Tianmen
Tianmen (simplified Chinese: 天门; traditional Chinese: 天門; pinyin: Tiānmén; lit. 'sky gate') is a sub-prefecture-level city (sometimes considered a county-level city) in central Hubei Province, China.
Tianmen
天门市 Tienmen | |
|---|---|
Tianmen South Station Entrance Hall | |
Location of Tianmen City jurisdiction in Hubei | |
Tianmen Location of the city centre in Hubei | |
| Coordinates (Tianmen government): 30°39′50″N 113°10′01″E | |
| country | People's Republic of China |
| Province | Hubei |
| Area | |
| • County-level & Sub-prefectural city | 2,622 km2 (1,012 sq mi) |
| • Urban | 324.40 km2 (125.25 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 32 m (104 ft) |
| Population (2014) | |
| • County-level & Sub-prefectural city | 1,731,482 |
| • Density | 660/km2 (1,700/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 301,000 |
| • Urban density | 930/km2 (2,400/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (China Standard) |
| Website | 天门市人民政府门户网站 (translation: Tianmen City People's Government Web Portal) (in Simplified Chinese) |
It is on the Jianghan Plain, on the west side of Wuhan (the biggest city of Central China, as well as the capital of Hubei) and the east of Jingzhou (a famous city in Chinese history). Formerly known as Jingling (竟陵), it was renamed to Tianmen in 1726 during the Qing dynasty. The name comes from the Sky Gate Mountains (meaning “tianmen” in Chinese) which lie northwest of the city.
It is the hometown of Lu Yu, the writer of The Classic of Tea, who is respected as "the Sage of Tea" for his contribution to the tea culture. Tianmen has the largest population among the same-level cities in Central China. It was honoured "National Civilized City" by Chinese government in 2014.