Suizhou

For the historical prefecture in modern Shaanxi, see Suizhou (in modern Shaanxi).

Not to be confused with Suzhou.

Suizhou (simplified Chinese: 随州; traditional Chinese: 隨州; pinyin: Suízhōu), formerly Sui County (simplified Chinese: 随县; traditional Chinese: 隨縣; pinyin: Suí Xian, Suixian), is a prefecture-level city in northern Hubei province, People's Republic of China, bordering Henan province to the north and east.

Suizhou 随州市 Suichow
Prefecture-level city
Suizhou Qingnian Road Lieshan Avenue intersection, eastern view
Location of Suizhou City in Hubei
Suizhou Location of the city centre in Hubei
Coordinates (Suizhou municipal government): 31°41′24″N 113°22′55″E
Country	People's Republic of China
Province	Hubei
County-level divisions	2
Township-level divisions	54
Municipal seat	Zengdu District
Government
• CPC Secretary	Ma Qingming (马清明)
• Mayor	Liu Xiaoming
Area
• Prefecture-level city	9,636 km2 (3,720 sq mi)
• Urban  (2017)[1]	266.00 km2 (102.70 sq mi)
• Districts[1]	1,425.4 km2 (550.4 sq mi)
Elevation	71 m (232 ft)
Population  (2004)
• Prefecture-level city	2,580,000
• Density	270/km2 (690/sq mi)
• Urban  (2017)[1]	508,000
• Districts[1]	1,873,000
GDP[2]
• Prefecture-level city	CN¥ 78.5 billion US$ 12.6 billion
• Per capita	CN¥ 35,901 US$ 5,764
Time zone	UTC+8 (China Standard)
Area code	722
ISO 3166 code	CN-HB-13
Website	suizhou.gov.cn

Etymology

The Sui in Suizhou is derived from the ancient 'Suishizu' (随氏族).^[3]

Administration

The prefecture-level city of Suizhou administers 5 county-level divisions, including 1 district, 1 county-level city, 1 county and 2 other areas.^[4][5][6]

• Zengdu District (曾都区)
• Guangshui City (广水市)
• Sui County (随县)
• Suizhou Economic Development Area (随州经济开发区)
• Dahongshan Scenic Area (随州大洪山风景名胜区)

These are further divided into 54 township-level divisions, including 36 towns, 11 townships and 7 subdistricts.

Map
Zengdu Guangshui (city) Sui County

History

Ancient bronze concert bells found in Zengdu District, Suizhou City. The originals are now kept in the provincial museum in Wuhan.

Suizhou has a long history. During the Spring and Autumn period and Warring States period (771−221 BCE), it was the territory of the State of Sui/Zeng and within the cultural sphere of the State of Chu. As a prefecture-level city Suizhou has a short history with its current status only granted by the State Council in June 2000.

Climate

Climate data for Suizhou (Zengdu District), elevation 107 m (351 ft), (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1981–present)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	19.3 (66.7)	26.0 (78.8)	34.9 (94.8)	34.7 (94.5)	36.6 (97.9)	37.7 (99.9)	39.5 (103.1)	40.2 (104.4)	39.5 (103.1)	34.0 (93.2)	28.3 (82.9)	20.8 (69.4)	40.2 (104.4)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	7.8 (46.0)	11.1 (52.0)	16.2 (61.2)	22.7 (72.9)	27.2 (81.0)	30.3 (86.5)	32.3 (90.1)	32.0 (89.6)	28.1 (82.6)	22.9 (73.2)	16.4 (61.5)	10.1 (50.2)	21.4 (70.6)
Daily mean °C (°F)	2.8 (37.0)	5.7 (42.3)	10.5 (50.9)	16.6 (61.9)	21.6 (70.9)	25.3 (77.5)	27.8 (82.0)	27.0 (80.6)	22.7 (72.9)	17.0 (62.6)	10.6 (51.1)	4.7 (40.5)	16.0 (60.9)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−1.0 (30.2)	1.5 (34.7)	6.0 (42.8)	11.7 (53.1)	16.9 (62.4)	21.4 (70.5)	24.2 (75.6)	23.5 (74.3)	18.8 (65.8)	12.8 (55.0)	6.3 (43.3)	0.7 (33.3)	11.9 (53.4)
Record low °C (°F)	−11.3 (11.7)	−9.5 (14.9)	−4.8 (23.4)	0.2 (32.4)	7.0 (44.6)	13.1 (55.6)	18.4 (65.1)	14.3 (57.7)	10.7 (51.3)	1.3 (34.3)	−4.4 (24.1)	−12.3 (9.9)	−12.3 (9.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	28.8 (1.13)	36.2 (1.43)	55.7 (2.19)	85.3 (3.36)	122.4 (4.82)	156.9 (6.18)	179.8 (7.08)	129.3 (5.09)	67.8 (2.67)	73.8 (2.91)	41.7 (1.64)	19.4 (0.76)	997.1 (39.26)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm)	6.7	7.8	8.8	9.9	11.3	10.9	12.7	10.6	8.9	9.2	7.9	5.5	110.2
Average snowy days	4.2	3.2	1.3	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.6	1.7	11.1
Average relative humidity (%)	74	74	73	74	76	80	83	82	78	77	77	74	77
Mean monthly sunshine hours	111.4	113.1	149.4	168.3	174.6	167.5	191.7	194.4	154.1	150.3	133.8	122.5	1,831.1
Percentage possible sunshine	35	36	40	43	41	40	45	48	42	43	43	39	41
Source: China Meteorological Administration[7][8]

Religion

The Catholic minority is pastorally served by its own (dormant?) pre-diocesan Apostolic Prefecture of Suixian (隨縣) which is exempt, i.e. directly dependent on the Holy See (and its missionary Dicastery for Evangelization), not part of any ecclesiastical province.

It was established on 1937.06.17 as Apostolic Prefecture of Suixian (隨縣) / Suihsien / Suihsienen(sis) (Latin adjective), on territory split off from the Apostolic Vicariate of Hankou (漢口).

It is vacant since 1951, without apostolic administrator since 1981, having had only the following incumbents:

• Father Patrick Maurice Connaughton (龔成德), Friars Minor (O.F.M.) (born Ireland) (1937.06.17 – retired 1951.03), died 1967
• Apostolic Administrator Friar Dominic Chen Te-mien, O.F.M. (1951.04.05 – 1981), no ther Ordinariate.

Transport

Suizhou is served by the Hankou–Danjiangkou Railway.

See also

• List of Catholic dioceses in China