China Changzhou City:
Changzhou
Resident People: 800,000 in the urban area, plus another 2,500,000 people in the 3 counties and 5 districts under its administrative control.
General Information: Changzhou means: "ordinary prefecture". Located in the centre of the "Golden Delta" of the lower reaches of the Yangtse River, Changzhou is a major economic city in China. Changzhou is a peaceful riverine town that lies astride the Grand Canal just north of Lake Tai-about halfway between Shanghai and Nanjing. As with many of the canal towns, the old city of Changzhou is heart-shaped and ringed by canals. Bei Dajie and Nan Dajie are situated at the centre of the heart.
Geography: On the Grand Canal, 20 km south of the Yangzi River and 150 km northwest of Shanghai. Changzhou is situated at 30¡ã09'-32¡ã04' northern latitude and 119¡ã08'-120¡ã12' eastern longitude, and in the centre of the Yangtse River Delta between Shanghai and Nanjing, the two metropolitan cities in China.
Climate: Changzhou has a mild climate, with the four seasons clearly distinct.
Restaurant: Some notable restaurant dishes are: Steamed Bread with Pork and Crab Meat, Vegetable and Meat Dumpling in Chicken Soup, and Three Delicacy Dumpling (shrimp, carp and pork).
Changzhou Economy: It is an agricultural, food, and textile center Other manufactures include diesel engines, generators, locomotives, fertilizer, machine tools, and motor vehicles. Changzhou became industrialized in the late 19th cent.
History: Only 8 km from Changzhou City are the remains of an ancient walled town, 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. It got its present name in 589 AD. After the Grand Canal was constructed in 609, 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 1850's, one of 5 palaces housing the leaders of the so-called "Kingdom of Celestial Peace" was contructed in Changzhou. Today the ruins of the "King's Palace" can be found near the People's No.1 Hospital. Changzhou has always prospered through its history. In the 1920's, Changzhou started to attract cotton mills. The cotton industry got a boost in the late 1930's when businesses began relocating outside of Shanghai due to the Japanese occupation. Unlike most 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. In 1982, Changzhou was made a "Model Town" for China's one-child policy. In that year, officials in Changzhou reported that nearly 100% of married couples had pledged to have only one child.
Arrive: Changzhou is linked with the Shanghai-Nanjing Expressway, the Shanghai-Nanjing Rail, and an airport. Along the Yangtze River that passes by the city, a port has been built that can berth 10,000-tonne ships.
Changzhou Tourism: The Changzhou Island boasts of over 100 tourist attractions, including many political, military, religious and historic sites and scenic spots, such as the Tianning (Buddhist) Temple, the Maoshan caves, Tianmu Lake, and Red Plum Park. As with many of the canal towns, the old city of Changzhou is heart-shaped and ringed by canals; at the centre of the heart, Bei Dajie and Nan Dajie are the two main streets, where you are most likely to find places to eat.
Shopping: Changzhou is famous for producing beautiful combs and hair ornaments.
Cuisine: Famous snacks made in Changzhou include Dried Radish ("aromatic, sweet, crisp and tender") Sesame Candy ("fragrant, sweet, soft and crispy") Sweet Glutinous Rice Flour Dumpling With Fermented Glutinous Rice, and Silver Thread-like Noodles.
Changzhou Culture: 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. Among others, the great poet and essayist Su Dongpo (a.k.a. Su Shi 1036-1101) lived and died here, and Hong Shen (1894-1955) a pioneering dramatist and filmmaker was born here. Sheng Xuanhuai (1844-1916) was an important Chinese industrialist in the 19th century. A factory in Changzhou continues an ancient tradition of producing double-edged fine-toothed combs. The neighbourhood of the factory, called Comb Lane, was 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. Changzhou has active religious institutions for the practice of Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, and Islam. Language Like every other city in the region, Changzhou has its own distinctive dialect. According to maps of the dialect regions of China, Changzhou is just inside the Northern Wu dialect region, also occupied by Shanghai. Just to the west and north is the region of Lower Yangzi Mandarin speakers, whose dialect is closer to "standard" Chinese.
Changzhou Attractive points: Tianning Temple Tianning Temple has been known for its scale and was built during the reign of Emperor Yonghui (650-755) of the Tang Dynasty. Guarded by a pair of stone lions, the gate of the temple looks grandeur and simple. The Heavenly King Hall, the main hall of Manning, stands as high as 21.12 meters. Enshrined is a giant statue of Buddha. Dragons wind on four columns in the hall, On the roofs are carved 83 statues of Buddha, four Heavenly Kings and four kings of the famous mountains in China. Changzhou Palace Combs Factory The production of combs in Changzhou goes back 1,500 years to the Jin Dynasty (AD 265-420). Today, the city maintains the factory to produce this special type of comb which, over the years, has accumulated 12 national and international handicrafts medals. The combs, handmade of boxwood or other natural materials, come in 1000 varieties. Pagoda of the Waiting Bush Built during the Northern Song Dynasty, between 976 and 984, this structure stands seven stories and 48.38 m. high. From atop the pagoda the entire city can be viewed. Red Plum Pavilion One of the largest parks in Changzhou, this area was first constructed during the Tang Dynasty (889-904). Throughout the park, surrounding the pagoda and pavilion, are thickly planted red plum trees. During blossom time, the scene is quite spectacular. Other Attractions: The other attractions include Yizhou Park, with a pavilion built in honor of the North- em Song poet Su Dongpo. Other sites to visit are the Changzhou Museum, built in the style of the Song Dynasty and housing a collection of artifacts from the area dating from the Western Zhou Dynasty to the present; and the memorial hail for Hui Nantian, one of the six great painters of the early Qing Dynasty.
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