Yangzhou
Encyclopedia
Yangzhou is a prefecture-level city
in central Jiangsu
Province
, People's Republic of China
. Sitting on the northern bank of the Yangtze River
, it borders the provincial capital of Nanjing
to the southwest, Huai'an
to the north, Yancheng
to the northeast, Taizhou
to the east, and Zhenjiang
across the river to the south.
Historically it is one of the wealthiest of China's cities, known at various periods for its great merchant families, poets, painters, and scholars.
Its population is 4,414,681 at the 2010 census and its built up area is home to 2,146,980 inhabitants including three urban districts plus Jiangdu
city currently in the agglomeration.
of Yangzhou administers seven county-level divisions. There are three districts, three county-level cities
and one county:
These are further divided into 98 township-level divisions, including 87 towns and townships, and 11 subdistrict
s.
by King Fuchai of Wu a garrison city was built 12 metres (39.4 ft) above water level on the northern bank of the Yangtze River c 485 BCE. This city in the shape of a three by three li
square was called Hancheng. The newly created Han canal formed a moat around the south and east sides of the city. The purpose of Hancheng was to protect Suzhou
from naval invasion from the Qi
. In 590 CE, the city began to be called Yangzhou, which was the traditional name of what was then the entire southeastern part of China.
Under the second Sui Dynasty
(581–617 CE) Emperor Yangdi (r. 604–617), Yangzhou was the southern capital of China and called Jiangdu
upon the completion of the Jinghang (Grand) Canal
until the fall of the dynasty. The city has remained a leading economic and cultural center and major port of foreign trade and external exchange since the Tang Dynasty
(618-907). At one time many Arab and Persian merchants lived in the city but they were massacred in 760 CE during the An Shi Rebellion
by rebel insurgents. During the Tang Dynasty
many merchants from Korea's Silla
Dynasty also lived in Yangzhou. There were also Arabic inscriptions from the 1200s and 1300s.
The city, still known as Guangling, was briefly made the capital of the Wu
Kingdom during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period
.
In 1280 AD, Yangzhou was the site of a massive gunpowder
explosion when the bomb store of the Weiyang
arsenal
accidentally caught fire. This blast killed over a hundred guards, hurled debris from buildings into the air that landed ten li away from the site of the explosion, and could be felt 100 li away as tiles on roofs shook (refer to gunpowder
article).
Marco Polo
claims to have served in Yangzhou under the Mongol emperor Kubilai Khan in the period around 1282-1287 (to 1285, according to Perkins). Although some versions of Polo's memoirs imply that he was the governor of Yangzhou, it is more likely that he was an official in the salt industry, if indeed he was employed there at all. Chinese texts offer no supporting evidence for his claim. The discovery of the 1342 tomb of Katarina Vilioni
, member of an Italian trading family in Yangzhou, does, however, suggest the existence of a thriving Italian community in the city in the 14th century.
During the Ming Dynasty
(1368–1644) until the 19th century Yangzhou acted as a major trade exchange center for salt (a government regulated commodity), rice, and silk. The Ming were largely responsible for building the city as it now stands and surrounding it with 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) of walls.
After the fall of Beijing and northern China to the Manchu
in 1644, Yangzhou remained under the control of the short-lived Ming loyalist
government of the so-called Hongguang Emperor, based in Nanjing
. The Qing
forces, led by Prince Dodo
, reached Yangzhou in the spring of 1645, and despite the heroic efforts of its chief defender, Shi Kefa
, the city fell on May 20, 1645, after a brief siege. A ten-day massacre
followed, in which, as it was traditionally alleged, 800,000 people died. Shi Kefa himself was killed by the Manchus as well, after he refused to switch his allegiance to the Qing regime.
The city's rapid recovery from these events and its great prosperity through the early and middle years of the Qing dynasty were due to its role as administrative center of the Lianghuai sector of the government salt monopoly. As early as 1655, the Dutch envoy Johan Nieuhof
described the city (Jamcefu, i.e. Yangzhou-Fu, in his transcription) commented on the city's salt trade as follows:
Famed at that time and since for literature, art, and the gardens of its merchant families, many of which were visited by the Kangxi and Qianling emperors during their Southern Tours, the Qing-era Yangzhou has been the focus of intensive research by historians.
The Yangzhou riot
in 1868 was a pivotal moment of Anglo-Chinese relations
during the late Qing Dynasty
that almost led to war. The crisis was fomented by the gentry
of the city who opposed the presence of foreign Christian missionaries
there. The riot that resulted was an angry crowd estimated at eight to ten thousand who assaulted the premises of the British
China Inland Mission
in Yangzhou by looting, burning and attacking the missionaries led by Hudson Taylor
. No one was killed, however several of the missionaries were injured as they were forced to flee for their lives. As a result of the report of the riot, the British consul in Shanghai
, Sir Walter Henry Medhurst
took seventy Royal marines
in a Man of war
and steamed up the Yangtze to Nanjing
in a controversial show of force that eventually resulted in an official apology from Viceroy
Zeng Guofan
and financial restitution made to the injured missionaries.
From the time of the Taiping Rebellion
(1853) to the end of the Communist revolution (1949) Yangzhou was in decline, due to war damage and neglect of the Grand Canal as railways replaced it in importance. During the anti-Japanese War it endured eight years of enemy occupation and was used by the Japanese as a site for internment camps. Hundreds of civilian "aliens" from Shanghai were transported here in 1943, and located in one of three camps (A, B, and C). Camp C, located in the former American Mission in the north-west of the city, was maintained for the duration of the war.
Among early plans for railways in the late Qing was one for a line that would connect Yangzhou to the north, but this was jettisoned in favour of an alternative route. The city's status as a leading economic centre in China was never to be restored. Not until the 1990s did it begin to regain some semblance of prosperity, benefitting from national economic growth and a number of targeted development projects. With the canal now partially restored, and excellent rail and road connections, Yangzhou is once again an important transportation and market center. It also has some industrial output, chiefly in cotton and textiles. In 2004, a railway linked Yangzhou for the first time with Nanjing
.
Rivers: the Yangtze River, Jinghang Canal, Baoshe River, Datong River, Beichengzi River, Tongyang Canal, Xintongyang Canal, Baima Lake, Baoying Lake, Gaoyou Lake
, Shaobo Lake.
Local landscape: Slender west lake, Ge garden, He garden, Da ming temple, Phoenix island, etc.
Subtropical monsoon climate with humid changeable wind; longer winters for about 4 months, summers 3 months and shorter springs and autumns, 2 months respectively; frost-free period of 222 days and annual average sunshine of 2177 hours.
Average temperature: 15 °C annually; the hottest in July of 27.6 °C and the coldest in January of 1.7 °C; maximum temperature of 39.8 °C and minimum −19 °C
The annual average precipitation is 1,030 mm, and about 45 percent of rainfall is concentrated in the summer. The rainy season known as "plum rain season" usually lasts from mid-June to late July. During this season, the plums are ripening, hence the name plum rain.
is over 100 km away, and it takes one hour and 40 minutes to get there. There are over 10 airline ticket offices in the city, providing convenient service for foreign and domestic tourists.
is served by the Taizhou
-Nanjing
railway line, and provides direct passenger service not only to these two cities, but also to a number of major cities to the west, north, and south (such as Xi'an
, Wuhan
, and Guangzhou
), including an overnight Z-series express train
to Beijing
. There is no direct rail service toward Shanghai
, however; to travel to Shanghai, or elsewhere in the Yangtze Delta regions, passengers cross the Yangtze over the new Zhenjiang-Yangzhou bridge (frequent commuter bus service is available) and take a train from the Zhenjiang
station, which is located on the main Nanjing-Shanghai rail line.
