Jiaxing (), alternately romanized as Kashing, is a

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' ...

in northern

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

province, China. Lying on the

Grand Canal of China The Grand Canal, known to the Chinese as the Jing–Hang Grand Canal (, or more commonly, as the「大运河」("Grand Canal")), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the longest canal or artificial river in the world. Starting in Beijing, it passes ...

, Jiaxing borders

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 ...

to the southwest,

Huzhou Huzhou (, ; Huzhounese: ''ghou² cieu¹'') is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province (Hangzhou–Jiaxing–Huzhou Plain, China). Lying south of the Lake Tai, it borders Jiaxing to the east, Hangzhou to the south, and the provinc ...

to the west,

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 ...

to the northeast, and the province of

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 ...

to the north. As of the 2020 census, its population was 5,400,868 and its built-up (or metro) area made of 2 urban districts was home to 1,518,654 inhabitants.

Administration

The

of Jiaxing administers 7 county-level divisions, including 2

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

, 3

county-level cities A county-level municipality (), county-level city or county city, formerly known as prefecture-controlled city (1949–1970: ; 1970–1983: ), is a county-level administrative division of the People's Republic of China. County-level ...

and 2

counties 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 ...

. These are further divided into 75

township-level divisions The administrative divisions of China have consisted of several levels since ancient times, due to China's large population and geographical area. The constitution of China provides for three levels of government. However in practice, there a ...

, including 60

towns A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

, 2

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

and 13

subdistrict A subdistrict or sub-district is an administrative division that is generally smaller than a district. Equivalents * Administrative posts of East Timor, formerly Portuguese-language * Kelurahan, in Indonesia * Mukim, a township in Brunei, In ...

History

Du Halde - Description de la Chine - Villes de Kia hing fou - Hou tcheou fou

Known as a place

Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period was a period in Chinese history from approximately 770 to 476 BC (or according to some authorities until 403 BC) which corresponds roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou period. The period's name derives fr ...

: Jiaxing is known as Zuili (Drunken Plums) and is an important city in the state of Yuè.

Known as a county

*210 BC:

Qin Shi Huang Qin Shi Huang (, ; 259–210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Rather than maintain the title of "king" ( ''wáng'') borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Emperor ( ...

changed the name of Jiaxing from Changshui District () to Youquan (). *231: Wild rice () of Jiaxing informed

Sun Quan Sun Quan (, Chinese: 孫權) (183 – 21 May 252), courtesy name Zhongmou (), posthumously known as Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of the Eastern Wu dynasty, one of the Three Kingdoms of China. He inherited control of the warlord regime es ...

of the Kingdom of Wu that there was a sign of auspice, so Sun changed Youchuan to Hexing District (). This why Jiaxing's abbreviation is ''He''. Sun also changed his

era name A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin ''regnum'' meaning kingdom, rule. Regnal years considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year o ...

to Jiahe () in the following year. *January 242:

Sun He Sun He (224 – November or December 253), courtesy name Zixiao, was an imperial prince of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the third son of Sun Quan, the founding emperor of Wu. In 242, he became the cro ...

was made the

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...

. Because of the

naming taboo A naming taboo is a cultural taboo against speaking or writing the given names of exalted persons, notably in China and within the Chinese cultural sphere. It was enforced by several laws throughout Imperial China, but its cultural and possibly r ...

, Jiahe was changed to Jiaxing.

Known as a prefecture

*938: (Later Jin of the

Five Dynasties The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (), from 907 to 979, was an era of political upheaval and division in 10th-century Imperial China. Five dynastic states quickly succeeded one another in the Central Plain, and more than a dozen conc ...

): Xiu Prefecture () established *1117: (

Song Dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

): Jiahe District () *1429: (

Ming Dynasty 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 ...

): Xiushui District () was established northwest of Jiaxing. *Early 1900s (the

Republic of China 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 northeast ...

): Xiushui and Jiaxing were combined into Jiahe

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 ...

*1914: Reverted to Jiaxing County (because there's a

Jiahe Jiahe () may refer to: * Jiahe County, a county of Chenzhou, Hunan Province, China * Jiahe Subdistrict, Guangzhou, a subdistrict of Baiyun District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China * Jiahe Subdistrict, Suining, a subdistrict of Chuanshan Dist ...

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...

) *1921:

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...

founded at the South Lake in Jiaxing. *1926: Following the defection of Zhejiang civil governor

Xia Chao Xia Chao (; 1882–1926) was the long-time police chief of Zhejiang Province during the Chinese Warlord Era (1916–1928), and also served as the province's civil governor from 1924 to 1926. He was among the most powerful political figures in Zhe ...

to the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...

during the

Northern Expedition The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT), also known as the "Chinese Nationalist Party", against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The ...

