Jiangsu

Jiangsu Province 江苏省
Province
Name transcription(s)
• Chinese	江苏省 (Jiāngsū Shěng)
• Abbreviation	苏 (pinyin: Sū)
• Wu	Kaonsou San
Map showing the location of Jiangsu Province
Coordinates: 32°54′N 119°48′E / 32.9°N 119.8°E / 32.9; 119.8Coordinates: 32°54′N 119°48′E / 32.9°N 119.8°E / 32.9; 119.8
Named for	江 jiāng – Jiangning (now Nanjing) 苏 sū – Suzhou
Capital	Nanjing
Largest city	Suzhou
Divisions	13 prefectures, 106 counties, 1488 townships
Government
• Secretary	Luo Zhijun
• Governor	Shi Taifeng (acting)
Area
• Total	102,600 km2 (39,600 sq mi)
Area rank	25th
Population (2012)[1]
• Total	79,200,000
• Rank	5th
• Density	770/km2 (2,000/sq mi)
• Density rank	4th
Demographics
• Ethnic composition	Han – 99.6% Hui – 0.2%
• Languages and dialects	Jianghuai Mandarin, Wu, Zhongyuan Mandarin
ISO 3166 code	CN-32
GDP (2015)	CNY 7.191 trillion US$ 1.093 trillion[2] (2nd)
• per capita	CNY 90,821 US$ 14,105 ([[List of Chinese administrative divisions by GDP per capita|]])
HDI (2010)	0.748[3] (high) (4th)
Website	www.jiangsu.gov.cn

Jiangsu ( listen ), earlier romanized as Kiangsu, is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the second smallest, but the fifth most populous and the most densely populated of the 22 provinces of China. Jiangsu is the Number 2 province in GDP.^[4] Jiangsu borders Shandong in the north, Anhui to the west, and Zhejiang and Shanghai to the south. Jiangsu has a coastline of over 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) along the Yellow Sea, and the Yangtze River passes through the southern part of the province.

Its name comes from Jiang, short for the city of Jiangning (江寧, now Nanjing), and su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" (sū), the second character of its name.^[5]

Since the Sui and Tang dynasties, Jiangsu has become one of the nation's economic and commercial centers, partly due to the construction of Grand Canal. Yangzhou, Nanjing, Wuxi, Suzhou and Shanghai have all been among the foremost hubs of economic activity in China. Shanghai was separated from Jiangsu to become a municipality in 1927. Since the initiation of economic reforms in 1990, Jiangsu has become a focal point for economic development. It is widely regarded as China's most developed province measured by its Human Development Index (HDI).^[3] However, its development is not evenly distributed, with the Wu-speaking southern part of the province being significantly more well-off than its Mandarin-speaking north, which sometimes causes tensions between northern and southern residents.^[6]

Jiangsu is home to many of the world's leading exporters of electronic equipment, chemicals and textiles.^[7] It has also been China's largest recipient of foreign direct investment since 2006. Its 2014 nominal GDP was more than 1 trillion US dollars, which is the sixth highest of all country subdivisions.

History

During the earliest Chinese dynasties, the area in what is now Jiangsu was far removed from the center of Chinese civilization, which was in the northwest Henan; it was home of the Huai Yi (淮夷), an ancient ethnic group. During the Zhou Dynasty more contact was made, and eventually the state of Wu (centered at Gusu, now Suzhou) appeared as a vassal to the Zhou Dynasty in south Jiangsu, one of the many hundreds of states that existed across northern and central China at that time. Near the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, Wu became a great power under King Helu of Wu, and was able to defeat in 484 BC the state of Qi, a major power in the north in modern-day Shandong province, and contest for the position of overlord over all states of China. The state of Wu was subjugated in 473 BC by the state of Yue, another state that had emerged to the south in modern-day Zhejiang province. Yue was in turn subjugated by the powerful state of Chu from the west in 333 BC. Eventually the state of Qin swept away all the other states, and established China as a unified nation in 221 BC.^[8]

One of the tortoise stelae of Xiao Dan (478—522), a member of the Liang royal family. Ganjiaxiang, Qixia District, near Nanjing

Under the reign of the Han Dynasty (206 BC to 220 AD), Jiangsu was removed from the centers of civilization in the North China Plain, and was administered under two zhou (provinces): Xuzhou Province in the north, and Yangzhou Province in the south. During the Three Kingdoms period, southern Jiangsu became the base of the Eastern Wu (222 to 280) whose capital, Jiankang, is modern Nanjing. When nomadic invasions overran northern China in the 4th century, the imperial court of the Jin Dynasty moved to Jiankang. Cities in southern and central Jiangsu swelled with the influx of migrants from the north. Jiankang remained as the capital for four successive Southern Dynasties and became the largest commercial and cultural center in China.^[9]

The Huqiu Tower of Tiger Hill, Suzhou, built in 961.