Prior to the bridge's completion, round-the-clock ferry services operated across the river; it took about 40 minutes to reach the Zhenjiang
station from Yangzhou.
Province and southeast Shandong
Province. There are several dozen categories of goods including iron and steel, timber, minerals, coal, grain, cotton, container, products of light industry and machinery. The passenger routes reach Nanjing, Wuhu, Jiujiang
, Huangshi
and Wuhan
in the west, and Nantong
and Shanghai
in the east. Some well-known luxury international liners also anchor here. The harbor has greatly promoted the development of exports and the overall local economy.
Yangzhou's taxi industry began in 1982, and has developed rapidly since 1993. the city has over 40 taxi companies of various ownerships, with a total of 1,571 vehicles. Parking lots were established at key stations and hotels, and eight taxi companies have opened round-the-clock telephone service. The construction department of the municipal government has strengthened the management of taxi services, providing education in the relevant laws, professional ethics and safety aspects.
In Yangzhou all dishes, whether cheap or expensive, are elaborate. Cooks will not scrimp on their work, even with Zhugansi (stewed sliced dry bean curd), a popular dish that costs only a few yuan. Dry bean curd is made by each restaurant that serves it, so the flavor is guaranteed. The cook slices the 1-cm-thick curd into 30 shreds, each one paper-thin but none broken, and then stews them for hours with chopped bamboo shoots and shelled shrimps in chicken soup. In this way the dry bean curd shreds can soak up the flavor of the other ingredients, and the soup is clear but savory. It is not only Yangzhou cooks but also the ordinary people who are conscientious about cooking.
Dialect has also been used as a tool for regional identitity and politics in the Jiangbei
and Jiangnan
regions. While the city of Yangzhou was the center of trade, flourishing and prosperous, it was considered part of Jiangnan, which was known to be wealthy, even though Yangzhou was north of the Yangzi river. Once Yangzhou
's wealth and prosperity were gone, it was then considered to be part of Jiangbei, the "backwater". After Yangzhou was removed from Jiangnan, its residents decided to replace Jianghuai Mandarin, which was the dialect of Yangzhou, with Taihu Wu dialects
. In Jiangnan itself, multiple subdialects of Wu fought for the position of prestige dialect.
During a period of prosperity and Imperial favour, the arts of storytelling and painting flourished in Yangzhou. The innovative painter-calligrapher Shitao
lived in Yangzhou during the 1680s and again from 1697 until his death in 1707. A later group of painters from that time called the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou
are famous throughout China.
Former President of China Jiang Zemin
was born and raised in Yangzhou. His middle school is located right across from the public notary's office in Yangzhou.
Yangzhou is famous for its carved lacquerware
and jade
carvings.
Poet Li Bai
(c.700-762) wrote in Seeing Meng Haoran off to Yangzhou from Yellow Crane Pavilion:
Some of China’s most creative and eye catching dishes come from the Yangzhou school of cuisine called Huaiyang
(also commonly known as the Weiyang school). Along with Sichuan cuisine, Cantonese cuisine
, and Shandong cuisine
, Huaiyang cuisine (淮扬菜) is a distinctive and masterful skill that locals are quite proud of.
The city is famous for its public bath houses, lacquerware
, jadeware, embroidery, paper-cut, art & crafts velvet flavers.
The city was awarded Habitat Scroll of Honour in 2006.
Yangzhou is also very famous for its toy industry (especially stuffed animals). Many tourists from neighboring cities travel to the city for its good-quality and low-priced toys.
It is worth mentioning that the city is also famous for an ancient folk art called Yangzhou storytelling (扬州评话), which is like Xiangsheng
- the traditional Chinese comedic performance. It rose as a performing act during the Ming Dynasty
. In the performance, the artist details an interesting historical story to audiences, using Yangzhou dialect. These stories have been edited by artists, so they sound very soul-stirring and funny. The most well-know artist of Yangzhou storytelling was Wang shaotang
. His most famous works are The 10 chapters of Wu Song
(武十回), The 10 chapters of Song Jiang
(宋十回), The 10 chapters of Lu Junyi
(卢十回), and The 10 chapters of Shi Xiu
(石十回).
Located on the south-west corner of Wenchang Pavilion Roundabout, Yangzhou Golden Eagle Shopping Center is the most up-market store in the city center and features a wide variety of clothes, electronics and jewellery.
Situated diagonally across Wenchangge from Golden Eagle, Wanjiafu Department Store boasts a favourable geographical position. It has a business area of 18,000 square meters with a good selection of clothes.
Located on the west side of the Golden Eagle Shopping center, Times Square attracts thousands of citizens and covers an area of 23,000 square meters. Compared with the previous two shopping centers, Times Square is more like an "American" style mall, with a wide variety of clothing stores, appliances, restaurants, and a cinema. Many young people shop in the basement for cheap fashion. Also, a large book store is located on the top floor. English books could also be found. However, they are not originals.
Jinghua Living Mall or Living City-Recently Yangzhou did get an "American" style mall known as: Living City. The mall is located in the west of the city, about 1 kilometre east to the railway station, across from the Yangzhou Museum. Living City targets high market customers with many global brands. This is perhaps the easiest place in Yangzhou to meet foreigners, what with a Starbucks, Dairy Queen and the highest concentration of restaurents catering to western tastes.
Besides big stores, there are many small clothing outlets lining most of the streets in the city center. Unlike the stores listed above, here you can bargin with the shopkeeper for a better price, and usually the prices are cheaper than for like items in Nanjing or Shanghai.
and old residences in the moated town, such as the Wang Residence and the Daming temple. Yangzhou is famous for its many well preserved Suzhou style gardens. Most of the Historic city is in the Guangling District.
some 1,500 years ago. In the latter years of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127–1279), a nine-story pagoda, the Qilingta, was built on the temple grounds. A recent addition to the temple complex is the jian Zhen Memorial Hall, built according to Tang Dynasty methods and financed with contributions raised by Buddhist groups in Japan.
When Qing Emperor Qian Long visited Yangzhou in 1765, he was troubled by The temple's name Daming (which literally means "Great Ming') fearing that it might revive nostalgia for the Ming Dynasty, which was overthrown by his Manchu predecessors. He had it renamed Fajing Temple.
The temple was seriously damaged during the Taiping Rebellion at the beginning of the 20th century. The present structure is a reconstruction dating from the 1930s.
This round, three-story pavilion in Yangzhou's eastern sector was built in 1585 and celebrates the city's rich cultural traditions. It is also the de facto center of the city.
Built during Ming dynasty
, it is located on the cross of Wenchang Road and Wenhe Road. The whole building is about 79 foot high, and looks like Temple of Heaven
in Beijing. Today, bordered by many shopping stores, Wenchange had been a symbol of commercial center to residents.
, The Prophet. The tomb is on the eastern bank of the (Old) Grand Canal in the eastern sector of the city and is adjacent to a mosque which houses a collection of valuable materials documenting China's relations with Muslim countries.
had been hair care right here and famous with hair knife and skill .
with: Atsugi, Kanagawa, Japan
since 1984 Jeju, Jeju, South Korea
Kent, Washington
, U.S.
