: ''This article is related to a city, for the airport located in the city, see Xi'an Xianyang International Airport''

Name	Xianyang
Official name	咸阳市
Native name	咸阳
Settlement type	Prefecture-level city
Total type
Motto
Map caption	Location of Xianyang Prefecture within Shaanxi
Dot x	|dot_y
Pushpin map
Pushpin label position
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Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision name	China
Subdivision type1	Province
Subdivision name1	Shaanxi
Seat type	City seat
Parts style
Parts
P2
Leader title
Leader title1
Established title
Established title1
Established title2
Named for
Area magnitude
Unit pref
Area total km2	10213
Area land km2
Area total dunam
Area urban km2	523
Area blank1 sq mi
Elevation footnotes
Elevation min ft
Population total	5096006
Population density km2	auto
Population density metro km2	auto
Population density urban km2	auto
Population density blank1 sq mi
Timezone	China Standard
Utc offset	+8
coor type
Postal code type
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Website	http://www.xianyang.gov.cn/
Footnotes	}}

Title	Xianyang
Collapse	yes
S	咸阳
T	咸陽
Showflag	stp
P	Xiányáng
W	Hsien2 yang2
Mi	}}

Xianyang (; Sienyang; Hsienyang; ) is a former capital of China in Shaanxi province, on the Wei River, a few kilometers upstream (west) from Xi'an. It has an area of and a population of 5,096,006 at the last census (''cf. citypopulation.de'') It's now part of the Xi'an metropolitan area, one of the main urban agglomerations in inland China with more than 7 million inhabitants.

History

Xianyang was among the capital city's environs during the Western Zhou Dynasty, and was made the capital of the state of Qin in 350 BC during the Warring States Period before becoming the capital of China during the short-lived Qin Dynasty. Because the city lay south of the Jiuzong Mountains and north of the Wei River - both sunlight-rich (''yang'') orientations - it was named "Xianyang", meaning "fully ''yang''". Under Duke Xiao of Qin, minister Shang Yang designed Xianyang in 350 BC, which was then the capital for over 140 years. It was located in the modern day Shaanxi province on the northern bank of the Wei River, on the opposite side of which Liu Bang would later build the Han Dynasty capital of Chang'an once he became emperor.

In 221 BC Qin Shi Huang eliminated all six other vassal states to establish the first centralized empire in Chinese history. Xianyang became the centre of politics, economy and culture of the Qin empire. The Emperor had a lavish mausoleum built near the capital, complete with his Terracotta Army. This and other large undertakings required enormous levies of manpower and resources, not to mention repressive measures, which eventually led to the fall of the Qin Dynasty and with it the original city of Xianyang.

Qin Shi Huang expanded Xianyang beyond the walls. Then he built replicas of the palaces of all the conquered states along the Wei River. In 220 BC he built Xin Palace (新城; xīnchéng) and later renamed it Apex temple (渭城) to be the earthly equivalent of the apex star (Polaris). He continued with the theme of earth as the mirror of heaven building a network of 300 palaces in the Wei valley connected by elevated roads. In 212 he built the Hilltop Palace (阿房宮; ē-fáng gōng).

Shortly after the First Emperor's death in 210 BC revolts erupted. At the beginning of December 207 BC, then King of Qin Ziying surrendered to rebel leader Liu Bang. Liu Bang went on to capture Xianyang, but was forced to hand it over to another rebel leader, Xiang Yu, whose army greatly outnumbered Liu Bang's. Xiang Yu then killed Ziying and burned Xianyang in 206 BC, thereby forever robbing humanity of some unique copies of the many "forbidden books" kept in the royal library. It is rumored that the size of the palace in Xianyang was of such size that it took an entire month for the fires to abate when the city was burned.

In 202 BC, after defeating Xiang Yu, Liu Bang built a new city near the old Xianyang and named this new capital Chang'an.

From the end of 1950s till the middle of 1990s archaeologists discovered and excavated a large numbers of Qin era sites in Xianyang, including palaces, workshops and tombs.