After the Sui Dynasty united the country in 581, the political center of the country shifted back to the north, but the Grand Canal was built through Jiangsu to link the Central Plain with the prosperous Yangtze Delta. The Tang Dynasty (618 to 907) relied on southern Jiangsu for annual deliveries of grain. It was during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), which saw the development of a wealthy mercantile class and emergent market economy in China, that south Jiangsu emerged as a center of trade. From then onwards, south Jiangsu, especially major cities like Suzhou or Yangzhou, would be synonymous with opulence and luxury in China. Today south Jiangsu remains one of the richest parts of China, and Shanghai, arguably the wealthiest and most cosmopolitan of mainland China cities, is a direct extension of south Jiangsu culture.

The Jurchen Jin Dynasty gained control of North China in 1127 during the Jin-Song wars, and Huai River, which used to cut through north Jiangsu to reach the Yellow Sea, was the border between the north, under the Jin, and the south, under the Southern Song Dynasty. The Mongols took control of China in the thirteenth century. The Ming Dynasty, which was established in 1368 after driving out the Mongols who had occupied China, initially put its capital in Nanjing. Following a coup by Zhu Di (later, the Yongle Emperor), however, the capital was moved to Beijing, far to the north. (The naming of the two cities continue to reflect this: "Nanjing" literally means "southern capital", "Beijing" literally means "northern capital.) The entirety of modern day Jiangsu as well as neighbouring Anhui province kept their special status, however, as territory-governed directly by the central government, and were called Nanzhili (南直隸 "Southern directly governed"). Meanwhile, South Jiangsu continued to be an important center of trade in China; some historians see in the flourishing textiles industry at the time incipient industrialization and capitalism, a trend that was however aborted, several centuries before similar trends took hold in the West.

The Beisi Pagoda of Suzhou, built between 1131 and 1162 during the Song Dynasty, 76 m (243 ft) tall.

The Qing Dynasty changed this situation by establishing Nanzhili as Jiangnan province; in 1666 Jiangsu and Anhui were split apart as separate provinces, and Jiangsu was given borders approximately the same as today.

"In 1727 the to-min or "idle people" of Cheh Kiang province (a Ningpo name still existing), the yoh-hu or "music people" of Shan Si province, the si-min or "small people" of Kiang Su province, and the tan-ka or "egg-people" of Canton (to this day the boat population there), were all freed from their social disabilities, and allowed to count as free men."^[10]

With the start of the Western incursion into China in the 1840s, the rich and mercantile south Jiangsu was increasingly exposed to Western influence; Shanghai, originally an unremarkable little town of Jiangsu, quickly developed into a metropolis of trade, banking, and cosmopolitanism, and was split out later as an independent municipality. South Jiangsu also figures strongly in the Taiping Rebellion (1851 – 1864), a massive and deadly rebellion that attempted to set up a Christian theocracy in China; it started far to the south in Guangdong province, swept through much of South China, and by 1853 had established Nanjing as its capital, renamed as Tianjing (天京 "Heavenly Capital").

The Republic of China was established in 1912,^[11] and China was soon torn apart by warlords. Jiangsu changed hands several times, but in April 1927 Chiang Kai-Shek established a government at Nanjing; he was soon able to bring most of China under his control. This was however interrupted by the second Sino-Japanese War, which began full-scale in 1937; on December 13, 1937, Nanjing fell, and the combined atrocities of the occupying Japanese for the next 3 months would come to be known as the Nanjing Massacre. Nanjing was the seat of the collaborationist government of East China under Wang Jingwei, and Jiangsu remained under occupation until the end of the war in 1945.

After the war, Nanjing was once again the capital of the Republic of China, though now the Chinese Civil War had broken out between the Kuomintang government and Communist forces, based further north, mostly in Northeast China. The decisive Huaihai Campaign was fought in northern Jiangsu; it resulted in Kuomintang defeat, and the communists were soon able to cross the Yangtze River and take Nanjing. The Kuomintang fled southwards, and eventually ended up in Taipei, from which the Republic of China government continues to administer Taiwan and its neighboring islands, though it also continues to claim (technically, at least) Nanjing as its rightful capital.

After communist takeover, Beijing was made capital of the People's Republic and Nanjing was demoted to be the provincial capital of Jiangsu. The economic reforms of Deng Xiaoping initially focused on the south coast of China, in Guangdong province, which soon left Jiangsu behind; starting from the 1990s they were applied more evenly to the rest of China. Suzhou and Wuxi, two southern cities of Jiangsu in close proximity to neighboring Shanghai, have since become particularly prosperous, being among the top 10 cities in China in gross domestic product and outstripping the provincial capital of Nanjing. The income disparity between north Jiangsu and south Jiangsu however remains large.

Geography

Town of Zhouzhuang in Kunshan. Southern Jiangsu, or Sunan (苏南), is famed for its towns crisscrossed by canals.