Vaughan, Ontario
, Canada
Rimini
, Italy
Razgrad
, Bulgaria
Bree, Belgium
Karatsu, Saga
, Japan
Porirua
, New Zealand
Colchester
, Essex
, England
Breda
, Netherlands
Balashikha
, Russia Yangon
, Myanmar
Herzliya
, Israel
Westport, Connecticut
, U.S.
Prefecture-level city
A prefectural level city , prefectural city or prefectural level municipality is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China, ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure. Prefectural level cities form the second level of the administrative...
in central Jiangsu
Jiangsu
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" , the second character of its name...
Province
Province (China)
A province, in the context of Chinese government, is a translation of sheng formally provincial level divisions, which is an administrative division. Provinces, municipalities, autonomous regions, and the special administrative regions, make up the four types of province of administrative division...
, People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. Sitting on the northern bank of the Yangtze River
Yangtze River
The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...
, it borders the provincial capital of Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
to the southwest, Huai'an
Huai'an
Huai'an , known as Huaiyin before 2001, is a prefecture-level city in northern Jiangsu province of Eastern China. It borders Suqian to the northwest, Lianyungang to the north, Yancheng to the east, Yangzhou to the southeast, and the province of Anhui to the southwest.The municipality has 4,799,889...
to the north, Yancheng
Yancheng
Yancheng is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. The city with the largest jurisdiction area in Jiangsu, Yancheng borders Lianyungang to the north, Huai'an to the west, Yangzhou and Taizhou to the southwest, Nantong to the south, and looks out to...
to the northeast, Taizhou
Taizhou, Jiangsu
Taizhou is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu province of eastern China. Situated on the north bank of the Yangtze River, it borders Nantong to the east, Yancheng to the north and Yangzhou to the west....
to the east, and Zhenjiang
Zhenjiang
Zhenjiang is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Jiangsu province in the eastern People's Republic of China . Sitting on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, it borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the west, Changzhou to the east, and Yangzhou across the river to the north.Once...
across the river to the south.
Historically it is one of the wealthiest of China's cities, known at various periods for its great merchant families, poets, painters, and scholars.
Its population is 4,414,681 at the 2010 census and its built up area is home to 2,146,980 inhabitants including three urban districts plus Jiangdu
Jiangdu
Jiangdu is a county-level city in Jiangsu Province, China, under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Yangzhou. Jiangdu is the location of Yangzhou Taizhou Airport that is currently under construction and will serve Yangzhou and Taizhou when open in 2012.-References:*...
city currently in the agglomeration.
Administration
The prefecture-level cityPrefecture-level city
A prefectural level city , prefectural city or prefectural level municipality is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China, ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure. Prefectural level cities form the second level of the administrative...
of Yangzhou administers seven county-level divisions. There are three districts, three county-level cities
County-level city
A county-level city is a county-level administrative division of mainland China. County-level cities are usually governed by prefecture-level divisions, but a few are governed directly by province-level divisions....
and one county:
- Guangling DistrictGuangling DistrictGuangling District is a district of Jiangsu, China. It is under the administration of Yangzhou city. Most of the historic city of Yangzhou is in this district.-References:*...
- Weiyang District
- Hanjiang District
- JiangduJiangduJiangdu is a county-level city in Jiangsu Province, China, under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Yangzhou. Jiangdu is the location of Yangzhou Taizhou Airport that is currently under construction and will serve Yangzhou and Taizhou when open in 2012.-References:*...
City - Gaoyou City
- YizhengYizhengYizheng is a city in Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China with a population of 600000 .- General Information :Yizheng is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Yangzhou Prefecture City.- Geography :...
City - Baoying CountyBaoying CountyBaoying County is a county in Jiangsu Province, People's Republic of China under the administration of Yangzhou City. It has a population of 919,900 and a land area of .-References:*...
These are further divided into 98 township-level divisions, including 87 towns and townships, and 11 subdistrict
Subdistrict
Subdistrict is a low level administrative division of a country. In Thailand it may refer to the King Amphoe or to the Tambon. In England and Wales it was part of a Registration district....
s.
History
The first settlement in the Yangzhou area, called Guangling was founded in the Spring and Autumn Period. After the defeat of YueYue
-Locations:*Zhejiang, abbreviated 越 Yuè, a province of China*Guangdong, abbreviated 粵 Yuè, province of China*Yue in Yue Nan: 越南 -Language:...
by King Fuchai of Wu a garrison city was built 12 metres (39.4 ft) above water level on the northern bank of the Yangtze River c 485 BCE. This city in the shape of a three by three li
Li (unit)
The li is a traditional Chinese unit of distance, which has varied considerably over time but now has a standardized length of 500 meters or half a kilometer...
square was called Hancheng. The newly created Han canal formed a moat around the south and east sides of the city. The purpose of Hancheng was to protect Suzhou
Suzhou
Suzhou , previously transliterated as Su-chou, Suchow, and Soochow, is a major city located in the southeast of Jiangsu Province in Eastern China, located adjacent to Shanghai Municipality. The city is situated on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and on the shores of Taihu Lake and is a part...
from naval invasion from the Qi
Qi
In traditional Chinese culture, qì is an active principle forming part of any living thing. Qi is frequently translated as life energy, lifeforce, or energy flow. Qi is the central underlying principle in traditional Chinese medicine and martial arts...
. In 590 CE, the city began to be called Yangzhou, which was the traditional name of what was then the entire southeastern part of China.
Under the second Sui Dynasty
Sui Dynasty
The Sui Dynasty was a powerful, but short-lived Imperial Chinese dynasty. Preceded by the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it ended nearly four centuries of division between rival regimes. It was followed by the Tang Dynasty....
(581–617 CE) Emperor Yangdi (r. 604–617), Yangzhou was the southern capital of China and called Jiangdu
Jiangdu
Jiangdu is a county-level city in Jiangsu Province, China, under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Yangzhou. Jiangdu is the location of Yangzhou Taizhou Airport that is currently under construction and will serve Yangzhou and Taizhou when open in 2012.-References:*...
upon the completion of the Jinghang (Grand) Canal
Grand Canal of China
The Grand Canal in China, also known as the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is the longest canal or artificial river in the world. Starting at Beijing, it passes through Tianjin and the provinces of Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the city of Hangzhou...
until the fall of the dynasty. The city has remained a leading economic and cultural center and major port of foreign trade and external exchange since the Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
(618-907). At one time many Arab and Persian merchants lived in the city but they were massacred in 760 CE during the An Shi Rebellion
An Shi Rebellion
The An Lushan Rebellion took place in China during the Tang Dynasty from CE December 16, 755 to CE February 17, 763, beginning when general An Lushan declared himself emperor, establishing the rival Yan Dynasty in Northern China...
by rebel insurgents. During the Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
many merchants from Korea's Silla
Silla
Silla was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and one of the longest sustained dynasties in...
Dynasty also lived in Yangzhou. There were also Arabic inscriptions from the 1200s and 1300s.
The city, still known as Guangling, was briefly made the capital of the Wu
Wu (Ten Kingdoms)
Wu , also referred to as Huainan , Hongnong , Southern Wu , or Yang Wu , was one of the Ten Kingdoms in south-central China which was in existence between the years of 907 and 937. Its capital was Jiangdu Municipality...
