Changshu (;

Suzhounese Suzhounese (; Suzhounese: ''sou1 tseu1 ghe2 gho6'' [] ), also known as the Suzhou dialect, is the Varieties of Chinese, variety of Chinese traditionally spoken in the city of Suzhou in Jiangsu, Jiangsu Province, China. Suzhounese is a varie ...

: /d͡ʐan¹³ ʐoʔ²³/) is a

county-level city A county-level municipality (), county-level city or county city, formerly known as prefecture-controlled city (1949–1970: ; 1970–1983: ), is a Administrative divisions of China#County level (3rd), county-level administrative divi ...

under the jurisdiction of

Suzhou Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

province, and is part of the

Yangtze River Delta The Yangtze Delta or Yangtze River Delta (YRD, or simply ) is a triangle-shaped megalopolis generally comprising the Wu Chinese-speaking areas of Shanghai, southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang. The area lies in the heart of the Jiangnan reg ...

. It borders the

prefecture-level city A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure. During the Republican era, many of China' ...

Nantong Nantong (; alternate names: Nan-t'ung, Nantung, Tongzhou, or Tungchow; Qihai dialect: ) is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Jiangsu province of China, province, China. Located on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, near the river mouth. ...

to the northeast across the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...

. Due to the mild climate and terrain there, it has enjoyed a high level of agricultural civilization since ancient times, and is named after this, for the first character of its name () means "always, often", while the second () means "ripe". The name of the adjacent county-level city of

Taicang Taicang is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Suzhou, Jiangsu province, China. The city located in the south of the Yangtze River estuary opposite Nantong, being bordered by Shanghai proper to the south, while the river also delineates ...

means "great granary".

History

Changshu first became an independent

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in 540 AD, but in 581 was made subordinate to

. It was promoted to seat of a full

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

in 1295, was rebuilt and fortified in the 14th century, but in 1370 was reduced again to the level of a county. In the 15th and 16th centuries Changshu was several times attacked by

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese

pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

. Changshu has traditionally been a market town for locally produced rice, corn, wheat, tea, and

mulberry ''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of diverse species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 identif ...

leaves, and since the 13th century has been a major

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

-producing district. Although administratively still a subordinate city to

, it is a provincial base of

foreign trade International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (see: World economy) In most countries, such trade represents a significant s ...

. Currently a harbour is being developed on the

near Changshu to service

and

Wuxi Wuxi (, ) is a city in southern Jiangsu province, eastern China, by car to the northwest of downtown Shanghai, between Changzhou and Suzhou. In 2017 it had a population of 3,542,319, with 6,553,000 living in the entire prefecture-level city ar ...

Economy

The city's major industries include

textiles Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distributed ...

-making,

fine chemicals In chemistry, fine chemicals are complex, single, pure chemical substances, produced in limited quantities in multipurpose plants by multistep batch chemical or biotechnological processes. They are described by exacting specifications, used fo ...

machinery A machine is a physical system using power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to natural biological macromolecule ...

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

and

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...

products. The city has more than 4,000 textile and

apparel Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...

companies with combined annual sales of RMB50 billion. The paper-making industry has attracted more the US$15 billion of FDI. By the end of 2007, this industry exceeded 2.4 million tons.China Briefing Business Guide: Changshu Economy
/ref> More than 2,000 foreign enterprises have invested in Changshu including big names such as

Sharp Sharp or SHARP may refer to: Acronyms * SHARP (helmet ratings) (Safety Helmet Assessment and Rating Programme), a British motorcycle helmet safety rating scheme * Self Help Addiction Recovery Program, a charitable organisation founded in 199 ...

and Dunlop. Of the contracted investment at least one-third has come from

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

– more than 500 Taiwan enterprises have invested more than US$100 million in the city.

