Zhuzhou covers an area of 11,420 km² and, in 2010, was home to 3,855,609 people. After sustaining significant damage during the Second World War, the city became one of Mao’s ‘model cities’ to be reconstructed as an industrial centre during the Great Leap Forward.

Together with the cities of Changsha and Xiangtan, Zhuzhou is part of the ‘ChangZhuTan Golden Triangle’, which refers to the important economic development zone of the Hunan Province. It is an industrial city whose chief economic activities emanate from the production of building materials and machine and chemical manufacturing.

The cities of Zhuzhou, Changsha and Xiangtan in the Hunan Province are currently in the process of integrating measures to promote environmental protection as all three cities depend on the same river for water supply and sewerage outflow. The three cities are addressing mechanisms for coordination in planning and service delivery and the creation of regional institutions for environmental management and wastewater collection and treatment.