Jiangsu is very flat and low-lying, with plains covering 68 percent of its total area (water covers another 18 percent), and most of the province stands not more than 50 metres (160 ft) above sea level. Jiangsu is also laced with a well-developed irrigation system, which earned it (especially the southern half) the moniker of 水乡 (shuǐxiāng "land of water"); the southern city of Suzhou is so crisscrossed with canals that it has been dubbed "Venice of the East" or the "Venice of the Orient".^[12][13] The Grand Canal of China cuts through Jiangsu from north to south, traversing all the east-west river systems. Jiangsu also borders the Yellow Sea. The Yangtze River, the longest river of China, cuts through the province in the south and reaches the East China Sea. Mount Yuntai near the city of Lianyungang is the highest point in this province, with an altitude of 625 meters. Large lakes in Jiangsu include Lake Taihu (the largest), Lake Hongze, Lake Gaoyou, Lake Luoma, and Lake Yangcheng.

Historically, the river Huai He, a major river in central China and the traditional border between North China and South China, cut through north Jiangsu to reach the Yellow Sea. However, from 1194 the Yellow River further to the north changed its course several times, running into the Huai He in north Jiangsu each time instead of its other usual path northwards into Bohai Bay. The silting caused by the Yellow River was so heavy that after its last episode of "hijacking" the Huai He ended in 1855: the Huai He was no longer able to go through its usual path into the sea. Instead it flooded, pooled up (thereby forming and enlarging Lake Hongze and Lake Gaoyou), and flowed southwards through the Grand Canal into the Yangtze. The old path of the Huai He is now marked by a series of irrigation channels, the most significant of which is the North Jiangsu Main Irrigation Canal (苏北灌溉总渠), which channels a small amount of the water of the Huai He alongside south of its old path into the sea.

On the Grand Canal near Yangzhou

Most of Jiangsu has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa or Cwa in the Köppen climate classification), beginning to transition into a humid continental climate (Köppen Dwa) in the far north. Seasonal changes are clear-cut, with temperatures at an average of −1 to 4 °C (30 to 39 °F) in January and 26 to 29 °C (79 to 84 °F) in July. Rain falls frequently between spring and summer (meiyu), typhoons with rainstorms occur in late summer and early autumn. The annual average rainfall is 800 to 1,200 millimetres (31 to 47 in), concentrated mostly in summer during the southeast monsoon.

Major cities:^[14]

Administrative divisions

Jiangsu is divided into thirteen prefecture-level divisions, all prefecture-level cities (including a sub-provincial city):

Administrative divisions of Jiangsu
№	Division code[15]	English name	Chinese	Pinyin	Area in km2[16]	Population 2010[17]	Seat	Divisions[18]
								Districts	Counties	CL cities
	320000	Jiangsu	江苏省	Jiāngsū Shěng	102600.00	78,659,903	Nanjing	55	21	21
1	320100	Nanjing	南京市	Nánjīng Shì	6582.31	8,004,680	Xuanwu District	11
9	320200	Wuxi	无锡市	Wúxī Shì	4787.61	6,372,624	Liangxi District	5		2
10	320300	Xuzhou	徐州市	Xúzhōu Shì	11764.88	8,580,500	Yunlong District	5	3	2
2	320400	Changzhou	常州市	Chángzhōu Shì	4384.57	4,591,972	Xinbei District	5		1
7	320500	Suzhou	苏州市	Sūzhōu Shì	8488.42	10,465,994	Gusu District	5		4
5	320600	Nantong	南通市	Nántōng Shì	8001.00	7,282,835	Chongchuan District	3	2	3
4	320700	Lianyungang	连云港市	Liányúngǎng Shì	7615.29	4,393,914	Haizhou District	3	3
3	320800	Huai'an	淮安市	Huái'ān Shì	9949.97	4,799,889	Qinghe District	4	4
11	320900	Yancheng	盐城市	Yánchéng Shì	16972.42	7,260,240	Tinghu District	3	5	1
12	321000	Yangzhou	扬州市	Yángzhōu Shì	6591.21	4,459,760	Hanjiang District	3	1	2
13	321100	Zhenjiang	镇江市	Zhènjiāng Shì	3840.32	3,113,384	Jingkou District	3		3
8	321200	Taizhou	泰州市	Tàizhōu Shì	5787.26	4,618,558	Hailing District	3		3
6	321300	Suqian	宿迁市	Sùqiān Shì	8555.00	4,715,553	Sucheng District	2	3
Sub-provincial cities

The thirteen prefecture-level divisions of Jiangsu are subdivided into 98 county-level divisions (56 districts, 21 county-level cities, and 21 counties). Those are in turn divided into 1,488 township-level divisions (1,078 towns, 122 townships, one ethnic township, and 287 subdistricts).

Politics

The politics of Jiangsu is structured in a one party (Communist) government system like all other governing institutions in mainland China.

