A prefectural level city (Chinese: 地级市; pinyin: dìjí shì; literally "Regional level city"), prefectural city or prefectural level municipality is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure. Prefectural level cities form the second level of the administrative structure (alongside prefectures, leagues and autonomous prefectures). Administrative chiefs (mayors) of prefectural level cities generally have the same rank as a division chief (Chinese: 司长) of a national ministry. Since the 1980s, most former prefectures have been renamed into prefectural level cities.

A road sign shows distance to "Huangshi urban area" (黄石市区) rather than simply "Huangshi" (黄石). This is a useful distinction, because the sign is located already within Huangshi prefectural level city (immediately upon entering its Yangxin County from the neighboring Xianning), but still 100 kilometres (62 mi) from Huangshi main urban area.

A prefectural level city is often not a "city" in the usual sense of the term (i.e. a large continuous urban settlement), but instead an administrative unit comprising, typically, a main central urban area (a city in the usual sense, usually with the same name as the prefectural level city), and its much larger surrounding rural area containing many smaller cities, towns and villages. The larger prefectural level cities span over 100 kilometres (62 mi).

Prefectural level cities nearly always contain multiple counties, county level cities, and other such sub-divisions. This results from the fact that the formerly predominant prefectures, which prefectural level cities have mostly replaced, were themselves large administrative units containing cities, smaller towns, and rural areas. To distinguish a prefectural level city from its actual urban area (city in the strict sense), the term 市区 shìqū ("urban area"), is used.

The first prefectural level cities were created on 5 November 1984. Over the following two decades, prefectural level cities have come to replace the vast majority of Chinese prefectures; the process is still ongoing.

Most provinces are composed entirely or nearly entirely of prefectural level cities. Of the 22 provinces and 5 autonomous regions of the PRC, only 3 provinces (Yunnan, Guizhou, Qinghai) and 2 autonomous regions (Xinjiang, Tibet) have more than three second level or prefectural level divisions that are not prefectural level cities.

Criteria that a prefecture must meet to become a prefectural level city:

• An urban centre with a non-rural population over 250,000
• gross output of value of industry of 200,000,000 RMB
• the output of tertiary industry supersedes that of primary industry, contributing over 35% of the GDP^[1]

15 large prefectural level cities have been granted the status of sub-provincial city, which gives them much greater autonomy.

Shijiazhuang and Zhengzhou are the largest prefectural level cities with populations approaching or exceeding some sub-provincial cities.

A sub-prefecture-level city is a county-level city with powers approaching those of prefectural level cities.

Cartographic expression and statistics[link]

In most European or North American countries there a clear distinction between "cities" and counties, prefectures, etc. The former are typically thought of as a "point" objects, and shown on maps with a circle or other such scale-less sign; the latter, if shown at all, are shown as areas with clearly defined borders. The distinction is obvious, since e.g. Bloomington, Indiana or Penticton, British Columbia are always thought of as distinct objects from, respectively, Monroe County, Indiana or the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen for which they are their respective seats of governments. In China, however, the same name (e.g., 咸宁市 (Xianning Shi) in Chinese, or Xianning [City] in English) are used to refer both to an entire "prefectural level city" and to its urban core (what one would call a "city" in Europe or North America). This results in somewhat different mapping conventions used in China vs. most other countries.

Typically, a less detailed map - one that does not show administrative divisions below the provincial level - would merely mark the location of the urban core (or, more precisely, that of the city government) with a circle, just like cities are shown on a map of a European or American country. The circle would be labeled with the name of the city (e.g. 咸宁市 (Xianning Shi) in Chinese, or Xianning in English) rather than, for example, that of the district within which the urban core may be located. The same map may also show other sufficiently large populated places within the same prefectural level city, labeling them based on what third level administrative units they correspond to. For example, along with Xianning, a map may show Tongshan without indicating in any way that administratively, the latter is part of the former.

