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77-545: Yutong (officially Zhengzhou Yutong Group Co., Ltd. ) is a Chinese manufacturer of commercial vehicles , especially electric buses , headquartered in Zhengzhou , Henan . Yutong also has businesses in construction machinery , real estate , and other investments. As of 2016 it was the largest bus manufacturer in the world by sales volume. Yutong's origins can be traced to the Zhengzhou Bus Repair Factory , which

154-516: A tropical climate . In 1514, Diego Velázquez founded the city San Cristóbal de la Habana, which meant " Saint Christopher of the Habana". Habana was the name of the local people group. It has been theorized that the name derived from Habaguanex , who was a chief of the Native American tribe. His name is Taíno , an Arawakan language , but nothing else is known. When Habana was adapted into English,

231-657: A tropical monsoon climate ( Am ). Average temperatures range from 22 °C (72 °F) in January and February to 28 °C (82 °F) in August. The temperature seldom drops below 10 °C (50 °F). The lowest temperature was 1 °C (34 °F) in Santiago de Las Vegas, Boyeros. The lowest recorded temperature in Cuba was 0 °C (32 °F) in Bainoa, Mayabeque Province (before 2011

308-1005: A "commercial motor vehicle" as any motorized road vehicle, that by its type of construction and equipment is designed for, and capable of transporting, whether for payment or not: Commercial trucks are classified according to the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR). Commercial vehicles are divided into eight classes based upon the gross vehicle weight (GVW). The United States Department of Transportation classifies commercial trucks with eight classes: Commercial vehicles are sometimes sought after for historic preservation as classic cars . News about preservation can be found in magazines such as Hemmings Motor News and Heritage Commercials . Commercial vehicle accidents and injuries are often more complex than regular car accidents, often involving additional concerns, background checks on operator driving records, and corporate maintenance records. Havana Havana ( / h ə ˈ v æ n ə / ; Spanish : La Habana [la aˈβana] )

385-734: A British invasion of 30,000 sailors. Construction began on what was to become the Fortress of San Carlos de la Cabaña , the third biggest Spanish fortification in the New World after Castillo San Cristóbal (the biggest) and Castillo San Felipe del Morro both in San Juan, Puerto Rico. On 15 January 1796, the remains of Christopher Columbus were transported to the island from Santo Domingo . They rested there until 1898, when they were transferred to Seville's Cathedral , after Spain's loss of Cuba. As trade between Caribbean and North American states increased in

462-613: A Yutong E12, which entered service in the country's capital with the Havana Transit Company. Ten Yutong ZK6140BD airside buses , equipped with six doors and capable of carrying 160 passengers, were delivered to Madrid Airport in April 2019. Yutong first entered the United Kingdom bus and coach market in 2014 through supplying diesel-powered coaches through Pelican Bus and Coach to independent coach operators. Yutong would become

539-567: A color, and a type of rabbit as well as the city. Havana is the prevailing name for the city found in English-language dictionaries. Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar founded Havana in 1514, on the southern coast of the island, near the present town of Surgidero de Batabanó on the banks of the Mayabeque River close to Playa Mayabeque . However, all attempts to found a city on Cuba's south coast failed; an early map of Cuba drawn in 1514 places

616-462: A commercial vehicle. Variations may exist from state-to-state on which "commercial vehicles" are prohibited on certain routes and lanes and between homeowner associations, which may employ broader definitions than their municipalities with regard to their own parking restrictions. Broadly defined, a vehicle may be considered a commercial vehicle if it: A vehicle can be used for a business, if not exclusively, and remain privately licensed, depending on

693-933: A final assembly plant in Castleford in the United Kingdom , where Yutong buses and coaches are distributed in UK and Ireland through the Pelican Bus and Coach dealership. Yutong trialled its first autonomous bus in 2015 and has produced a wide range of autonomous models since. Public trials of its first generation 8-seat Xiaoyu vehicle commenced 2019 at the Boao Forum for Asia and in Zhengzhou . Autonomous buses have also been used to transport workers around Yutong's Zhengzhou assembly plant. In June 2021, Yutong claimed to have delivered 100 models of its 10-seat Xiaoyu 2.0 autonomous bus for use in Zhengzhou . The Xiaoyu 2.0 has also been delivered to

