Basic Overview
Changzhou is located in the center of the beautiful and rich Yangtze River Delta, in the south of Jiangsu Province, with the Yangtze River to the north, Taihu Lake to the south, and equidistant from Shanghai and Nanjing. Located at 31°09′-32°04′ north latitude and 119°08′-120°12′ east longitude, it currently governs two county-level cities, Jintan and Liyang, and five administrative districts: Wujin, New Taipei, Tianning, Zhonglou and Qishuyan. The city has a total area of ??4,375 square kilometers and a total population of 3.49 million, of which the urban area is 1,864 square kilometers and the population is 2.17 million.
Historical evolution
Changzhou is an ancient cultural city with a long history of more than 2,500 years and a profound heritage. During the Spring and Autumn Period in 547 BC, a city was built and a state was established, which was first called Yanling. Also known as Longcheng, it was the fiefdom of Jizha, the fourth son of King Shoumeng of Wu during the Spring and Autumn Period. Qin established the county. After the Western Jin Dynasty. Xiang was governed by counties, prefectures, roads, and prefectures, and the city names were changed many times to Piling, Bitan, Jinling, Lanling, Changzhou, Nanlanling, Changzhou, Wujin, etc. The name "Changzhou" began in the Sui Dynasty. It was called "prefecture" before, then "zhou" in Song Dynasty, "Lu" in Yuan Dynasty, and "Fu" in Ming and Qing Dynasties, all of which had jurisdiction over counties. Since the fourth year of Yongzheng reign in the Qing Dynasty (1726), Changzhou Prefecture has administered 8 counties including Wujin, Yanghu, Wuxi, Jingui, Yixing, Jingxi, Jiangyin and Jingjiang. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, there was still one government office (Changzhou Prefecture) and two counties (Wujin and Yanghu) in the city. In 1912, Changzhou Prefecture was abolished and Yanghu County was merged into Wujin County. At the beginning of liberation, the Changzhou Special Administrative Office had jurisdiction over Changzhou City and six counties: Wuxi, Jiangyin, Wujin, Yixing, Liyang, and Jintan; in January 1953, Changzhou City was designated as a provincial city, and in March of that year it had jurisdiction over six districts; July 1958 , Zhenjiang Prefecture moved to Changzhou and was renamed Changzhou Prefecture, and Changzhou belonged to it.
Celebrity Style
Since ancient times, Changzhou has had outstanding people and famous people. There are Ji Zha, a famous politician and diplomat in the Spring and Autumn Period, Xiao Tong, the compiler of "Selected Works of Zhaoming", Chen Ji, who presided over the compilation of "Yongle Dadian", Duan Yucai, a linguist and Gong Zizhen, a thinker in the Qing Dynasty. From the beginning of the Sui and Tang Dynasties to the end of the Qing Dynasty, China produced 9 top scholars and 1,546 Jinshi. "Changzhou Jinwen Jing School", "Yanghu Literary School", "Changzhou Ci School", "Changzhou Painting School" and "Menghe Medical School" are famous throughout the country. From modern times to the present day, Li Baojia (Li Boyuan), the author of "The Officialdom", Qu Qiubai, Zhang Tailei, Yun Daiying, the "Three Heroes of Changzhou", Li Gongpu, Shi Liang and other political leaders and revolutionaries among the "Seven Gentlemen" have shone in the annals of history; industrialist Sheng Xuanhuai , Liu Guojun, linguist Zhao Yuanren, mathematician Hua Luogeng, medical scientist Wu Jieping, calligraphy and painting master Liu Haisu, etc. are well-known at home and abroad. Currently, there are 56 Changzhou academicians in the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Ranked 4th in the country.
Transportation
Changzhou has convenient water, land and air transportation, Beijing-Shanghai Railway, Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, 312 National Highway and Shanghai-Nanjing, Nanjing-Hangzhou, Changning, along the Yangtze River Expressway (Changsu), Changcheng, Xiyi and other expressways, as well as the second largest airport in Jiangsu, the 4D civil aviation Changzhou Airport, form Changzhou's developed water, land and air transportation network. In addition, the Changzhou Station of the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed ??Railway, the Changzhou Station of the Shanghai-Nanjing Intercity Railway, the urban elevated expressway network and the planned light rail Line 1 are also adding to the traffic in Changzhou.
