Wuxi

无锡市
Wúxī Shì

Administration Type	Prefecture-level city
City Seat	Chong'an District (31°34′N 120°17′E / 31.567°N 120.283°E / 31.567; 120.283)
Area - Total - Urban center	4,787.61 km² 1,659 km²
Population - Total - Urban center	4,471,900 (2004) 2,235,700 (2004)
GDP - Total - Per Capita	¥235 billion (2004) ¥52,825 (2004)
Major Nationalities	Han
County-level divisions	8
Township-level divisions	73
CPC Committee Secretary	Yang Weize (杨卫泽)
Mayor	Mao Xiaoping (毛小平)
Area code	510
Postal Code	214000 (Urban center) 214200, 214400 (Other areas)
License Plate Prefix	苏B

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Old Town and Canal

Wuxi (simplified Chinese: 无锡; traditional Chinese: 無錫; pinyin: Wúxī; former spellings: Wu-hsi, Wuhsi, or Wusih; lit. "Without Tin") is an old industrial city in Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. Split into halves by Lake Taihu, Wuxi borders Changzhou to the west and Suzhou to the east. The northern half looks across to Taizhou to the north over the Yangtze River, while the southern half also borders the province of Zhejiang to the south. Because of its recent development, Wuxi has been dubbed the "little Shanghai".

Administration

The prefecture-level city of Wuxi administers 9 county-level divisions, including 7 districts and 2 county-level cities.

These are further divided into 73 township-level divisions, including 59 towns and 24 subdistricts.

Geography

The city plan, as is typical of many older Chinese cities, is of a central city with a roughly circular plan, crisscrossed with older canals, the main canal still seeing heavy barge traffic.

Wuxi itself is on an alluvial plain of deep sedimentary deposits cut between limestone foothills, making it one of the sources for "scholar's rocks", the intricately weathered stones which were used as devices for contemplation.

Wuxi ranges from a very hot summer to a chilly winter, having an average annual temperature of 18 °C, though it seldom sees snow. Because of its proximity to the East China Sea, it is has a monsoon season and receives 100 cm of rain annually.

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JICHANG GARDEN

History

Wuxi was founded 3,000 years ago by two fugitive princes from northern China, who called the area Mei. Because of the tin deposits that were utilized nearby, the town became known as Youxi ('Has Tin'). When the tin ran out in 25 AD, it got its present name.

Despite its location on the Grand Canal, Wuxi did not prosper as much as neighbouring cities. Only in the 20th century, Wuxi became a center of the silk industry, when Shanghai investors and foreign technicians came to the area. After the communist takeover in 1949, Wuxi continued to grow in importance, with the establishment of more textile production and both light and heavy industry. In 2007, the city was partially evacuated due to elevated algae counts in the Taihu Lake, resulting in widespread drinking water contamination.

Economy

Currently Wuxi is designated an investment grade city, and has two large industrial parks devoted to new industry. While current manufacturing centers on textiles, there is a project to move to electric motor manufacturing and MRP software development.

According to most recent figures (2002) from the local government, 24% of economic activity is textile trade, and another 25% is industrial based manufacturing, including motors, molds and casting, with another 8% being light industry.

The GDP per capita was ¥52,825 (ca. US$6,382) in 2004, ranked no.9 among all 659 Chinese cities, and ranked no.2 in Jiangsu Province, less than Suzhou but more than the capital city Nanjing.

The center of the city is filled with modern high rise buildings and the market is being redeveloped in a postmodern style.

Culture

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WuXi Painter Yu Wenshan c. 1658, Landscape With Western Influenced Perspective

Wuxi was originally a mining town, which, legend has it, exhausted its tin deposits, hence its name, which in Chinese literally means "tinless". It subsequently became an arts and cultural center, with several famous Chinese authors claiming Wuxi as their home town. Among them, most recently, Qian Zhongshu, author of Fortress Besieged, a comedy of manners set in China in the 1930s.

One of the handicraft specialties of Wuxi is the production of Huishan clay figurines.

In modern times Wuxi has also produced a number of cultural figures such as Hua Yanjun (1893-1950) also know as Xiazi Abing (瞎子阿炳), famous for his erhu and pipa music. Another famous musician is Liu Tianhua, who was the first to compile folk music using staff.

As for cuisine, Wuxi is famous for its Wuxi-style spareribs, sweetened pork mini buns and oil gluten.

Transportation

By rail, Wuxi is conveniently situated on the Jinghu Railway, linking it directly with the provincial capital of Nanjing (2 hour train-ride) and China's economic hub, Shanghai (2 hours train-ride). K-series trains all stop at Wuxi. Wuxi Airport, which opened in 2004, is situated 14km from city centre, and has direct flights to Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and other Chinese cities.

Folklore

The nine peaks of Huishan, in Xihui Park on the western outskirts of Wuxi, are said to be the sleeping sons of the legendary Dragon King.

The cleverness of Wuxi natives is legendary. A popular joke is that "they can sell you meat that is really bones and they sell you dumplings that are just air inside", i.e. Wuxi pork ribs and Wuxi fried tofu dumplings, which are hollow. Some consider this trait untrustworthy.

Wuxi people joke about their neighbors in Changzhou: "Wuxi smart - Changzhou stubborn".

Tourism

Wuxi is a tourist spot in the Lower Yangtze Delta. It has both natural and man-made places of interest.

Natural

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Liyuan Garden Wuxi

Lake Tai: the city was built on its shore. Naturally the lake becomes a rich tourism resource.

Famous spots include Yuantou Zhu (the Islet of Turtlehead), Taihu Xiandao (Islands of the Deities).

Xi Shan, Huishan: Literally means "Mountain of Tin" and "Mountain of Kindheartedness". They are two small hills located at the western part of the city.

The Great Canal: it passes the city. There are two canals: one is the old canal that has been there ever since it was dug, the other is the new canal dug after the year 1949.

Manmade Parks

Wuxi is famous for the many private gardens or parks built by learned scholars and rich people in the past. Among them, Li Yuan, Mei Yuan are good examples that have been well preserved. Xihui Gongyuan (Xihui Park), located at the foot of Xi Shan also houses historical relics.

Notable people

Gu Kaizhi (latter half of the 4th century), a painter.
Li Sheng (772-846), poet, who lived and was buried in Wuxi.
Gu Xiancheng (1550-1612), scholar and politician, especially famous of "Dong Lin Movement".
Xu Xiake (1587–1641), Ming Dynasty traveller and writer.
Hua Hengfang (1833-1902), mathematics in late Qing Dynasty who did studies in various area of science and technology. He participated in designing the first streamer and the first steamboat in China.
Xue Fucheng (1838－1894), well-known ideologists, diplomatists and one of leading exponents to make national bourgeoisie reform in late Qing Dynasty.
Rong Desheng (1875-1952), the largest national capitalist in the Min Guo era, most famed for his contribution to th Chinese texitle industry.
Hua Yanjun (1893-1950) also known as Abing (阿丙), folk musician, best known for his work "Er Quan Ying Yue" (moon reflected on Er stream) for the erhu.
Xu Beihong (1895–1953), painter, most famed for his paintings of horses.
Qian Zhongshu (1910–1998), writer, best known for his comedy of manners Fortress Besieged.
Ding Junhui (1987-), teenage Snooker sensation.