770-593: A major supplier of battery electric single-deck city buses to operators across England, Scotland and Wales through the Yutong E10 and the longer E12. Both buses are in service with a number of large operators, including McGill's Bus Services , the largest operator of Yutong buses in the United Kingdom, Newport Bus , Cardiff Bus , Go North East , Stagecoach Highlands , First West Yorkshire and Centrebus in Leicester . Yutong's battery electric TCe12 coach has also sold to

847-531: A number of completely knocked down manufacturing plants worldwide. A manufacturing plant in the western Venezuelan state of Yaracuy was opened in December 2015, and in collaboration with Pakistani heavy vehicle manufacturing company Master Motors , Yutong Bus opened a manufacturing plant at Port Qasim in Karachi in 2016, where buses are manufactured under the brand name Yutong-Master. Yutong Bus also plans to open

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924-655: A plan by the Knights of the Golden Circle to create a 'Golden Circle' with a 1200   mile-radius centered on Havana. After the Confederate States of America were defeated in the American Civil War in 1865, many former slaveholders continued to run plantations by moving to Havana. In 1863, the city walls were knocked down so that the metropolis could be enlarged. At the end of the 19th century, Havana witnessed

1001-578: A portion of the candidates is nominated at the local level. The People's Councils (Consejos Populares) consist of local city delegates who elect a full-time representative to preside over the body. These councils are directly responsible for the city's neighbourhoods and wards. In addition, there is involvement of "mass organizations" and representatives of local government agencies, industries and services. The 105 People's Councils in Havana cover an average of 20,000 residents. Havana city borders are contiguous with

1078-657: A problem as graduates entering the workforce could not find jobs. The middle class, which was comparable to that of the United States, became increasingly dissatisfied with unemployment and political persecution. The labor unions supported Batista until the very end. Batista stayed in power until he was forced into exile in December 1958. After the revolution of 1959 , the new government under Fidel Castro began to improve social services, public housing, and official buildings. Nevertheless, after Castro's abrupt expropriation of all private property and industry (May 1959 onwards) under

1155-582: A small number of coach operators across the United Kingdom, with Ember Core 's fleet of TCe12s being used to operate a network of intercity express services across Scotland. Yutong continued to expand its range of battery electric buses for UK operators from 2023 onwards, initially through launching the E9 midibus , with the first examples being delivered in early 2023 to Centrebus for the free Hop! bus service in Leicester . Two U11DD 10.9 metres (36 ft) electric double-decker buses , based on similar buses sold in

1232-578: A strong communist model backed by the Soviet Union followed by the U.S. embargo , shortages that affected Cuba in general hit Havana especially hard. By 1966–68, the Cuban government had nationalized all privately owned business entities in Cuba, down to "certain kinds of small retail forms of commerce" as per law No. 1076. An economic downturn occurred after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Soviet subsidies ended, representing billions of dollars which

1309-724: A trial of a Yutong ZK6772BEV at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology , a Yutong E11, Saudi Arabia's first electric city bus, was delivered for service in Jeddah in March 2023, part of the Saudi Vision 2030 framework towards reducing the Kingdom's dependency on oil. 550 diesel-powered Yutong C13 PRO coaches for use in Riyadh and on intercity bus routes were subsequently delivered to

1386-672: A year after Havana was seized, the Peace of Paris was signed by the three warring powers thus ending the Seven Years' War. The treaty gave Britain Florida in exchange for the return of the city of Havana on to Spain. After regaining the city, the Spanish transformed Havana into the most heavily fortified city in the Americas like Cartagena, Colombia a city that under the leadership of Blas de Lezo defeated

1463-549: Is Reinaldo García Zapata of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC). In 2009, the city/province had the third-highest income in the country. Contemporary Havana can essentially be described as three cities in one: Old Havana , Vedado and the newer suburban districts. The city extends mostly westward and southward from the bay , which is entered through a narrow inlet and which divides into three main harbors: Marimelena, Guanabacoa and Antares . The Almendares River traverses

1540-486: Is San Cristóbal ( Saint Christopher ), to whom the cathedral is devoted. it also has a minor basilica , Basílica Santuario Nacional de Nuestra Señora de la Caridad del Cobre and two other national shrines, Jesús Nazareno del Rescate and San Lázaro (El Rincón). It received papal visits from three successive supreme pontiffs: Pope John Paul II (January 1998), Pope Benedict XVI (March 2012) and Pope Francis (September 2015). The Jewish community in Havana has reduced after