Kingdom during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms was between 907–960/979 AD and an era of political upheaval in China, between the fall of the Tang Dynasty and the founding of the Song Dynasty. During this period, five dynasties quickly succeeded one another in the north, and more than 12 independent states were...
.
In 1280 AD, Yangzhou was the site of a massive gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
explosion when the bomb store of the Weiyang
Weiyang
Weiyang District is a district of Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China.-External links:*...
arsenal
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, issued to authorized users, or any combination of those...
accidentally caught fire. This blast killed over a hundred guards, hurled debris from buildings into the air that landed ten li away from the site of the explosion, and could be felt 100 li away as tiles on roofs shook (refer to gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
article).
Marco Polo
Marco Polo
Marco Polo was a Venetian merchant traveler from the Venetian Republic whose travels are recorded in Il Milione, a book which did much to introduce Europeans to Central Asia and China. He learned about trading whilst his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, travelled through Asia and apparently...
claims to have served in Yangzhou under the Mongol emperor Kubilai Khan in the period around 1282-1287 (to 1285, according to Perkins). Although some versions of Polo's memoirs imply that he was the governor of Yangzhou, it is more likely that he was an official in the salt industry, if indeed he was employed there at all. Chinese texts offer no supporting evidence for his claim. The discovery of the 1342 tomb of Katarina Vilioni
Katarina Vilioni
Katarina Vilioni was an Italian woman, member of a trader family in Yangzhou, China, during the 14th century. She is known through a tombstone which was discovered among the ramparts of Yangzhou in 1951 by the People's Liberation Army. The tombstone is inscribed in Lombardic Capitals, and explains...
, member of an Italian trading family in Yangzhou, does, however, suggest the existence of a thriving Italian community in the city in the 14th century.
During the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
(1368–1644) until the 19th century Yangzhou acted as a major trade exchange center for salt (a government regulated commodity), rice, and silk. The Ming were largely responsible for building the city as it now stands and surrounding it with 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) of walls.
After the fall of Beijing and northern China to the Manchu
Manchu
The Manchu people or Man are an ethnic minority of China who originated in Manchuria . During their rise in the 17th century, with the help of the Ming dynasty rebels , they came to power in China and founded the Qing Dynasty, which ruled China until the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, which...
in 1644, Yangzhou remained under the control of the short-lived Ming loyalist
Southern Ming Dynasty
The Southern Ming Dynasty was the Ming loyalist regime that continued in Southern China from 1644 to 1662 following the capture of Beijing by rebel armies and the death of the last Ming emperor in 1644....
government of the so-called Hongguang Emperor, based in Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
. The Qing
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
forces, led by Prince Dodo
Dodo (prince)
Dodo was a Manchu prince and military general of the early Qing Dynasty. His title was "Prince Yu of the First Rank" .-Family background:...
, reached Yangzhou in the spring of 1645, and despite the heroic efforts of its chief defender, Shi Kefa
Shi Kefa
Shi Kefa , style names Xianzhi and Daolin , was a government official and calligrapher of the late Ming Dynasty period of Chinese history. Shi Kefa was born in Xiangfu and claimed ancestry from Daxing County, Shuntianfu . He was mentored by Zuo Guangdou...
, the city fell on May 20, 1645, after a brief siege. A ten-day massacre
Yangzhou massacre
The Yangzhou massacre took place in 1645 in Yangzhou, China, during the Qing Dynasty. Mass killings of residents in Yangzhou were conducted by Qing troops under the command of Prince Dodo after they conquered the city from forces loyal to the Southern Ming regime of the Hongguang Emperor.The...
followed, in which, as it was traditionally alleged, 800,000 people died. Shi Kefa himself was killed by the Manchus as well, after he refused to switch his allegiance to the Qing regime.
The city's rapid recovery from these events and its great prosperity through the early and middle years of the Qing dynasty were due to its role as administrative center of the Lianghuai sector of the government salt monopoly. As early as 1655, the Dutch envoy Johan Nieuhof
Johan Nieuhof
Johan Nieuhoff was a Dutch traveler who wrote about his journeys to Brazil, China and India...
described the city (Jamcefu, i.e. Yangzhou-Fu, in his transcription) commented on the city's salt trade as follows:
Famed at that time and since for literature, art, and the gardens of its merchant families, many of which were visited by the Kangxi and Qianling emperors during their Southern Tours, the Qing-era Yangzhou has been the focus of intensive research by historians.
The Yangzhou riot
Yangzhou riot
The Yangzhou riot of August 22–23, 1868 was a brief crisis in Anglo-Chinese relations during the late Qing Dynasty. The crisis was fomented by the gentry of Yangzhou who opposed the presence of foreign Christian missionaries in the city, who claimed that they were legally residing under the...
in 1868 was a pivotal moment of Anglo-Chinese relations
Anglo-Chinese relations
British–Chinese relations , also known as Sino-British relations and Anglo-Chinese relations, refers to the interstate relations between China and the United Kingdom. Although on opposing sides of the Cold War, both countries were allies during World War II, and are members of the UN...
during the late Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
that almost led to war. The crisis was fomented by the gentry
Scholar-bureaucrats
Scholar-officials or Scholar-bureaucrats were civil servants appointed by the emperor of China to perform day-to-day governance from the Sui Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty in 1912, China's last imperial dynasty. These officials mostly came from the well-educated men known as the...
of the city who opposed the presence of foreign Christian missionaries
Mission (Christian)
Christian missionary activities often involve sending individuals and groups , to foreign countries and to places in their own homeland. This has frequently involved not only evangelization , but also humanitarian work, especially among the poor and disadvantaged...
there. The riot that resulted was an angry crowd estimated at eight to ten thousand who assaulted the premises of the British
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
China Inland Mission
China Inland Mission
OMF International is an interdenominational Protestant Christian missionary society, founded in Britain by Hudson Taylor on 25 June 1865.-Overview:...
in Yangzhou by looting, burning and attacking the missionaries led by Hudson Taylor
Hudson Taylor
James Hudson Taylor , was a British Protestant Christian missionary to China, and founder of the China Inland Mission . Taylor spent 51 years in China...
. No one was killed, however several of the missionaries were injured as they were forced to flee for their lives. As a result of the report of the riot, the British consul in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, Sir Walter Henry Medhurst
Walter Henry Medhurst (consul)
Sir Walter Henry Medhurst, born in Batavia in 1822, died in Torquay in 1885, British diplomat in China.Being the son of the prominent British missionary Walter Henry Medhurst, the younger Medhurst was educated at Blundell's School and in Macau. There he acquired a good command of Chinese, Dutch and...
took seventy Royal marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
in a Man of war
Man of war
The man-of-war was a Royal Navy expression for a powerful warship from the 16th to the 19th century. The term often refers to a ship armed with cannon and propelled primarily by sails, as opposed to a galley which is propelled primarily by oars...
and steamed up the Yangtze to Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
in a controversial show of force that eventually resulted in an official apology from Viceroy
Viceroy
A viceroy is a royal official who runs a country, colony, or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. A viceroy's province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty...
Zeng Guofan
Zeng Guofan
Zeng Guofan was an eminent Han Chinese official, military general, and devout Confucian scholar of the late Qing Dynasty in China....
and financial restitution made to the injured missionaries.