A more detailed map (e.g., a typical provincial map) would also show the border of each second level administrative unit (such as a prefectural level city), much like an American county may be shown on a US state map. In this case, the same unit name (such as 咸宁市, Xianning [City]) would be used to label the entire area. Within it, the division of the second level unit into third level units may be shown as well.

This convention may sometimes make it difficult to identify places mentioned in older sources with places shown on modern maps. For example, Guo Moruo tells in his autobiography that he was born in the small town of Shawan, Leshan Prefecture, and attended primary school in Jiading, the main town of the prefecture. A typical modern map is unlikely to show either town: Shawan, because it's too small, and Jiading, because it is the seat of government for the today's prefectural level city of Leshan, and thus is marked on a modern map by a circle labeled "Leshan". A more detailed map (or Google Maps) would show Shawan District within Leshan, but, most likely, no Jiading per se - just Jiading Street (嘉定路) within Leshan's urban area.

Chinese statistical data (area, population, industrial production value, etc.) are typically reported for the entire prefectural level city, as well as for its constituent third level units. Thus, a person not familiar with these conventions may be surprised to learn that a comparatively little known city of Huangshi, Hubei, has 27.5 million residents - more than most European capital cities - until he or she realizes that this number corresponds to an entire prefectural level area of almost 100 kilometres (62 mi) across, covering several places (such as Daye) that are described as (county level) "cities" in their own right. Even if the reader has a map and the data for individual third level units, arriving to the population count for the actual main urban area of a prefectural level city may not be easy, because it may be split between several districts, some of which may stretch far out into the rural area as well.

See also[link]

• List of prefecture-level divisions of China
• Sub-provincial city (People's Republic of China)
• Provincial city (Republic of China)
• Administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China

References[link]

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (October 2008)

For the provincial capital of Henan, People's Republic of China, see Zhengzhou.

Zheng Zhou is an American operatic baritone who has sung at many of the world's finest opera houses. His opera credits include performances with the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, New York City Opera, Tulsa Opera, Opera Illinois, Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, Teatro Real, the Philippine Opera Company, and Vancouver Opera to name just a few. His concert work includes performances with the American Composers' Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, Colorado Symphony, the China National Symphony, and the Shanghai Symphony among many others.^[1]

Zheng Zhou made his debut with the Metropolitan Opera in 1993 as Yamadori in Madama Butterfly, and later returned to sing Ping in Turandot and Fiorello in Il Barbiere de Siviglia. His San Francisco Opera debut came in 1992 in La Forza del Destino; with that company he has also sung in Milhaud's Christophe Colomb. He sang the roles the Father and Ludovie in Philip Glass' La Belle et la Bete at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and subsequently on tour across the United States, Europe, Mexico and Japan.^[2]

Zhou has become particularly associated with the works of Philip Glass. He appeared in the world premiere of The White Raven in Lisbon in 1998 and reprised his role in Madrid, and in the 2005 U.S. premiere of the opera ifor the opening season of the Lincoln Center Festival with New York City Opera. He has also recorded and performed the role of Abraham Lincoln in Glass' the Civil Wars: A Tree Is Best Measured When It Is Down.

Various reviews agree that Zhou possesses a "rich creamy baritone" (Los Angeles Times) voice, and has excelled with major opera companies and orchestras in a wide range of styles from Mozart, Donizetti and Schubert to Verdi, Mendelssohn and Orff. He has been hailed by the St. Louis Dispatch as "a superior musician", while his performance of Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor led the San Francisco Examiner to exclaim "Zheng Zhou shone. His fiercely concentrated, vocally and theatrically incisive Enrico would have been an asset in any Lucia."^[3] The Opera Quarterly wrote that "Zheng Zhou brings a fine, manly baritone to Lincoln's Verdian utterances" in Glass' The Civil Wars,^[4] while the International Record Review described him as "gloriously full-voiced."^[5]