The Governor of Jiangsu is the highest-ranking official in the People's Government of Jiangsu. However, in the province's dual party-government governing system, the Governor has less power than the Jiangsu Communist Party of China Provincial Committee Secretary, colloquially termed the "Jiangsu CPC Party Chief".

Economy

An industrial landscape in Ganjiaxiang, Qixia District, Nanjing

Jiangsu has the highest GDP per capital of all Chinese provinces.

The province has an extensive irrigation system supporting its agriculture, which is based primarily on rice and wheat, followed by maize and sorghum. Main cash crops include cotton, soybeans, peanuts, rapeseed, sesame, ambary hemp, and tea. Other products include peppermint, spearmint, bamboo, medicinal herbs, apples, pears, peaches, loquats, ginkgo. Silkworms form an important part of Jiangsu's agriculture, with the Lake Taihu region to the south a major base of silk production in China. Jiangsu is an important producer of freshwater fish and other aquatic products.

Jiangsu has coal, petroleum, and natural gas deposits, but its most significant mineral products are non-metal minerals such as halite (rock salt), sulfur, phosphorus, and marble. The salt mines of Huaiyin have more than 0.4 trillion tonnes of deposits, one of the greatest collections of deposits in China.

Jiangsu is historically oriented toward light industries such as textiles and food industry. Since 1949, Jiangsu has developed heavy industries such as chemical industry and construction materials. Jiangsu's important industries include machinery, electronic, chemicals, and automobile.^[19][20] The government has worked hard to promote the solar industry and hoped by 2012 the solar industry would be worth 100 billion RMB.^[21] The economic reforms of Deng Xiaoping have greatly benefited southern cities, especially Suzhou and Wuxi, which outstrip the provincial capital Nanjing in total output. In the eastern outskirts of Suzhou, Singapore has built the Suzhou Industrial Park, a flagship of Sino-Singaporean cooperation and the only industrial park in China that is in its entirety the investment of a single foreign country.

Jiangsu is very wealthy among the provinces of China, with the second highest total GDP, after Guangdong Province. Its GDP per capita was 44,232 yuan in 2009, but a wealth gap between the prosperous south and poorer north has led to unequal economic growth.^[19] Cities like Nanjing, Suzhou and Wuxi have GDP per capita around twice the provincial average, making south Jiangsu one of the most prosperous regions in China.

In 2011, Jiangsu's nominal GDP was 4.80 trillion yuan (US$759 billion), making it the second largest GDP of all the provinces and an annual growth rate of 12.4%. Its per capita GDP was 52,448 yuan (US$7,945). In 2009, the share of GDP of Jiangsu's primary, secondary, and tertiary industries were 6.4%, 54.1%, and 39.5% respectively.

Economic and Technological Development Zones

Changzhou Export Processing Zone

Changzhou Export Processing Zone was approved to be established in June 2005, with a planning area of 1.66 square kilometres (0.64 sq mi). In October 2006, it started operation. It is near Shanghai and Nanjing, where it enjoys convenient transportation. Investors can enjoy a series of preferential policies and handle all the export procedures inside the export processing zone. It focuses on electronic information, electromechanical integration and new materials.^[22]

Changzhou National Hi-Tech District

Changzhou National Hi-Tech District (CND) is a state-level high-tech industrial development zone. It is in the northern part of Changzhou city. With a population of 500,000 and an area of 439 square km, CND is 160 kilometres (99 mi) from Shanghai to the east and 110 kilometres (68 mi) from Nanjing to the west. CND is the highest-level and most sophisticated industrial park in Changzhou, and more than 1,300 foreign companies and over 5,000 local industrial enterprises have been registered in CND. Among these investments, around 40% are from European and American countries. Industries encouraged include Engineering Machinery, Transformer & Transmission Equipment, Automotive, Locomotive and its components, Parts, Precision Machinery, Biotechnology/Pharmaceuticals, PV and New Materials, Chemistry, Garment and Textiles Production, Computer Software, Research and Development. Some major investors include Terex, Komatsu, Ashland Chemical, Johnson, Caltex Oil Corp., Disa, +GF+, Rieter and General Electronics.^[23]

Kunshan Economic and Technological Development Zone

Kunshan Economic & Technical Development Zone (KETD) was founded in 1985 and was upgraded by the State Council to a state-level development zone in 1992. Kunshan is in the south of Yangtze River Delta, with Shanghai to its east and Suzhou to its west. KETD has spent over RMB13 billion on the public infrastructure in terms of roads, telecommunication, water supply, energy and environmental protection.^[24]

Kunshan Export Processing Zone

Kunshan Export Processing Zone was established on April 2000 upon approval from the state government. It is in Kunshan Economic and Technological Development Zone. It has a planned area of 2.86 square kilometres (1.10 sq mi). In the zone, there are electronic information, optical, precision machinery industry and bonded logistics industry clusters. It enjoys convenient transportation: it is 45 kilometres (28 mi) from Shanghai Pudong International Airport and 60 kilometres (37 mi) from the Port of Shanghai.^[25]