From the time of the Taiping Rebellion
Taiping Rebellion
The Taiping Rebellion was a widespread civil war in southern China from 1850 to 1864, led by heterodox Christian convert Hong Xiuquan, who, having received visions, maintained that he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ, against the ruling Manchu-led Qing Dynasty...
(1853) to the end of the Communist revolution (1949) Yangzhou was in decline, due to war damage and neglect of the Grand Canal as railways replaced it in importance. During the anti-Japanese War it endured eight years of enemy occupation and was used by the Japanese as a site for internment camps. Hundreds of civilian "aliens" from Shanghai were transported here in 1943, and located in one of three camps (A, B, and C). Camp C, located in the former American Mission in the north-west of the city, was maintained for the duration of the war.
Among early plans for railways in the late Qing was one for a line that would connect Yangzhou to the north, but this was jettisoned in favour of an alternative route. The city's status as a leading economic centre in China was never to be restored. Not until the 1990s did it begin to regain some semblance of prosperity, benefitting from national economic growth and a number of targeted development projects. With the canal now partially restored, and excellent rail and road connections, Yangzhou is once again an important transportation and market center. It also has some industrial output, chiefly in cotton and textiles. In 2004, a railway linked Yangzhou for the first time with Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
.
Geography and climate
Gaoyou Lake
Gaoyou Lake（）is the sixth largest freshwater lake in China, it is located between Anhui Province and Jiangsu Province. In a sense Gaoyou Lake is a manmade lake, and it’s creation is part of a long story about flood control and hydraulic engineering in ancient China...
, Shaobo Lake.
Local landscape: Slender west lake, Ge garden, He garden, Da ming temple, Phoenix island, etc.
Subtropical monsoon climate with humid changeable wind; longer winters for about 4 months, summers 3 months and shorter springs and autumns, 2 months respectively; frost-free period of 222 days and annual average sunshine of 2177 hours.
Average temperature: 15 °C annually; the hottest in July of 27.6 °C and the coldest in January of 1.7 °C; maximum temperature of 39.8 °C and minimum −19 °C
The annual average precipitation is 1,030 mm, and about 45 percent of rainfall is concentrated in the summer. The rainy season known as "plum rain season" usually lasts from mid-June to late July. During this season, the plums are ripening, hence the name plum rain.
Airport
The Nanjing Lukou International AirportNanjing Lukou International Airport
Nanjing Lukou International Airport is the main airport of Nanjing, the capital of China's Jiangsu province. The airport is located in the suburban Jiangning District, over 35 km to the south from Nanjing's downtown area....
is over 100 km away, and it takes one hour and 40 minutes to get there. There are over 10 airline ticket offices in the city, providing convenient service for foreign and domestic tourists.
Railway Station
Until the early 21st century, Yangzhou had no railway station. The new station, located on the western outskirts of the city,is served by the Taizhou
Taizhou, Jiangsu
Taizhou is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu province of eastern China. Situated on the north bank of the Yangtze River, it borders Nantong to the east, Yancheng to the north and Yangzhou to the west....
-Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
railway line, and provides direct passenger service not only to these two cities, but also to a number of major cities to the west, north, and south (such as Xi'an
Xi'an
Xi'an is the capital of the Shaanxi province, and a sub-provincial city in the People's Republic of China. One of the oldest cities in China, with more than 3,100 years of history, the city was known as Chang'an before the Ming Dynasty...
, Wuhan
Wuhan
Wuhan is the capital of Hubei province, People's Republic of China, and is the most populous city in Central China. It lies at the east of the Jianghan Plain, and the intersection of the middle reaches of the Yangtze and Han rivers...
, and Guangzhou
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
), including an overnight Z-series express train
Z-series
Z-series is a train service offered by China National Railway.Z stands for Zhida . Most Z-series trains do not have any intermediary stops, not even technical stops for changing locomotives or drivers...
to Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
. There is no direct rail service toward Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, however; to travel to Shanghai, or elsewhere in the Yangtze Delta regions, passengers cross the Yangtze over the new Zhenjiang-Yangzhou bridge (frequent commuter bus service is available) and take a train from the Zhenjiang
Zhenjiang
Zhenjiang is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Jiangsu province in the eastern People's Republic of China . Sitting on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, it borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the west, Changzhou to the east, and Yangzhou across the river to the north.Once...
station, which is located on the main Nanjing-Shanghai rail line.
Prior to the bridge's completion, round-the-clock ferry services operated across the river; it took about 40 minutes to reach the Zhenjiang
Zhenjiang
Zhenjiang is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Jiangsu province in the eastern People's Republic of China . Sitting on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, it borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the west, Changzhou to the east, and Yangzhou across the river to the north.Once...
station from Yangzhou.
Harbour
Yangzhou harbor, 11.5 km south from the city center, is located at the junction of the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal and the Yangtze River. The average water depth is 15–20 meters. In 1992, the State Council approved it to become a first-grade open state harbor, and General Secretary Jiang Zemin inscribed its name. Now, it has developed into a comprehensive harbor, integrating passenger, freight, container transportation and harbor trade, and has become the main distribution center of northern Jiangsu province, eastern AnhuiAnhui
Anhui is a province in the People's Republic of China. Located in eastern China across the basins of the Yangtze River and the Huai River, it borders Jiangsu to the east, Zhejiang to the southeast, Jiangxi to the south, Hubei to the southwest, Henan to the northwest, and Shandong for a tiny...
Province and southeast Shandong
Shandong
' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...
Province. There are several dozen categories of goods including iron and steel, timber, minerals, coal, grain, cotton, container, products of light industry and machinery. The passenger routes reach Nanjing, Wuhu, Jiujiang
Jiujiang
Jiujiang , formerly transliterated Kiukiang, is a prefecture-level city located on the southern shores of the Yangtze River in northwest Jiangxi Province, China. It is the second-largest prefecture-level city in Jiangxi province, the largest one being Nanchang...
, Huangshi
Huangshi
Huangshi is a prefecture-level city in China's Hubei province.-Geography and climate:The prefecture-level city of Huangshi is located in southeastern Hubei province, along the southwestern bank of one of the major bends in the Yangtze River. It is located 100 km south-east of Wuhan, and...
and Wuhan
Wuhan
Wuhan is the capital of Hubei province, People's Republic of China, and is the most populous city in Central China. It lies at the east of the Jianghan Plain, and the intersection of the middle reaches of the Yangtze and Han rivers...
in the west, and Nantong
Nantong
Nantong is a prefecture-level city in Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. Located on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, near the river mouth, Nantong is a vital river port bordering Yancheng to the north, Taizhou to the west, Suzhou and Shanghai to the south across the river, and...
and Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
in the east. Some well-known luxury international liners also anchor here. The harbor has greatly promoted the development of exports and the overall local economy.