Mr. Zhou can be heard on his "Art Songs" CD^[6] on Brioso Recordings performing the works of C.P.E. Bach, Hugo Wolf, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and Georgy Sviridov; as Abraham Lincoln on Nonesuch Records' recording of Philip Glass' The Civil Wars;^[7] as Ludovic on Nonesuch Records' recording of Philip Glass' La Belle et la Bete;^[8] as the baritone soloist in Johannes Somary's Song of Innocence on Premier Recordings; in Jerrold Fisher's Hosannah on Compact Disc Digital Audio; and in Jason K. Hwang's chamber opera The Floating Box on New World Records.^[9] He has appeared on the San Francisco Opera's Schwabacher Debut Recital Series.^[10]

Mr. Zhou holds degrees from the University of Illinois, St. Louis Conservatory, the Shanghai Conservatory, and a diploma in lieder performance from the Schubert Institute in Vienna.^[11]

References[link]

Amazing Red
Amazing Red at a TNA wrestling event in 2010.
Ring name(s)	(The) Amazing Red[1] El Rojo[1] Fuego Guerrero[2] Misterio Red[2] Red[2] Airwalk Spriggan[2] Spriggan[1] Sangriento[3] Dios Dorado[4]
Billed height	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)[1][5]
Billed weight	150 lb (68 kg)[5]
Born	(1982-04-26) April 26, 1982 (age 30)[1] Cayey, Puerto Rico[2]
Billed from	Brooklyn, New York[5] Tijuana, Mexico (As Sangriento)[6]
Trained by	Mikey Whipwreck[1]
Debut	1998[2]

Jonathan Figueroa (born April 26, 1982)^[1] is a professional wrestler better known by his ring name, (The) Amazing Red, or simply Red for short. He is best known for working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is a former three-time X Division Champion, while also working on the American independent circuit. Figueroa is also one of the head trainers of the House of Glory wrestling school, based in Ridgewood, Queens, New York City.^[7] He is the cousin of wrestlers Joel and Jose Maximo and Rosita.^[2]

Career[link]

Early career (1998–2005)[link]

Figueroa originally wrestled as Red, but Savio Vega decided to expand his ring name to include the word "Amazing" while he worked for the International Wrestling Association in Puerto Rico, giving origin to his more common pseudonym, Amazing Red.^[8] Red, who was already known for his work in the United States independent circuit, joined Total Nonstop Action Wrestling at its 2002 inception, quickly establishing himself in its X Division. During his first run in TNA Red held both the TNA X Division Championship and the NWA World Tag Team Championship with Jerry Lynn, simultaneously. While working for TNA he also wrestled for Ring of Honor as a member of the three man tag team The S.A.T.^[9] with cousins, Jose and Joel Maximo. Eventually he began to team with "The Phenomenal" A.J. Styles, becoming known together as Amazing Phenomenon.^[10] The team would go on to win the ROH Tag Team Championship from Christopher Daniels and Donovan Morgan.^[11]

Through late 2003 Amazing Red, wrestled as Misterio Red as well as Airwalk Spriggan while on a tour with All Japan Pro Wrestling. During the tour he suffered a near career-ending knee injury, tearing his anterior cruciate ligament and having to undergo surgery which kept him on the sideline for an entire year.^[12]

Red returned to TNA to wrestle in March 2004, staying there for the majority of the year. When he left TNA he went back to the independents, only returning on occasion to TNA throughout 2005 and 2006. He also wrestled CM Punk in a dark match at a WWE SmackDown taping on May 12, 2005.^[1]

Retirement and return (2005–2008)[link]

Red's last appearance was at a New York Wrestling Connection event at the beginning of 2006, where he lost his match to Javi-Air and re-injured his knee.^[1]

It was made official on the Pro Wrestling Unplugged Website that he would be making his return to their "Haunted" event although he requested off since it was announced that his wife was expecting their child on March 14, 2008.^[13]

Red left the wrestling business and took on a full-time job^{[citation needed]} to heal his knee after several surgeries. After being on the sidelines with his injury, Red made his return on December 13, 2008 at Jersey All Pro Wrestling's Best of the Light Heavyweights, the match was won by Archadia as he defeated Amazing Red, Flip Kendrick, Louis Lyndon.^[14]

Return to TNA (2009–2011)[link]

Red in a match against Suicide.

