Taicang

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Taicang
太仓
County-level city
太仓市
Taicang
Location in China
Coordinates: 31°27′N 121°06′E / 31.450°N 121.100°E / 31.450; 121.100Coordinates: 31°27′N 121°06′E / 31.450°N 121.100°E / 31.450; 121.100
Country People's Republic of China
Province Jiangsu
Prefecture-level city Suzhou
Township-level divisions 7 towns
Municipal seat Chengxiang (城厢镇)
Area
 • Total 642 km2 (248 sq mi)
Population (2011)
 • Total 947,000
 • Density 1,500/km2 (3,800/sq mi)
Time zone China Standard (UTC+8)
Postal code 215400
Area code(s) 0512

Taicang (simplified Chinese: 太仓; traditional Chinese: 太倉; pinyin: Tàicāng) is a city in southeastern Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. It is approximately 60 km (37 mi) to the northwest of Shanghai, and the same distance 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 administers seven towns:[1]

  • Chengxiang (城厢镇), Shaxi (沙溪镇), Ludu (陆渡镇，已并入城厢镇), Liuhe (浏河镇), Fuqiao (浮桥镇), Huangjing (璜泾镇), Shuangfeng (双凤镇)

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.

Famous Residents

Chien-Shiung Wu
Pioneering 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. Wu left China in 1936 to study physics in United States. She became an American citizen in 1954 and was one of the most well-respected physicists of the 20th century, specializing in the study of atomic physics and radioactivity.[2]
Steven Chu
Nobel Prize-winning physicist and former United States Secretary of Energy. Like Chien-Shiung Wu’s father, Steven Chu’s paternal grandfather was also a well-respected local educator. He had eight daughters and four sons, most of them excelling in science and technology. Steven Chu’s father, Ju-Chin Chu, left Taicang with his family in 1943 to continue his education at MIT. An elementary school in Taicang - Zhu Diwen Xiaoxue - is named after Steven Chu..

Transportation

Taicang is 60 miles away from Shanghai Pudong International Airport, and even closer to Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport.

There is presently no railway in Taicang itself, the closest train stations being in the nearby Kunshan (Kunshan South Railway Station on the Beijing–Shanghai High-Speed Railway and the Shanghai-Nanjing Intercity Railway, and Kunshan Railway Station on the Beijing–Shanghai Railway) or in Shanghai's Jiading District (Anting North Railway Station). However, plans exist for a cross-river railway from Nantong to the Shanghai metropolitan area (the Shanghai–Nantong Railway), which will directly serve Taicang. Construction work is expected to start in 2013 and to take five and a half years.[3]

Friendship cities

See also

  • Jincang Lake, Taicang

External links

References

  1. ↑ "2011年统计用区划代码和城乡划分代码：太仓市" (in Simplified Chinese). National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China. Retrieved 2013-06-03. 
  2. ↑ McGrayne, Sharon Bertsch (1998). Nobel Prize Women in Science : Their Lives, Struggles, and Momentous Discoveries (Rev. ed. ed.). Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press. p. 54. ISBN 0-309-07270-0. 
  3. ↑ 沪通铁路2013年正式开建 南通到上海仅需一小时 (Construction work on the Hu-Tong Railway will officially start in 2013. It will take just an hour to travel from Nantong to Shanghai), 2012-12-24, (Chinese)
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