| Changzhou | |
|---|---|
| — Prefecture-level city — | |
| Chinese transcription(s) | |
| - Chinese | 常州市 |
| - Pinyin | Chángzhōu Shì |
| - Wu Chinese | Zángzēi Zí |
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  Changzhou
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| Coordinates: 31°47′N 119°58′E / 31.783°N 119.967°E | |
| Country | China |
| Province | Jiangsu |
| Government | |
| - Mayor | Wang Weicheng (王伟成) |
| Area | |
| - Prefecture-level city | 4,385 km2 (1,693.1 sq mi) |
| - Urban | 1,864 km2 (719.7 sq mi) |
| Population (2004) | |
| - Prefecture-level city | 3,570,000 |
| - Density | 814.1/km2 (2,108.6/sq mi) |
| - Urban | 2,085,500 |
| - Urban Density | 1,118.8/km2 (2,897.8/sq mi) |
| Time zone | China Standard (UTC+8) |
| Postal code | 213000, 213100 (Urban center) 213200, 213300 (Other areas) |
| Area code(s) | 519 |
| GDP | ¥251.9 billion (2009) |
| GDP per capita | ¥70,103 (2009) |
| Major Nationalities | Han |
| County-level divisions | 7 |
| License Plate Prefix | 苏D |
| Language | Wu Chinese, Mandarin Chinese |
| Local Dialect | Changzhou Dialect |
| Website | http://www.changzhou.gov.cn |
Changzhou (Chinese: 常州; pinyin: Chángzhōu; Wade-Giles: Ch'ang-chou; Gwoyeu Romatzyh: Charng jou; formerly romanized as Changchow) is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It was also known as Yanling, Lanling, Jinling, and Wujin previously. Located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, Changzhou borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the west, Zhenjiang to the northwest, Wuxi to the east, and the province of Zhejiang to the south. The city is situated in the affluent Yangtze Delta region of China.
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"Yancheng Remains" (Chinese: 淹城遗址), the remains of a walled city located in the Wujin district of Changzhou, was founded over 3000 years ago at the beginning of the Western Zhou dynasty. The earliest record of a settlement on the site of modern Changzhou is of a commandery (a district under the control of a commander) founded in 221 BC. Changzhou got its present name, which means "ordinary prefecture", in 589 AD. After the Grand Canal was constructed in 609 AD, Changzhou became a canal port and transshipment point for locally-grown grain, and has maintained these roles ever since. The rural counties surrounding Changzhou are noted for the production of rice, fish, tea, silk, bamboo and fruit.
During the Taiping Rebellion of the 1850s, one of 5 palaces housing the leaders of the so-called "Kingdom of Celestial Peace" was constructed in Changzhou. Today the ruins of the "King's Palace" can be found near the People's No.1 Hospital.
In the 1920s, Changzhou started to attract cotton mills. The cotton industry got a boost in the late 1930s when businesses began relocating outside of Shanghai due to the Japanese occupation. Unlike many Chinese cities, Changzhou continued to prosper even during the upheavals of the cultural revolution of 1966-76. Today it is an important industrial center for textiles, food processing, engineering (diesel engines, generators, transformers and other machinery), and high technology.
The prefecture-level city of Changzhou administers 7 county-level divisions, including 5 districts and 2 county-level cities.
Changzhou is an educational hub and is home to several universities, including Jiangsu Polytechnic University, Hohai University (Changzhou campus), Jiangsu Teachers' University of Science and Technology, Jiangsu Teachers' University of Technology, and Changzhou Institute of Technology. The city also has a number of prominent secondary schools, including the Changzhou Senior High School of Jiangsu Province and the Changzhou International School.
Changzhou's traditional role has been that of a commercial centre, particularly a collecting centre for agricultural produce, which was shipped by canal to the north and, later, to Shanghai. It began to develop a cotton textile industry in the 1920s, and cotton mills were established in the late 1930s, when Japanese attacks drove many Chinese businesses to invest outside Shanghai.
The city has remained a textile centre, the most important in Jiangsu for weaving. It also has large food-processing plants and flour-milling, rice-polishing, and oil-pressing industries. After 1949 it also developed as a centre of engineering industry. Qishuyan, some 10 km southeast of Changzhou, has one of the largest locomotive and rolling stock plants in China. Other engineering works in Changzhou produce diesel engines, generators, transformers and agricultural and textile machinery. At the time of the Great Leap Forward in 1958 a steel plant was also built there to provide raw material for heavy industry.
Since 1908, Changzhou has been linked by rail with Shanghai and Nanjing (see below for transportation).
Until now, Changzhou is one of the most developed cities in Jiangsu, ranking after Suzhou and Wuxi. The GDP per capita was ¥70,103 in 2009, ranked no.3 in Jiangsu Province, less than Suzhou and Wuxi but more than the capital city Nanjing.
Changzhou is also one of the top business cities in China. According to Forbes ranking, Changzhou is in the 9th position for best business cities in mainland China in 2008.
As of 2008, the Changzhou High-tech Zone has been open for 15 years and is the home of 7,636 domestic and overseas companies, 18 of which are on the Fortune Global 500 list. There are many car parts manufacturers in the Changzhou High-tech Zone. The Changzhou High-tech Zone features infrastructure services, including water, electricity, heating, sewage disposal and telecommunications, with a logistic network, including road, railway and water carriage.
