Changshu (; Suzhounese: /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 county-level administrative division of the People's Republic of China. County-level ...

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 trad ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with it ...

province, and is part of the Yangtze River Delta. 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 Chi ...

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

to the northeast across the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...

. 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 deli ...

means "great granary".

History

Changshu first became an independent

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers 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 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 n ...

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 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 pe ...

-producing district. Although administratively still a subordinate city to

, it is a provincial base of foreign trade. 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 a ...

Economy

The city's major industries include textiles,

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 distribu ...

-making, fine chemicals, machinery,

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-resistan ...

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. ...

products. The city has more than 4,000 textile and apparel 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 no ...

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

Administrative divisions

Changshu is divided into 2 subdistricts and 9 towns.

2 Subdistricts

* Bixi () * Dongnan ()

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, formerly 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 the Bohai Strait, Yantai borders Qingdao on the ...

-Changshu-

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

, Sujiahang Expressway and

- Jiaxing-

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also Chinese postal romanization, romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the prov ...

all pass through Changshu. Changshu has one Yangtze River crossing, the Sutong Yangtze River Bridge, 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 The Changshu Institute of Technology (CIT) () is a provincial public university, which is characterized by polytechnic, application technology and teacher education. It is located in the center of the Yangtze Delta, in Changshu, a satellite city ...

()

High schools

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

Hills

* Yushan () * Fushan Hills () * Tongguan Hill () * Dianshan Hill () * Xishan Hill ()

Archaeological sites

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

Yanzi's Tomb Yanzi's Tomb () is the tomb of Yan Yan, a prominent disciple of Confucius. He is honorifically known as Yanzi (Master Yan). The tomb is located on Yushan, Changshu, Jiangsu Province, China. Yanzi was a native of Changshu. As a young man he we ...

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 ...

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

Protestantism Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

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

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 w ...

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 C ...

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 fif ...

* 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 imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han pe ...

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-speak ...

dynasties * Wu Li (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 (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 ...

(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 phys ...

(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