Xuzhou (), also known as Pengcheng (), is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Jiangsu province, China. Located at the junction of four provinces—Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan, and Anhui—it occupies a natural geographic gap between the Shandong Hills and the North China Plain. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of approximately 9.08 million.
Xuzhou is a designated important node city of Belt and Road Initiative, a provincial sub-center of Jiangsu, and the central city of the Huaihai Economic Zone. As a major national transport hub, it serves as the strategic intersection of the north–south Beijing–Shanghai axis and the east–west Land Bridge corridor.
The city is the ancestral home of the Han dynasty imperial family, and its history is defined by its rich Han archaeological heritage. Formerly a regional coal-mining base, Xuzhou has transitioned into a center for heavy machinery manufacturing and new energy industries, and was awarded the United Nations Habitat Scroll of Honour award for its ecological restoration of mining areas.
Romanization
Before the official adoption of Hanyu Pinyin, the city's name was typically romanized as Suchow or Süchow, Hsu-chou, Hsuchow, and Hsü-chow.
History
Early history
Archaeological remains in the Xuzhou region are largely associated with Dawenkou culture, while the Huating site indicates an early integration of Dawenkou and Liangzhu cultural elements.
In the Shang dynasty, Dapeng ("Great Peng") or Peng, a polity associated with the Dongyi, was the regional heartland. Archaeological evidence from the Qiuwan () site shows both Shang-style ritual remains and indigenous pottery, reflecting cultural integration between Shang and local traditions.
During the Western Zhou period, the Xu people migrated south from Shandong to the Xuzhou region to establish a polity. Their territory once encompassed the lower reaches of the Huo River (an ancient tributary of the Si River), a corridor connecting the Central Plains with the southeast. The region was eventually annexed by the State of Song, which dominated the river's upper reaches.
Pengcheng, named after the Dapeng, first appears in records in 573 BCE as a Song fortified city at the confluence of the ancient Bian and Si rivers. A strategic objective in the Chu–Jin rivalry, the city was briefly occupied by the official Yu Shi with Chu support before being recovered by a Jin-led coalition.
Around the 4th century BCE, Song had reportedly moved its capital to Pengcheng; in 385 BCE Duke Dao of Song was captured there by the State of Wei. Following Song's annexation by Qi in 286 BCE, Pengcheng served as a frontier stronghold until it fell to Chu and was eventually incorporated into the Qin Empire in 223 BCE.<gallery widths="200" heights="200">
File:Pottery bowl with Pengcheng inscription, Warring States period.jpg|Pottery bowl with "Pengcheng" inscription, Warring States period, unearthed in downtown
</gallery>
Imperial China
Qin and Han dynasties
Following Qin unification, the region was organized as Sichuan () commandery. During the Qin collapse, Pengcheng became a locus for Chu cultural revival: it was where Emperor Yi of Chu moved his seat in 208 BCE, and it was where Xiang Yu established the capital of Western Chu in 206 BCE, designating the area as his metropolitan base.
Following Prince Liu Yanshou's failed conspiracy in 69 BCE, the princedom was briefly abolished but restored in 51 BCE. During the Eastern Han, it alternated between a princedom and commandery under various princes, including Liu Ying and Liu Qing. During this period, Pengcheng emerged as the site of China's earliest recorded Buddhist community.
In the 190s, Cao Cao's campaigns against Tao Qian devastated Pengcheng, forcing a Buddhist community of ten thousand—led by figures such as Ze Rong—to flee toward the Yangtze valley. After Lü Bu's defeat in 198 CE, the seat of Xu Province moved from Tancheng to Xiapi, and was finally fixed at Pengcheng under the Western Jin, cementing its regional primacy.<gallery widths="200">
File:Lacquered Wood Coffin Inlaid with Jade, Shizishan.jpg|Liu Wu's lacquered wood coffin inlaid with jade
File:金缕玉衣 狮子山汉墓.jpg|Liu Wu's jade shroud sewn with gold threads
</gallery>
Medieval Period
In the early 4th century, Pengcheng became a critical frontier stronghold for the southern dynasties. Control of the city shifted—it fell to Later Zhao in 324 and was retaken by Eastern Jin forces in 384—while many of its inhabitants fled south to the lower Yangtze. These émigré (qiaoren) communities provided the recruits for the Beifu Army, an elite force that became the military base of Liu Yu, a member of the Liu clan of Pengcheng. He went on to found the Liu Song dynasty.