1617-478: Is a hybrid of all 3 put together. In February 2007 the New York Times estimated that there were about 1,500 known Jews living in Havana. Havana has a diversified economy, with traditional sectors, such as manufacturing, construction, transportation and communications, and new or revived ones such as biotechnology and tourism. The city's economy first developed on the basis of its location, which made it one of

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1694-658: Is a large-scale modern manufacturing company specializing in the research and development , manufacturing and sales of bus products. Its main plant is located in the Yutong Industrial Park ( 宇通工业园 ) in Guancheng Hui District , Zhengzhou, and covers an area of 1.12 million square meters. The 'New Energy' manufacturing plant of Yutong Bus which was put into operation in 2012, covers an area of over 1.33 million square meters and has an annual production capacity of 30,000 buses and coaches. Yutong Bus also operates

1771-509: Is a population of internal migrants to Havana nicknamed "palestinos" (Palestinians) (sometimes considered a racist term ) who mostly hail from the eastern region of Oriente . The city's significant minority of Chinese, mostly of Cantonese origin, were brought in the mid-19th century by Spanish settlers via the Philippines with work contracts and after completing 8-year contracts many Chinese immigrants settled permanently in Havana. Before

1848-567: Is a population of several thousand North African teen and pre-teen refugees. Between 2018, the most recent census, and the mid-Twentieth Century census of 1953, Havana's population has grown by an estimated 87 percent, a growth rate typical of most Latin American cities. Roman Catholics form the largest religious group in Havana. Havana is one of the three Metropolitan sees on the island (the others being Camagüey and Santiago), with two suffragan bishoprics: Matanzas and Pinar del Río. Its patron saint

1925-418: Is centered elsewhere on the island and controls some three-fourths of the export economy. But light manufacturing facilities, meat-packing plants, and chemical and pharmaceutical operations are concentrated in Havana. Other food-processing industries are also important, along with shipbuilding, vehicle manufacturing, production of alcoholic beverages (particularly rum), textiles, and tobacco products, particularly

2002-466: Is dependent upon the national government, particularly, for much of its budgetary and overall political direction. Voters elect delegates to Municipal Assemblies in competitive elections every five years, and the Municipal Assemblies are responsible for each of the city's boroughs. These assemblies elect the borough presidents and vice presidents, which are equivalents to mayors and vice mayors in

2079-427: Is similar to a developed country, with Havana having an even higher proportion of elderly than the country as a whole. According to the 2012 national census of Havana's population (the Cuban census and similar studies use the term "skin color" instead of "race"). As with the other Caribbean nations, there are few mestizos in Havana (and Cuba as a whole), in contrast to many other Latin American countries, because

2156-533: Is the capital and largest city of Cuba . The heart of the La Habana Province , Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. It is the most populous city, the largest by area, and the second largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean region. The population in 2012 was 2,154,454 inhabitants, and its area is 728.26 km (281.18 sq mi) for the capital city side and 8,475.57 km for

2233-565: Is the hill to the west that is occupied by the University of Havana and the Castillo del Príncipe (Havana) . Havana has a tropical climate that is tempered by the island's position in the belt of the trade winds and by the warm offshore currents. Under the Köppen climate classification , Havana has a tropical savanna climate ( Aw ) that closely borders on a tropical rainforest climate ( Af ) and

2310-456: The Casa de Contratación of Seville (the crown-controlled trading house that held a monopoly on New World trade). Ships from all over the New World carried products first to Havana, to be taken by the fleet to Spain. The thousands of ships gathered in the city's bay also fueled Havana's agriculture and manufacture, since they had to be supplied with food, water, and other products needed to traverse

2387-462: The ⟨b⟩ was switched to a ⟨v⟩ because of a linguistic phenomenon known as betacism , which is an assimilation of the voiced bilabial plosive and voiced labiodental fricative sounds that occurs in most modern Spanish dialects. Usage of the word Havana in literature understandably peaked during the Spanish–American War , but it also represents a type of cigar,

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2464-622: The Commonwealth of Independent States , Latin America, Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. Yutong buses and coaches have been delivered to countries and regions such as France, the United Kingdom, Kazakhstan, Venezuela, Chile, Ethiopia, Cuba, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Singapore, the Philippines, Australia, Saudi Arabia and Bulgaria. Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Co., Ltd. (referred to as Yutong Bus)

