KAN-CHOU

formerly (191149) Kan-hsien, Pinyin Ganzhou, or Ganxian, conventional Kanchow city in southern Kiangsi sheng (province), China. Kan-chou is a natural route centre at the confluence of the various river systems that branch off from the north-south route to Nan-ch'ang. Although Kan-chou has no rail connections, highways lead from it to the southeast, northeast, and south. The city was first settled in Han times (206 BCAD 220) and became a county seat in the 3rd century AD. In 589, under the Sui dynasty (581618), it became the seat of a prefecture, Chien-chou, the name being changed to Kan-chou (named after the river on which it stands) in the late 12th century. In the 18th and 19th centuries, when all foreign trade was restricted to Canton, it became an important centre on the route from Canton to Nanking in Kiangsu province and to the Yangtze River valley, particularly for the tea trade. In the 20th century the construction of the Han-k'ouCanton railway transferred the mainstream of the north-south trade to Hunan, so that Kan-chou has to some degree suffered a decline. Before World War II Kan-chou was a large regional centre of commerce, but little more. After 1949 the population increased, and some industrial development took place, exploiting the agricultural and mineral products of the area, which is rich in tungsten and tin. A large hydroelectric station was established some 25 miles (40 km) to the west at Shang-yu. The city's main industries are now engineering, papermaking, wood manufactures, and sugar and camphor refining. Pop. (1990 est.) 220,129.