Qidong, Jiangsu

Qidong 启东市
County-level city
Looking southeast on the city, with downtown at the upper left (2007)
Qidong Location in Jiangsu
Coordinates: 31°52′12″N 121°42′11″E / 31.870°N 121.703°E / 31.870; 121.703Coordinates: 31°52′12″N 121°42′11″E / 31.870°N 121.703°E / 31.870; 121.703[1]
Country	People's Republic of China
Province	Jiangsu
Prefecture	Nantong
Time zone	China Standard (UTC+8)

Qidong is a county-level city under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Nantong in southeastern Jiangsu province, China. It is located on the north side of the Yangtze River opposite Shanghai and forms a peninsula jutting out into the East China Sea. It has a population of 1.12 million.

The center of the city is named Huilong Township. It also has a well-known fishing port called Lüsi town, named after Lü Dongbin, one of the eight immortals, who is said to have visited the place four times. Qidong's Qilong township was formerly a separate island in the Yangtze called Yonglongsha but now forms a pene-enclave on Chongming Island, most of which belongs to Shanghai.

History

The area of present-day Qidong was part of the East China Sea until the Han dynasty, when deposition from the Yangtze River began to form islands, notably including Dongbuzhou (t 東布洲, s 东布洲, p Dōngbùzhōu) at the site of present-day Lüsi. These developed until they became fully merged with the mainland during the Qing dynasty. Under the Republic, Qidong County was established in March 1928. By November 1989, it was considered urban enough to be labelled a county-level city instead.

In July 2012, Qidong was the scene of a violent environmental protest against an industrial waste pipeline.^[2]

Language

People living in Lüsi town speak a different dialect—known as the Lüsi (吕四话; 呂四話; Lǜsì Huà) or Tongdong dialect (通东话; 通東話; Tōngdōng Huà)—from most other residents, who generally speak Qidong Dialect (启东话; 啟東話; Qǐdōng Huà). The two dialects are considerably different and thus they are not mutually intelligible. Because most economic, educational and governmental activities are held in the city capital Huilong, where Qidong Dialect is prevalent, many residents of Lüsi have learned to understand and even speak the majority dialect.

Qidong Dialect is a dialect of Wu Chinese. Some people consider it similar to Shanghainese, also a dialect of Wu Chinese. It is almost the same as the dialect spoken in Chongming, which is under the administration of Shanghai.

Both of the two dialects belong to the Northern Wu. However, because of cultural differences among two places, there still exist non-intelligible usage mostly in vocabulary.

Education

High schools in Qidong include Qidong High School, Huilong High School, Dongnan High School, among others.

Infrastructure

The 200-300 mile Ningqi Highway connects Nanjing to Qidong.

The Chongqi Bridge over the Yangtze River, completed in 2011 links Qidong with Chongming County and also the urban centre of Shanghai, reducing the driving time from three hours to one hour. Qidong can be reached from Shanghai Pudong Airport within 45 minutes without traffic congestion. The bridge is the Yangtze River crossing closest to the river mouth.

Economy

Local industry focuses on pharmaceutical production, computer accessory production and chemical fertilizer production.

Qidong is an offshore engineering & construction hub hosting companies like COSCO, SINOPACIFIC, Specialty Process Equipment Corporation (SPEC), Shanghai Zhen Hua Heavy Industries (ZPMC) Qidong Marine Engineering Company Limited (formerly DAODA Heavy Industry) and several other heavy industry, shipyard & fabrications facilities.

Major agriculture crops produced in the area include wheat, corn, soy beans, peanuts, yams and cotton. The climate is suitable for pears, peaches, oranges and watermelons.

Fishing is a major source of income for some rural residents.

Weather

There are four distinct seasons: spring, summer, fall, and a mild winter. During the summer, monsoon lasts for weeks, and there is plenty of rain.

References

External links

• City government official site
• English Language Guide to Qidong (Qidongmap.net)
• Qidong City English guide (Jiangsu.net)