Administrative boundaries were frequently adjusted to reflect these military shifts. In 411, the Eastern Jin established North Xuzhou at Pengcheng, distinct from Xuzhou at Guangling, later Jingkou. By 421, the Liu Song dynasty restored the "Xuzhou" designation to Pengcheng and renamed its southern counterpart South Xuzhou.
Pengcheng withstood a Northern Wei siege in 450–451. This siege was also accompanied by the famed "Disputation at Pengcheng",
Located at the junction of the Si and Bian rivers, Xuzhou was a critical transport hub, though navigation was hindered by the "Two Rapids"—the Xuzhou Rapids (, southeast of the city) and the Lüliang Rapids [, south of the city]. Due to these rocky obstructions, the Sui dynasty's Tongji Canal adopted a circuitous route to bypass the city.
During the early Tang dynasty, the region experienced significant demographic growth. The registered population of Pengcheng, Feng, and Pei counties rose from 21,768 individuals in 639 to 205,286 by 742.
Following the An Lushan Rebellion, Xuzhou served as a bulwark for the Bian Canal—the primary Jianghuai–Guanzhong logistics route. In 781, during the Rebellion of the Four Garrisons, the rebel Li Na seized the city to sever imperial logistics until the prefect Li Wei restored Tang control. In 788, the region was reorganized as a military circuit under Zhang Jianfeng, and was formally designated as the Wuning (, "Pacification through Force") circuit in 805.
Subsequently, the circuit underwent a process of localization, evolving into a hereditary military interest group centered on the "Silver Sword" (Yindao) corps.
The court deployed Shatuo Turk cavalry under Li Guochang to suppress the insurgency.
Local hydrological instability emerged in the 10th century. In 1019, a Yellow River breach caused widespread flooding that fully inundated the walled city of Xuzhou. A subsequent breach in 1077 necessitated further fortification; Prefect Su Shi oversaw the construction of defensive "Su Embankment" (Sudi, ) on the city's western perimeter.
In early 1129, the Jurchen army captured the city. As the Yellow River permanently captured the Huai River course, Xuzhou became a critical but flood-prone node for Grand Canal transit. In 1352, Yuan Chancellor Toqto suppressed the Red Turban forces led by "Sesame Li" in Xuzhou to secure imperial grain routes, briefly renaming the city Wu'an (; literally "Peace Restored by Force").
During the late imperial period, the city's historical significance rested on the intersection of Grand Canal logistics and the management of the volatile Yellow River. Following the Ming capital's relocation to Beijing, the city hosted the major granary and one of the seven national customs barriers (chaoguan, ).
However, some historians argue that Yellow River management in the late 16th century prioritized imperial tribute and the Ming Ancestral Mausoleum over regional safety. The 1579 "flush silt with clear water" (xuqing shuahuang, ) policy was intended to scour the riverbed with high-velocity currents, it resulted in accelerated siltation near Xuzhou. and in 1624, a deluge buried the walled city under four meters of water and sediment.
The 1668 Tancheng Earthquake caused widespread destruction and heavy casualties throughout Xuzhou. In 1733, the Qing government restructured the administration of northern Jiangsu by converting the Independent Department of Xuzhou to Xuzhou Prefecture. Tongshan County—named after an island in the Nansi Lakes—was established as its seat-governing county, with jurisdiction over Xinyi, Pizhou, Suining, and Suqian.
In the 1850s, the Yellow River shifted northward, drastically changing the region. An 1851 breach flooded the western shores of the Nansi Lakes; when the river changed course again in 1855, the canal system was rendered defunct. As the water receded, the newly exposed land led to fierce competition between returning locals and Shandong migrants. These migrants organized paramilitary "Lakeside Communities" (hutuan, ), sparking long-term land disputes that still affect the Jiangsu-Shandong border today.