2541-577: The Gran Hotel Manzana Kempinski La Habana , a new 5-star hotel attempting to develop a new hospitality industry. In Old Havana, a number of streets and squares have been rehabilitated in an effort to rebuild for tourists. But Old Havana is a large city, and the restoration efforts concentrate in all on less than 10% of its area. On the night of 27 January 2019, an unusually violent and destructive tornado ripped through Havana. The tornado killed eight people and injured over 190. It

2618-789: The Mayabeque Province on the south and east and to Artemisa Province on the west, since former La Habana Province (rural) was abolished in 2010. Havana lies on the northern coast of Cuba along the Straits of Florida , south of the Florida Keys , where the Gulf of Mexico joins the Atlantic Ocean. The city extends mostly westward and southward from the bay, which is entered through a narrow inlet and which divides into three main harbors: Marimelena, Guanabacoa, and Atarés. The Almendares River traverses

2695-582: The Saudi Public Transport Company over the course of 2023, with ten of these allocated to and specially upgraded for transporting members of the House of Saud . In 2009, SMRT Buses received a Yutong ZK6126HGC diesel trial bus. It was the first China-made bus to be operated by a Singapore public transport operator. Registered as SMB135E, it was permanently deployed on Route 854 until the end of its trial in 2010. No further purchases were made. SMB135E

2772-521: The Seven Years' War . The episode began on 6 June 1762, when at dawn, a British fleet, comprising more than 50 ships and a combined force of over 11,000 men of the Royal Navy and Army, sailed into Cuban waters and made an amphibious landing east of Havana. The British immediately opened up trade with their North American and Caribbean colonies , causing a rapid transformation of Cuban society. Less than

2849-552: The hospital de San Lázaro , the monastery of Santa Teresa and the convent of San Felipe Neri were completed in this era. In 1649 a fatal epidemic, brought from Cartagena in Colombia, affected a third of the population of Havana. In 1674, the works for the City Walls were started, as part of the fortification efforts. They would be completed by 1740. By the middle of the 18th century Havana had more than seventy thousand inhabitants, and

2926-451: The 1943 census. The con-urbanization expanded over the Havana municipality borders into neighbor municipalities of Marianao, Regla and Guanabacoa. Starting from the 1980s, the city's population is growing slowly as a result of balanced development policies, low birth rate, its relatively high rate of emigration abroad, and controlled domestic migration. Because of the city and country's low birth rate and high life expectancy, its age structure

3003-626: The Chinese and Singaporean markets, entered service as UK market demonstrators in late 2023, while National Express Coaches took delivery of a GTe14 tri-axle electric coach for trials on coach services between Victoria Coach Station and London Stansted Airport during March 2024. Public bus operator Handal Indah (Causeway Link) procured low-entry diesel Yutong ZK6118HGA, ZK6126HG, ZK6128HG and ZK6800HNGAA buses in huge quantities. The buses are deployed on routes 7B, 52T, CW1, CW2, CW3, CW4, CW5, CW6, CW7, and government routes such as P101 and T32. Following

3080-477: The Chinese government. In 2015, Yutong conducted the world's first road trials of an autonomous bus , demonstrating self-driving technology on a 32.6 kilometres (20.3 mi) drive on a highway between the cities of Zhengzhou and Kaifeng . As of 2018, Yutong had exported more than 64,000 buses and coaches, with nearly 25,000 of these in 2017 being either battery electric or CNG-powered . The company's sales and service network covers six regions worldwide: Europe,

3157-747: The Provincial Council (until 2019 the Provincial Assembly), which in Havana serves roughly as the City Council; its president appoints the Governor and Vice Governor, who serve as the Mayor and Vice Mayor of Havana and can be either elected by the council or appointed by the president with council confirmation. There are direct elections for the city's deputies to the National Assembly based on slates, and

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3234-467: The Revolution from once having embraced more than 15,000 Jews, many of whom had fled Nazi persecution and subsequently left Cuba to Miami or to Israel after Castro took to power in 1959. The city once had five synagogues, but only three remain (one Orthodox , and two Conservative : one Conservative Ashkenazi and one Conservative Sephardic ), Beth Shalom Grand Synagogue is one of them and another that

3311-506: The Soviet Union had given the Cuban government . Many believed the revolutionary government would soon collapse, as happened to the Soviet satellite states of Eastern Europe. After many years of economic struggle and prohibition, the socialist government has turned to tourism for revenue and has brought foreign investors to remodel the nationalized, former Manzana de Gomez building, and turn it into

