Name	Hangzhou
Official name	杭州市
Native name	杭州
Settlement type	Sub-provincial city
Total type
Motto
Map caption	Hangzhou (red) in Zhejiang province (orange) and China
Dot x	|dot_y
Pushpin map
Pushpin label position
Pushpin mapsize
Coordinates display	inline,title
Coordinates region	CN
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision name	People's Republic of China
Subdivision type1	Province
Subdivision name1	Zhejiang
Parts style
Parts
P2
Leader title	CPC Secretary
Leader name	Huang Kunming (黄坤明)
Leader title1	Mayor
Leader name1	Shao Zhanwei (邵占维) (Acting)
Established title
Established title1
Established title2
Named for
Area magnitude
Unit pref
Area total km2	16847
Area land km2
Area total dunam
Area blank1 sq mi
Elevation footnotes
Elevation min ft
Population as of	2010
Population demonym	Hangzhouvian
Population total	8,700,400
Population density km2	auto
Population urban	3544800
Population density blank1 sq mi
Timezone	China Standard
Utc offset	+8
coor type
Postal code type	Postal code
Postal code	310000
Blank name	GDP
Blank info	2009
Blank1 name	- Total
Blank1 info	CNY 594.5 billion (USD 90.66 billion)
Blank2 name	- Per capita
Blank2 info	CNY 94,924 (USD 14,972)
Blank3 name	- Growth
Blank3 info	16.7%
Blank4 name	Licence Plate Prefix
Blank4 info	浙A
Blank5 name	City Flower
Blank5 info	Sweet Osmanthus
Blank6 name	City Tree
Blank6 info	Camphor laurel ''(Cinnamomum camphora)''
Blank7 name	Regional Dialect
Blank7 info	Hangzhou dialect(杭 州话 / Hángzhōuhuà) .
Website	http://www.hangzhou.gov.cn/
Footnotes	}}

Hangzhou (; Hangzhou dialect: ɦaŋ tsei; Mandarin pinyin: Hángzhōu ), formerly transliterated as Hangchow, is the capital and largest city of Zhejiang Province in Eastern China. Governed as a sub-provincial city, and as of 2010, its entire administrative division ("shì", 杭州市) or prefecture had a registered population of 8.7 million people. The built up area of the Hangzhou municpality had a resident population of 4.227 million in 2003 (''urban and suburban districts''), of which there were 1.91 million residents in the six urban core districts.

With the central part of Shaoxing municipality (''ie Yuecheng district and Shaoxing county''), Hangzhou built up area is now home to more than 7 million inhabitants.

A core city of the Yangtze River Delta, its position on the Hangzhou Bay southwest of Shanghai gives it economic power, and moreover, it has also been one of the most renowned and prosperous cities of China for much of the last 1,000 years, due in part to its beautiful natural scenery; the city's West Lake is its most well-known attraction.

History

Early history

The celebrated Neolithic culture of Hemudu inhabited Yuyao, an area (now a city) 100 kilometers south-east of Hangzhou, as far back as seven thousand years ago when rice was first cultivated in southeastern China. The area immediately surrounding the modern city of Hangzhou was inhabited five thousand years ago by the Liangzhu culture, so named for the small town of Liangzhu not far to the northwest of Hangzhou where the ancient jade carving civilization was first discovered.

The city of Hangzhou was founded during the Qin Dynasty as Qiantang County (). In AD 589, the city was renamed "Hangzhou", literally meaning "River-ferrying Prefecture", and a city wall was constructed two years later. It is listed as one of the Seven Ancient Capitals of China.

Hangzhou is at the southern end of China's Grand Canal which extends to Beijing. The canal evolved over centuries but reached its full length by 609.

It was the capital of the Wuyue Kingdom from 907 to 978 during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. Named Xifu at the time, it was one of the three great centers of culture in southern China during the tenth century, along with Nanjing and Chengdu. Leaders of Wuyue were noted patrons of the arts, and especially of Buddhism and associated temple architecture and artwork. It also became a cosmopolitan center, drawing scholars from throughout China and conducting diplomacy not only with neighboring Chinese states, but also with Japan, Korea, and the Khitan Liao Dynasty.