In the aftermath of the Opium Wars, Xuzhou became a major opium-producing region. In 1891, the Native Opium Consolidated Tax Bureau was established to levy a uniform duty on merchants until 1910. Furthermore, the regional economic collapse of the canal system and the devastation of the floods fueled large-scale rural insurgencies, most notably the Nian Rebellion, along with Big Swords Society later.
In November 1921, a strike erupted at the Tongshan locomotive shop after foreign management locked "Gate No. 8"—the facility's sole exit—to prevent workers from leaving at shift-end. In 1922, the Beiyang government formally designated Xuzhou as a commercial port.
The city was captured by Nationalist forces in June 1927. On 20 June, Chiang Kai-shek met with Northwest Army leader Feng Yuxiang in the city to form an alliance. A subsequent counteroffensive by the Sun Chuanfang–Zhang Zongchang coalition forced the Nationalists to withdraw briefly and contributing to Chiang's resignation, but the city was recaptured by Nationalist forces in December.
Following the 1931 Mukden incident, on December 2, a delegation of approximately 1,300 Xuzhou students demonstrated in Nanjing, where they converged with students from Yenching University. Chiang met them and pledged to "head north" after the Central Plenary Session. The students then confronted Foreign Minister Wellington Koo. Unsatisfied with his diplomatic explanations, they contributed to a broader mobilization in the following days.
After the Battle of Shanghai, the Military Affairs Commission established the Fifth War Area, with its headquarters at Xuzhou under the command of Li Zongren. The city had experienced Japanese bombardment since August 1937. By early 1938, Nationalist military leadership anticipated a Japanese pincer movement to seize Xuzhou and secure the Tianjin–Pukou railway. Nationalist forces concentrated in the region and won a major victory at Tai'erzhuang, but the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters subsequently abandoned its earlier policy against expanding the theater of operations and ordered a large-scale pincer offensive toward Xuzhou on April 7.
thumb|227x227px|[[Hisaichi Terauchi|Terauchi Hisaichi (right) and Shunroku Hata (left) meeting in Xuzhou after the city's fall, May 1938]]
Japanese forces reached the outskirts on May 16 and began shelling the city; Li Zongren's headquarters withdrew south the next day, and he ordered a general withdrawal on May 18. Japanese troops entered Xuzhou from the west on May 19.
Even before the city's fall, missionaries had organized relief for civilians. On May 9, an International Relief Committee headed by Monseigneur Côté of the Jesuit mission was established in Xuzhou, reportedly modeled on the Nanking Safety Zone organized by John Rabe. Air raids on May 10–11 struck Southern Presbyterian Mission property with visible American and blue-cross markings, prompting a formal U.S. diplomatic protest. Bombing continued, about 700 people were killed in a single raid on May 14, 1938. A July 1938 U.S. diplomatic report, citing missionary A. A. McFadyen, characterized the military's conduct in Xuzhou as a "duplicate" of the occupation of Nanking.
In 1939, Xuzhou was established as a municipality (or city) from the urban areas of Tongshan county. It was initially administered by the North China Political Council, reorganized as the Su-Huai Special Region in 1942, and became the capital of Huaihai province () in 1944 under the Wang Jingwei regime.
On August 3, 1945, the 1st Bomb Squadron of the Chinese-American Composite Wing raided Xuzhou. U.S. mission reports claimed successful strikes on rail facilities, and the Chongqing authorities reported the destruction of South Station. However, Nanjing authorities reported that bombs struck Nanguan (the city's southern suburb). The strike resulted in approximately 700 civilian fatalities.
The Nationalist government resumed control in September 1945. Xuzhou subsequently hosted the "Committee of Three" (including George Marshall) for ceasefire negotiations in March 1946, and was designated as one of the locations for the Chinese war crimes courts.
By June 1948, the city became the seat of the Nationalist "Bandit Suppression" Headquarters (), commanding about 800,000 troops. Following the decisive Huaihai Campaign, Communist forces took control on December 1, 1948—an outcome that facilitated the eventual capture of the Nationalist capital, Nanjing.<gallery mode="packed" widths="220" heights="165">
File:TropasChinasEnHsuchowfu.jpg|Zhang Xun's troops in Xuzhou, the 1910s
File:1927年冯玉祥与蒋介石会面.jpg|Chiang Kai-shek conferred with Feng Yuxiang in Xuzhou, 1927
File:Xuzhou three people.jpg|The "Committee of Three" met in Xuzhou, 1946
</gallery>
Administered by Shandong after 1949, Xuzhou reverted to Jiangsu in 1953. Following the 1955 transfer of Dangshan and Xiao counties to Anhui, the region maintained a dual-track administration—comprising a Municipality (urban core) and a Prefecture (renamed Region in 1970)—for three decades.