Entry/Exit of Expressways
The Ningyang (Nanjing-Yangzhou) Expressway has the Bazi Bridge as its entry/exit to the southern part of Yangzhou while the Ningtong (Nanjing-Nantong) Expressway entries and exits Yangzhou in Liaojiagou. In recent years, the Yangzhou municipal Party committee and the local government have attached great importance to the development of the tourist industry, in conjunction with a greater effort dedicated to the improvement of the local road transport system. With a total investment of 680 million yuan, the Yangzhou section of the Ningyang Expressway was completed on December 18, 1998 and opened to traffic at the end of June 1999.Stretching nearly 18 km, the section of the expressway starts from the Bazi Flyover as the entry/exit, via the Yanggua Highway, the Tonggang Highway, an ancient canal, the Yangwei Highway, the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and the Yangling Highway, to Liqojiagou Entry/Exit of Yangjiang Highway. It then passes the Jiangdu Flyover to directly link up with the Huaijiang Expressway. In addition, the section of Huaijiang Expressway within the territory of Yangzhou began construction on March 22, 1997, which will be commonly used by the state planned Tongjiang-Sanya and Beijing-Shanghai trunk lines. The section of Huaijiang Expressway in Yangzhou totals 112.04 km in length, starting from Jinghe Town of Baoying in the north to the entry/exist of Zhuanqiaozhen Flyover of Jiangdu in the south. It then links with Ningtong Expressway, passing by three counties (cities) such as Baoying, Gaoyou and Jiangdu and 26 towns, at a total cost of 3.7 billion yuan. It is expected to be open to traffic by the year 2000.Transportation in the Urban Area
The city is served by a network of public bus routes.Yangzhou's taxi industry began in 1982, and has developed rapidly since 1993. the city has over 40 taxi companies of various ownerships, with a total of 1,571 vehicles. Parking lots were established at key stations and hotels, and eight taxi companies have opened round-the-clock telephone service. The construction department of the municipal government has strengthened the management of taxi services, providing education in the relevant laws, professional ethics and safety aspects.
Tourist Transportation
To develop Yangzhou tourism, sightseeing buses have been introduced in the city run by Tianma Travel Agency Co. Ltd, under the Yangzhou Tourist Bureau. There is a tour guide on each bus. The route, starting from Yangzhou station, has eight stops, and goes by such scenic spots of the Slender West Lake, Daming Temple, Imperial Dock, Siwang Pagoda, Wenchang Pagoda and Shita Temple. Yangzhou Public Transport Company also operates No.1, No.5 and No.2 special public tourist lines. No.1 bus starts from the bus station and goes by the Slender West Lake, Shigong Temple, Geyuan Garden and Heyuan Garden; No.5 bus starts from the bus station and goes by the Crane Temple, Wenchang Pagoda, Slender West Lake, Five-Pavilion Bridge, and Pingshan Hall. A sight-seeing route on Slender West Lake has opened, connecting Imperial Dock, Yichun Garden, Hong Garden, Dahong Bridge, Xiaojinshan, Diaoyutai, Five-Pavilion Bridge, and the 24-bridge, finally reaching Daming Temple and Pingshan Hall.Cuisine
Yangzhou dishes may be one of the reasons why the people of Yangzhou are so infatuated with their city. They have an appealing color, aroma, taste and appearance. The original color of each ingredient is preserved after cooking, and no oily sauce is added, so as to retain the fresh savor of the food.In Yangzhou all dishes, whether cheap or expensive, are elaborate. Cooks will not scrimp on their work, even with Zhugansi (stewed sliced dry bean curd), a popular dish that costs only a few yuan. Dry bean curd is made by each restaurant that serves it, so the flavor is guaranteed. The cook slices the 1-cm-thick curd into 30 shreds, each one paper-thin but none broken, and then stews them for hours with chopped bamboo shoots and shelled shrimps in chicken soup. In this way the dry bean curd shreds can soak up the flavor of the other ingredients, and the soup is clear but savory. It is not only Yangzhou cooks but also the ordinary people who are conscientious about cooking.
- Fu Chun Teahouse
Culture
The Yangzhou Dialect is moderately understandable by an outsider as it does differ a lot from Modern Standard Chinese. The Yangzhou Dialect is considered to be the representative dialect of Jiang-huai dialect group 江淮话 within the Mandarin language family. It is regarded by linguists to be very close to the official Mandarin (based on Nanjing dialect) spoken during Ming dynasty and early Qing dynasty.Dialect has also been used as a tool for regional identitity and politics in the Jiangbei
Jiangbei
Jiangbei may refer to:*North of the Yangtze River, especially in eastern China, or Jiangsu*Jiangbei District, Chongqing, in Chongqing, China*Jiangbei District, Ningbo, in Zhejiang, China*Jiangbei, Meizhou, in Guangdong, China...
and Jiangnan
Jiangnan
Jiangnan or Jiang Nan is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, including the southern part of the Yangtze Delta...
regions. While the city of Yangzhou was the center of trade, flourishing and prosperous, it was considered part of Jiangnan, which was known to be wealthy, even though Yangzhou was north of the Yangzi river. Once Yangzhou
Yangzhou
Yangzhou is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province, People's Republic of China. Sitting on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, it borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yancheng to the northeast, Taizhou to the east, and Zhenjiang across...
's wealth and prosperity were gone, it was then considered to be part of Jiangbei, the "backwater". After Yangzhou was removed from Jiangnan, its residents decided to replace Jianghuai Mandarin, which was the dialect of Yangzhou, with Taihu Wu dialects
Taihu Wu dialects
Taihu Wu dialects , or Northern Wu dialects , are a group of Wu dialects spoken over much of southern part of Jiangsu province, including Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, the southern part of Nantong, Jingjiang and Danyang; the municipality of Shanghai; and the northern part of Zhejiang province, including...
. In Jiangnan itself, multiple subdialects of Wu fought for the position of prestige dialect.
During a period of prosperity and Imperial favour, the arts of storytelling and painting flourished in Yangzhou. The innovative painter-calligrapher Shitao
Shitao
Shi Tao ; , born Zhu Ruoji was a Chinese landscape painter and poet during the early Qing Dynasty .Born in Quanzhou County in Guangxi province, Shi Tao was a member of the Ming royal house. He narrowly avoided catastrophe in 1644 when the Ming Dynasty fell to invading Manchurians and civil rebellion...
lived in Yangzhou during the 1680s and again from 1697 until his death in 1707. A later group of painters from that time called the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou
Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou
Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou is the name for a group of eight Chinese painters known in the Qing for rejecting the orthodox ideas about painting in favor of a style deemed expressive and individualist....
are famous throughout China.
Former President of China Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin is a former Chinese politician, who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1989 to 2002, as President of the People's Republic of China from 1993 to 2003, and as Chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2005...
was born and raised in Yangzhou. His middle school is located right across from the public notary's office in Yangzhou.
Yangzhou is famous for its carved lacquerware
Lacquerware
Lacquerware are objects decoratively covered with lacquer. The lacquer is sometimes inlaid or carved. Lacquerware includes boxes, tableware, buttons and even coffins painted with lacquer in cultures mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere.-History:...
and jade
Jade
Jade is an ornamental stone.The term jade is applied to two different metamorphic rocks that are made up of different silicate minerals:...
carvings.
Poet Li Bai
Li Bai
Li Bai , also known in the West by various other transliterations, especially Li Po, was a major Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty poetry period. He has been regarded as one of the greatest poets in China's Tang period, which is often called China's "golden age" of poetry. Around a thousand existing...
(c.700-762) wrote in Seeing Meng Haoran off to Yangzhou from Yellow Crane Pavilion:
- At Yellow Crane Pavilion in the west
- My old friend says farewell;
- In the mist and flowers of spring
- He goes down to Yangzhou;
- Lonely sail, distant shadow,
- Vanish in blue emptiness;
- All I see is the great river
- Flowing into the far horizon.