3388-556: The Yutong E12DDs later entered service in October 2020 with the same operators. In preparation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup held in Qatar, 888 Yutong battery electric buses, an increase from an initial order of 741 made in 2020, were delivered to state-owned bus operator Mowasalat (Karwa). Some of these buses, which operated shuttle services to and from football venues and subway stations over

3465-557: The Yutong Group is Yutong Heavy Industries , a manufacturer of construction equipment formed in 2003, and with about 3,500 employees and more than 120 products. Commercial vehicle In the United States, a vehicle is designated "commercial" when it is titled or registered to a company. This is a broad definition, as commercial vehicles may be fleet vehicles , company cars , or other vehicles used for business. Vehicles that are designed to carry more than 15 passengers are considered

3542-532: The amount of time used for business. In the United States, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration defines a "commercial motor vehicle" as any self-propelled or towed vehicle used on a public highway in interstate commerce to transport passengers or property when the vehicle: The federal definition, though followed closely, is meant to accommodate and remain flexible to each state's definitions. The European Union defines

3619-615: The best manufacturer in China by the World Bus Alliance. In March, Yutong began exporting buses worldwide to markets such as Latin and South America, Asia-Pacific, and Europe. Yutong first entered into the electric bus market with the opening of its 'New Energy' manufacturing plant in 2012, and in 2014, opened the National Research Center on Electronic Control and Safety Engineering Technology of Electric Buses in conjunction with

3696-701: The cities of Guangzhou, Nanjing, Zhengzhou, Sansha and Changsha, with public trials due to commence in July 2021 in Zhengzhou . Yutong holds a strong presence in Cuba since entering the Cuban bus market in 2005. That May, Yutong exported 400 buses to the country, which at the time set an export record for a Chinese bus manufacturer. This record was broken in October by an order for 630 buses, then broken again in May 2007 by an export order for 5,348 buses. By 2017, Yutong had sold over 6,000 buses and coaches for service across Cuba. In November 2017, Yutong delivered Cuba's first electric bus,

3773-412: The city from south to north, entering the Straits of Florida a few miles west of the bay. The city attracts over a   million tourists annually; (1,176,627 international tourists in 2010, a 20% increase from 2005). Old Havana was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982. The city is also noted for its history , culture, architecture and monuments. As typical of Cuba, Havana experiences

3850-477: The city from south to north, entering the Straits of Florida a few miles west of the bay. There are low hills on which the city lies rise gently from the waters of the straits. A noteworthy elevation is the 200-foot-high (60-meter) limestone ridge that slopes up from the east and culminates in the heights of La Cabaña and El Morro , the sites of Spanish fortifications overlooking the eastern bay. Another notable rise

3927-563: The city was by the French corsair Jacques de Sores in 1555. Such attacks convinced the Spanish Crown to fund the construction of the first fortresses in the main cities – not only to counteract the pirates and corsairs, but also to exert more control over commerce with the West Indies, and to limit the extensive contrabando ( black market ) that had arisen due to the trade restrictions imposed by

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4004-588: The city's bus operator Tosh-Shakhar-Trans-Khizmat. These were followed by 40 Yutong T7 minibuses, delivered to Samarkand in April 2022 in advance of the 2022 SCO summit , which was being held in the city. Yutong received an order for 500 CNG buses and 300 Yuwei E12 battery electric buses for operators across Uzbekistan, the largest export order for the company to date. The first batches of buses from this order began to be delivered from early 2023. In total Yutong exported more than 57,000 buses and coaches. Here are some export milestones of Yutong: Another core part of

4081-470: The companies planning to co-operate on the development of electric commercial vehicles in Qatar. 168 Yutong ZK6122H9 intercity coaches were delivered to Uzbekistan operator Uzavtoservis in 2019, with the first 100 being delivered by March and the remaining 68 delivered in April. Twenty Yutong ZK6126BEVG battery electric single decker buses, as well as ten battery chargers, were delivered to Uzbekistan's capital Tashkent in February 2022, entering service with

4158-461: The country's highest incomes and human development indicators. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba re-emphasized tourism as a major industry leading to its recovery. Tourism is now Havana and Cuba's primary economic source. Havana's economy is still in flux, despite Raúl Castro's embrace of free enterprise in 2011. Though there was an uptick in small businesses in 2011, many have since gone out of business, due to lack of business and income on