Following the onset of the Cultural Revolution, Xuzhou's Railway Branch Bureau bore the brunt of intense factional strife, causing severe disruptions to transportation. In 1967, Premier Zhou Enlai approved the imposition of military control over the bureau to restore order.
In 1986, 15 prefectures and cities formally established the Xuzhou-centered Huaihai Economic Zone, a pioneering case of trans-administrative integration in contemporary China. On April 22, 1993, the State Council ratified Xuzhou as a "Larger Municipality" with independent legislative power.
Administration
The prefecture-level city of Xuzhou administers ten county-level divisions, including five districts, two county-level cities and three counties.
These are further divided into 161 township-level divisions, including 63 subdistricts and 98 towns.
{|class="wikitable"
! colspan=6| Map
|-
| colspan=6 | <div style="position: relative" class=center>
</div>
|-
! align=left | Name
! align=left | Chinese
! align=left | Hanyu Pinyin
! align=left | Population
! align=left | Area
! align=left | Density
|-
|- style="background:#d3d3d3;"
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center; "| City Proper
|-
| align=left | Gulou District
| align=left |
| align=left |
| align=right| 806,550
| align=right| 222.6
| align=right| 3,623
|-
| align=left | Yunlong District
| align=left |
| align=left |
| align=right| 471,566
| align=right| 120.0
| align=right| 3,930
|-
| align=left | Quanshan District
| align=left |
| align=left |
| align=right| 619,784
| align=right| 102.4
| align=right| 6,053
|-
|- style="background:#d3d3d3;"
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center; "| Suburban
|-
| align=left | Jiawang District
| align=left |
| align=left |
| align=right| 453,555
| align=right| 612.4
| align=right| 740.6
|-
| align=left | Tongshan District
| align=left |
| align=left |
| align=right| 1,237,760
| align=right| 1,952
| align=right| 634.1
|-
|- style="background:#d3d3d3;"
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center; "| Rural
|-
| align=left | Feng County
| align=left |
| align=left |
| align=right| 935,200
| align=right| 1,447
| align=right| 646.3
|-
| align=left | Pei County
| align=left |
| align=left |
| align=right| 1,038,337
| align=right| 1,328
| align=right| 781.9
|-
| align=left | Suining County
| align=left |
| align=left |
| align=right| 1,088,553
| align=right| 1,768
| align=right| 615.7
|-
|- style="background:#d3d3d3;"
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center; "| Satellite cities (County-level cities)
|-
| align=left | Xinyi City
| align=left |
| align=left |
| align=right| 969,922
| align=right| 1,573
| align=right| 616.6
|-
| align=left | Pizhou City
| align=left |
| align=left |
| align=right| 1,462,563
| align=right| 2,086
| align=right| 701.1
|- style="background:#d3d3d3;"
| colspan=3 style="text-align:center; "|Total
| align=right|9,083,790
| align=right|11,211
| align=right|810.3
|}
Geography
<!--
-->thumb|left|Map including Xuzhou (labeled as HSÜ-CHOU (SÜCHOW) ) ([[Army Map Service|AMS, 1953)]]Xuzhou is situated at the southeastern extremity of the North China Plain, serving as a geographical transition zone between the Yellow River's alluvial fan and the Huai River basin. The landscape comprises an undulating plain underlain by of deep alluvial deposits from historical Yellow River migrations.
This terrain is punctuated by limestone inselberg (isolated rock hills) that rise abruptly from the floodplain, including Yunlong Mountain [] and the region's highest point, Dadong Mountain []. Geologically, these formations constitute the Xuzhou–Huaibei fold-thrust belt at the southeastern margin of the North China Craton.
Tectonic activity along the Tancheng–Lujiang (Tan-Lu) fault zone led to the formation of the Xuzhou and Feng-Pei coalfields. By the late 1990s, the region's proven coal reserves reached 3.94 billion tonnes—accounting for over 93% of Jiangsu province's total.