In 1089, while the poet Su Shi (Su Dongpo) was the city's governor, he used 200,000 workers to construct a 2.8 km long causeway across the West Lake, which Qing Emperor Qianlong considered particularly attractive in the early morning of the spring time. The lake was once a lagoon tens of thousands of years ago. Silt then blocked the way to the sea and the lake was formed. A drill in the lake-bed in 1975 found the sediment of the sea, which confirmed its origin. Artificial preservation prevented the lake from evolving into a marshland. The Su Causeway built by Su Shi, and the Bai Causeway built by Bai Juyi, a Tang Dynasty poet who was once the governor of Hangzhou, were both built out of mud dredged from the bottom of the lake. The lake is surrounded by hills on the northern and western sides. The Baochu Pagoda sits on the Baoshi Hill to the north of the lake.

Southern Song

Hangzhou was chosen as the new capital of the Southern Song Dynasty when they regrouped after their defeat at the hands of the Jin in 1123. It remained the capital from the early 12th century until the Mongol invasion of 1276, and was known as Lin'an (臨安). It served as the seat of the imperial government, a center of trade and entertainment, and the nexus of the main branches of the civil service. During that time, the city was a sort of gravitational center of Chinese civilization: what used to be considered "central China" in the north was taken by the Jin, an ethnic minority dynasty ruled by Jurchens.

Numerous philosophers, politicians, and men of literature, including some of the most celebrated poets in Chinese history such as Su Shi (苏轼), Lu You (陆游), and Xin Qiji (辛弃疾) came here to live and die. Hangzhou is also the birthplace and final resting place of the scientist Shen Kuo (1031-1095 AD), his tomb being located in the Yuhang district.

During the Southern Song Dynasty, commercial expansion, an influx of refugees from the conquered north, and the growth of the official and military establishments, led to a corresponding population increase and the city developed well outside its 9th century ramparts. According to the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', Hangzhou had a population of over 2 million at that time, while historian Jacques Gernet has estimated that the population of Hangzhou numbered well over one million by 1276. (Official Chinese census figures from the year 1270 listed some 186,330 families in residence and probably failed to count non-residents and soldiers.) It is believed that Hangzhou was the largest city in the world from 1180 to 1315 and from 1348 to 1358.

Because of the large population and densely-crowded (often multi-story) wooden buildings, Hangzhou was particularly vulnerable to fires. Major conflagrations destroyed large sections of the city in 1132, 1137, 1208, 1229, 1237, and 1275 while smaller fires occurred nearly every year. The 1237 fire alone was recorded to have destroyed 30,000 dwellings. To combat this threat, the government established an elaborate system for fighting fires, erected watchtowers, devised a system of lantern and flag signals to identify the source of the flames and direct the response, and charged more than 3,000 soldiers with the task of putting out fires. The city of Hangzhou was besieged and captured by the advancing Mongol armies of Kublai Khan in 1276, three years before the final collapse of the empire. The capital of the new Yuan Dynasty was established in the city of Dadu (Beijing).

The Venetian Marco Polo supposedly visited Hangzhou in the late 13th century. His book refers to the city as "beyond dispute the finest and the noblest in the world." He called the city ''Kinsay'' (or ''Kinsai'') which simply means "capital" in Chinese (actually Polo used a Persianized version of the word). Although he exaggerated that the city was over one hundred miles in diameter and had 12,000 stone bridges, he still presented elegant prose about the country: "The number and wealth of the merchants, and the amount of goods that passed through their hands, was so enormous that no man could form a just estimate thereof."

The renowned 14th century Moroccan explorer Ibn Battuta said it was "the biggest city I have ever seen on the face of the earth."

Ming and after

The city remained an important port until the middle of the Ming Dynasty era when its harbor slowly silted up.