4235-422: The course of the World Cup, were based in a 400,000 square feet (37,000 m) purpose-built bus depot in Lusail that was described as the world's largest, with space to store and charge 478 electric buses, as well as hosting 24 ancillary buildings on the site. Yutong's involvement in the 2022 World Cup was followed by the signing of a memorandum of understanding in April 2023 between Yutong and Mowasalat, with

4312-434: The early 19th century, Havana became a flourishing and fashionable city. Havana's theaters featured the most distinguished actors of the age, and prosperity among the burgeoning middle-class led to expensive new classical mansions being erected. During this period Havana became known as the Paris of the Antilles . In 1837, the first railroad was constructed, a 51 km (32 mi) stretch between Havana and Bejucal , which

4389-452: The early great trade centers in the New World. Sugar and a flourishing slave trade first brought riches to the city, and later, after independence, it became a renowned resort. Despite efforts by Fidel Castro's government to spread Cuba's industrial activity to all parts of the island, Havana remains the center of much of the nation's industry. The traditional sugar industry, upon which the island's economy has been based for three centuries,

4466-466: The eastern part of Havana province). Rainfall is heaviest in June and October and lightest from December through April, averaging 1,200 mm (47 in) annually. Hurricanes occasionally strike the island, but they ordinarily hit the south coast, and damage in Havana has been less than elsewhere in the country. The most recent tropical cyclone to come near Havana at hurricane strength was Ian in 2022. Tornadoes can be somewhat rare in Cuba, however, on

4543-448: The end of 2012 official Census, 19.1% of the population of Cuba lived in Havana. According to the census of 2012, the population was 2,106,146. The city has an average life expectancy of 76.81 years at birth. In 2009, there were 1,924 people living with HIV/AIDS in the city, 78.9% of these are men, and 21.1% being women. Havana agglomeration grew rapidly during the first half of the 20th century reaching 1   million inhabitants in

4620-482: The evening of 28 January 2019, a very rare strong EF4 tornado struck the eastern side of Havana . The tornado caused extensive damage, destroying at least 90 homes, killing four people and injuring 195. By 4 February the death toll had increased to six, with 11 people still in critical condition. The table lists temperature averages: The city is divided into 15 municipalities – or boroughs , which are further subdivided into 105 consejos populares (wards) By

4697-399: The final moments of Spanish presence in the Americas. The sinking of the U.S. battleship Maine in Havana's harbor in 1898 was the immediate cause of the Spanish–American War . Cuba's first presidential period under Tomás Estrada Palma from 1902 to 1906 was considered to uphold the highest standards of administrative integrity in the history of the Republic of Cuba. While Cuba had

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4774-422: The highest ratio of hospital beds to population in Latin America, around 80% of these beds were located in the city of Havana, there was only one rural hospital and it was equipped with only 10 beds. In July 1940, during World War II , the Havana Conference was held and 21 American nations, including the host country Cuba, agreed to govern their own territories that were occupied by the Axis powers . In 1958, Cuba

4851-421: The indigenous Taíno population was virtually wiped out by Eurasian diseases in the earliest period of the Spanish conquest. The Cuban government controls the movement of people into Havana on the grounds that the Havana metropolitan area (home to nearly 20% of the country's population) is overstretched in terms of land use, water, electricity, transportation, and other elements of the urban infrastructure. There

4928-488: The metropolitan zone. Havana was founded by the Spanish in the 16th century. It served as a springboard for the Spanish conquest of the Americas , becoming a stopping point for Spanish galleons returning to Spain. Philip II of Spain granted Havana the title of capital in 1607. Walls and forts were built to protect the city. The city is the seat of the Cuban government and various ministries, and headquarters of businesses and over 100 diplomatic offices. The governor

5005-410: The most abundant materials of the island, mainly wood, combining various Iberian architectural styles, as well as borrowing profusely from Canarian characteristics. During this period the city also built civic monuments and religious constructions. The convent of St Augustin, El Morro Castle, the chapel of the Humilladero, the fountain of Dorotea de la Luna in La Chorrera, the church of the Holy Angel,

5082-407: The ocean. On 20 December 1592, King Philip II of Spain granted Havana the title of City. Later on, the city would be officially designated as "Key to the New World and Rampart of the West Indies" by the Spanish Crown . In the meantime, efforts to build or improve the defensive infrastructures of the city continued. Havana expanded greatly in the 17th century. New buildings were constructed from