Intensive coal mining has caused landscape fragmentation and subsidence-induced flooding. Through the closure of small-scale mines and ecological restoration—including the conversion of waterlogged subsidence areas in northern Xuzhou and Jiawang into the Jiuli Lake and Pan'an Lake artificial wetlands—the local environment has partially recovered.
thumb|320x320px|A Stretch of the Abandoned Yellow River in Xuzhou
The regional hydrology is defined by two major man-made waterways: the Beijing–Hangzhou Grand Canal and the Abandoned Course of the Yellow River. Functioning as a "perched river" with its bed elevated above the surrounding terrain, the abandoned course now acts as a drainage divide between the Huai and Yi-Shu-Si river systems.
Due to its low-lying topography, the elevated riverbed, and its location at the meandering transition, the region was historically plagued by floods; records indicate 59 levee breaches near Xuzhou between 1550 and 1855.
thumb|319x319px|Yunlong Lake in winter
While the ancient riverbed now bisects the city proper, Yunlong Lake, with a water area of , serves as a scenic reservoir to the southwest. Its outlet, the Kui River, flows southward for into Anhui province. Historically one of the most polluted tributaries in the Huai River basin, Following extensive ecological remediation, these covers were removed in 2021, restoring the waterway as an open-air corridor. the urban area remains at risk due to historical loose silt deposits that are prone to liquefaction, which can cause the ground to behave like a liquid and intensify earthquake damage.
Climate
Xuzhou has a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa), with cool, dry winters, warm springs, long, hot and humid summers, and crisp autumns. The monthly daily average temperature ranges from in January to in July; the annual mean is . Snow may occur during winter, though rarely heavily. Precipitation is light in winter, and a majority of the annual total of occurs from June thru August. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 44% in July to 54% in three months, the city receives 2,221 hours of bright sunshine annually.
Demographics
In the 2020 census, Xuzhou recorded a permanent population of 9,083,900, an increase of 5.9% from 2010. Urbanization accelerated in the 20th century: the city's population reached 171,903 in 1931, 314,773 in 1947, and 333,190 in the 1953 Census.
Economy
As of 2023, Xuzhou's GDP reached RMB 890.04 billion, with a per capita GDP of RMB 98,683 (c. US$14,000). The city serves as the largest economy of the Huaihai Economic Zone, recording the highest GDP, per capita GDP, and total retail sales (RMB 444.51 billion) among the region's member cities. which subsequently developed into a major production site for photovoltaic materials. In 2024, BYD began building a 30 GWh sodium-ion battery plant in Xuzhou.
Manufacturing and Engineering
The demands of coal mining anchored Xuzhou's equipment manufacturing sector, which evolved into a modern construction machinery cluster. XCMG, headquartered in Xuzhou, ranked fourth globally among construction equipment manufacturers by 2024 revenue.
As of 2023, the city's specialized equipment manufacturing sector comprised 225 enterprises above designated size. Annual output for major products included 143,167 tons of mining equipment and 729,259 tons of cranes. In addition to heavy machinery, Xuzhou has developed into a production base for two-wheelers, with annual motorcycle output totaling 526,300 units in 2023. By the mid-Qing, Lahun qiang—a form popular across border regions among provinces—emerged, with its local variant evolving into Liuqin Opera. Concurrently, Northern Bangzi (Clapper) was introduced and localized, being officially designated as Jiangsu Bangzi () in 1960.
In terms of modern facilities, the Xuzhou Concert Hall opened in 2011. Shaped like a myrtle flower, it has hosted the city's first philharmonic orchestra since its establishment in 2015.
Museums
Xuzhou contains various Han dynasty sites. The Xuzhou Museum houses jade artifacts and jade burial suits. The tombs of the Princes of Chu include the Lion Mountain (Shizishan) site, which contains a terracotta army, and the Guishan Han Tomb, a rock-cut structure. The Xuzhou Museum of Han Stone Reliefs preserves stone carvings from the period.
Cuisine
The regional cuisine blends characteristics of Huaiyang and Shandong cuisine, defined by salty and pungent flavors.
