Changzhou

Changzhou is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu, China. It was previously known as Yanling, Lanling, and Jinling. 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 population of the Changzhou Municipality was 5,278,121 at the 2020 census. The city is the birthplace of Zhou Youguang who created the pinyin romanization system.

History
As approved by State Council on June 8 of 1995, Wujin County was promoted to Wujin City, with the government set in Hutang Town. In 1999, as approved by the provincial government, Taixiang Town of Jiaoqu District was revoked and incorporated into Xueyan Town of Wujin City.

Geography
Changzhou is located in the Yangtze River Delta region, in the northwestern part of the Taihu Lake Plain. It is bordered by the Yangtze River in the north, Taihu Lake in the south, Anhui Province and Nanjing in the southwest, Wuxi in the east and Zhenjiang in the west. It is equidistant from Shanghai and Nanjing, and 144 kilometres from the provincial capital Nanjing. Southwest of the Yili mountains, mountain peaks have Maoshan.

Changzhou has Tao Lake and Ge Lake. Rivers are Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, Wuyi Canal, Tai Ge Canal, Jingxi, South Canal and so on. Changzhou has a dense network of waterways, and in the 1930s, when flooding broke out in the southern part of the Yangtze River, Zhou Chen went to the southern part of the Yangtze River to control the water, he greatly promoted the enclosure of lakes to create fields. The local government created 37,000 mu of land in 20 years, making Furong Lake, Yang Lake and Linjin Lake gradually shrink to the point of disappearing.

Administration
The prefecture-level city of Changzhou administers seven county-level divisions, including five districts and one county-level city.

Demographics
Its total population was 5,278,121 inhabitants at the 2020 census, a 1.4% annual increase since the previous census.

Education
Changzhou is an educational hub and is home to several universities, including Changzhou 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.

Economy
Since 1908, Changzhou has been linked by rail with Shanghai and Nanjing (see below for transportation).

According to Forbes ranking, Changzhou was the 9th best business city in mainland China in 2008. Changzhou data was reported at 662.228 RMB bn in Dec 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 577.386 RMB bn for Dec 2016. China's CN: GDP: Jiangsu: Changzhou data is updated yearly, averaging 130.818 RMB bn from Dec 1991 to 2017, with 25 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 662.228 RMB bn in 2017 and a record low of 10.545 RMB bn in 1991. China's CN: GDP: Jiangsu: Changzhou data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database's National Accounts – Table CN.AE: Gross Domestic Product: Prefecture Level City.

Changzhou Export Processing Zone
Approval for the establishment of Changzhou Export Processing Zone was given in June 2005 with a planned area of 1.66 km2. Near to Shanghai and Nanjing via convenient transportation links, the zone began operation in October 2006. Investors enjoy a series of preferential policies whilst all handle export procedures are handled inside the export processing zone. The zone focuses on electronic information, electromechanical integration and new materials.

Changzhou National Hi-Tech District
Changzhou National Hi-Tech District (CND) is a state-level high-tech industrial development zone. It is located in the northern part of Changzhou city. With a population of 500,000 and an area of 439 square km, the district is 160 km from Shanghai to the east and 110 km from Nanjing to the west. The district represents the highest-level and most sophisticated industrial park in Changzhou. More than 1,300 foreign companies and over 5,000 local industrial enterprises have been registered within the district of which around 40% are from European and American countries. Industries encouraged include engineering machinery, transformer & transmission equipment, automotive, locomotive & locomotive components, parts, precision machinery, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, photo-voltaic (PV) and new materials, chemicals, garment and textiles production, computer software and research & development. Some major investors include Terex, Komatsu, Ashland Chemical, Johnson, Caltex Oil Corp., Disa, +GF+, Rieter and General Electronics.

Climate
The climate is Humid Subtropical Cfa, with cool winters and hot and humid summers. Changzhou has a wide range of temperature differences throughout the year.

Metro
The Line 1 of the Changzhou Metro opened on 21 September 2019. The Line 2 opened on 28 June 2021.

Railway
Located just south of the Chang Jiang (Yangtze River), Changzhou station is situated on the original Beijing–Shanghai railway. Changzhou North station was completed in 2011 and is located in the north of Changzhou in the Xinbei district on the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway. Changzhou is also one of the main stops on the busy Shanghai–Nanjing intercity railway, with two stations located in Changzhou (Changzhou station and Qishuyan station).

Airport
Changzhou Benniu International Airport in Xinbei District is approximately 15 km from the city center.