Social Economics
Changzhou is one of the birthplaces of modern Chinese national industry and commerce, and is famous for its developed economy and competitive business. In the early 1980s, Changzhou became a nationally famous industrial star city. It created the famous "Southern Jiangsu Model" with the development of township industry as a characteristic of the times. It was the country's earliest "pilot city for comprehensive reform of the economic system" and "city open to the outside world." Today, Changzhou City is led by the four pillar industries of agricultural machinery manufacturing, power transmission and transformation equipment manufacturing, automobile and accessories manufacturing, and new textile and clothing industry, and drives three emerging industries of electronic information, new materials industry, biomedicine, and fine chemicals. development, focusing on building an advanced manufacturing base, and the scale and brand effects have gradually emerged.
In 2005, the city's GDP reached 130.22 billion yuan, an increase of 18.1%; the per capita GDP exceeded 4,500 US dollars; the total fiscal revenue reached 22 billion yuan, an increase of 25.9%; and the fixed asset investment of the whole society was 77 billion yuan. , an increase of 30; the per capita disposable income of urban residents reached 14,589 yuan, and the per capita net income of farmers reached 6,900 yuan, an increase of 13.4 and 10 respectively. The agreed utilization of foreign capital and actual received foreign capital reached US$2.85 billion and US$870 million respectively throughout the year.
Over the years, Changzhou City has been rated as one of the "Top 50 Cities in the Nation for Comprehensive Strength" and "The 40 Cities with Excellent Investment Environment in the Nation", and has successfully created a "National Sanitary City", "National Environmental Protection Model City" and "Provincial Environmental Protection Model City". "Grade Garden City", won the titles of "National Advanced City for Scientific and Technological Progress", "National Excellent City for Comprehensive Management of Social Security", "National Advanced City for Creating Civilized Cities", "China's Excellent Tourism City", and won the title of "China Habitat Environmental Example Award". In addition, it is ranked among the 12 best commercial cities in Forbes and among the top 30 most competitive cities in China. In 2003, it was approved by the State Council to establish a megacity. In recent years, the pace of urban construction has been accelerated to build megacities. In 2005, the built-up area reached 145 square meters. kilometer.
Specialty delicacies
Changzhou snacks have both local traditional characteristics and the flavors of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. They use a wide range of ingredients. The fillings can be salty or sweet, meat or vegetable, and are carefully made. Enjoy a prestigious reputation.
·Xiao Long Bao with Crab
During the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, it was first created by Wanhua Tea House on the south side of the floating bridge along the river. Its characteristics: the crab oil is golden and shiny, fat but not greasy, the crab fragrance is fragrant, the juice is delicious, the skin is thin and strong, the filling is tender and refreshing, and it is delicious when served with balsamic vinegar and shredded ginger. Marijuana Cake
Changzhou Marijuana Cake is a large oval-shaped sesame cake with a unique taste and flavor. It is also the favorite traditional home-cooked food of Changzhou people. When making it, raw materials such as refined white flour, high-quality sesame seeds, white sugar, and refined salt are selected, and it is refined through multiple processes such as dough mixing, stirring, kneading, stuffing, shaping, and baking. There are two flavors, salty and sweet, for buyers to choose from. Once the qualified sesame cake comes out of the oven, it will have a rich and tangy aroma, a yellow color but not burnt, moderate salty and sweet but not greasy, crispy and delicious but not crispy, and good color, aroma and taste. In the past, Changzhou hemp cakes were mostly eaten by locals as breakfast. Nowadays, after reform and innovation, careful packaging, beautiful appearance and easy to carry, it has become a must-have gift for people to visit relatives and friends. Crab shell yellow
