Xianning

Xianning (simplified Chinese: 咸宁; traditional Chinese: 咸寧/咸甯; pinyin: Xiánníng) is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Hubei province, People's Republic of China, bordering Jiangxi to the southeast and Hunan to the southwest. It is known as the "City of Osmanthus". Xianning is located in southeastern Hubei province, just south of Wuhan, between the southern bank of the Yangtze River in the north and the Mufu Mountains in the south. It borders Jiangxi to the southeast and Hunan to the southwest. It is called Hubei's southern gateway. Xianning is hilly and mountainous (especially in its southern part), with some flatlands (mostly in the north) and lakes. It was home to 2,462,583 inhabitants as of the 2010 census whom 512,517 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of Xia'nan District. Its area is 1,504 square kilometres (581 sq mi), 56% of which is forested.[citation needed]. Its proximity to Wuhan is transforming the city into an outer suburb of the Hubei's capital. Xianning has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa). The normal monthly mean temperature ranges from 4.6 °C (40.3 °F) in January to 29.2 °C (84.6 °F) in July; the annual mean temperature is 17.22 °C (63.0 °F) and annual precipitation is just below 1,600 millimetres (63.0 in).[3]