Nanjing Baixia Hi-Tech Industrial Zone

Nanjing Baixia Hi-Tech Industrial Zone is a national hi-tech industrial zone with 16.5 square kilometres (6.4 sq mi) planned area. The zone is only 13.5 kilometres (8.4 mi) from downtown Nanjing and 50 kilometres (31 mi) from Nanjing Lukou Airport. Several expressways pass through. It is well equipped with comprehensive facilities, and it provides a good investment environment for high-tech industries. Electronic industry, automobile, chemical, machinery, instruments and building materials are the encouraged industries.^[26]

Nanjing Economic and Technological Development Zone

Established in 1992, Nanjing Economic and Technological Development Zone is a national-level zone surrounded by convenient transportation network. It is only 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Nanjing Port and 40 kilometres (25 mi) from Nanjing Lukou Airport. It is well equipped with basic facilities like electricity, water, communication, gas, steam and so on. It has formed four specialized industries: electronic information, bio-pharmaceutical, machinery, and new materials industry.^[27]

Nanjing Export Processing Zone

On March 10, 2003 the State Council approved the establishment of this Export Processing Zone (EPZ) in Nanjing's Southern District. This EPZ is free from import/export duty area and provides 24-hour customs-bonded conditions. It has a planned area of 3 square km. The Central Government has given the special economic region preferential policies to attract more enterprises engaged in processing trade investment in the region. It is only 20 km (12 mi) from Nanjing Port and several expressways pass through.^[28]

Nanjing New & High-Tech Industry Development Zone

Nanjing New & High-Tech Industry Development Zone was jointly founded by Jiangsu Provincial People's Government and Nanjing Municipal People's Government. It started to break ground of construction on September 1, 1988. It was established as a national new and high-tech industry development zone by the State Council on March 6, 1991. The zone is next to China National Highway 104 and 312. Its pillar industries include electronic information, bio-engineering and pharmaceuticals.^[29]

Nantong Economic & Technological Development Area

Established in 1984, Nantong Economic & Technological Development Area (NETDA) was one of the first state-level development zones approved by the Central Government; it has been certified as an ISO 14000 National Demonstration Zone. The zone benefits from superior transportation facilities by rail and road. NETDA has direct links to two railways: the Xinyi-Changxing Railway and the Nanjing-Qidong Railway. Su-Tong Yangtze River Bridge feeds into the center of NETDA and connects the Nanjing-Nantong and Yancheng-Nantong Expressways to the north and Shanghai-Nanjiang and Suzhou-Jiaxing-Hangzhou Expressways and Riverside Expressways to the south.^[30]

Nantong Export Processing Zone

Nantong Export Processing Zone (NTEPZ) is in Nantong Economic and Technological Development Area with a planned area of 2.98 square kilometres (1.15 sq mi). The Tong-Qi canal marks its western and northern boundaries, the Dongfang Avenue and Fuxin Road marking its eastern and southern boundary respectively. The NTPEZ is at a hub of communications, adjoining the main coastal artery of communications between north and south, close to the estuary of Yangze River, and only 8 kilometres (5 miles) to the Su(Suzhou)-Tong(Nangtong) Changjiang Bridge.^[31]

Lianyungang Economic & Technological Development Zone

Lianyungang Economic & Technological Development Zone (LETDZ) was approved by the State Council as one of the first batch of state-level development zones in December 1984. It is in the eastern new seashore urban area of Liangyungang City. Lianyungang Airport is 10 to 20 kilometres (6.2 to 12.4 mi) away and G310 is 10 to 20 kilometres (6.2 to 12.4 mi). Distance to nearest port, Lianyungang port is 20 to 50 kilometres (12 to 31 mi).^[32]

Lianyungang Export Processing Zone

Lianyungang Export Processing Zone is in Lianyungang Economic & Technological Development Zone (LETDZ).^[33]

Suzhou Industrial Park

Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) is the largest joint project between the Chinese and Singaporean governments. It sits around Jinji Lake, which lies to the east of Suzhou Old City. On 26 February 1994, Vice Premier Li Lanqing and Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew represented China and Singapore respectively in signing the Agreement to jointly develop Suzhou Industrial Park. The project officially commenced on 12 May in the same year. SIP has a total jurisdiction area of 288 square kilometres (111 sq mi), of which, the China-Singapore cooperation area covers 80 square kilometres (31 sq mi)with a planned residential population of 1.2 million.^[34]

Suzhou Industrial Park Export Processing Zone

The Suzhou Industrial Park Export Processing Zone was approved to be established by the government in April 2000, with a planning area of 2.9 square kilometres (1.1 sq mi). It is in Suzhou Industrial Park set up by China and Singapore. Inside the Export Processing Zone, all the infrastructures are of high standard. With the information platform and electronic methods, all the customs declaration and other procedures can be handled on line. Investors can enjoys many preferential policies.^[35]