As late as the latter part of the 16th and early 17th centuries, the city was an important center of Chinese Jewry, and may have been the original home of the better-known Kaifeng Jewish community.

In 1848 during the Qing dynasty, Hangzhou was described as the "stronghold" of Islam in China, the city containing several mosques with Arabic inscriptions. A Hui from Ningbo also told an Englishman that Hanzhou was the "Stronghold" of Islam in Zhejiang province, containing multiple mosques, compared to his small congregation of around 30 families in Ningbo for his Mosque.

In 1856 and 1860, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom occupied Hangzhou and caused heavy damage to the city.

Hangzhou was ruled by Republic of China government under the Kuomintang from 1928 to 1949. On May 3, 1949, the People's Liberation Army entered Hangzhou and the city came under Communist control. After Deng Xiaoping's reformist policies began in 1978, Hangzhou took advantage of being situated in the Yangtze River Delta to bolster its development. It is now one of China's most prosperous major cities.

Geography and climate

Hangzhou is located in northern Zhejiang province, eastern China, at the southern end of the Grand Canal of China, on the plain of the mid-lower reaches of the Yangtze River (Cháng Jiāng). The prefecture-level region of Hangzhou extends west to the border with the hilly-country Anhui Province, and east to the flat-land near Hangzhou Bay. The city center is built around the eastern and northern sides of the West Lake, just north of the Qiantang River.

Hangzhou's climate is Humid Subtropical (Koppen ''Cfa'') with four distinctive seasons, characterised by long, very hot, humid summers and short, chilly, cloudy and dry winters (with occasional snow). The average annual temperature is , ranging from in January to in July. The city receives an average annual rainfall of and is affected by the Plum Rains of the Asian Monsoon in June. In late summer (August to September), Hangzhou, along with other cities in Zhejiang province, suffer typhoon storms, but typhoons seldom strike it directly. Generally they make land along the southern coast of Zhejiang, and affect Hangzhou with strong winds and stormy rains.

Administrative divisions

Hangzhou Region or prefecture-level city contains the Hangzhou metropolitan area (eight districts), 3 metropolitan counties, and 2 ordinary counties. The central six urban districts occupy 682 km² (263.4 mi²) and have 1,910,000 people. The two suburban districts occupy 2,642 km² (1020 mi²) and have 1,950,000 people.

It has direct jurisdiction over 8 districts (区 ''qu''), 3 county-level cities (市 ''shi'') and 2 Counties (县 ''xian''):

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size:85%;" |- ! align=left| Map ! align=left| Subdivision ! align=right| Hanzi ! align=right| Area ! align=right| Population (approx) |- ! rowspan="17" style="background:#fff;"| |- | colspan="4" style="text-align:center;"| ''Hangzhou City Proper'' |- | align=left|■ Gongshu-qu | align=right|拱墅区 |align=right|87.49 km² |align=right|280,000 |- | align=left|■ Xiacheng-qu | align=right|下城区 |align=right|31.46 km² |align=right|330,000 |- | align=left|■ Shangcheng-qu | align=right|上城区 |align=right|18.30 km² |align=right|310,000 |- | align=left|■ Jianggan-qu | align=right|江干区 |align=right|210.22 km² |align=right|350,000 |- | align=left|■ Xihu-qu | align=right|西湖区 |align=right|308.70 km² |align=right|520,000 |- | align=left|■ Binjiang-qu | align=right|滨江区 |align=right|72.02 km² |align=right|120,000 |- | colspan="4" style="text-align:center;"| ''Hangzhou Suburban and Rural'' |- | align=left|■ Yuhang-qu | align=right|余杭区 |align=right|1,223.56 km² |align=right|826,900 |- | align=left|■ Xiaoshan-qu | align=right|萧山区 |align=right|1,420.00 km² |align=right|1,150,000 |- | align=left|■ Lin'an-shi | align=right|临安市 |align=right|3,126.80 km² |align=right|520,000 |- | align=left|■ Fuyang-shi | align=right|富阳市 |align=right|1,831.20 km² |align=right|640,000 |- | align=left|■ Jiande-shi | align=right|建德市 |align=right|2,321.00 km² |align=right|510,000 |- | align=left|■ Tonglu-xian | align=right|桐庐县 |align=right|1,825.00 km² |align=right|400,000 |- | align=left|■ Chun'an-xian | align=right|淳安县 |align=right|4,427.00 km² |align=right|450,000 |}

