Taicang

Taicang (simplified Chinese: 太仓; traditional Chinese: 太倉; pinyin: Tàicāng) is a coastal city in Jiangsu Province, China. It is approximately 60 kilometres (37 mi) to the northwest of Shanghai, and 60 kilometres (37 mi) to the east of Suzhou. It is a county level city under jurisdiction of Suzhou prefecture level city. In 2008, the registered population was at 466,300, and total GDP reached RMB 52.8 billion (US$7.6 billion). The GDP per capita reached RMB 79,449 (US$11,439). Taicang has been consistently ranked in top 10 of the National Bureau of Statistics' 100 Most Competitive County Level Cities in China.

Administration

Taicang is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Suzhou, a prefecture-level city.

towns unders the juridiction of Taicang include:

• Liuhe
• Liujiagang
• Fuqiao
• Chengxiang
• Shaxi
• Huangjing
• Shuangfeng
• Ludu

History

The city traces its roots back to the Three Kingdoms era (220~280 AD), when Eastern Wu build storage facilities for agriculture products in this area. The literal meaning of Taicang is "grand barn". Taicang is a natural sea port, and because of this the city developed into a port city over the years. In Yuan dynasty, the city reached its peak around 1271-1368 as the number one port of the world which is manifested in the next dynasty - Ming dynasty. Taicang became the place where Zheng He set off his voyages to explore the world.

Geography

Taicang is centered at 31°30' North and 120°40' East. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the city has a total area of 318.0 square miles (823.0 km²), of which, 208.0 square miles (537.0 km²) of it is land and 110 square miles (285 km²) of it is water. Yangtze River has 61% of the water area. Taicang is in the Yangtze River Delta Depositional Plain. The whole region is flat, leaning slightly toward southwest. Altitude: 3.5~5.8 meters in east; 2.4~3.8 meters in west. Taicang port is in the east of the city, and south of the Yangtze exit into the East China sea. The center of Taicang port is in 31°37′00" North, 121°14′00" East. Port line stretches 24.3 miles (38.8 km), of which 15.6 miles can park 50 thousand ton vessels. Taicang is in humid subtropical climate zone with distinctive seasons. Average year round temperate is 15.5 Celsius. Precipitation is around 1078.1 mm.

City Awards

1. National Ecological City
2. National Hygienic City
3. National Garden City
4. National Longevity City
5. National Excellent Tourism City
6. National Model City for Environment Protection
7. National Advanced City for Public Security
8. Service Outsourcing Base City of Jiangsu Province
9. Top10 Best Cities for Manufacturing Investors
10. Sino-German Business Cooperation City
11. The 5th County Level City in Terms of Comprehensive Strength

For more information, please download the Investment guide for Taicang

Demographics

In 2007, the registered population is at 463,800 and the gender ratio is 95. Urban residents compose 62.4% of total population. The racial makeup of the city has 29 ethnic races. Han Chinese is the majority. Among 28 minorities, Hui Chinese and Manchu are the two largest groups.

People

Chien-Shiung Wu

Physicist from Taicang's Liuhe Township (瀏河). Her father, Zhong-Yi Wu, established Mingde Girl Vocational School in 1913, which is one of the first girls' schools in China. The modern day Mingde School evolved into several schools, covering whole K12 education in Taicang, and it enrolls both genders.

Steven Chu

Like Chien-Shiung Wu’s father, Steven Chu’s parental grandfather was also a well-respected local educator. He has eight daughters and four sons, most of them excel in science and technology. Steven Chu’s father, Ju-Chin Chu left China in 1943 to continue his education at MIT. An elementary school in Taicang - Zhu Diwen Xiaoxue - is named after Steven Chu.[1]. Chu, who won the 1997 Nobel Prize for Physics, is the son of Chinese scholars who migrated to the US in the early 1940s from Taicang in Jiangsu province.

Transportation

Taicang is 60 miles away from Shanghai Pudong International Airport.

Friendship Cities

• Aoya, Japan
• Malindi, Kenya
• Rosolina, Italy
• Surrey, Canada
• Wirral, United Kingdom
• Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States (pending)

See also

• Jincang Lake, Taicang

External links

• Taicang guide on www.Jiangsu.net Template:En icon
• [2]