Liuzhou (; , IPA Pronunciation:) is a prefecture-level city in north-central Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. The prefecture's population was 3,758,700 in 2010, including 1,436,599 in the built-up area made of four urban districts. Its total area is and for the built up area. Geography Liuzhou is located on the banks of the winding Liu River, approximately from Nanning, the regional capital. By road, it is about to Guilin, to Hechi, to Nanning, to Fangchenggang, to Beihai. Swimming in the river is a tradition of the city. The river is normally green, but sometimes in summer, floods from the mountain areas upstream bring sediment which colors the water yellow. In early 2012, a cadmium spill upstream caused serious pollution worries. The river can be deep. Normally, the depth is but can as deep as before it floods over the wall. In 2000 a bus, with 78 passengers, fell over the side of a bridge, and into of water. Climate Liuzhou has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), with mild winters and long hot summers, and very humid conditions year-round. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from in January to in August, while extremes have ranged from . Rain is both the heaviest and most frequent from May to August, when nearly two-thirds of the annual rainfall occurs. History The Liujiang men () are among the earliest modern humans found in East Asia. Their remains were discovered in the Tongtianyang Cave () in Liujiang County, Guangxi. Liujiang man is a Late Pleistocene Homo sapiens sapiens. Liuzhou has a history of more than 2,100 years. The city was founded in 111 B.C. when it was known as Tanzhong (). In 742 A.D. it became known as Longcheng (), after the Long River, before finally changing to Liuzhou () after the Liu River in 1736. The most famous historic figure is Liu Zongyuan (773–819), who was a poet and politician in the Tang Dynasty and who died in Liuzhou. He is commemorated by a park in the city. Liuzhou was the site of Liuchow Airfield, used by Nationalist Chinese and American Army Air Forces in World War II. (At that time the airfield was closer to the centre, where the zoo is now.) It was captured by the Japanese army on 7 November 1944 during the Battle of Guilin–Liuzhou and recaptured by Nationalist Chinese forces on 30 June 1945 prior