Wanzhou

Wanzhou 万州区
District
The Yangtze River / Three Gorges reservoir at Wanzhou City
Wanzhou District in Chongqing
Coordinates: 30°48′28″N 108°24′32″E / 30.807819°N 108.408751°E / 30.807819; 108.408751
Country	People's Republic of China
Municipality	Chongqing
Area
• Total	3,457 km2 (1,335 sq mi)
Population (2013)
• Total	1,753,500
• Density	510/km2 (1,300/sq mi)
Time zone	China Standard (UTC+8)
GDP	2013
- Total	CNY 70.23 billion (US$ 11.46 billion)
- Per capita	CNY 43,197 (US$ 7,047)
Licence plate prefix	渝F
Website	wz.gov.cn

Wanzhou District (simplified Chinese: 万州区; traditional Chinese: 萬州區; pinyin: Wànzhōu Qū) is a city on the upper reaches of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River in China. It is currently governed as a district of Chongqing Municipality, bordering Sichuan to the northwest and Hubei to the southeast. It was formerly known as Wanxian or Wan County (simplified Chinese: 万县; traditional Chinese: 萬縣; pinyin: Wànxiàn). Prior to Chongqing's formation as a direct-controlled municipality, Wanzhou was part of Sichuan province. The urban core of Wanzhou is 228 km (142 mi) away from Chongqing's city proper.

"Wanzhou" literally means "myriad-prefecture", where "a myriad rivers converge and a myriad traders gather" (万川毕汇、万商云集). Due to the construction of the Three Gorges Dam, 47% of Wanzhou's old urban area will be underwater by the time the reservoir is filled. Buildings in the submerged area have been torn down and new ones rebuilt on higher ground.

The district was part of Wanxian Prefecture, then the prefectural Wanxian City. It was renamed to Wanzhou in late 1990s.

It was part of Quren District of Ba Prefecture (巴郡朐忍县) in the Qin Dynasty. It became Yangqu District (羊渠县) in 216 (the Eastern Han Dynasty). In 230 (the Shu-Han Kingdom), it was renamed to Nanpu (南浦县); in 553 (the Western Wei Dynasty), to Yuquan (鱼泉县); in 557 (Northern Zhou Dynasty), to Anxiang (安乡县); in 584, to Wanchuan (万川县); and in 598 (Sui Dynasty), to Nanchang again.