Taizhou, Zhejiang

For the prefecture-level city in Jiangsu province, see Taizhou, Jiangsu.

Taizhou 台州
—  Prefecture-level city  —
台州市
View of Taizhou
Location of Taizhou City in Zhejiang
Taizhou Location in China
Coordinates: 28°40′N 121°21′E
Country	People's Republic of China
Province	Zhejiang
County-level divisions	9
Government
• CPC Secretary	Zhang Hongming (张鸿铭)
• Mayor
Area
• Land	9,411 km2 (3,634 sq mi)
• Water	80,000 km2 (30,000 sq mi)
• Urban	1,264 km2 (488 sq mi)
• Metro	1,538 km2 (594 sq mi)
Highest elevation	1,382 m (4,534 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population (2010 census)
• Prefecture-level city	5,968,800
• Urban	1,575,252
• Urban density	Bad rounding here1,200/km2 (Bad rounding here3,200/sq mi)
• Metro	1,125,180
• Metro density	Bad rounding here730/km2 (Bad rounding here1,900/sq mi)
Time zone	China Standard (UTC+8)
Area code(s)	576
GDP 2009	¥202.5 billion
GDP per capita 2009	¥35,148
License Plate Prefix	浙J
Website	http://www.zjtz.gov.cn/
City flower: Sweet Osmanthus

 Taizhou  (Chinese: 台州; pinyin: Tāizhōu, not Táizhōu; Taizhou dialect: T'e-tsiu), formerly T'ai-chow is an emerging city along the eastern coast of Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China facing the East China Sea and the Pacific Ocean to the east. It lies 300 kilometres (190 mi) due south of Shanghai and is 230 kilometres (140 mi) from Hangzhou, the provincial capital. Administratively, it is a prefecture-level city and is bordered by Ningbo to the north, Wenzhou to the south, and Shaoxing, Jinhua, Lishui to the northwest, west and southwest respectively.

Demographics

At the time of 2010 census, the whole population of Taizhou, including the whole prefecture-level city and subsidiary counties was 5,968,800 with 1,575,252 in the emerging urban area made of 3 urban districts, Jiaojiang, Huangyan and Luqiao.

Administration

The prefecture-level city of Taizhou currently administers 3 districts, 2 county-level cities and 4 counties.

Map
#	Name	Hanzi	Hanyu Pinyin
1	Jiaojiang District	椒江区	Jiāojiāng Qū
2	Huangyan District	黄岩区	Huángyán Qū
3	Luqiao District	路桥区	Lùqiáo Qū
4	Linhai City	临海市	Línhǎi Shì
5	Wenling City	温岭市	Wēnlǐng Shì
6	Sanmen County	三门县	Sānmén Xiàn
7	Tiantai County	天台县	Tiāntāi Xiàn
8	Xianju County	仙居县	Xiānjū Xiàn
9	Yuhuan County	玉环县	Yùhuán Xiàn

History

Taizhou has a history of more than five thousand years. Its original name is believed to come from the famous mountain, Mount Tiantai (Chinese: 天台山), now in the Tiantaishan National Park.

Five thousand years ago, the ancestors of the modern inhabitants began to settle in this area.

Early to Xia Dynasty, Shang Dynasty, Zhou Dynasty, Taizhou was part of Dong'ou, and belonged to Minzhong Prefecture by the time of Qin Dynasty, during the reign of Qin Dynasty (221–207 B.C.) it was called Huipu Town. Later it belonged to Kuaiji Prefecture during the Han Dynasty.

On August 22, 1994, Taizhou Municipality was set up in place of Taizhou Prefecture and approved by the State Council. In 1999, Taizhou was approved by the State Council to be a leading city in Zhejiang’s urbanization structure and the center of sub zone of the first-class economy. Approved by the National Development and Reform Commission, Taizhou formally became one of the 16 cities of Yangtze River Delta area on Aug.15, 2003.

Economy

Taizhou is the 4th most populous, and the 4rd largest industrial prefecture-level city in Zhejiang Province as of 2011.

Geely AutoMobile founded in Taizhou which completes its acquisition of Volvo in 2010, is one of China’s top ten auto manufacturers.

Geography

At 651 kilometres (405 mi), Taizhou has a long coastline dotted with numerous islands; the largest one is Yuhuan Island in the south. Coastal areas in the east tend to flat, with an occasional hill. Eastern and northern parts of Taizhou are mountainous, with Yandangshan Mountains in the southwest, Kuocang Mountains (Chinese: 括苍山; pinyin: Kuòcāng Shān) in the west, and Mount Tiantai in the northwest. The highest point of Taizhou is Mishailang (Chinese: 米筛浪; pinyin: Mǐshāilàng), a 1,382.4 metres (4,535 ft) peak in the Kuocang Mountains, and also the highest point in the east of the Zhejiang Province.

Infrastructure & Transport

View down a street in Taizhou

Taizhou was once a relatively inaccessible area. This has changed due to large infrastructure restructuring in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Presently, Taizhou is served by the Yongtaiwen Expressway, linking the city with Ningbo in the north and Wenzhou in the south. Huangyan Luqiao Airport (IATA:HYN) in the city's Huangyan District serves daily flights to Beijing and Shanghai Hongqiao, and regular flights to other Chinese cities. In September 2009, the high-speed rail line, Ningbo–Taizhou–Wenzhou Railway, opened and Taizhou has several stations along route including the main station in Huangyan District called Taizhou Railway Station.

Recently completed Taizhou Railway Station

High Speed Railway connection major cities

Language and Culture

Like the majority of areas in Zhejiang, most people from Taizhou speak a dialect of Wu Chinese, known as Huangyan Hua. It is not mutually intelligible with Mandarin Chinese, and only partially intelligible with Shanghainese. There is also a small portion of Min Nan and Wenzhou dialect speakers in the southern regions. None of these three languages are mutually intelligible amongst each other, but the linguistic diversity of some regions has resulted in a segment of the population becoming fluent in speaking up to four languages, when Mandarin is included.

The city's people are reputed to be industrious and business-minded, although not to the same degree as neighboring Wenzhou.^{[citation needed]} Many people from the area have migrated abroad after economic reforms began in China in 1978. The city's seafood is of note.

Tourism

• Linhai Ancient Great Wall, the only Great Wall in southern China.
• Tiantaishan National Park, Tiantai

The Tiantaishan Temple where the Tiantai (Chinese and Japanese: 天台宗; pinyin: tiāntái zōng; ), an important school of Buddhism in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam originates, is located here. In Japan the school is known as Tendai, and in Korea it is known as Cheontae.

Guoqing Temple

Education

• Taizhou College
• Sanmen Zhongxue

Sister cities

• Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, Japan
• Santos, São Paulo, Brazil
• Muan, Honam, South Korea
• Iquique, Tarapacá, Chile
• Nevers, Nivernais, Burgundy, France
• Timișoara, Timiș, Romania
• Hanau, Hesse, Darmstadt, Germany
• Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States

External links

• Government website of Taizhou
• Geely Group