Some of China’s most creative and eye catching dishes come from the Yangzhou school of cuisine called Huaiyang
Huaiyang cuisine
Huaiyang cuisine is a tradition within the cuisine of China derived from the native cooking styles of the region surrounding the lower reaches of the Huai and Yangtze rivers, and centered upon the cities of Huai'an, Yangzhou and Zhenjiang in Jiangsu province...
(also commonly known as the Weiyang school). Along with Sichuan cuisine, Cantonese cuisine
Cantonese cuisine
Cantonese cuisine comes from Guangdong Province in southern China and is one of 8 superdivisions of Chinese cuisine. Its prominence outside China is due to the great numbers of early emigrants from Guangdong. Cantonese chefs are highly sought after throughout the country...
, and Shandong cuisine
Shandong cuisine
Shandong cuisine , in Chinese more commonly known as Lu cuisine , is one the Eight Culinary Traditions of China and is also ranked among the four most influential among these . It is derived from the native cooking styles of Shandong, an eastern coastal province of China...
, Huaiyang cuisine (淮扬菜) is a distinctive and masterful skill that locals are quite proud of.
The city is famous for its public bath houses, lacquerware
Lacquerware
Lacquerware are objects decoratively covered with lacquer. The lacquer is sometimes inlaid or carved. Lacquerware includes boxes, tableware, buttons and even coffins painted with lacquer in cultures mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere.-History:...
, jadeware, embroidery, paper-cut, art & crafts velvet flavers.
The city was awarded Habitat Scroll of Honour in 2006.
Yangzhou is also very famous for its toy industry (especially stuffed animals). Many tourists from neighboring cities travel to the city for its good-quality and low-priced toys.
It is worth mentioning that the city is also famous for an ancient folk art called Yangzhou storytelling (扬州评话), which is like Xiangsheng
Xiangsheng
Xiangsheng , sometimes translated as crosstalk, is a traditional Chinese comedic performance in the form of a dialogue between two performers, or, much less often, a solo monologue or, even less frequently, a multi-player talk show. The language, rich in puns and allusions, is delivered in a rapid,...
- the traditional Chinese comedic performance. It rose as a performing act during the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
. In the performance, the artist details an interesting historical story to audiences, using Yangzhou dialect. These stories have been edited by artists, so they sound very soul-stirring and funny. The most well-know artist of Yangzhou storytelling was Wang shaotang
Wang Shaotang
Wáng Shàotáng is the stage name of the Chinese artist of Yangzhou storytelling, whose birth name is Wáng Dézhuāng . As a master of Yangzhou storytelling, his most famous works are The 10 chapters of Wu Song , The 10 chapters of Song Jiang , The 10 chapters of Lu Junyi , and The 10 chapters of Shi...
. His most famous works are The 10 chapters of Wu Song
Wu Song
Wu Song, nicknamed "Pilgrim", is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 14th of the 36 Heavenly Spirits of the 108 Liangshan heroes. Wu Song also appears in the novel Jin Ping Mei, a spin-off of Water Margin...
(武十回), The 10 chapters of Song Jiang
Song Jiang
Song Jiang was the leader of a group of outlaws who lived during the Song Dynasty. The outlaws were active in the present-day provinces of Shandong and Henan before their eventual surrender to the government. Song Jiang is also featured as a character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great...
(宋十回), The 10 chapters of Lu Junyi
Lu Junyi
Lu Junyi is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 2nd of the 36 Heavenly Spirits of the 108 Liangshan heroes and is nicknamed "Jade Unicorn"...
(卢十回), and The 10 chapters of Shi Xiu
Shi Xiu
Shi Xiu is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 33rd of the 36 Heavenly Spirits of the 108 Liangshan heroes and is nicknamed "Daredevil Third Brother".-Background:...
(石十回).
Shopping
Compared with the neighbouring cities of Nanjing and Shanghai, Yangzhou cannot be called a shopping paradise. Perhaps due to its history of more than 2500 years, the Yangzhou city government is fairly strict with new construction proposals in the city center. Consequently, most buildings in downtown area are not taller than 6 stories, which is a big restriction for the development of large department stores. Nonetheless, you can still find some grand shopping centers around #Wenchangge; the de facto city center. For those fans of big expensive brands, Golden Eagle Shopping center, Wanjiafu department store and Times Square are the easy choice. The new built Living Mall in west end of Yangzhou aims at a higher end of market, which could be seen from the sellers inside, such as Starbucks and Dairy Queen.Located on the south-west corner of Wenchang Pavilion Roundabout, Yangzhou Golden Eagle Shopping Center is the most up-market store in the city center and features a wide variety of clothes, electronics and jewellery.
Situated diagonally across Wenchangge from Golden Eagle, Wanjiafu Department Store boasts a favourable geographical position. It has a business area of 18,000 square meters with a good selection of clothes.
Located on the west side of the Golden Eagle Shopping center, Times Square attracts thousands of citizens and covers an area of 23,000 square meters. Compared with the previous two shopping centers, Times Square is more like an "American" style mall, with a wide variety of clothing stores, appliances, restaurants, and a cinema. Many young people shop in the basement for cheap fashion. Also, a large book store is located on the top floor. English books could also be found. However, they are not originals.
Jinghua Living Mall or Living City-Recently Yangzhou did get an "American" style mall known as: Living City. The mall is located in the west of the city, about 1 kilometre east to the railway station, across from the Yangzhou Museum. Living City targets high market customers with many global brands. This is perhaps the easiest place in Yangzhou to meet foreigners, what with a Starbucks, Dairy Queen and the highest concentration of restaurents catering to western tastes.
Besides big stores, there are many small clothing outlets lining most of the streets in the city center. Unlike the stores listed above, here you can bargin with the shopkeeper for a better price, and usually the prices are cheaper than for like items in Nanjing or Shanghai.
Tourism
Tourist sights include Slender West LakeSlender West Lake
Slender West Lake is a well-known scenic spot in Yangzhou，Jiangsu province，China; it is a national park of China....
and old residences in the moated town, such as the Wang Residence and the Daming temple. Yangzhou is famous for its many well preserved Suzhou style gardens. Most of the Historic city is in the Guangling District.
Slender West Lake (shòuxīhú)（瘦西湖）
Named after Hangzhou's famous West Lake, this long, narrow stretch of water which meanders through Yangzhou's western limits is a well-known scenic spot. A long bank planted with weeping willows spans the lake; at its midpoint stands a square terrace with pavilions at each of the corners and one in the center. Around the lake is a park in which are found several attractions: Lotus Flower Pagoda (Lianhua SO, a white structure reminiscent of the White Pagoda (Baita) in Beijing's Beihai Park; Small Gold Mountain (Xiao Jin Shan); and the Fishing Platform (Diaoyutai), a favorite retreat of the Qing emperor Qian Long. The emperor was so gratified by his luck in fishing at this spot that he ordered additional stipends for the town. As it turns out, his success had been augmented by local swimmers who lurked in the lake busily attaching fish to his hook.Da Ming temple (大明寺）
Located on Shugang Hill, in the city's northwest, is Fajing Temple, formerly known as Daming Temple. The original temple was built by JianzhenJianzhen
Jianzhen was a Chinese monk who helped to propagate Buddhism in Japan. In the eleven years from 743 to 754, Jianzhen attempted to visit Japan some six times.-Life:...
some 1,500 years ago. In the latter years of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127–1279), a nine-story pagoda, the Qilingta, was built on the temple grounds. A recent addition to the temple complex is the jian Zhen Memorial Hall, built according to Tang Dynasty methods and financed with contributions raised by Buddhist groups in Japan.