In April 2009, it was announced via the TNA website that the Amazing Red would return to the company in the Team 3D Tag Team Invitational Tournament.^[15] On the April 30 edition of Impact! he teamed with then-X Division Champion Suicide to defeat the Motor City Machineguns of Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin.

Suicide and Amazing Red were eliminated from the tournament on the May 14 episode of Impact! by the new stable, The British Invasion after interference from the Motor City Machineguns.

On the May 28 edition of Impact!, he challenged Suicide for the X Division Championship but was unsuccessful in winning the title for a second time. Red competed in a Steel Asylum match at the Hard Justice Pay-Per-View on August 16, in another losing effort. On the October 1 edition of Impact! Red became the number one contender to Samoa Joe's X Division title by defeating Jay Lethal, Consequences Creed, Sheik Abdul Bashir and Kiyoshi in a ladder match.^[16] On the following Impact! Red won the X Division Championship for the second time by pinning Samoa Joe following interference by Bobby Lashley.^[17] On the October 15 edition of Impact! Don West debuted as Red's new manager.^[18] At Bound for Glory Red retained his X Division Title in an Ultimate X match against Homicide, Daniels, Suicide, Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin.^[19] The following week on Impact! Red lost to Homicide in a non-title match.^[20] The return match between the two was booked for Turning Point, where Red was able to retain his title.^[21] Afterwards Don West quietly broke off his affiliation with Red, while he went on to defend his title on TNA's weekly Webmatches against the likes of Chris Sabin and Homicide.^[22][23] At Genesis Red retained his title in a match against the returning Brian Kendrick.^[24] On the January 28 edition of Impact! the British Invasion attacked Red after his six man tag team match. As Rob Terry was going to cash in his "Feast or Fired" briefcase, which gave him the right to challenge for the X Division Championship anytime, anywhere, his stable mate Doug Williams managed to convince him to hand it over to him and defeated Red to win the Championship.^[25] On the April 12 edition of Impact! Red took the place of the injured Hernandez and teamed up with Matt Morgan to successfully defend the TNA World Tag Team Championship against the Motor City Machineguns. After the match Morgan attacked Red for getting the pinfall in the match.^[26] After a few weeks out of action, Red returned to Impact! on the June 10 edition, in a losing effort against Kurt Angle.^[27] On September 23 Red defeated Jay Lethal at a live event in his hometown of New York City to win the X Division Championship for the third time.^[28] Red lost the title back to Lethal two days later at a live event in Rahway, New Jersey.^[29] On the December 23 edition of Impact! Red answered Jeff Jarrett's MMA Challenge, but was defeated by submission. After the match Red told Jarrett that he had a younger brother, who would answer the challenge the following week.^[30] The following week Red's storyline brother, billed simply as Little Red (later renamed Crimson), answered the challenge and was winning his match against Jarrett, before Jarrett was pulled away from the ring by his security guards Gunner and Murphy.^[31] Shortly afterwards, Crimson broke away from Red and the relation between the two was seldom mentioned again.^[32]

On the April 19 edition of Xplosion, Figueroa debuted as Sangriento, a masked luchador, in a three–way match, where he defeated Jay Lethal and Chris Sabin.^[33] Sangriento made his Impact! debut on May 5, defeating Suicide.^[6] After defeating Suicide in a rematch the following week, Sangriento was not seen again for two months, until appearing in a backstage segment with Eric Young at Destination X on July 10.^[34][35] At the same pay-per-view Amazing Red wrestled in an X Division number one contender's Ultimate X match, which was won by Alex Shelley, and which would turn out to be his final match for the promotion.^[35] On August 4, 2011, Figueroa announced via his Twitter account that he had parted ways with TNA.^[36]

Return to the independent circuit (2012)[link]

On March 4, 2012, Red returned to Ring of Honor at the 10th Anniversary Show, where he teamed with T.J. Perkins in a losing effort against the House of Truth (Michael Elgin and Roderick Strong).^[37]

In wrestling[link]

Red diving on Frightmare at Chikara's 2011 King of Trios.

