Mao facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mao
Municipality
Santa Cruz de Mao
Street in Mao
Coat of arms
Nickname(s):  City of Beautiful Sunsets
Country	Dominican Republic
Province	Valverde
Founded	1875
Municipality since	1882
Municipal Districts	Ámina, Jaibón (Pueblo Nuevo), Guatapanal
Area
• Total	116.3 km2 (44.9 sq mi)
• Urban	11.51 km2 (4.44 sq mi)
Elevation	78 m (256 ft)
Population  (2010)
• Total	51,647
• Density	444.08/km2 (1,150.2/sq mi)
• Urban	49,714
Demonym(s)	Maeño (female, maeña)
Time zone	UTC-4 (AST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (AST)
Distance	60 km (37 mi) to Santiago 210 km (130 mi) to Santo Domingo

Santa Cruz de Mao, often called just Mao, is a city in the Dominican Republic. It is the main city of the Valverde province, located in the northwest part of the country. Mao is the biggest city in the Dominican northwest and an important center for the region.

City Name and Nickname

The name Mao comes from the Taíno language. It is named after the Mao River, which flows close to the city. Mao is also known as Ciudad de los Bellos Atardeceres, which means "City of the Beautiful Sunsets". This nickname comes from the amazing sunsets you can see there. Since there are not many mountains to the west, the sky often turns a beautiful red color. This happens because the region is very dry, and there is a lot of dust in the air that makes the sky look red during sunset.

Population of Mao

In 2010, about 51,647 people lived in the Mao area. Out of these, 25,663 were men and 25,984 were women. Most of the people, about 49,714, lived in the city area. This means that a large part of the population lives in the urban part of Mao.

History of Mao

For a long time, the area where Mao is now was called "El Despoblado". This means "the unpopulated region" because very few people lived there. It was a very dry place, so agriculture was hard to do.

In 1606, the governor of the Spanish colony ordered everyone living on the northern coast to move inland. Some people then came to live around what is now Mao. They raised cows on large farms called hatos (ranches). This is why many places near Mao have "hato" in their names, like Hatico, Hato del Yaque, and Hato Nuevo.

The town of Mao grew up near where the Mao river meets the Yaque del Norte river. The first Catholic church was built there in 1869.

Mao became a Puesto Cantonal (an old type of local government) in 1882. Later that year, it was made a municipality. In 1904, its official name was changed to "Valverde" to honor José Desiderio Valverde, a former President of the Dominican Republic. However, people still knew the city as Mao. So, it became common to call it "Valverde (Mao)", and many people still use this name today.

In 1959, when the Valverde province was created, Mao became its main city and the capital of the province.

Geography of Mao

Mao covers a total area of about 116.3 km² (45 sq mi). This is about 14% of the total area of the Valverde province. The city is about 78 m (256 ft) above sea level. It is located about 210 km (130 mi) northwest of Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic.

The municipality of Mao shares borders with other areas. To the west, it borders the Santiago Rodríguez province. To the south and east, it borders the Santiago province. To the northwest, it borders the municipality of Laguna Salada, and to the northeast, it borders the municipality of Esperanza.

Mao's Climate

Mao has a tropical wet and dry climate, also known as a savanna climate. This means it has a rainy season and a noticeable dry season, especially in winter.

The city gets about 699.6 mm (27.5 in) of rainfall each year. May is usually the wettest month, with about 119.1 mm (4.7 in) of rain. October is the second wettest month.

The driest time of year is winter. January gets the least rain, with about 21.6 mm (0.9 in). July is also very dry.

Mao is a hot place. The average temperature for the whole year is about 27 °C (80.6 °F).

Administrative Divisions

The municipality of Mao is divided into three smaller areas called municipal districts. These districts help manage the different parts of the municipality.

Economy of Mao

The main way people make a living in Mao is through agriculture. The most important crops grown in the municipality are rice, bananas, and plantain. These crops are very important for the local economy.

Provincial capitals of the Dominican Republic

Azua • Baní • Barahona • Bonao • Comendador • Cotuí • Dajabón • El Seibo • Hato Mayor • Higüey • Jimaní • La Romana • La Vega • Mao • Moca • Monte Cristi • Monte Plata • Nagua • Neiba • Pedernales • Puerto Plata • Sabaneta • Salcedo • Samaná • San Cristóbal • San Francisco de Macorís • San José de Ocoa • San Juan de la Maguana • San Pedro de Macorís • Santiago de los Caballeros • Santo Domingo • Santo Domingo Este

Images for kids

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  Mao Zedong's childhood home in Shaoshan, in 2010, by which time it had become a tourist destination

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  Mao in 1913

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  Students in Beijing rallying during the May Fourth Movement

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  Location of the first Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in July 1921, in Xintiandi, former French Concession, Shanghai

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  Mao Zedong around the time of his work at Guangzhou's PMTI in 1925

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  Third Plenum of the KMT Central Executive Committee in March 1927. Mao is third from the right in the second row.

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  Mao in 1927

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  Chinese Communist revolutionaries in the 1920s

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  Mao in Yan'an

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  Military parade on the occasion of the founding of a Chinese Soviet Republic in 1931

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  Zhang Guotao (left) and Mao Zedong in Yan'an, 1937

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  In an effort to defeat the Japanese, Mao (left) agreed to collaborate with Chiang (right).

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  Mao in 1938, writing On Protracted War

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  Mao with Kang Sheng in Yan'an, 1945

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  PLA troops, supported by captured M5 Stuart light tanks, attacking the Nationalist lines in 1948

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  Mao Zedong declares the founding of the modern People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949

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  Mao with his fourth wife, Jiang Qing, called "Madame Mao", 1946

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  Mao at Joseph Stalin's 70th birthday celebration in Moscow, December 1949

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  Mao and Zhou Enlai meeting with Dalai Lama (right) and Panchen Lama (left) to celebrate Tibetan New Year, Beijing, 1955

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  Photo of Mao Zedong sitting, published in "Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung", ca. 1955

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  Mao with Nikita Khrushchev, Ho Chi Minh and Soong Ching-ling during a state dinner in Beijing, 1959

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  Early in the Great Leap Forward, commune members were encouraged to eat their fill in communal canteens, but many canteens shut down as they ran out of food and fuel.

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  Mao with Henry Kissinger and Zhou Enlai, Beijing, 1972

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  U.S. President Gerald Ford watches as Henry Kissinger shakes hands with Mao during their visit to China, December 2, 1975

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  A public appearance of Chairman Mao and Lin Biao among Red Guards, in Beijing, during the Cultural Revolution (November 1966)

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  A large portrait of Mao at Tiananmen

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  Mao Zedong Square at Saoshan

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  Statue of young Mao in Changsha, the capital of Hunan

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  In 1978, the classroom of a kindergarten in Shanghai putting up portraits of then- Chairman Hua Guofeng and former Chairman Mao Zedong

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  Mao greets U.S. President Richard Nixon during his visit to China in 1972.

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  Statue of Mao in Lijiang

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  Visitors wait in line to enter the Mao Zedong Mausoleum.

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  Mao with Jiang Qing and daughter Li Na in the 1940s

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  Mao Zedong with his nephew Mao Yuanxin, and daughters Li Min (second from left) and Li Na

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  Mao and Zhang Yufeng in 1964

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  Mao's calligraphy: a bronze plaque of a poem by Li Bai. (Chinese: 白帝城毛澤東手書李白詩銅匾 )

See also

In Spanish: Mao Zedong para niños