Economy

Hangzhou's economy has rapidly developed since its opening up in 1992. It is an industrial city with many diverse sectors such as in light industry, agriculture, textile, It is also considered an important manufacturing base and logistics hub for coastal China.

In 2001, the GDP of the whole city amounts to RMB 156.8 billion which ranks the second among all of the provincial capitals except for Guangzhou. The city has more than tripled GDP in the last eight years, with GDP increasing from RMB ¥156.8 billion in 2001 to RMB ¥509.9 billion in 2009 and GDP per capita increasing from USD 3,025 to USD 10,968.

The city has developed many new industries since, they include medicine, information technology, heavy equipment, automotive components, household electrical appliances, electronics, telecommunication, fine chemicals, chemical fibre and food processing.

Economic and Technological Development Zones

Hangzhou Economic & Technological Development Zone

Hangzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone was established and approved as a national development zone by State Council in 1993. It covers an area of 104.7 square kilometers. The zone is located in the eastern Zhejiang Province and is only one and a half hours' drive from Shanghai, Suzhou and Ningbo. Encourage industries include electronic information, biological medicine, machinery manufacturing, food processing.

Hangzhou Export Processing Zone

Hangzhou Export Processing Zone was established on April 27, 2000 upon approval of the State Council. It was the one of the first zone and the only one in Zhejiang Province to be approved by the government. Its total planned area is 2.92 sqkm. It is located close to Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport and Hangzhou Port.

Hangzhou Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone

Hangzhou Hi-tech Industry Development Zone (abbreviated to Hi-tech Zone) was set up in March 1990, after receiving approval from the State Council as a state level Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone in March 1991. The Hangzhou Hi-tech Zone is composed of three parts, with the main regions being the Zhejiang Sci-Tech Industrial Park and Xiasha Sci-Tech Industrial Park. The Hi-tech Zone makes good use of the concentrated superior intelligence in the park zone, relies on Hangzhou city's richly endowed natural environment and depends on preferential investment policies to gradually build a scientifically based hi-tech city --- Paradise Silicon Valley will capture world attention.

Tourism

Hangzhou is renowned for its historic relics and natural beauty. It is often known as one of the most beautiful cities in China, also ranking as one of the most scenic cities. Although Hangzhou has been through many recent urban developments, it still retains its historical and cultural heritage. Today, tourism remains an important factor for Hangzhou's economy. Regional routes reach Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau. It has an extensive domestic route network within the PRC and is consistently ranked top 10 in passenger traffic among Chinese airports. Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport has two terminals, namely Terminal A and Terminal B. The smaller Terminal A serves all international and regional flights while the bigger Terminal B solely handles domestic traffic. The airport is located just outside the city in the Xiaoshan District with direct bus service linking the airport with Downtown Hangzhou. The ambitious expansion project will see the addition of a second runway and a third terminal which will dramatically increase capacity of the fast-growing airport that serves as a secondary hub of Air China. A new elevated airport express highway is under construction on top of the existing highway between the airport and downtown Hangzhou. The second phase of Hangzhou Metro Line 1 has a planned extension to the airport.

Hangzhou sits on the intersecting point of some of the busiest rail corridors in China. The city's main station is Hangzhou Railway Station (colloquially the "City Station" 城站). There are frequent departures for Shanghai with approximately 20-minute headways from 6:00 to 21:00. Non-stop CRH high speed service between Hangzhou and Shanghai takes 45 minutes and leaves every hour (excluding a few early morning/late night departures) from both directions. While other CRH high speed trains that stop at one or more stations along the route complete the trip in 59 to 75 minutes. Most other major cities in China can also be reached by direct train service from Hangzhou. The Hangzhou East Railway Station (colloquially "East Station" 东站), is closed for renovation until late 2011. Once completed, it will become one of the biggest rail traffic hubs in China consisting of 15 platforms that will house the High Speed CRH service to and from Shanghai, Nanjing, Changsha, Ningbo, and beyond. The subway station beneath the rail compex building is a stop along the Hangzhou Metro Line 1.