Administrative divisions

Map
! #	! Name	! Hanzi	! Hanyu Pinyin	! Population (2004 est.)	! Area (km²)	! Density (/km²)
1		渭城区	Wèichéng Qū	400,000	272	1,471
2	Yangling District	杨陵区	Yánglíng Qū	140,000	94	1,489
3	Qindu District	秦都区	Qíndū Qū	450,000	251	1,793
4		兴平市	Xīngpíng Shì	560,000	496	1,129
5	Sanyuan County	三原县	Sānyuán Xiàn	400,000	569	703
6	Jingyang County	泾阳县	Jīngyáng Xiàn	500,000	792	631
7	Qian County	乾县	Qián Xiàn	560,000	994	563
8	Liquan County	礼泉县	Lǐquán Xiàn	460,000	1,017	452
9	Yongshou County	永寿县	Yǒngshòu Xiàn	190,000	869	219
10		彬县	Bīn Xiàn	330,000	1,202	275
11	Changwu County	长武县	Chángwǔ Xiàn	170,000	583	292
12	Xunyi County	旬邑县	Xúnyì Xiàn	270,000	1,697	159
13	Chunhua County	淳化县	Chúnhuà Xiàn	200,000	965	207
14	Wugong County	武功县	Wǔgōng Xiàn	410,000	392	1,046

Transport

China National Highway 312

Xi'an Xianyang International Airport

Xi'an Metro Line 1

References

Further reading

External links

Xianyang Network

Xianyang Forum

Official website of Xianyang Government

{{s-ttl|title=Capital of China |years=221 BC-206 BC|row=1}}

Category:Ancient Chinese cities Category:Cities in Shaanxi

da:Xianyang de:Xianyang es:Xianyang eo:Ŝjanjango eu:Xianyang fa:شیان‌یانگ fr:Xianyang ko:셴양 시 lt:Sianjangas nl:Xianyang ja:咸陽市 no:Xianyang pl:Xianyang pt:Xianyang ru:Сяньян sh:Xianyang sv:Xianyang vi:Hàm Dương war:Xianyang zh-yue:咸陽 zh:咸阳市

Airline	China Southern Airlines中国南方航空公司''Zhōngguó Nánfāng Hángkōng Gōngsī
Logo	China Southern Logo.svg
Logo size	250
Fleet size	422
Destinations	121
Iata	CZ
Icao	CSN
Callsign	CHINA SOUTHERN
Parent	China Southern Airlines Co., Ltd.
Founded	1981
Aoc	C4XF535F
Headquarters	Guangzhou, Guangdong, People's Republic of China
Key people
Hubs
Focus cities
Frequent flyer	Sky Pearl Club
Lounge	Sky Pearl Lounge
Alliance	SkyTeam
Website	http://www.csair.com/ }}

China Southern Airlines () (, , ) is an airline headquartered in Baiyun District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China. It is the world's fifth-largest airline measured by passengers carried, and Asia's largest airline in terms of both fleet size and passengers carried. It is also the fourth-largest airline in the world in domestic passenger traffic and the sixth-largest in scheduled domestic passenger-kilometres flown. From its main hubs at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and Beijing Capital International Airport, the airline flies to 121 destinations using a fleet of 422 aircraft.

China Southern Airlines was established on July 1, 1988 following the restructuring of the Civil Aviation Administration of China. Since then, the airline acquired and merged with a number of domestic airlines, becoming one of China's "Big Three" airlines (alongside Air China and China Eastern Airlines). China Southern Airlines is a member of SkyTeam. The airlines's logo is a red kapok on a blue vertical tail fin.

In 2010, China Southern Airlines carried 76.5 million domestic and international passengers with an average load factor of 79.2%. The airline reported a net profit of CNY5.8 billion ($883 million) in 2010.

History and development

China Southern Airlines was established in 1988, following the government's decision to split the operating divisions of Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) into separate airlines. The CAAC was restructured in late 1984 and divided into four major airlines, among which was China Southern Airlines, which became a separate identity on July 1, 1988. with operations starting in 1989. Although controlled by the CAAC, China Southern quickly established relationships with Western companies; in 1990, it launched a maintenance joint-venture with Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa and Lockheed called Guangzhou Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Co. (GAMECO). During 1991, six million passengers were carried, and with 38 Boeing jet airliners, China Southern was serving 90 domestic cities and 17 international destinations. In 1992, the airline raised US$537 million in revenue, and posted a $102 million profits; on 17 December 1992, China Southern also signed an order for six Boeing 777s, split between four standard -200 series and two longer-range -200ERs. China Southern, along with a number of Chinese airlines, was granted financial independence during the year, with a resultant drawback being the purchase of fuel and airport fees.