Crab shell yellow is a local snack in Changzhou, commonly known as small hemp cake. It is often paired with hemp cake as a gift. There are four kinds of fillings: shepherd's purse, scallion oil, sugar, and bright oil bean paste. Its characteristics: shaped like a crab shell, golden in color, oily but not greasy, crispy and fluffy, sweet and mellow sugar filling, fresh salty filling. Chicken soup, vegetable and meat wontons
Chicken soup, vegetable and meat wontons are a specialty snack in Changzhou with a history of more than 40 years. Its characteristics: smooth skin, fragrant filling, fat but not greasy, delicious taste. Jiuniang Yuanxiao
Jiuniang Yuanxiao is one of the specialty snacks in Changzhou. Folks have the custom of eating Yuanxiao during the Spring Festival. More than 100 years ago, Pei Yugao added fermented glutinous rice to the traditional Lantern Festival and created the fermented glutinous rice dumpling. Its characteristics: the dough is like jade grains, the aroma of wine is overflowing, the flavor is unique, and it is sweet and refreshing. Silver Noodles
Silver Noodles are a specialty variety of Changzhou with a history of more than 30 years. The ingredients are exquisite and the operation process is strict. It has the characteristics of noodles as thin as silk, white as silver in color, soft and smooth, rich in toughness, and not mushy when cooked. It is one of the varieties collected in "Chinese Snacks Book". Sesame Candy
Changzhou sesame candy has a long history and unique flavor. It is said that as early as the Tang Dynasty, local people began to use maltose and sesame to produce a kind of sesame candy that looks like sesame balls, called sesame balls. By the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, war smoke was everywhere, and the Jin soldiers invaded the south on a large scale. Kang Wang Zhao Gou fled south from Bianliang, the capital, and settled south of the Yangtze River. He blindly compromised and sued for peace, not wanting to regain the lost territory in the north. The people were very angry about this. At that time, someone once wrote a poem saying: "Beyond the mountains, there are towers outside the mountains, when will the singing and dancing in the West Lake stop? The warm wind makes the tourists drunk, and they call Hangzhou Bianzhou!" to vent their dissatisfaction. The people in the Changwu area took another form to express their desire to resist the Jin and regain their lost land.
They transformed the spherical sesame dough candy into a cylindrical shape like a firecracker and gave it to King Kang to encourage his courage to fight against the Jin Dynasty and restore the country. It is unknown whether King Kang Zhaogou was inspired and gained courage from it. However, Changzhou sesame candy was made into a cylindrical shape and continues to this day.
Changzhou sesame candy has carefully selected ingredients and exquisite production. It is required that the sesame seeds are fully covered without exposing the skin, and both ends are sealed so that the filling does not leak out. The sugar layer is porous but not stiff, the taste is sweet and crispy and does not stick to the teeth, the color is white and uniform, the thickness is about the same length, and a pound is exactly 20 sticks. It is indeed a good gift for home travel and as a gift to relatives and friends. Dried radish
People who have been to Changzhou will say: "There is a strange thing in Changzhou. Dried radish is used as a side dish with wine." Authentic Changzhou dried radish is indeed different from dried radish elsewhere. It is produced in Xinzha outside the west gate of Changzhou. It is made from sweet and tender solid carrots, which are washed and cut into strips, dried appropriately, then added with an appropriate amount of salt, sugar and various auxiliary ingredients, and then carefully pickled. Due to the excellent selection of ingredients, a unique pickling process is used, and it is paired with unique seasonings. Therefore, Changzhou dried radish is yellow in color with red inside, salty but not salty, salty but slightly sweet, crispy but not spicy, and very delicious. Moreover, it is cheap, good quality and easy to carry. It is not only a side dish for people to eat, but also can be used as a snack for drinking and after dinner. If you buy authentic Changzhou products, customers will definitely be in for a treat. Shrimp cake