UPM-Kymmene UPM-Kymmene Oyj is a Finnish forest industry company. UPM-Kymmene was formed by the merger of Kymmene Corporation with Repola Oy and its subsidiary United Paper Mills Ltd in 1996. UPM consists of six business areas: UPM Fibres, UPM Energy, UPM Ra ...

from Finland has been running a paper mill in the city since 1999 and now has an annual capacity of 200,000 tons of coated and 600,000 tons of uncoated

fine paper Fine papers are printing and writing paper grades based mainly on chemical pulps. Normally the content of mechanical pulps are below 10% and the amount of fillers in the range 5–25%. Production Fine papers are normally surface sized or pigmente ...

Administrative divisions

Changshu is divided into 2 subdistricts and 9 towns.

2 Subdistricts

Bixi Bixi, or Bi Xi (), is a figure from Chinese mythology. One of the 9 sons of the Dragon King, he is depicted as a dragon with the shell of a turtle. Stone sculptures of Bixi have been used in Chinese culture for centuries as a decorative plinth ...

() *

Dongnan South East (Fujian) Motor Co., Ltd., doing business as, trading as Soueast, is a Chinese automobile manufacturer based in Fuzhou, Fujian, and a joint venture between China Motor Corporation (25%), Fujian Motors Group, Fujian Motor Industry Group ...

()

9 Towns

Discontinued/Merged towns

Climate

Infrastructure

The

China National Highway 204 China National Highway 204 (G204) runs from Yantai in Shandong Province to Shanghai. It is 1,031 kilometres in length and runs south from Yantai, going via Shandong and Jiangsu Province, and ends in Shanghai. Route and distance See also * ...

Yantai Yantai, Postal Map Romanization, formerly romanization of Chinese, known as Chefoo, is a coastal prefecture-level city on the Shandong Peninsula in northeastern Shandong province of People's Republic of China. Lying on the southern coast of ...

-Changshu-

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

, Sujiahang Expressway and

Jiaxing Jiaxing (), alternately romanized as Kashing, is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province, China. Lying on the Grand Canal of China, Jiaxing borders Hangzhou to the southwest, Huzhou to the west, Shanghai to the northeast, and the ...

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...

all pass through Changshu. Changshu has one Yangtze River crossing, the

Sutong Yangtze River Bridge The Sutong Yangtze Bridge (; , ) is a cable-stayed bridge that spans the Yangtze in China between Nantong and Changshu, a satellite city of Suzhou, in Jiangsu province. Design and construction The Sutong Yangtze River Bridge was designed by Dr. ...

, one of the longest cable-stayed bridges in the world.China Briefing Business Guide: Changshu Infrastructure
/ref>

Education facilities

College and universities

* Changshu Institute of Technology ()

High schools

* Changshu High School of Jiangsu Province () * High School of Changshu City () *

Changshu Foreign Language School Changshu (; Suzhounese: /d͡ʐan¹³ ʐoʔ²³/) is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Suzhou, Jiangsu province, and is part of the Yangtze River Delta. It borders the prefecture-level city of Nantong to the northeast across the ...

() *United World College of Changshu China

Tourism

Gardens and parks

* Fangta Tower Park () * Yushan Park () * Shanghu Lake Park () *The Zengs' Garden () *The Zhaos' Garden () *The

Yan Garden Yan may refer to: Chinese states * Yan (state) (11th century – 222 BC), a major state in northern China during the Zhou dynasty * Yan (Han dynasty kingdom), first appearing in 206 BC * Yan (Three Kingdoms kingdom), officially claimed indepe ...

()

Hills

* Yushan () * Fushan Hills () *

Tongguan Hill Tongguan may refer to: *Tong Pass, an important mountain pass separating the North China plain from Wei River valley (Guanzhong), located in modern Tongguan County *Tongguan County, a county in Shaanxi, China, named after the pass *Tongguan Distri ...

() * Dianshan Hill () *

Xishan Hill Xishan may refer to the following locations in China: *Western Hills (西山), mountain range in the west of Beijing *Western Mountains (西山), mountain range located 12 km west of Kunming in Yunnan *Xishan (, ''Xīshān'', lit. "Tin Hill"), ...

