Taicang
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Taicang (simplified Chinese: 太仓; traditional Chinese: 太倉; pinyin: Tàicāng) is a coastal city in Jiangsu Province of People's Republic of China. It is 40 miles to the northwest of Shanghai, and 40 miles 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.
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[edit] Administration
Taicang is a county-level city under the juridiction of Suzhou prefecture-level city.
Towns unders the juridiction of Taicang include:
- Liuhe
- Fuqiao
- Chengxiang
- Shaxi
- Huangjing
- Shuangfeng
- Ludu
[edit] 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. So the city develops into a port city over the years. In Yuan dynasty, the city reached its peak around 1271-1368, as the NO.1 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.
[edit] 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. Latitude: 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] People
Chien-Shiung Wu’s father, Zhong-Yi Wu, established Mingde Girl Vocational School in 1913, which is one of the first girl school in China. The modern day Mingde School evolves into several schools, covering whole K12 education in Taicang, and it enrolls both genders.
Like Chien-Shiung Wu’s father, Steven Chow’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 Chow’s father, Ju-Chin Chu left China in 1943 to continue his education at MIT.
[edit] Transportation
Taicang is 60 miles away from Shanghai Pudong International Airport.
[edit] Friendship Cities
- Aoya, Japan
- Malindi, Kenya
- Rosolina, Italy
- Surrey, Canada
- Wellow, Great Britain
- Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States (pending)
[edit] External links
- Taicang English guide (Jiangsu.NET)
[edit] Miscellaenous
Taicang's Liuhe Township (瀏河) is the female physicist Chien-Shiung Wu's hometown.
It is home to Mingde High School, an early Chinese school for girls which was established during the 1910s.
Coordinates: 31°26′52″N 121°05′38″E / 31.44778°N 121.09389°E
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