, the army of warlord

Sun Chuanfang Sun Chuanfang () (April 17, 1885 – November 13, 1935) a.k.a. the "Nanking Warlord" or leader of the "League of Five Provinces" was a Zhili clique warlord and protégé of the "Jade Marshal" Wu Peifu (1874–1939). Biography Sun Chuanfang ...

completely defeats Xia's largely untrained army at Jiaxing. Xia is captured and executed shortly thereafter. *1949 − 1958, 1979 (

PRC China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

): Upgraded to a city *1981: Old Jiaxing County merged into the city *1983: Upgraded to prefecture-level city

Climate

Economy

Industry is the main economic driver to the city's economy, contributing 47% to its GDP in 2015. Jiaxing is also well known as the 'hometown of

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...

', hence it is a famous producer of

textile 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 ...

s and woolens. It is one of the world's largest exporters of

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs, ...

goods. There are mechanical, chemical and electronic industries there. Jiaxing is an important energy base in East China.

Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant The Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant (秦山核电站) is a multi-unit nuclear power plant in Qinshan Town, Haiyan County, in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province, China. Development The construction of the units involved three separate phases. ;Phase I: ...

, the first self-designed nuclear power station in China, and

Fangjiashan Nuclear Power Plant Fangjiashan Nuclear Power Plant (方家山核电站) is a nuclear power plant in the Zhejiang province, China, bordering the Shanghai municipality. The plant consists of two 1,080 MW CPR-1000 pressurized water reactors (PWR) at a total cost ...

(under construction) are located in Haiyan County.

Jiaxing Export Processing Zone

Established in 2003, Jiaxing Export Processing Zone is a state-level export processing zone approved by State Council. It has a built-up area of 2.98 km². Its development goal is to become the export processing base for IT, IC, mechanical and electrical, electronics and other high-tech industries.

Tourism

* South Lake, where the

was officially founded. *

Wuzhen Wuzhen (, Wu: Whu-tsen lit. "Wu Town") is a historic scenic town, part of Tongxiang, located in the north of Zhejiang Province, China. It lies within the triangle formed by Hangzhou, Suzhou and Shanghai. Covering an area of , Wuzhen has a tota ...

Xitang Xitang (), formerly known as Xietang (), Pingtang () and Xutang (), is a historic town in Jiashan County, Zhejiang, China. It borders Luxu Town in the north, Yaozhuang Town in the east, Ganyao Town in the southeast, and Tianning Town and Town in t ...

*Jiaxing Zicheng：Jiaxing is one of the few cities in south-east China that retains any vestige of a citadel. Jiaxing Zicheng is the earliest city wall of Jiaxing. *Meiwan Street

Transportation

Zhejiang Jiaxing - Jiashan IMG 8563 Humin commune Shiyanli area - Hukun Expw G-60

The city is served by two railway stations:

Jiaxing railway station Jiaxing railway station () is a railway station located in Nanhu District, Jiaxing, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China, on the Shanghai–Kunming railway. It handles all non-high-speed rail services for Jiaxing City. High-speed trains arrive at ...

, on the

Shanghai–Kunming railway The Shanghai–Kunming Railway or Hukun Railway (), also known as the Hukun Line, is a major arterial railroad across eastern, south central and southwest China. It connects Shanghai, whose shorthand name is ''Hu'', and Kunming. The line has a t ...

, and

Jiaxing South railway station Jiaxingnan (Jiaxing South) railway station () is a railway station on the Shanghai–Hangzhou high-speed railway located in Nanhu District, Jiaxing, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China. It is only used for high-speed EMU G and D trains and has ...

on the high speed Shanghai–Hangzhou Passenger Railway. The city is served by two long-distance bus stations: Jiaxing North Bus Station and the new Jiaxing Transportation Center. Jiaxing is on the

G92 Hangzhou Bay Ring Expressway The Hangzhou Bay Ring Expressway (), officially the Hangzhou Bay Region Ring Expressway () and designated G92, Standardization Administration of the People's Republic of China. Mark rules of highway route and number of national trunk highway (GB/T ...

G60 Shanghai–Kunming Expressway The Shanghai–Kunming Expressway (), commonly referred to as the ''Hukun Expressway'' () is an expressway that connects the cities of Shanghai, China, and Kunming, Yunnan. It is in length. The entire route forms part of Asian Highway 3. Route Th ...

and

China National Highway 320 China National Highway 320 (G320) runs southwest from Shanghai through the provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan and Guizhou before ending in Ruili, Yunnan at the Sino–Burmese border. It is in length.Jiaxing Air Base is being converted to a public-use airport.

Language

Jiaxing dialect is a

Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

Wu dialect The Wu languages (; Romanization of Wu Chinese, Wu romanization and Romanization of Wu Chinese#IPA, IPA: ''wu6 gniu6'' [] (Shanghainese), ''ng2 gniu6'' [] (Suzhounese), Mandarin pinyin and IPA: ''Wúyǔ'' []) is a major group of Sinitic languag ...

in the Sujiahu dialect grouping. As such, it is a sister dialect of both

Shanghainese The Shanghainese language, also known as the Shanghai dialect, or Hu language, is a variety of Wu Chinese spoken in the Districts of Shanghai, central districts of the Shanghai, City of Shanghai and its surrounding areas. It is classified as ...

and

Suzhou dialect 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 ...