()

Archaeological sites

* Xingfu Temple () * Zhongyong's Tomb () * Yanzi's Tomb

Religion

Local people generally believe in

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

Taoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of Philosophy, philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of China, Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmo ...

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

and

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Changshu Christian Church Changshu Christian Church () is a Protestant church located in Changshu, Jiangsu, China. History Changshu Christian Church was built in 1902, during late Qing dynasty (1644–1911). In 1937, American American(s) may refer to: * American, so ...

is a Protestant church in the city.

Transportation

*Railroad: the Yangtse Riverine Railway (planning) *Highways: the Yangtse Riverine Expressway, the Suzhou-Jiaxing-Hangzhou Expressway

Notable people

Huang Gongwang Huang Gongwang (1269–1354), birth name Lu Jian (), was Chinese painter, poet, and writer born at the end of the Song dynasty in Changshu, Jiangsu. He was the oldest of the "Four Masters of the Yuan dynasty". Biography At the age of 10, the S ...

(1269–1354), one of the Four Masters of the Yüan dynasty *

Shiwu Shiwu (石屋, Wade–Giles: Shih-Wu) or Stonehouse (1272–1352) was a Chinese Chan poet and hermit who lived during the Yuan Dynasty. Shiwu was born in the town of Changshu, taking his name from the Shihwutung (Stonehouse cave) in Yushan. In 12 ...

(1272–1352), a

Chan Chan may refer to: Places *Chan (commune), Cambodia *Chan Lake, by Chan Lake Territorial Park in Northwest Territories, Canada People *Chan (surname), romanization of various Chinese surnames (including 陳, 曾, 詹, 戰, and 田) *Chan Caldwel ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

and

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

who lived during the

Yuan Dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...

* Wang Hui (1632–1717), one of the "Four Wangs" representing the orthodox school of painting during the

Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

and early

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...

dynasties *

Wu Li Wu Li, SJ (); ca. 1632-1718 was a Chinese landscape painter, poet, calligrapher and Jesuit from Jiangsu who lived during the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912). Wu was born in Changzhou in the Jiangsu province of China. His style name was 'Yu Shan' ...

(1632–1718), one of the orthodox school of "literati painting" (wenrenhua) in the early

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

Jiang Tingxi Jiang Tingxi (, 1669–1732Barnhart: Page 379.), courtesy name Yangsun (), was a Chinese painter, and an editor of the encyclopedia ''Gujin Tushu Jicheng'' (''Complete Collection of Ancient and Modern Writings and Charts''). Jiang was born in ...

(1669–1732), official painter and grand secretary to the Imperial Court *

Weng Tonghe Weng Tonghe (; 1830–1904), courtesy name Shuping (), was a Chinese Confucian scholar and imperial tutor who lived in the Qing dynasty. In 1856, he obtained the position of ''zhuangyuan'' (or top scholar) in the imperial examination and was subs ...

(1830–1904), Confucian scholar and imperial tutor of two emperors during the Qing dynasty *

Wang Ganchang Wang Ganchang (; May 28, 1907 – December 10, 1998) was a Chinese nuclear physicist. He was one of the founding fathers of Chinese nuclear physics, cosmic rays and particle physics. Wang was also a leader in the fields of detonation physic ...

(1907–1998), nuclear physics scientist *

Zhang Guangdou Zhang Guangdou (; 1 May 1912 – 21 June 2013) was a Chinese hydraulic engineer. He was a specialist in hydraulic engineering, professor and vice president of Tsinghua University, and a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese A ...

(1911–2013), hydrologist

References

External links

*http://www.changshu.gov.cn/ - official Changshu City website
Changshu City English guide
(Jiangsu Network)

- Mild China {{Authority control Cities in Jiangsu Administrative divisions of Suzhou County-level divisions of Jiangsu