5159-410: The other provinces. There is only one political party, the Communist Party , but since there must be a minimum of two candidates, members of the Communist Party often run against each other. Candidates are not required to be members of the party. They are nominated directly by citizens in open meetings within each election district. Municipal Assembly delegates within the boroughs in turn elect members of

5236-443: The revolution the Chinese population counted to over 200,000, today, Chinese ancestors could count up to 100,000. Chinese born/ native Chinese (mostly Cantonese as well) are around 400 presently. There are some 3,000 Russians living in the city; as reported by the Russian Embassy in Havana, most are women married to Cubans who had studied in the Soviet Union. Havana also shelters other non-Cuban population of an unknown size. There

5313-434: The sixth town founded by the Spanish on Cuba – its name: San Cristóbal de la Habana . The name combines San Cristóbal , patron saint of Havana. Shortly after the founding of Cuba's first cities, the island served as little more than a base for the Conquista of other lands. Havana began as a trading port, and suffered regular attacks by buccaneers , pirates, and French corsairs . The first attack and resultant burning of

5390-581: The town at the mouth of the river. Between 1514 and 1519 the Spanish established two settlements on the north coast, one of them in La Chorrera , around the site of the Torreón de la Chorrera , what eventually became the neighborhoods of Vedado and Miramar, next to the mouth of the Almendares River . The town that became Havana originated adjacent to what was then called Puerto de Carenas (literally, " Careening Port"), in 1519. The quality of this natural bay, which now hosts Havana's harbor, warranted this change of location. Pánfilo de Narváez gave Havana –

5467-474: The world-famous Habanos cigars. Although the harbors of Cienfuegos and Matanzas , in particular, have been developed under the revolutionary government, Havana remains Cuba's primary port facility; 50% of Cuban imports and exports pass through Havana. The port also supports a considerable fishing industry. In 2000, nearly 89% of the city's officially recorded labor force worked for government-run agencies, institutions or enterprises. Havana, on average, has

5544-540: Was a relatively well-advanced country by Latin American standards, and in some cases by world standards. On the other hand, Cuba was affected by perhaps the largest labor union privileges in Latin America, including bans on dismissals and mechanization. They were obtained in large measure "at the cost of the unemployed and the peasants", leading to disparities. Between 1933 and 1958, Cuba extended economic regulations enormously, causing economic problems. Unemployment became

5621-574: Was assigned an official rating of EF4 on the Enhanced Fujita scale by the Cuban Meteorology Institute, making this the first F4 or EF4 tornado in Cuba since 1940. The governor is Reinaldo García Zapata , he was elected on 18 January 2020. The city is administered by a city-provincial council, with a governor as chief administrative officer, thus Havana functions as both a city and a province of Cuba. The city has little autonomy and

5698-551: Was deregistered, returned to the dealership, and re-registered as PH8811S under private transport operator Bedok Transport after the trial. Bedok Transport deployed the bus on Scheme B route 621. In 2018, the Land Transport Authority of Singapore ordered ten Yutong E12 battery electric single-deck buses as well as ten Yutong E12DD electric double decker buses. The Yutong E12s entered with Tower Transit Singapore , Go-Ahead Singapore and SMRT Buses in April 2020, while

5775-658: Was established in 1963. Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Co., Ltd. was founded in 1993; and in March 1997, Yutong became the first bus company in China on the Shanghai Stock Exchange . The following year, Yutong opened its ¥400 million ($ 50,000,000 in 1999) Yutong Industrial Park in Zhengzhou, which was the largest bus factory in Asia at the time. By 2005, Yutong had a 22% market share of buses and coaches across China, becoming China's biggest bus manufacturer, and had won an award for being

5852-455: Was the third-largest city in the Americas, ranking behind Lima and Mexico City but ahead of Boston and New York City. During the 18th century Havana was the most important of the Spanish ports because it had facilities where ships could be refitted and, by 1740, it had become Spain's largest and most active shipyard and only drydock in the New World. The city was captured by the British during

5929-507: Was used for transporting sugar from the valley of Güines to the harbor. With this, Cuba became the fifth country in the world to have a railroad, and the first Spanish-speaking country. Throughout the century, Havana was enriched by the construction of additional cultural facilities, such as the Tacón Theatre , one of the most luxurious in the world. The fact that slavery was legal in Cuba until 1886 led to Southern American interest, including

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