It has a history of nearly 200 years. Qing Dynasty writer Yuan Mei's "Suiyuan Food List" contains: "Shrimp cakes, raw shrimp meat, green onions, salt, pepper, a little liqueur shank, add water to make noodles, and sesame oil to sear it through." It is golden in color, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. , fresh and delicious. Horseshoe Cake
After the Taiping Army captured Changzhou in the 10th year of Xianfeng in the Qing Dynasty, a shortbread shaped like a horseshoe appeared among the people, which was intended to praise the achievements of the Taiping Army. Water chestnut cake is made from refined white flour, cotton sugar, soybean oil and other raw materials, and is baked in a traditional furnace. Golden in color, sweet and crispy. It has been included in "Chinese Famous Dishes Recipes". Three delicacies wontons
The fillings are made of shrimp, fresh herring and fresh pork, so they are called "three delicacies". The wonton wrappers are rolled with refined white flour mixed with egg white, and the wonton soup is made from fresh hens simmered into chicken soup. The wonton skin is thin and smooth, the filling is fresh and tender, and the soup is clear and delicious. Elan Vegetarian Ham
Elan Vegetarian Ham was founded in 1932 and is famous for its pure vegetarian snacks. Yilong vegetarian ham is a traditional specialty food of Changzhou Yilong vegetarian restaurant. This product is made from fine materials, advanced formula, scientific production process, and a variety of natural precious spices and natural pigments. This product is fragrant and fresh, tough and soft, delicious and refreshing. Cut into thin slices and drizzled with sesame oil, it looks like ham meat. It is a delicacy to go with meals, drinks, and travel, and is also a good gift for relatives and friends. In 1989, it won the "Golden Tripod" Award for high-quality food from the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China and is one of the top ten famous restaurants in Changzhou. Tianmu Lake Casserole Fish Head
Tianmu Lake Casserole Fish Head: Founded in Tianmu Lake Hotel in Jiangsu Province, it has been carefully cooked by Zhu Shuncai, a super famous chef in Jiangsu Province for nearly 30 years. It is now known as the most popular fish head in Jiangsu Province. The best traditional dishes have become a wonder in the world of Chinese food. When cooking Tianmu Lake casserole fish head, we use large silver carp heads naturally grown in the water body of Tianmu Lake as raw materials, pure natural Tianmu Lake water as the soup base, and processed with unique cooking techniques. Due to the beautiful scenery of Tianmu Lake, it is not only The green vegetation on the surrounding mountains filters the lake water, and the bottom of the lake is sandy rather than silt. This unique natural environment makes the water of Tianmu Lake clear, sweet, and spotless, so the fish growing in it have no earthy smell. Therefore, Tianmu Lake Casserole Fish Head is highly praised by food lovers for its excellent quality of "fresh but not fishy, ??fat but not greasy".
In 2004, Changzhou City was recognized as a national environmental protection model city by the State Environmental Protection Administration.
Top Ten Business Cards of Changzhou
A place of study for thousands of years, a modern innovation city—Changzhou, China; Chinese Dragon City Jiangnan Changzhou; Ji Zi’s hometown Changzhou with integrity.
1. Economic business card: Modern Equipment Manufacturing City, the birthplace of modern industry;
2. Science and education business card: Yinling Cradle, a famous science and education city;
3. Cultural business card: China (Changzhou) International Animation Art Week - the dynamic city of animation;
4. Character cards: Changzhou Three Heroes (Qu Qiubai, Zhang Tailei and Yun Daiying) - Chinese red leaders who came out of Changzhou;
5. Geographical name card: Line 120 East Longitude - Beijing time is in Changzhou - East 8th time zone baseline Line 120 East Longitude is the only major Chinese city that passes through the urban area;
6. Scenic spot card: Tian Ning Temple, Tianning Pagoda - the first thousand-year-old Zen temple in China;
7. Tourist card: Chinese Dinosaur Park - Oriental Jurassic Chinese Dinosaur Park;
8 , Ecological business card: Tianmu Lake - the dreamy landscape of Tianmu Lake;
9. Craft business card: Palace comb famous grate - everything starts from scratch;
10. Food business card: Specialty catering - — Traveling around China and eating in Changzhou