Foreign investments

In 1994, the Chinese government opened the possibility foreign investments in its airlines; China Southern and United Airlines quickly started talks on the matter. To raise its operating standards and distance itself from mostly unprofitable second- and third-tiers domestic airlines, the carrier signed agreements with a number of U.S. carriers regarding staff training and aircraft maintenance, with the ultimate aim of being listed on the . Revenue for the year doubled, although profits did not increase significantly due to the costs associated with the airline's growth.

The first of the six Boeing 777s arrived on 28 December 1995, The following year, China Southern was the first to place its Boeing 777s into non-stop services across the Pacific Ocean, connecting Guangzhou and Los Angeles. Three years later, Boeing 777's were deployed to Sydney and Melbourne. Despite the airline's effort on raising international capacity from the start, domestic traffic made up 80% of the airline's revenue. As a result, it signed a codeshare agreement during the mid-1990s to further increase international traffic.

In order to keep pace with fast developments, China Southern Airlines entered the capital market to optimise its financial structure. The airline is successfully listed on the Hong Kong and New York Stock Exchanges in July 1997, raising $600–$700 million. It followed up in 2003 at the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Mergers and acquisitions

In July 2000, the CAAC announced that the ten airlines under its direct management will be merged into three airline groups, revolving around Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern itself. On 4 August, China Southern absorbed Zhongyuan Airlines. The following year it acquire China Northern Airlines and China Xinjiang Airlines. In 2004, the merger was completed. As a result, China Southern Airlines became one of the "Big Three" carriers in the country. Since then, it has successively took over shareholding stocks and joined the equity in numerous Chinese carriers. The airline is the major shareholder of Xiamen Airlines (51%) and Chongqing Airlines (60%). It also invests in Sichuan Airlines.

On 29 September 2003, the airline placed an order with Airbus for 4 Trent 700-powered Airbus A330-200s, to be delivered from 2005. This was part of the order placed in April by the China Aviation Supplies Imp. & Exp. Group covering 30 aircraft. The first example was delivered on 28 February 2005, thereby giving China Southern the title of the first mainland Chinese A330 operator. One month earlier, on 28 January 2005, the airline placed a commitment order for 5 Airbus A380-800s, becoming the first Chinese airline to so, with delivery in time for the 2008 Summer Olympics. Ironically, PRC officials also placed an order for 60 7E7s on the same day for six airlines. The aircraft would be delivered between 2008 and 2010. However, due to delivery delays, the aircraft was not delivered in time for the Olympics and as of May 2010, the first of the aircraft are scheduled to arrive sometime in 2011. Boeing used the event to official designate the aircraft the ''Boeing 787''.

On the same day, a China Southern Airlines Boeing 777-200 originating from Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport landed in Taipei, becoming the first mainland Chinese to land in the Republic of China since 1949, when the Kuomintang were involved in the war with the Communist Party of China. The flight carried 234 passengers home after the Lunar New Year. Within three years, in July 2008, a China Southern Airlines Airbus A330 carrying 230 tourists again landed in Taipei. The governments of the two countries agreed to allow directs flights between the countries in June, ending six-decades of limited air travel between the two Chinas. Following the flight, China Southern Airlines Chairman and pilot of the flight, Liu Shaoyong, said, "From today onward, regular commercial flights will replace the rumbling warplanes over the skies of the Taiwan Strait, and relations between the two sides will become better and better. "

On 6 September 2005, China Southern Airlines along with CASGC placed an order for a further 10 Airbus A330 wide-body airliners: 8 A330-300s and 2 A330-200s. Aircraft deliveries were due to begin in December 2007 and continue through 2008. It followed up with another Airbus order on 7 July 2006, when it confirmed a deal covering the purchase of 50 more A320 narrowbodies for delivery from 2009. The order included 13 A319-100s, 20 A320-200s and 17 A321-200s, reportedly worth $3.3 billion at list price. In December 2005, China Southern Airlines along with CASGC, announced an order with Boeing for 9 Boeing 737-700s and 11 Boeing 737-800s.

Recent developments

In June 2006, China Southern Airlines confirmed another order of 3 Boeing 737-700s and 7 Boeing 737-800s. The deliveries would continue through 2010. On 18 October 2006, China Southern Airlines placed an order for 6 Boeing 777 freighters, striding forward a brand new step in its cargo development. The aircraft would be delivered from November 2008 to July 2010.

On 20 August 2007, China Southern Airlines announced its intention for an order of 25 Boeing 737-700s and 30 Boeing 737-800s, which will be delivered from May 2011 to October 2013. It was a mere two months before, on 23 October 2007, China Southern Airlines announced that it had placed an order for 10 additional Airbus A330-200s. The order has a listed price of US$1.677 billion and the aircraft will be delivered from March 2010 to August 2012.