Direct trains link Hangzhou with more than 20 cities, including 4 daily services to Beijing (1650 km), more than 45 daily services to Shanghai (200 km) and it reaches as far as Ürümqi. The Shanghai–Hangzhou High-Speed Railway service inaugurated on October 26, 2010. The service is operated by the CRH 380A and CRH 380BL train sets which travel at a maximum speed of 350 km/h, shortening the duration of the 202 km trip to only 45 minutes.

The construction of the Shanghai-Hangzhou Maglev Train Line has been debated for several years. On August 18, 2008 Beijing Authorities gave the project the go-ahead to start construction in 2010. Transrapid has been contracted to construct the line. However, as of 2011 construction has not yet started.

Central, north, south and west long-distance bus stations offer frequent coach service to nearby cities/towns within Zhejiang province, as well as surrounding provinces.

Hangzhou has an efficient public transportation network, consisting of a modern fleet of regular diesel bus, trolley bus, hybrid diesel-electric bus and taxi. The first subway line is expected to enter into service by October 1, 2012. Hangzhou is known for its extensive Bus Rapid Transit network expanding from downtown to many suburban areas through dedicated bus lanes on some of the busiest streets in the city. Bicycles and electric scooters are very popular and major streets have dedicated bike lanes throughout the city. Hangzhou has an extensive free public bike rental system.

Taxis are also very popular in the city. With its line of the newest Hyundai Sonatas and Volkswagen Passats, and tight regulations, the city's taxi service is rated amongst the best in the country. In early 2011 30 electric taxis were deployed in Hangzhou. 15 were Zoyte Langyues and the other 15 were Haima Freemas, however in April one Zoyte Langye caught fire and all of the electric taxis were taken off the roads later that day. The city still intends to have a fleet of 200 electric taxis by the end of 2011.

The Hangzhou Metro is currently under construction. It is expected to have 8 lines upon completion. Phase I, which consists of Line 1, the southern segment of Line 2 and part of the Line 4 that links Line 1 and 2, is scheduled to open for service on October 1, 2012.

Education

:''See also List of universities in the People's Republic of China''

Hangzhou has a large student population with many higher education institutions based in the city. Public universities include Zhejiang University, Zhejiang University of Technology and Hangzhou Normal University etc. There are several college towns, each with a cluster of several universities and colleges. Xiasha, located near the east end of the city, is by far the largest college town in Hangzhou.

Zhejiang University (浙江大学) (founded in 1897)

China Academy of Art (中国美术学院) (founded in 1928)

Zhejiang University of Technology (浙江工业大学) (1953)

Zhejiang Gongshang University (浙江工商大学)

Hangzhou Dianzi University (杭州电子科技大学)

Zhejiang Forestry University (浙江林学院)

Zhejiang Sci-Tech University (浙江理工大学)

Zhejiang University of Science and Technology (浙江科技学院)

Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (浙江中医药大学)

China Jiliang University (中国计量学院) (founded on Oct. 18, 1978)

Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics (浙江财经学院)

Hangzhou Normal University (杭州师范大学)

Zhejiang University of Media and Communications (浙江传媒学院)

City College,Zhejiang University (浙江大学城市学院)

''Note: Institutions without full-time bachelor programs are not listed.''

