ZhuzhouWade-Giles romanization Chu-choucity, Pinyin Zhuzhou, city in east-central Hunan sheng (province), China. Situated 15 miles (25 km) east of Hsiang-t’an Xiangtan on the east bank of the Hsiang Xiang River, Chu-chouZhuzhou, until the beginning of the 20th century, was only a minor market town and river port.

Its rise to importance came entirely from only with the construction of a modern transportation infrastructure in the region and began with the opening of the P’ing-hsiang Pingxiang collieries in Kiangsi Jiangxi province to the east to provide , which provided coking coal for the Han-yang Ironworks (established 1894) in Hupeh ironworks at Hanyang (now part of Wuhan) in Hubei province to the north. A railway was built from P’ing-hsiang to Chu-chouPingxiang to Zhuzhou, whence the coal was shipped by water to Han-k’ou Hankou (also now part of Wu-hanWuhan) in Hupeh. Chu-chou Zhuzhou was later connected by rail lines to Guangzhou (Canton), Han-k’ou, Ch’ang-shaHankou, Changsha, and Nan-ch’angNanchang, among other cities. Chu-chou Zhuzhou has thus become an important rail junction. It has water communications with southern Hunan and also is the focus of a network of local highways.

The full benefits of these developments were delayed by the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War of 1937–45. Northern Hunan was the centre of severe fighting during much of the war, and in 1944 a great Japanese offensive overran Chu-chouZhuzhou, which remained under Japanese occupation until 1945the end of the war.

Under the Communist government, Chu-chou People’s Republic of China, Zhuzhou was designated as a major centre for industrial development. A large thermal power plant was installed with Soviet aid and came into operation in 1957. A large major chemical fertilizer plant was also completed in the late 1950s, and yet another began operating in 1960. The surrounding area has rich mineral resources, which include iron, lead, manganese, zinc, tungsten, copper, and antimony. A large metallurgical industry, producing considerable quantities of lead, zinc, and copper on a large scale, has been established.Chu-chou’s developed. Zhuzhou’s output of nonferrous metals, hard alloys, and plate glass now constitutes a large proportion of China’s production in those areas.

Zhuzhou’s facilities as a transport centre have been greatly improved since 1949. The port facilities were redeveloped, and a freight yard—one of the largest in southern China—was built in the late 1950s. In the 1960s Chu-chou Zhuzhou also became a major producer of rolling stock, turning out railroad cars and electric locomotives. Pop. (19902002 est.) 409,924.city, 580,540; (2007 est.) urban agglom., 1,080,000.