has a more than 30-year history. It currently offers postgraduate education.
  • Shandong Huayu Institute of Technology: a private science and engineering university offers 4-year undergraduate majors.
  • Dezhou Vocational and Technical College: a public vocational college in Dezhou, offers 3-year vocational majors.
  • Technological Vocational College of Dezhou: a private vocational college in Dezhou.
  • Dezhou Engineering Vocational College: a private polytechnic vocational college in Dezhou.
  • Shandong Vocational College of Culture and Arts: a public college for arts in Qihe county.

Notable people

  • Dongfang Shuo (154 to 93 BC, The Western Han Dynasty), Writer and poet
  • Yan Zhenqing (709 to 784, The Tang Dynasty), Calligrapher, poet
  • Ma Dehua (1945), actor, best known for his role as Zhu Bajie in the television series Journey to the West
  • He Rong (1962), Minister of Justice
  • Han Hong (1971), Singer, songwriter, music producer, director
  • Zhang Yuqi (1986), Chinese actress
  • Ma Tianyu (1986), Chinese actor

Miscellaneous

  • Dezhou is well known for its braised chicken and watermelon.
  • The name of Dezhou is the same as the abbreviation of the Chinese name for the U.S. state of Texas.
  • Pingyuan, Dezhou is the foundation place of Yihetuan (Boxer Rebellion) against the Eight Power Allied Force during the 1900s.

Notes

References

Works cited

  • 德州鲁北热线
  • 陵县旅游
  • Dezhou
  • Himin Group
  • Dezhou University
  • Government website of Dezhou (in Simplified Chinese)