Signature pose of Amazing Red

• Finishing moves
  • As Amazing Red
    • 718^[1] (Tiger feint kick)
    • Code Red^[1][5] (Leg trap sunset flip powerbomb, sometimes from the top rope)^[1]
    • Infrared^[1] (540° corkscrew senton bomb, sometimes onto a standing opponent)
    • Red Eye^[38] (TNA) / Red Alert^[1] (Independent circuit) (Diving swinging reverse STO, sometimes while springboarding)^[39]
    • Red Star Press^[1] (Standing or a running shooting star press)
  • As Sangriento
    • Back springboard into a cutter^[6]

• Signature moves
  • Brainbuster
  • Brain Damage^[1] (Victory roll flipped forward into a modified wheelbarrow facebuster, as a wheelbarrow bodyscissors counter)
  • Bulldog, as a wheelbarrow bodyscissors counter
  • Cartwheel into an over the top rope corkscrew moonsault
  • Diving clothesline
  • Hurricanrana driver^[39][40]
  • Jumping corkscrew roundhouse kick^[18]
  • Red Edge^[1] (Running sitout one shoulder powerbomb)
  • Red Eye^[1] (Jumping side slam twisted into a sitout side facebuster)
  • Red Fusion^[1] (Phoenix splash)
  • Red Spike^[1] (Back to belly piledriver)
  • Satellite DDT^[1] (Tilt-a-whirl headscissors takedown twisted into a DDT)
  • Seeing Red^[1] (Red lifts the opponent with a hip toss, lands them on their feet and then hits them with a full nelson facebuster)
  • Spinning enzuigiri^[39]
  • Standing or a running spinning wheel kick

• Managers
  • Alexis Laree^[41]
  • Don West^[18]

• Entrance themes
  • "Detached" by Spineshank^[42]
  • "It's Going Down" by The X-Ecutioners featuring Linkin Park^[42]
  • "Rock Superstar" by Cypress Hill^[42]
  • "Let It Bang" by The X-Ecutioners featuring M.O.P.^[42]
  • "Perfect Cell (Techno Remix)" by Dragon Ball Z^[42]
  • "Red Remix" by Toxic^[42]

Championships and accomplishments[link]

• East Coast Wrestling Association
  • ECWA Heavyweight Championship (2 times)^[43]

• Impact Championship Wrestling
  • ICW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[1]
  • ICW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Danny Demento

• Maryland Championship Wrestling
  • MCW Cruiserweight Championship (1 time)^[44]

• New York Wrestling Connection
  • NYWC Interstate Championship (1 time)^[1]

• Premier Wrestling Federation
  • PWF Junior Heavyweight Championship (2 times)^[1]

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked him #87 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2010^[45]

• Ring of Honor
  • ROH Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with A.J. Styles^[11]

• Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
  • NWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Jerry Lynn^[46]
  • TNA X Division Championship (3 times)^[2]

• United States Extreme Wrestling
  • USEW United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[47]

• United Xtreme Wrestling / USA Pro Wrestling
  • UXW/USA Pro United States Championship (2 times)^[2]

• Unreal Championship Wrestling

• UCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• Other titles

• HWVY Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

References[link]

External links[link]

Professional wrestling portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Amazing Red

• Amazing Red on Twitter
• Amazing Red on Facebook
• Official fansite
• Amazing Red's TNA profile
• Sangriento's TNA profile
• Amazing Red at Online World of Wrestling
• Amazing Red's BallPark Brawl Profile
• House of Glory