High schools

Hangzhou High School (杭州高级中学)

Hangzhou No. 2 High School (杭州第二中学)

Hangzhou XUEJUN High School (杭州学军中学)

Affiliated Senior High School to Hangzhou Normal University (杭州师范大学附属中学)

Hangzhou No. 4 High School (杭州第四中学)

Hangzhou Foreign Language School (杭州外国语学校)

Zhejiang Xiaoshan High School (浙江省萧山中学)

Hangzhou No. 14 Middle School (杭州第十四中学)

Hangzhou No. 15 Middle School (杭州第十五中学)

Hangzhou International School (International Students Only)

Chinese sayings

:''"Be born in Suzhou, live in Hangzhou, eat in Guangzhou, die in Liuzhou."'' (生在苏州, 活在杭州, 吃在广州, 死在柳州) ::The meaning here lies in the fact that Suzhou was renowned for its beautiful and highly civilized and educated citizens, Hangzhou for its scenery, Guangzhou for its food, and Liuzhou (of Guangxi) for its nanmu wood coffins which supposedly halted the decay of the body.

:''"Heaven Above, Suzhou and Hangzhou below."'' (上有天堂，下有苏杭) ::This phrase has a similar meaning to the English phrases "heaven on Earth" or "God's country".

International relations

Twin towns — sister cities

Hangzhou is twinned with: {| |- | valign="top" | Sayama, Saitama, Japan, since 1979-02-21 Boston, United States, since 1982-05-01 Baguio City, Philippines, since 1982-08-13 Leeds, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom, since 1988-06-08 Fukui, Japan, since 1989-11-23 Yeosu, South Korea, since 1994-11-01 Nice, France, since 1998-03-30 Paramaribo, Suriname, since 1998-05-23 Budapest, Hungary, since 1999-08-09 Beit Shemesh, Israel, since 2000-03-12 Agadir, Morocco, since 2000-06-29 | valign="top" | Curitiba, Brazil, since 2001-09-19 Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia, since 2003-10-16 Cape Town, South Africa, since 2005-04-18 Oviedo, Spain, since 2006-05-12 Pisa, Italy, since 2008-10-17 Cancún, Mexico, since 2008-10-17 Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, since 2008-12-05 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, since 2009-03-05 Dresden, Germany, since 2009 Weert, Netherlands, since 2009 Montego Bay, Jamaica, since 2010 |}

See also

Jiangnan

List of cities in the People's Republic of China by population

Further reading

References

Economic profile for Hangzhou at HKTDC

External links

Hangzhou Government website

{{s-ttl|title=Capital of China (as Lin'an) |years=1127-1279|row=1}}

Category:Populated places established in the 3rd century BC Category:Cities in Zhejiang Category:Prefecture-level divisions of Zhejiang Category:Sub-provincial cities in the People's Republic of China Category:Provincial capitals in China Category:Yangtze River Delta

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Vaughn Donald Gittin, Jr. (born September 20, 1980), commonly known as JR, is an American self-taught professional drifter from Annapolis, Maryland who currently competes in the Formula D series in his 2011 Falken Tire Ford Racing Mustang. When he's not competing, Vaughn performs drifting demonstrations for Ford in his personal Ford Mustang RTR at events all over the nation. He also performs drifting demonstrations worldwide with his fellow members of Drift Alliance.

Quick Facts

Vaughn Gittin Jr.

Nickname - JR

Age – 30

Height – 6’ 2”

