Changzhou


Changzhou is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu, China. It was previously known as Yanling, Lanling, and Jinling. Located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, Changzhou borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the west, Zhenjiang to the northwest, Wuxi to the east, and the province of Zhejiang to the south. The population of the Changzhou Municipality was 5,278,121 at the 2020 census. The city is the birthplace of Zhou Youguang who created the pinyin romanization system.

History

As approved by State Council on June 8, 1995, Wujin County was promoted to Wujin City, with the government set in Hutang Town. In 1999, as approved by the provincial government, Taixiang Town of Jiaoqu District was revoked and incorporated into Xueyan Town of Wujin City.

Geography

Changzhou is located in the Yangtze Delta region, in the northwestern part of the Taihu Lake Plain. It is bordered by the Yangtze River in the north, Taihu Lake in the south, Anhui province and Nanjing in the southwest, Wuxi in the east and Zhenjiang in the west. It is equidistant from Shanghai and Nanjing, and 144 kilometres from the provincial capital Nanjing. Southwest of the Yili mountains, mountain peaks have Maoshan.
Changzhou has Tao Lake and Ge Lake. Rivers are Beijing–Hangzhou Grand Canal, Wuyi Canal, Tai Ge Canal, Jingxi, South Canal and so on. Changzhou has a dense network of waterways, and in the 1930s, when flooding broke out in the southern part of the Yangtze River, Zhou Chen went to the southern part of the Yangtze River to control the water, he greatly promoted the enclosure of lakes to create fields. The local government created of land in 20 years, making Furong Lake, Yang Lake and Linjin Lake gradually shrink to the point of disappearing.

Climate

The climate is humid subtropical Cfa, with cool winters and hot and humid summers. Changzhou has a wide range of temperature differences throughout the year.

Administration

The prefecture-level city of Changzhou administers seven county-level divisions, including five districts and one county-level city.

Demographics

Its total population was 5,278,121 inhabitants at the 2020 census, a 1.4% annual increase since the previous census.

Education

Local universities include Hohai University's Changzhou campus. Secondary schools include the Changzhou Senior High School of Jiangsu Province and the newly established Changzhou Songjianhu Senior High School.

Transportation

Metro

The city's metro system, Changzhou Metro, started the operation on 21 September 2019 with the opening of Line 1. Line 2 opened on 28 June 2021.

Railway

Located just south of the Chang Jiang, Changzhou station is situated on the original Beijing–Shanghai railway. Changzhou North station was completed in 2011 and is located in the north of Changzhou in the Xinbei district on the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway. Changzhou is also one of the main stops on the busy Shanghai–Nanjing intercity railway, with two stations located in Changzhou.

Airport

in Xinbei District is approximately from the city center.

Highways and expressways

Use of the BRT System costs two yuan and provides access throughout Changzhou. The BRT stations and road sections have separate bus lanes or bus-only roadways, enhanced station environments, pre-boarding fare collection and fare verification, centralized system controls, as well as station access for disabled persons.

Tourism

Amusement parks

Changzhou is the home of the China Dinosaurs Park located in the Xinbei District of the city. The 5A rated Dinosaur Park has a collection of dinosaur bones and fossils from all over China. The park has 50 various fossils and more than 30 amusement programs including the Brontosaurus Roller Coaster and the Whirling Dinosaur Carriage. The fossils are located in a museum housed in a single building and the amusement rides are spread throughout the park which is categorized into six themed areas. Besides fossils and family oriented rides, Dinosaur Park is home to a giant panda and sea lions.

Tianning Temple and Hongmei Park

The city is also home to the Tianning Temple—one of the largest Zen Buddhist temple and monasteries in China. The city recently rebuilt the Tianning pagoda in the temple grounds, which is adjacent to Hongmei Park. The pagoda, called the Tianning Baota, was first built during the Tang dynasty. Since that time it has been destroyed and rebuilt five times. The current reconstruction is built to the height specification of. This makes it the tallest pagoda in China and perhaps also the world. Both the Hongmei Park and Tianning Temple are located just to the east of the city centre.

Other attractions

In the film Pacific Rim, Changzhou is credited as the city the jaeger Crimson Typhoon was assembled in.