A staple is laomo (, locally pronounced luomo), a thin, chewy, unleavened flatbread used to wrap ingredients. Other common foods include local-style goat-meat noodles, rice noodles, and bazirou (braised pork belly). The city is noted for spicy soup (eel, hen, and gluten heavily seasoned with black pepper) and Sha soup (<span style="position:relative; top:-1px">13px</span>, hen, barley, and gluten seasoned with sesame oil); both can be served with beaten raw eggs. the annual Fuyang Festival (, est. 2002) has institutionalized summer goat-meat consumption as a local tradition.
Folklore
In the late imperial period, Xuzhou became a subregional center for the worship of Bixia Yuanjun. A hill in the southern suburbs, home to a shrine later converted into a Buddhist temple, was renamed Mount Tai to serve as a local alternative to the original pilgrimage site in Shandong. Though suspended in the mid-20th century, the tradition was revived in 1977 and has since been developed as a local tourism project.thumb|The buildings of Xinghua Temple were erected from the Song dynasty onwards|left
Religion
thumb|Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Xuzhou|Diocese of Xuzhou]]During the Han dynasty, Xuzhou emerged as the site of China's earliest recorded Buddhist community.
Catholicism
The modern Catholic mission in Xuzhou began in 1882 with the arrival of French priest Leopold Gain. In 1931, the mission officially separated from the Diocese of Nanking to form the Apostolic Prefecture of Süchow, which was entrusted to the Canadian Jesuits. It was elevated to the Apostolic Vicariate of Süchow in 1935, with Philip Côté serving as the first bishop.
Under the direction of the Canadian Jesuits, the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was completed in 1910 and remains the city's principal church. By 1940, the vicariate reported 73,932 adherents. In 1941, the eastern portion of the vicariate was entrusted to the American Franciscans.
Landmarks
Han dynasty tombs
thumb|Terracotta Army at Shizishan
left|thumb|"The Yellow Pavilion" by [[Xia Yong, Yuan dynasty. Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art]]
Yellow Pavilion
The Yellow Pavilion () was built in 1078 during Su Shi's tenure as the Prefect of Xuzhou to commemorate the completion of the city's wall fortification project under his leadership. The name "Yellow" carries a dual significance: it symbolically represents the element of earth, which conquers water and literally refers to the pounded earth (hangtu) used in the construction of the new defenses and the pavilion's foundation. The current structure is a reconstruction dating to 1988.
thumb|The Yellow Pavilion nowadays
Transport
Roads
Xuzhou has many urban expressways: Xuzhou 3rd Ring Road expressways (east, north and west), Xuzhou East Ave. expressway (), Xuzhou-Pantang expressway, Xuzhou-Jiawang expressway and Xuzhou-Suqian expressway etc.
Expressways
- G2 Beijing–Shanghai Expressway
- G2513 Huai'an–Xuzhou Expressway
- G3 Beijing–Taipei Expressway
- G30 Lianyungang–Khorgas Expressway
- S49 Xinyi–Yangzhou Expressway
- S65 Xuzhou–Mingguang Expressway
- S69 Jinan–Xuzhou Expressway
National Highways
- China National Highway 104
- China National Highway 205
- China National Highway 206
- China National Highway 311
Railways
thumb|Xuzhoudong Railway Station East Hall
Xuzhou is a major railway hub in China. Xuzhou Railway Station is the junction of the Beijing–Shanghai and Lianyungang–Lanzhou (Longhai) railways. Xuzhoudong Railway Station, located in the east, serves as the interchange between the Beijing–Shanghai and Xuzhou–Lanzhou high-speed railways; it also functions as the terminal for the Xuzhou–Lanzhou, Xuzhou–Yancheng, and Lianyungang–Xuzhou lines. The two stations are linked via the Dahu connection line.
Xuzhoubei Railway Station, located in the north, is the largest marshalling yard of the China Railway Shanghai Group, handling over 20,000 wagons daily. As one of 14 designated China Railway Express assembly centers, Xuzhou maintains sea-rail intermodal connections to the ports of Ningbo-Zhoushan, Lianyungang, Yangshan, and Qingdao. In 2023, the annual rail freight volume reached 54.53 million tons.