Suzhou Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone

The Suzhou Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone was established in 1990. In November 1992, the zone was approved to be the national-level hi-tech industrial zone. By the end of 2007, foreign-invested companies had a total registered capital worth of US$13 billion, of which $6.8 billion was paid in. SND hosts more than 1,500 foreign companies. Some 40 Fortune 500 companies set up 67 projects in the district.^[36]

Wuxi New District

Since it was established in 1992, Wuxi New District (WND) has evolved into of the major industrial parks in China. A wide variety of components, sub-systems and original equipment are made in WND. Approximately 1200 enterprises have been registered in WND by the end of 2008. Wuxi New District provides strong support for international manufacturing operations. The zone focuses on formation of the five pillar industries of electronic information, precision machinery and mechanical and electrical integration, bio-pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals and new materials.^[37]

Wuxi Export Processing Zone

Established in 1992, Wuxi Export Processing Zone is in Wuxi New District with a planned area of 2.98 square kilometres (1.15 sq mi). The encouraged industries include electronic information, optical-mechanical-electronic-integration, precision machinery, and new materials. It is near Wuxi Airport and Changzhou Port.^[38]

Yixing Economic Development Zone

As a provincial-level industrial zone approved by the Jiangsu government, the zone is composed of Industrial, Logistic, and Executive Business zones. The general planning area is 56.7 square kilometres (21.9 sq mi). The developed coverage has reached up to 18.7 square kilometres (7.2 sq mi) and the five main industries of electric circuit, textile and clothes, fine chemical, electro-mechanization and auto parts have been formed. So far, you can find 719 enterprises in the zone.^[39]

Zhenjiang Export Processing Zone

Zhenjiang Export Processing Zone was approved by the State Council on March 10, 2003 with a planned area of 2.53 square kilometres (0.98 sq mi). The first-phrase project completed in December 2003 covers 0.91 square kilometres (0.35 sq mi) and was certified by the Customs General Administration and other seven ministries for operation on December 24, 2003. Zhenjiang Export Processing Zone is close to Changzhou Airport and Zhenjiang Port.^[40]

Zhangjiagang Free Trade Zone

Zhangjiagang Free Trade Zone, approved by the State Council in 1992, is the only inland river, free-trade zone in China. It is established to develop export-oriented economy in Zhangjiagang and fasten the links between the Chinese market and the international market. The zone possesses unique location advantages of being connected with the Yangtze River and comprehensive infrastructure.^[41]

Zhangjiagang Bonded Logistics Park

Zhangjiagang Bonded Logistics Park was established by the government in August 2004, with an area of 1.53 square kilometres (0.59 sq mi). In 2005, it became the third National Free Trade Logistic Zone. It has four functions: international transfer, distribution, purchase and trade. It is in Zhangjiagang Free Trade Zone, and it enjoys complete infrastructure and convenient traffic.^[42]

Demographics

The majority of Jiangsu residents are ethnic Han Chinese. Other minorities include the Hui and the Manchus.

Demographic indicators in 2000

Population: 74.058 million (urban: 34.637 million; rural: 39.421 million) (2003)
Birth rate: 9.04 per 1000 (2003)
Death rate: 7.03 per 1000 (2003)
Sex ratio: 102.55 males per 100 females
Average family size: 3.25
Han Chinese proportion: 99.64%
Literacy rate: 97.88%

Religion

Religion in Jiangsu^{[43][note 1]} (80.69%)

The predominant religions in Jiangsu are Chinese folk religions, Taoist traditions and Chinese Buddhism. According to surveys conducted in 2007 and 2009, 16.67% of the population believes and is involved in cults of ancestors, while 2.64% of the population identifies as Christian.^[43] The reports didn't give figures for other types of religion; 80.69% of the population may be either irreligious or involved in worship of nature deities, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, folk religious sects, and small minorities of Muslims.

Altar of the Three Pure Ones at the Temple of Zhenwu in Yangzhou.

Xiangfu Buddhist Temple in Wuxi.

Main courtyard of the Temple of Tianfei in Nanjing.

Transportation

Jiangsu is home to one of the most extensive transportation networks in China.

Air

Nanjing Lukou International Airport (IATA: NKG) serves as the major airport in the province, with flights to Tokyo, Osaka, Hong Kong, Seoul-Incheon, Frankfurt and Bangkok. Other passenger airports include Changzhou Benniu Airport, Sunan Shuofang International Airport, Yangzhou Taizhou Airport, and Nantong Airport. Air traffic in the populated Suzhou area is often diverted to Shanghai Hongqiao Airport, to which Suzhou is conveniently connected to via bus services and by expressway.

Xuzhou Guanyin Airport, Yancheng Nanyang Airport, and Lianyungang Baitabu Airport serve as hubs in northern Jiangsu.