Located just south of Chang Jiang (Yangtze River), Changzhou is situated on the main Shanghai-Beijing rail line and is one of the main stops on the busy Shanghai-Nanjing route.
Changzhou also has its own airport approximately 15km from the city centre. There are flights to Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shenyang, Kunming, Harbin and Dalian.
The BRT (China Bus Rapid Transit) costs 1 yuan (or, if a Changzhou Bus Card is used, 3 or 6 Jiao, depending on the type of card used) and provides access throughout Changzhou. The BRT has the following specifications: segregated busways or bus-only roadways, high capacity buses, network of routes and corridors, enhanced station environment (more than just a bus shelter), passenger volume greater than a mixed traffic lane (-3000 pphpd), pre-board fare collection and fare verification, at-level boarding and alighting, buses operating both outside and inside bus corridor, low emission vehicle technology (Euro III or higher), automated fare collection and fare verification system, weather protection on station platforms, system control centre, real-time next bus information displays, distinctive, marketing identity system, distinctive BRT buses, high-quality passenger information at stations, segregated bike lanes along main corridor(s), and disabled access to stations. The BRT is also located in the following cities: Beijing, Chongqing, Dalian, Changzhou, Guangzhou, Jinan, Hangzhou, Hefei, Kunming, and Xiamen, Zhengzhou.[1]
Changzhou has built its first elevated road in 2007. It has been put into use after one year in 2008. It is named '"Outer Ring Elevated Road:. In 2009, the plan of the second elevated road has been made into the scheme.
The Changzhou dialect belongs to the Wu Chinese language.
Comb Lane in Changzhou is the scene of the last farewell of Jia Baoyu with his father in the classic novel A Dream of Red Mansions.
Other famous handicrafts of Changzhou are the "crisscross" style of silk embroidery and carvings made from green bamboo.
Famous snacks made in Changzhou include pickled radish, sesame candy, sweet glutinous rice flour dumpling with fermented glutinous rice, and silver thread-like noodles.
A good-natured rivalry exists between Changzhou and the neighbouring cities of the Yangtze Delta region.
Changzhou is famous for the China Dinosaur Park (Chinese: 常州恐龙园; pinyin: Chángzhōu Kǒnglóng Yuán;) located in the Xinbei District of the city. The Dinosaur Park contains dinosaur bones and fossils from all over China. The park has 50 various fossils and more than 30 amusement programs including but not limited to: The Brontosaurus Roller Coaster and the Whirling Dinosaur Carriage. The fossils are located in a museum housed in a single building and the amusement rides are spread throughout the park which is categorized into 6 themed areas. Besides fossils and family oriented rides, Dinosaur Park is home to a giant panda and sea lions.[2]
The city is also home to the Tianning Temple— one of the largest Zen Buddhist temple and monastery in China. The city has recently rebuilt the Tianning pagoda on the temple grounds, which are adjacent to Hongmei Park. The pagoda, called Tianning Baota, was first built during the Tang Dynasty. It has since been destroyed and rebuilt five times. The current reconstruction is built to the height specification of 153.79 metres (504.56 ft). This makes it the tallest pagoda in China and perhaps also the world. Both the Hongmei Park and Tianning Temple are located just to the east of the city centre.[3]
As Changzhou is famous for its combs, the city has reconstructed its Bamboo Comb Lane area with period architecture. Changzhou combs can be purchased in most places in the city.
Another site in Changzhou worth a mention is Hong Mei Park, which includes a small children's amusement park, a zoo, a rose garden and many scenic waterways. Of historical interest in the park is a historical pavilion with exhibits related to the famous Changzhou comb industry. In addition to this, there is another pavilion which displays locally produced root carvings. The park is a big attraction on holidays and is often dotted with a variety of vendors.
Other sites include Changzhou's sunken city and area of archaeological ruins from the Spring and Autumn Period.
Changzhou also has attractive gardens such as Wei Yuan.
A Qing dynasty poet declared "there are none such under heaven as Changzhou, where famous persons come from." Numerous memorial halls in Changzhou and the surrounding area commemorate its famous citizens, including soldiers, scholars, revolutionaries, industrialists, physicians, artists and writers.
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Changzhou (常州; Chángzhōu) is a city in Jiangsu.
You can take the train from Shanghai or Nanjing.
There are flights in and out of Changzhou to over 10 cities.
There are many modes of transport in Changzhou. Including car and bus. Take the number 21 to the hospital if you need urgent medical care.
There is a really large pagoda, Writing Brush Pagoda(Wen bi Ta), as well as Red Plum Pavilion (Hong Mei Ge) in the centre of town, in Hong Mei Park (Hong Mei Gong Yuan). This park also includes the Tuyidao Root Art Gallery.
Next to the park, you can find the Bhuddist Tianning Temple (Tian Ning Si).
Not far away, on YanLing Road East, is the small DongPo park (Dong Po Gong Yuan), which offers a fantastic view of the grand canal (Gu Yunhe).
Get lost in one of the many industrial parks that circle the city.
If you're hungry for western food, there is a Pizza Hut (Bi Shen Ke) and KFC (Ken De Ji) on Yanling Road East.
Changzhou Gongyuan Bingguan, No.85 West Yanling Road, Changzhou, China Tel: 86-519 8618 2100 / 8618-2188 Twin room costs 150 RMB. You can pay with a credit card. Breakfast is not included. You can change money at the front desk, and there is an internet cafe. www.gongyuanhotel.com
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