Zhaozhou County 肇州县

Setting and landscape

The whole county is an alluvial plain, level ground at an average of 150 metres above sea level, about 77 kilometres from north to south and 72 kilometres from east to west. Chinese Wikipedia places it at the geographic centre of Northeast China and the centre of the Songliao Basin (松辽盆地). The climate is continental, temperate and semi-arid, with a mean annual temperature of 3.6°C and recorded extremes of −36.8°C and 38.1°C.

Zhaozhou borders Zhaodong (肇东) to the east, Daqing's Datong District (大同区) to the west, Zhaoyuan County (肇源县) to the south and Anda (安达) to the north. The county seat is Zhaozhou town. The Xushen gas field (徐深气田) lies at Xujiaweizi in Xingcheng town (兴城镇), and the county government lists it among China's five largest gas fields. Chaoyanggou town (朝阳沟镇) is home to Daqing Oilfield's No. 10 oil production plant.

History

The name looks back to the founding of the Jin dynasty. Chinese Wikipedia records that Wanyan Aguda (完颜阿骨打) defeated Liao troops here, a victory that opened the way to the Jin state. After the Jin was founded, the area was honoured as the place where the dynasty's ancestors first rose, and it was named after that. Zhaozhou became a county in 1913. On 26 September 1959 the Songji No. 3 well (松基三井) at Datong town, then in Zhaozhou County, flowed oil, marking the discovery of the Daqing Oilfield. The county was placed under Daqing in 1992.

Food and local products

The county government lists maize, flue-cured tobacco, fruit and vegetables as its main crops, and pigs, dairy cows, beef cattle and geese as its main livestock.

Highlights

• Xushen gas field 徐深气田: Gas field at Xujiaweizi, Xingcheng town, listed by the county government among China's five largest.