Rail

The southern part of the province, namely the Shanghai-Nanjing corridor, has very high-frequency rail services. Jiangsu is en route of the Jinghu Railway from Beijing to Shanghai, as well as the high speed line between the two cities completed in 2011. Since the completion of the Beijing-Shanghai high speed line, travel time between Beijing and Nanjing has been reduced to approximately four hours (from eleven hours previously); travel time between Nanjing and Shanghai is 1 hour and 39 minutes.

Between the major urban centres of Suzhou and Nanjing, it is possible to catch a high-speed train every five to ten minutes during the day. The conventional and high-speed trains pass through Kunshan, Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, Danyang, Zhenjiang, and Nanjing. Yangzhou has been connected by railway since 2004, and Yancheng since 2007. As of 2007, all major cities in Jiangsu except Suqian have been connected, though discussions are under way to connect Suqian with Xuzhou and Yancheng via intercity rail as of late 2014. The Xinchang Railway originates in Xinyi and heads south, passing through Huai'an, Yancheng, Taizhou, Hai'an, Jiangyin and Yixing.

Xuzhou, a city in northeast Jiangsu, is a very important railway junction in the province as well as the whole of China. Its prominence as a railway hub dates back to at least the Mao era. In 1975, then Vice-Premier Deng Xiaoping targeted railway operations in Xuzhou as part of his overall economic reform efforts in the waning days of the Cultural Revolution. Xuzhou is the crossing point of Longhai Railway and Jinghu railway, and its railway station is among the largest in China. The Longhai railway terminates at port city of Lianyungang near the shore of the Pacific Ocean.

Road

Jiangsu's road network is one of the most developed in the country.^[44] The Beijing–Shanghai Expressway (G2) enters the province from the north and passes through Huai'an, Yangzhou, Taizhou, and Wuxi on the way to Shanghai; travelling from Shanghai westbound, G2 forks at Wuxi and continues onto Nanjing separately as G42, the Shanghai–Nanjing Expressway, which serves the widely travelled southern corridor of the province. The Ningchang Expressway links Nanjing with Changzhou. The Suzhou area is extensively networked with expressways, going in all directions. The Yanhai Expressway links the coastal regions of the province, passing through Nantong, Yancheng, and Lianyungang.

Historically, the province was divided by the Yangtze River into northern and southern regions. The first bridge across the river in Jiangsu, the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge, was completed in 1968 during the Cultural Revolution. The second bridge crossing, Jiangyin Bridge, opened 30 years later at Jiangyin. As of October 2014, there were 11 cross-Yangtze bridges in the province, including the five in Nanjing, which also has two cross-river tunnels. The Jiangyin Bridge (1,385 m (4,544 ft)), Runyang Bridge (opened in 2005, connecting Yangzhou and Zhenjiang, 1,490 m (4,890 ft)), and Fourth Nanjing Bridge (opened in 2012; 1,418 m (4,652 ft)) all rank among the ten longest suspension bridges in the world. The Sutong Bridge, opened in 2008, connecting Nantong and Changshu, has one of the longest cable-stayed bridge spans in the world, at 1,088 m (3,570 ft).

Culture

The province of Jiangsu originated in the seventeenth century with the splitting of the defunct and erroneously named Jiangnan Province ("south of the river") into Jiangsu and Anhui. Before then, the northern and southern parts of Jiangsu had less connection with each other than they later did. Traditionally, South Jiangsu is referred to as the three more prosperous southern cities including Suzhou, Wuxi and Changzhou. Their culture (the "Jiangnan" culture shared with Shanghai and Zhejiang) is more southern than the rest and is oftened referred to as the Wu. All the other parts of the province is dominated by the so-called "Jianghuai Culture", which means the culture in the area between the Yangtse River (Jiang) and Huaihe River (Huai), though not all of them lie within the district defined by the term. In history, the term North Jiangsu refers to the cities to the north of the Yangtze River. For cities of Nanjing and Zhenjiang, neither the two terms (North Jiangsu and South Jiangsu) refers to them, because though they are to the south of the River, culturally they are still of the Jianghuai Region. Since about 1998, there is a new classification used frequently by the government and defined by economic means. It groups all the cities to the south of the Yangtse River as South Jiangsu, the cities of Yangzhou, Nantong and Taizhou as Middle Jiangsu, and all the rest as North Jiangsu.

Though the terms of classification are very complex, by cultural means only the very north cities of Xuzhou and Lianyungang are culturally north Chinese. All the rest areas of the province are culturally south, though the three South Jiangsu cities are more purely southern while the culture in other cities is more a transitional mixture dominated by the southern.

The Humble Administrator's Garden, one of the classical gardens of Suzhou.