When Qing Emperor Qian Long visited Yangzhou in 1765, he was troubled by The temple's name Daming (which literally means "Great Ming') fearing that it might revive nostalgia for the Ming Dynasty, which was overthrown by his Manchu predecessors. He had it renamed Fajing Temple.
The temple was seriously damaged during the Taiping Rebellion at the beginning of the 20th century. The present structure is a reconstruction dating from the 1930s.
Flat Hills (Ping Shan) Hall
Built by the Song Dynasty writer Ouyang Xiu when he served as prefect of the city, this hall stands just west of Fajing Temple. Looking out from this hall, the mountains to the south of the Yangtze River appear as a line at the viewer's eye level, hence the name Fiat Hills Hall. When Ouyang Xiu's student Su Dongpo moved to Yangzhou, he too served as prefect of the city. He had a hall built directly behind the one erected by his master, and called it Guling Hall.Pavilion of Flourishing Culture (Wenchang Ge, 文昌阁)
Built during Ming dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
, it is located on the cross of Wenchang Road and Wenhe Road. The whole building is about 79 foot high, and looks like Temple of Heaven
Temple of Heaven
The Temple of Heaven, literally the Altar of Heaven is a complex of Taoist buildings situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing. The complex was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for good harvest...
in Beijing. Today, bordered by many shopping stores, Wenchange had been a symbol of commercial center to residents.
Stone Pagoda (Shita)(石塔）
Standing west of the Pavilion of Flourishing Culture is a five-story Tang Dynasty pagoda. Built in 837 AD, it is the oldest pagoda still standing in Yangzhou.Tomb of Puhaddin (Puhading Mu, 普哈丁墓)
This is essentially a Ming Dynasty graveyard that includes the tomb of Puhaddin . According to information at the tomb, he was a 16th generation descendant of MuhammadMuhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
, The Prophet. The tomb is on the eastern bank of the (Old) Grand Canal in the eastern sector of the city and is adjacent to a mosque which houses a collection of valuable materials documenting China's relations with Muslim countries.
Ge Garden (Gè Yuán)(个园）
The entrance to this typical southern style garden with its luxuriant bamboo groves, ponds, and rock grottoes is on Dongguan St. in the city's northeast section. Designed by the great Qing Dynasty landscape painter Shi Tao for Wang Yingtai, an officer of the Qing imperial court, this garden takes its name from the shape of bamboo leaves which resemble the Chinese character ge, meaning "a" or "an."He Garden (Hé Yuán)（何园）
this garden, also called Jixiao Shan Zhuang, was built by He Zhidao, a 19th century Qing government official, this garden home is famous for a 430m. (1,377 ft) two storied winding corridor, the walls of which are lined with stone tablets carved with lines of classical poetry, In the garden is also an open air theater set on an island in the middle of a fish pond.Yechun Garden (Yechun Yuan)
In this garden, which lies on the banks of the Xiading River at the city's northern limits, the Qing Dynasty poet Wang Yuyang and a circle of friends used to gather to recite their works. The thatched roofs of the pavilions in this garden give it a quaint, rustic air.Yangzhou Museum & Yangzhou Block Printing Museum （扬州博物馆 & 扬州中国雕版印刷博物馆)
Situated by the west side of the Bright Moon Lake of Yangzhou, China Block Printing Museum and Yangzhou Museum look into the distance of Yangzhou International Exhibition Centre and covers an area of 50000 square meters, with a construction space of 25000 square meters, and an exhibition area of 10000 square maters. Its unique architectural form embodies the harmony of man nature, structure and natural environment. In August, 2003, over 300000 ancient books blockings were collected from Guangling Press of Yangzhou and China Block Printing Museum was established under the approval of the State Council, over 300000 ancient book blockings collected by Guangling Press of Yangzhou were included in the new museum.Jiangdu Hydro Project
Construction of this multiple-purpose water control project, the biggest in China, started in 1961 and was completed in 1975. The project includes facilities for irrigation, drainage, navigation, and power generation. It consists of four large modern electric pumping stations, six medium sized check gates, thrice navigation locks, and two trunk waterways.Yangzhou's three knives
Kitchen knife, pedicure knife and hair knife are Yangzhou‘s traditional products. the Qianlong EmperorQianlong Emperor
The Qianlong Emperor was the sixth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty, and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. The fourth son of the Yongzheng Emperor, he reigned officially from 11 October 1735 to 8 February 1796...
had been hair care right here and famous with hair knife and skill .
Twin towns — Sister cities
Yangzhou is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with: Atsugi, Kanagawa, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
since 1984 Jeju, Jeju, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
Kent, Washington
Kent, Washington
Kent is a city located in King County, Washington, United States, and is the third largest city in King County and the sixth largest in the state. An outlying suburb of Seattle, Kent is also the corporate home for companies such as REI and Oberto Sausage...
, U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Vaughan, Ontario
Vaughan, Ontario
Vaughan is a city in York Region north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Vaughan is the fastest growing municipality in Canada achieving a population growth rate of 80.2% between 1996–2006, according to Statistics Canada having nearly doubled in population since 1991. Vaughan is located in Southern...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Rimini
Rimini
Rimini is a medium-sized city of 142,579 inhabitants in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It is located on the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia and Ausa...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Razgrad
Razgrad
Razgrad is a city in northeastern Bulgaria, administrative and industrial centre of the homonymous Razgrad Province. As of February 2011, it has a population of 33,238 inhabitants.-History:...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
Bree, Belgium
Bree, Belgium
Bree is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg. On January 1, 2006 Bree had a total population of 14,503. The total area is 64.96 km² which gives it a population density of 223 inhabitants per square km...
Karatsu, Saga
Karatsu, Saga
is a city located in Saga Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū, Japan. Its name, formed from the Japanese word roots 唐 kara , and 津 tsu , signifies its historical importance as an ancient trading port between Japan with China and Korea...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
Porirua
Porirua
Porirua is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand, immediately north of the city of Wellington, with their central business districts 20 km apart. A large proportion of the population commutes to Wellington, so it may be considered a satellite city. It almost completely surrounds...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
Colchester
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Breda
Breda
Breda is a municipality and a city in the southern part of the Netherlands. The name Breda derived from brede Aa and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. As a fortified city, the city was of strategic military and political significance...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
Balashikha
Balashikha
Balashikha is a city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Pekhorka River east of Moscow. It is known for its unique river and waterway system. The Pekhorka River system covers an area of from north to south and from east to west, and many small lakes and ponds were created by damming to...
, Russia Yangon
Yangon
Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...
, Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
Herzliya
Herzliya
Herzliya is a city in the central coast of Israel, at the western part of the Tel Aviv District. It has a population of 87,000 residents. Named after Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism, Herzliya covers an area of 26 km²...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
Westport, Connecticut
Westport, Connecticut
-Neighborhoods:* Saugatuck – around the Westport railroad station near the southwestern corner of the town – a built-up area with some restaurants, stores and offices....
, U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
External links
- Government website of Yangzhou (available in Chinese and English)
- Yangzhou city guide with open directory (Jiangsu.NET)
- http://www.shuoshu.org/Chinese%20Storytelling%20-%20Yangzhou%20Club.shtml Yangzhou Club
- An introduction to a cultural history of Yangzhou (Finnane, Speaking of Yangzhou)