Highways and Expressways

 * China National Highway 312
 * Shanghai-Nanjing Expressway (part of G42 Shanghai-Chengdu Expressway) (Shanghai-Suzhou-Wuxi-Changzhou-Zhenjiang-Nanjing)
 * Yanjiang Expressway (part of G4221 Shanghai-Wuhan Expressway, formerly Jiangsu S38 Changshu-Hefei Expressway)
 * Jiangsu S58 Shanghai-Changzhou Expressway
 * Jiangsu S39 Jiangyi Expressway
 * G4011 Yangzhou-Liyang Expressway (Jintan and Liyang only)
 * G4012 Liyang-Ningde Expressway (Liyang only) (Liyang section)
 * G25 Changchun-Shenzhen Expressway (Liyang only) (Rizhao-Hangzhou section)
 * Jiangsu S48 Shanghai-Yixing Expressway (Wuxi-Yixing section)

Changzhou has a network of four elevated freeways: the Longcheng Avenue in the north, the Longjiang road in the west, the Qingyang road in the east, and the Changhong road/Jinwu (Jintan-Wujin) Freeway in the south. Together, these four roads make up the "Outer Ring Elevated Road" system.

Bus rapid transport (BRT) system
Use of the BRT System costs one yuan and provides access throughout Changzhou. The BRT-only stations and road sections have the following specifications: separate bus lanes or bus-only roadways, a vast network of routes and corridors, high capacity buses operating both outside and inside these corridors, greater passenger volume as compared to that in mixed traffic lanes (about 3000 pphpd), enhanced station environments (not just simple bus shelters), pre-boarding fare collection and fare verification, electric buses, centralized system controls, real-time next bus information app, segregated bike lanes along main corridor(s) as well as station access for disabled persons.

Culture
The Changzhou dialect is a member of the Wu Chinese language family.

Other famous handicrafts of Changzhou are silk embroidery in a "crisscross" style and carvings made from green bamboo.

Amusement parks
Changzhou is the home of the China Dinosaurs Park located in the Xinbei District of the city. The 5A rated Dinosaur Park has a collection of dinosaur bones and fossils from all over China. The park has 50 various fossils and more than 30 amusement programs including 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 six themed areas. Besides fossils and family oriented rides, Dinosaur Park is home to a giant panda and sea lions.

In 2011, a new amusement park called CC Joyland opened in Taihuwan near Taihu lake in Wujin District in the south of Changzhou.

Tianning Temple and Hongmei Park
The city is also home to the Tianning Temple—one of the largest Zen Buddhist temple and monasteries in China. The city recently rebuilt the Tianning pagoda in the temple grounds, which is adjacent to Hongmei Park. The pagoda, called the Tianning Baota, was first built during the Tang dynasty (AD 618 – 907). Since that time it has been destroyed and rebuilt five times. The current reconstruction is built to the height specification of 153.79 m. 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.

As Changzhou is noted for its combs, the city has reconstructed its Fine Comb Lane area with contemporary architecture. Changzhou combs can be purchased in most places in the city.

Other sites include Changzhou's sunken city and area of archaeological ruins from the Spring and Autumn period.

Dongpo Park is located in the east part of downtown of Changzhou city, and its original name is Dongjiao Park. It covers 2.667 hectares, and is a typical Jiangnan Garden composed of cultural sites and natural landscape. During the time of south Song dynasty, the civilians of Changzhou established Yizhou Pavilion to commemorate, Su Dongpo, who was the great literature master and used to come to Changzhou. During the time of Qing dynasty, Kangxi and Qianlong, two emperors southwardly visited, they ordered to build up the temporary palace here and reconstructed this pavilion.

Changzhou also has attractive gardens such as the Wei Yuan. The Old Museum of Wisteria is also located in the city.

Sister cities

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Notable people

 * Su Dongpo (Su Shi; 1036–1101), poet and essayist.
 * Sheng Xuanhuai (1844–1916), late Qing dynasty bureaucrat and reformer.
 * Lü Simian (1884–1957), historian and member of the Doubting Antiquity School
 * Zhao Yuanren (1892–1982), linguist.
 * Hong Shen (1894–1955), pioneering dramatist and filmmaker was born here.
 * Yun Daiying (1895–1931), revolutionary and pioneer of early Communist Youth activities.
 * Liu Haisu (1896–1994), artist.
 * Zhang Tailei (1898–1927), one of the founders of Chinese Communist Party (CCP), first Chinese ever working in Communist International.
 * Qu Qiubai (1899–1935), former General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and prominent Marxist thinker and writer. Named "Changzhou San Jie" together with Yun Daiying and Zhang Tailei.
 * Zhou Youguang (1906–2017), linguist often credited as the "father of Hanyu Pinyin"
 * Hua Luogeng (1910–1985), mathematician.
 * Xie Zhiliu (1910–1997), painter.
 * Yuan-Cheng Fung (1919-2019), professor and author. A founder of biomechanics.
 * Tang Jun, former President of Microsoft in China.
 * Lu Lan (1987–), Olympic athlete and badminton player. Won the woman's championship at the 2009 BWF World Championships.
 * Bai Lu (1994–), actress, model and singer.