Gaoyou

Gaoyou (simplified Chinese: 高邮; traditional Chinese: 高郵; pinyin: gāoyóu; literally "high post (stop)", also called Qinyou (simplified Chinese: 秦邮; traditional Chinese: 秦郵; pinyin: qínyóu); "Qín post stop") is a cultural city with a long history in China's Jiangsu Province, located in the Yangtze River Delta in the North side of the Open Economic Development Zone along the Yangtze River. Population (2000): 150,000, with over 830,000 in its metropolitan area. Area: 1,963 km².

Administration

Gaoyou is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Yangzhou prefecture-level city, in the Jiangsu Province of the People's Republic of China.

History

Gaoyou was founded in 223 BC, but recent archaeological finds at the Longqiuzhuang site in Gaoyou has found evidence of rice growing dating back 5,500-7,000 years. In 1375, early in the Ming Dynasty by the Hongwu Emperor, a post office was constructed called Yucheng You. At that time, it was one of the 46 important mail posts along the Grand Canal between Beijing and Nanjing. It was in use until the 1911 Revolution.

The profound history and culture of Gaoyou fostered Qin Shaoyou, the well-known poet in the Song Dynasty, Wang Nianshun and Wang Yinzhi (father and son), the celebrated classics interpreters in the Qing Dynasty, Sun Yunzhu, the modern paleontologist and Wang Chenqi, the contemporary writer.

Geography

Gaoyou is located at 32°47'N, 119°25'E in the southern part of the Jianghuai Plain, 40 km north of Yangzhou on the east shore of Gaoyou Lake. The Beijing-Shanghai expressway and the Grand Canal of China run though the city center from the north to the south.

Climate

The climate of Gaoyou belongs to the subtropical monsoon marine climate. Gaoyou is temperate and moist and the four seasons are quite distinct.

Geology

Gaoyou is relatively flat with an elevation of 2 to 3 meters. The ground is mostly made up of clay.

Tourism

1. The Yucheng Post and Museum (in Chinese) A postal stop in Qing dynasty (221 BC). It was built as a post station in AD 1375. Largest and oldest historic post-office in the world.^{[citation needed]}picture.

2. The Wenyou Platform (in Chinese) Built in AD 976 to memorize Qin Shaoyou, a well-known poet of the Song Dynasty. picture.

3.Longqiu Village (in Chinese) 7000 year history, area of 43,000 square meters. picture.

4.People's Plaza (AD 2002), Kuixing Pavilion (AD 971, high 20 m, 3 stories) and City Wall (AD 1623), Jingtusi Pagoda (Built in AD 1612, height 30 meters, 7 stories) and Zhenguosi Pagoda (Built in AD 873-889, height 34 m, 7 stories). An odd number of stories is considered yang based on the philosophy of Yin and Yang.^{[citation needed]}

5.Wang's museum (in Chinese) Wang Nianshun (1744–1834,Father) and Wang Yinzhi (1766–1834, son), Masters in Confucian Philosophy and Classic literatures. picture.

Economy

Gaoyou has a very fast growing economy. It is home to approximately 3,000 industrial enterprises, most of which belong to the following sectors: machinery, light industry, textile, mechanical industry, building materials, and electronics.

Agriculture plays a large part in the overall economy of the region. The well-known feature product is "double yolk duck egg".

See also

• Gaoyou government in chinese
• List of administrative divisions of Jiangsu

External links

• Gaoyou Information Website
• Gaoyou City English guide (Jiangsu.NET)