On January 21, 2010, China Southern announced an order for an additional 20 A320-200s scheduled for delivery from 2011 - 2013 due to the falling fuel costs and surging passenger demand.

In March, the Chinese carrier issued new shares in Hong Kong and Shanghai 2010 to raise 10.75 billion yuan ($1.57 billion) in a bid to pay off outstanding loans. In December, CNY810 million ($121.5 million) was injected by China Southern Airlines into its subsidiary Xiamen Airlines to fund its fleet expansion.

In November 2010, China Southern Airlines signed an agreement with Airbus for the purchase of six A330s and 30 A320s-200. The specific variant of A330 is not identified.

On January 11, 2011, China Southern announced a lease for 10 Embraer E-190 to be delivered from the second half of 2011.

On January 27, 2011, China Southern was awarded the four star ranking by Skytrax. It is currently the largest 4 star airline to hold this title.

On June 15, 2011 China Southern made its inaugural flight to Vancouver, Canada opening up a new passenger and trade routes including China Southern Cargo's first flight on on July 5, 2011.

Destinations

China Southern Airlines flies to 169 countries worldwide, including code-share destinations. It maintains a strong presence in the domestic market, with its main hubs being Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and Beijing Capital International Airport, along with other focus cities in Changchun, Changsha, Dalian, Shenyang, Shenzhen, Ürümqi, Wuhan and Zhengzhou. The airline plans to develop Chongqing and Ürümqi as hubs as well to exploit the domestic market potential.

The airline provides services to 65 international destinations. Most of the international flights link between Guangzhou and world cities. There are also plenty of international flights operated through Beijing, Urumqi (notably to Central Asia) and Dalian (to Japan, South Korea, and Russia). China Southern Airlines has developed an extensive network to Southeast Asia and also becomes the largest Chinese airline to Australia.

Alliance

On August 28, 2004, China Southern Airlines signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the airline alliance SkyTeam. On November 15, 2007, the airline was officially welcomed as the 11th member of SkyTeam, becoming the first mainland Chinese airline to join the global airline alliance, expanding the alliance's presence on mainland China.

Codeshare agreements

The airline has also codeshare agreements with the following airlines (besides SkyTeam members): {| |- |valign="top"|

Asiana Airlines (Star Alliance)

Cathay Pacific (Oneworld)

China Airlines (future SkyTeam member)

|

Dragonair (Oneworld)

Garuda Indonesia (future SkyTeam member)

Japan Airlines (Oneworld)

|

Malaysia Airlines (future Oneworld member)

Pakistan International Airlines

|}

Fleet

China Southern Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of March 2011):

Cargo

China Southern Cargo is the cargo subsidiary of China Southern Airlines. The cargo airline provides services between mainland China and North America, Europe, and Australia, where destinations such as are Amsterdam, Anchorage, Chicago, Frankfurt, Los Angeles, Vancouver, and Vienna are served from its main hub at Shanghai Pudong International Airport, with cargo flights to Amsterdam and Milan from Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport. The cargo subsidiary has joined the SkyTeam Cargo alliance in November 2010.

Services

Cabins

;Premium Economy class China Southern offers Premium Economy class, which is more spacious than Economy class. The seats are , compared to in Economy.

Sky Pearl Club

China Southern Airlines's frequent-flyer program is called ''Sky Pearl Club'' (). The Sky Pearl Club allows its members earn FFP mileage not only flying China Southern domestic segments but also on flights of other SkyTeam member airlines within the SkyTeam global network. Moreover, The Sky Pearl Club members can 'earn and burn' mileage on the partnered Sichuan Airlines and China Airlines' flights. The mileage earned on the above mentioned flights can be counted into Elite Qualifying Mileages (EQM) and Elite Qualifying Segment (EQS), enabling quick access to SkyTeam elite status. Membership of Sky Pearl Club can be divided into two tiers: Sky Pearl Gold Card and Sky Pearl Silver Card.

