Lably
Skip to content

Zunyi

Prefecture-level city in Guizhou, People's Republic of China

  • 5 min read
  • 9 chapters
​民主路步行街
Augusthaiho · CC BY-SA 4.0

Related on Lably

Through Paleolithic

Zunyi is known for being the location of the Zunyi Conference in 1935, where Mao Zedong was first elected to the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party during the Long March.

History

The area of Zunyi was originally inhabited by the Tongzi people during the Paleolithic. Later, its territory was a part of several kingdoms. Zunyi was considered to be the center of the Yelang kingdom. The region around Zunyi first came under Chinese rule during Han dynasty, during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. After the Han dynasty collapsed, the area remained under nominal Chinese control, but much of the administration was left to local, non-Han chiefs. In the 7th century CE, the area came under regular Chinese administration during the Tang dynasty, Zunyi was placed under the new Bo Prefecture (Bozhou).

Towards the end of the Tang, Bozhou was conquered by the Nanzhao Kingdom. However, it soon gained independence as the Chiefdom of Bozhou in AD 876. The chiefdom became an autonomous prefecture of the Song and subsequent dynasties, while the ruling Yang family held power in Zunyi for more than seven centuries. Bozhou rebelled against the Ming dynasty in 1589, resisting the Ming for more than a decade before its eventual destruction in 1600. Subsequently, Zunyi Prefecture was established, with the present-day city of Zunyi becoming the prefectural seat. Zunyi retained its status as a prefectural seat through the Qing dynasty. After the Xinhai Revolution, Zunyi was redesignated as a county in 1914.

In 1935, the Zunyi Conference took place in the city during the Long March and elevated Mao Zedong to a dominant position within the Chinese Communist Party.

During the country's First Five-Year Plan, Zunyi was redesignated as a city, and experienced considerable growth and transformation.

Sign in to keep reading

8 more chapters are free with a Lably account.

More in Cities