Two main subdivisions of the Chinese language, Mandarin (not Putonghua, the national standard speech based on the Beijing dialect, also commonly called Mandarin) and Wu, are spoken in different parts of Jiangsu. Mandarin dialects are spoken over the traditional North Jiangsu, Nanjing and Zhenjiang, while the Wu language is used in South Jiangsu. Mandarin and Wu are not mutually intelligible and the dividing line is sharp and well-defined. (See also Nanjing dialect, Xuzhou dialect, Yangzhou dialect, Suzhou dialect, Wuxi dialect, Changzhou dialect). In addition, Standard Chinese (Putonghua/Mandarin) is also spoken by most people.

Jiangsu is rich in cultural traditions. Kunqu, originating in Kunshan, is one of the most renowned and prestigious forms of Chinese opera. Pingtan, a form of storytelling accompanied by music, is also popular: it can be subdivided into types by origin: Suzhou Pingtan (of Suzhou), Yangzhou Pingtan (of Yangzhou), and Nanjing Pingtan (of Nanjing). Xiju, a form of traditional Chinese opera, is popular in Wuxi, while Huaiju is popular further north, around Yancheng. Jiangsu cuisine is one of the eight great traditions of the cuisine of China.

Suzhou is also well known for its silk, Chinese embroidery, jasmine tea, stone bridges, pagodas, and its classical gardens. Nearby Yixing is noted for its teaware while Yangzhou is known for its lacquerware and jadeware. Nanjing's yunjin is a noted type of woven silk, while Wuxi is well known for its peaches.

Since ancient times, south Jiangsu has been famed for its prosperity and opulence, and simply inserting south Jiangsu place names (Suzhou, Yangzhou, etc.) into poetry gave an effect of dreaminess, as was indeed done by many famous poets. In particular, the fame of Suzhou (as well as Hangzhou in neighbouring Zhejiang) has led to the popular saying: 上有天堂，下有蘇杭 ("above there is heaven; below there are Suzhou and Hangzhou"), a saying that continues to be a source of pride for the people of these two still prosperous cities. Similarly, the prosperity of Yangzhou has led poets to dream of: 腰纏十萬貫，騎鶴下揚州 ("with a hundred thousand strings of coins wrapped around its waist, a crane landed in Yangzhou").

Tourism

Nanjing was the capital of several Chinese dynasties and contains a variety of historic sites, such as the Purple Mountain, Purple Mountain Observatory, the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, Ming Dynasty city wall and gates, Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum (The mausoleum of the first Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang), Lake Xuanwu, Jiming Temple, the Nanjing Massacre Memorial, Nanjing Confucius Temple, Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge, and the Nanjing Zoo, with circus. Suzhou is renowned for its classical gardens (designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site), as well as the Hanshan Temple, and Huqiu Tower. Nearby is the water-town of Zhouzhuang, an international tourist destination with Venice-like waterways, bridges and dwellings, which have been preserved over centuries. Yangzhou is known for Thin West Lake. Wuxi is known for being the home of the world's tallest buddha statue. In the north, Xuzhou is designated as one of China's "eminent historical cities". The official travel and tourism website for Jiangsu was set up in 2008.

• Lion Garden in Suzhou
• Grand Buddha at Ling Shan, Wuxi
• Chaotian Palace
• Gulin Park
• Jiangxin Island
• Night markets
• Qixia Temple in Qixia Mountains
• Swallow Rock in Yanziji
• Tianning Temple Pagoda
• Tombs of Southern Tang Emperor
• Yangzhong Puffer Fish
• Cafe Zeeland

Sports

Professional sports teams in Jiangsu include:

• Chinese Super League
  • Jiangsu Sainty F.C.
• Chinese Basketball Association
  • Jiangsu Nan'gang Dragons

See also

• Major national historical and cultural sites in Jiangsu
• Jiangsu-Hong Kong Personnel Training Cooperation Programme

Notes

References

• Economic profile for Jiangsu at HKTDC

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jiangsu.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Jiangsu.

• (Chinese) Jiangsu Government website
• (English) (Chinese) Complete Map of the Seven Coastal Provinces from 1821 to 1850

	Shandong		Yellow Sea
	Anhui
		Jiangsu
		Zhejiang	Shanghai East China Sea

Provincial-level divisions of the People's Republic of China Provinces Anhui Fujian Gansu Guangdong Guizhou Hainan Hebei Heilongjiang Henan Hubei Hunan Jiangsu Jiangxi Jilin Liaoning Qinghai Shaanxi Shandong Shanxi Sichuan Taiwan¹ Yunnan Zhejiang Autonomous regions Guangxi Inner Mongolia Ningxia Tibet Xinjiang Municipalities Beijing Chongqing Shanghai Tianjin Special administrative regions Hong Kong¹ Macau¹ Note: Taiwan is claimed as a province, but is administered by the Republic of China (see Political status of Taiwan). Hong Kong and Macau are claimed as provincial-level divisions, but as listed on the constitutional documents and joint declarations their statuses are better to be interpreted as first-level divisions instead.