+ Sky Pearl Club Membership Tiers

!Tier Level

Benefits

:* Elite bonus mileages: 30% of statute mileage

:* Confirmed full fare Economy reservation: 48 hours prior to departure

:* Premium check-in: First Class counter

:* Lounge access: First class Lounge with one companion

:* Extra baggage allowance: 15kg or 1 piece

:* Priority standby and upgrade

:* Flight delays: First class service

:* Exclusive gifts and information

:Elite qualifying mileage (EQM): 80,000 km

:Elite qualifying segments (EQS): 40 designated segments

:* Elite bonus mileages: 15% of Statute Mileage

:* Confirmed full fare economy reservation: 72 hours prior to departure

:* Premium check-in: Business Class counter

:* Lounge access: Business class lounge

:* Extra baggage allowance: 10kg or 1 piece

:* Priority standby and upgrade

:* Flight delays: Business Class service

:* Exclusive gifts and information

:Elite qualifying mileage(EQM): 40,000 km

:Elite qualifying segments(EQS): 20 designated segments

Incidents and accidents

On October 2, 1990, a hijacked Xiamen Airlines Boeing 737 crashed into a China Southern Airlines Boeing 757, killing people in both aircraft. See Guangzhou Baiyun aircraft collision

On November 24, 1992, Flight 3943, a Boeing 737 jetliner (Reg. ), crashed into a hill near Guilin, Guangxi, killing all 141 on board, due to an engine thrust malfunction. On May 8, 1997, Flight 3456, a Boeing 737-300 jetliner (Reg. ), crashed on approach into Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport killing 35, with 9 injured. On August 22, 2006, flight CZ325 from Guangzhou, China to Sydney, Australia had to be turned back to Guangzhou after a note had been found indicating a bomb was on board. The plane was returned to Guangzhou after one hour into the flight. Passengers were interviewed by police for two hours after landing, after which they were allowed back onto the plane to resume their journey. A 39-year-old Australian businessman of Hong Kong origin was arrested after Chinese police matched his handwriting with that of the threatening note found in the lavatory. He was alleged to have told police that he had made the threat because he was lovesick and suffering from depression over a failed relationship, the Xinhua news agency was quoted as saying. On March 7, 2008, an attempt to hijack and crash a flight en route to Beijing from Urumqi was averted when the crew found a 19 year old Turkic woman trying to spill gasoline in the toilet. The pilot made an emergency landing at Lanzhou Airport and two passengers were arrested.

See also

Aviation

Aviation industry in the People's Republic of China

List of airlines of the People's Republic of China

List of airports in the People's Republic of China

List of companies of the People's Republic of China

Transportation in the People's Republic of China

References

External links

China Southern Airlines Global Website

China Southern Airlines

Category:Airlines of the People's Republic of China Category:IATA members Category:Companies based in Guangzhou Category:Central-owned enterprises of the People's Republic of China Category:Warrants issued in Hong Kong Stock Exchange Category:H shares

ar:خطوط جنوب الصين الجوية da:China Southern Airlines de:China Southern Airlines es:China Southern Airlines eo:China Southern Airlines fr:China Southern Airlines ko:중국남방항공 id:China Southern Airlines it:China Southern Airlines he:צ'יינה סאות'רן איירליינס lt:China Southern Airlines mr:चायना सदर्न एरलाइन्स nl:China Southern Airlines ja:中国南方航空 no:China Southern Airlines pl:China Southern Airlines pt:China Southern Airlines ro:China Southern Airlines ru:China Southern Airlines fi:China Southern Airlines sv:China Southern Airlines tr:China Southern Airlines vi:China Southern Airlines zh:中国南方航空

Name	Yang Xian
|birthname	Yang Xian
Country
Birth date	August 31, 1962
Birth place	China
Title	FIDE Master (FM)
Rating	2415
Peakrating	2415 }}

Yang Xian (born 31 August 1962) is a Chinese FIDE Master chess player.

He was a member of the Chinese national chess team. He was part of the national team at the Chess Olympiad once in 1986, and twice for the Hong Kong team 1992-1994. He played a total of 33 games scoring 14 wins, 15 draws and 4 losses.

His current (inactive) Elo rating is 2415 according to FIDE.

See also

Chess in China

Hong Kong Chess Federation

References

External links

Category:1962 births Category:Living people Category:Chinese chess players Category:Hong Kong chess players Category:Chess FIDE Masters

The China Travel Service () is the tourism and travel agency of the government of the People's Republic of China. It was established on November 19, 1949 tasked with marketing China to the rest of the world and to promote and develop its tourism economy. It is a subordinate agency to the National Tourism Administration.

See also

Tourism in China

China Visa Service

References

http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_travel/2003-09/24/content_36089.htm

External links

Official website

China Travel Solution - Official English website

China Travel Service (Hong Kong) official website

Category:Tourism in China Category:Government of the People's Republic of China Category:Travel agencies