Current Time in Xinyi, China

Xinyi lies in the far north of Jiangsu province in eastern China, close to the border with Shandong and administered as part of the larger city of Xuzhou. It stands on the plain of the Yi River, a landscape of wheat and rice fields, poplar windbreaks and irrigation channels, with the low wooded ridge of Maling Mountain rising to the south and the broad expanse of Luoma Lake spreading to the southeast. The climate is temperate and monsoon influenced, with hot humid summers, crisp autumns and cold dry winters.

The county level city has a population approaching one million, most of them living in the surrounding towns and villages, with several hundred thousand in the urban area itself. Agriculture remains the foundation of local life, and the district is a substantial producer of wheat, rice, maize, peanuts and garlic, while industry has grown around chemicals, building materials, machinery and the processing of quartz sand, which is abundant in the area and supplies glassmaking across the region.

The plain here has been settled since the Neolithic period, and the area saw constant traffic and conflict over the centuries because of its position on the routes linking the north China plain with the Huai river valley. The nearby city of Xuzhou was one of the great strategic prizes of Chinese history, contested in almost every war from the Warring States period to the twentieth century, and the countryside around Xinyi was crossed by armies more times than can be counted. The town took its present name in the eighteenth century, and it was raised to city status in 1990 as economic reform accelerated development across Jiangsu.

Its principal attraction is Maling Mountain, a modest but scenic range whose slopes hold a long established Taoist complex known for its rock cut caves, halls and ancient trees, set among ravines and stone stairways. Pilgrims and walkers come in spring when the wild apricot blossom covers the hillsides, and the temple fairs held here are among the liveliest in northern Jiangsu. Luoma Lake, one of the four largest freshwater lakes in the province, offers fishing villages, reed beds, boat trips and sunsets over open water, and a wetland park protects the migratory birds that stop there.

Local culture belongs firmly to the north of the province, where the food is wheat based and hearty, featuring steamed breads, noodles, freshwater fish from the lake and the peppery mutton soup for which Xuzhou is famous. Folk opera, paper cutting and stone carving traditions survive in the surrounding villages.

Xinyi is an important junction on the railway network, where lines running north to south and east to west cross, and expressways give quick access to Xuzhou, Lianyungang and the coast, with high speed services and an airport nearby. Vocational schools serve local industry while universities are concentrated in Xuzhou.

Xinyi is representative of the prosperous county cities of eastern China, where farming, industry and a quietly attractive landscape exist side by side.