Weight – 210

Car Number – 25

Hometown – Joppa, Maryland

Team – Falken Tire Motorsports, Drift Alliance

Crew Members – Ian Stewart, Dean Steele

2011 Falken Tire Ford Mustang GT Specs

Engine: 5.0L V8 with Ford Racing Supercharger

Tires: Front: 255/40-18 Azenis RT615 Rear: 295/40-18 Azenis RT615

Filtration: K&N Air, Oil & Breather Filters

Clutch: Exedy Twin Plate

Suspension: Tein coilovers

Brakes: Wildwood front and rear big brake kit

HP/Torque: 650 horsepower, 650 ft.lbs of torque

Sponsors

Falken Tires

Monster Energy

Ford Racing

K&N Filters

Bosch Auto Parts

Alpinestars

Genius Tools

Exedy Cluches

Go Pro

Speedhunters.com

Mobil 1

Autosport Dynamics

HRE Wheels

Tein

Wilwood

Mothers

Percy’s Speed Glass,

Sites

Official Website – VaughnGittin.com

MySpace - Myspace.com/vaughngittin

Facebook - Facebook.com/officialvaughngittinjr

Twitter - Twitter.com/vaughngittinjr

YouTube - Youtube.com/vgittin

History

Based on having spent a quarter of his life drifting, one might say Vaughn Gittin, Jr.'s name is synonymous with the popular sport. Indeed, Vaughn has enjoyed a strong relationship with both Falken and Ford, showing the world the capabilities of his powerful Mustang, crushing the throttle to reach maximum power while keeping his car in control on his Falken Azenis RT-615 tires.

In late 2008, Vaughn drifted the streets of downtown Los Angeles for the Bosch performance art promotions, and just recently jetted off to Japan, where he drove a Falken Tire Shod 2010 Mustang across the country, making key stops at world renowned tracks such as Ebisu and the YZ circuit.

The combination of Team Falken, Vaughn and Ford has realized many epic moments including two historic D1 Grand Prix wins. First, at U.S.A vs. Japan and a repeat at D1's World Championship

In addition to his international travels, Vaughn recently treated NHRA drag racing legend John Force to the "drift of his life" (some witnesses went so far as to say "ride of his life") as part of Barrett-Jackson's drifting experience at the auctioneer's recent event in Scottsdale, AZ, and took multiple road racing champion Tommy Kendall on a "test drive" for SpeedTV, both riding in his brand new 2010 Falken Tire Ford Mustang.

While drifting is just the latest talent Vaughn has developed behind the wheel, he's had the speed sensation for a long time. "Since I was born, I have lived and breathed cars," he declares, asking his namesake to do "fishtails" and "burnouts" the way other dads drive their children around the block to soothe them. "I have always loved the feeling of the back end skating around, engine screaming and tires smoking," he adds, which ultimately led him to choose a career in motorsports. Moving from motocross to drifting paid off quickly, and Vaughn rose to the top of the field. He caught the eye of Falken Tire who in 2004, was eager to expand their drifting efforts and take the U.S. drifting scene by storm. The rest, as one says, is history, and Vaughn has become a key part of Falken's extensive commitment to this exciting sport, both in the U.S. and internationally. His new 2010 Ford Mustang featuring state-of-the-art technology, is set for an exciting 2009 schedule as the centerpoint of Team Falken, ready to meet and once again, conquer the competition.

Achievements

2010

Placed 1st at Formula Drift Round 1, Streets of Long Beach Raceway.

Placed 2nd at Formula Drift Round 2, Road Atlanta Raceway.

Placed 2nd at Formula Drift Round 3, Wall Speedway, New Jersey

Placed a podium finish in 6 of 7 events

Won the 2010 Formula D Championship

2009

Placed 2nd at Formula Drift Round 3, Wall Speedway, New Jersey

2008

Placed 1st at Formula Drift Round 7, Irwindale Speedway

Placed 8th place overall in the Formula D series (356.5 points)

2007

Placed 1st at D1 Grand Prix USA All-Star World Championship, Irwindale Speedway

Placed 2nd at Formula D Round 5, Infineon Raceway

Placed 2nd at Formula D Round 4, Evergreen Speedway

Finished 6th place overall in the Formula D series (376.50 points)

2006

Finished 4th place overall in the Formula D series

2005

Placed 1st in the D1 Grand Prix America vs. Japan Competition

Placed 3rd at Formula D Round 4, Infineon Raceway

Finished 4th place overall in the Formula D series

2004

Finished 10th place overall in the Formula D series

References

External links

Vaughn Gittin Jr. Official page

Falken Tire profile

Formula D profile

Wrecked Magazine - Drifting Publication's Section for Vaughn Gittin Jr.

Category:1980 births Category:Living people Category:American racecar drivers Category:Drifting drivers Category:D1 Grand Prix drivers Category:Formula D drivers