, and easily intelligible with both. It is not mutually intelligible with Mandarin or other varieties of Chinese such as Cantonese, Hokkien or Hakka.

Religion

Local people 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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

Jiaxing Catholic Church Jiaxing Catholic Church () is a Roman Catholic Church in downtown Jiaxing, Zhejiang, China. History Jiaxing Catholic Church was originally built by French priest Bu Shijia () in 1902, under the Qing dynasty (1644–1911). It was the headquart ...

and Jiaxing Vincent Abbey are well-known Roman Catholic Churches in Jiaxing.

Notable people

Zhu Yizun Zhu Yizun (; 1629–1709) was an author and poet during the Qing dynasty. In his early literary career, Zhu was recognized for his talent and helped by Gong Dingzi.Zhang, 82 Zhu became the founder of the Zhexi school of ''ci'' poetry (song lyrics ...

(), scholar and poet *

Wang Guowei Wang Guowei (; 2 December 18772 June 1927) or Wang Kuo-wei, courtesy name Jing'an () or Boyu (), was a Chinese historian and poet. A versatile and original scholar, he made important contributions to the studies of ancient history, epigraphy, ph ...

(), scholar, writer and poet *

Xu Zhimo Xu Zhimo (, , Mandarin: , 15 January 1897 – 19 November 1931) was a Chinese romantic poet who strove to loosen Chinese poetry from its traditional forms and to reshape it under the influences of Western poetry and the vernacular Chinese langu ...

(), poet *

Shiing-Shen Chern Shiing-Shen Chern (; , ; October 28, 1911 – December 3, 2004) was a Chinese-American mathematician and poet. He made fundamental contributions to differential geometry and topology. He has been called the "father of modern differential geome ...

(), mathematician *

Mao Dun Shen Dehong (Shen Yanbing; 4 July 1896 – 27 March 1981), known by the pen name of Mao Dun, was a Chinese essayist, journalist, novelist, and playwright. Mao Dun, as a 20th-century Chinese novelist, literary and cultural critic, and Minist ...

(), novelist, critic, journalist * Zhang Yuanji (), publisher at

Commercial Press The Commercial Press () is the first modern publishing organisation in China. History In 1897, 26-year-old Xia Ruifang and three of his friends (including the Bao brothers Bao Xian'en and Bao Xianchang) founded The Commercial Press in Shang ...

Zhang Zhongjun Zhang Zhongjun (; 1913–1995), also known as Tsun-Tsing Chang or T.T. Chang, was a Chinese electrical engineer and a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Biography Zhang was born in Jiashan, Zhejiang Province in 1913. He attended Shangh ...

(), scientist *

Xu Kuangdi Xu Kuangdi KmstkNO FREng (; born December 1937) is a Chinese politician and scientist, best known for his term as Mayor of Shanghai from 1995 to 2001. He supervised the transformation of Shanghai during his administration into a center for in ...

(), scientist, politician *

Zhu Shenghao Zhu Shenghao () (February 2, 1912 – December 26, 1944) was a Chinese translator. Born in Jiaxing, Zhejiang of China, he was among the first few in China who translated the works of William Shakespeare's into Chinese language. His translation ...

(), translator *

Zhang Leping Zhang Leping (, November 10, 1910 – September 27, 1992) was a Chinese comic artist born in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province. He played a key role in the development of modern manhua in China, and is mostly remembered for his work in Sanmao. Early l ...

(), cartoonist, creator of Sanmao * Yang Borun (), poet, calligrapher, painter *

Jin Yong Louis Cha Leung-yung (; 10 March 1924 – 30 October 2018), better known by his pen name Jin Yong (), pronounced "Gum Yoong" in Cantonese, was a Chinese wuxia (" martial arts and chivalry") novelist and essayist who co-founded the Hong Kong d ...

(), novelist * Fan Xiping (), Go player * Miao Huixin, artist *

Shen Junru Shen Junru (; January 2, 1875 – June 11, 1963) was a Chinese lawyer, political figure, and the first president of the Supreme People's Court of China of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China. Biography Shen was b ...

(), politician, patriot * Wu Outing (), poet, painter, culture scholar *

Zhou Hanming Zhou Hanming (born 18 October 1980, in Guangzhou, Guangdong) is a Chinese Sabre fencer, who competed at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics. Major performances *2004 World Cup France - 2nd team; *2004 Olympic Games - 7th team See also *China a ...

, mathematician *

Wang Yilyu Wang Yilyu (; ; born 8 November 1994), sometimes also transliterated as Wang Yilu, Wang Yilv or Wang Yilü, is a Chinese badminton player. He is the reigning mixed doubles Olympic Champion, and was two-time mixed doubles Asian Champion winning ...

(王懿律),

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

champion

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

*
Government website of Jiaxing
{{Authority control Cities in Zhejiang Port cities and towns in China Prefecture-level divisions of Zhejiang