A sweeping view of Taizhou city. [Photo/WeChat ID: tzfabu]
Geography
Taizhou city is located in the central part of East China's Jiangsu province, bordering the Yangtze River to the south, Yancheng city to the north, Nantong city to the east and Yangzhou city to the west. As such, it is one of the central cities in the Yangtze River Delta region.
Area
The total area of Taizhou covers 5,787 square kilometers, of which the land area accounts for 77.85 percent and the water area occupies 22.15 percent. The urban area stretches out 1,567 sq km.
Administrative divisions
As of December 2021, Taizhou administered the three county-level cities of Jingjiang, Taixing and Xinghua and it also had three districts: Hailing, Gaogang and Jiangyan. It includes 61 towns, two townships, 25 sub-district offices, 1,165 village committees and 523 neighborhood committees.
History
Taizhou, known as Haiyang in the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), Hailing in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) and Taizhou during the Southern Tang Dynasty (937-975), has a recorded history of more than 2,100 years.
During the Southern Tang Dynasty, it was upgraded from a county to a state and became known as Taizhou. It is a place where the cultures of the Wu, Yue and Chu states were integrated, and customs in the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River regions combined.
Economy
The gross domestic product of Taizhou reached 602.5 billion yuan ($90.38 billion) in 2021, an increase of 10.1 percent. That growth rate ranked first in Jiangsu province.
The general public budget revenue exceeded 40 billion yuan, while the average annual growth of fixed asset investment reached 7.5 percent in 2021. Total retail sales were up 7.8 percent.
The per capita disposable income of all residents topped 40,000 yuan, a gain of 10.3 percent in 2021. That growth rate also ranked first in the province.
Transportation
Taizhou city in Jiangsu province is an important transportation hub connecting the north and south and is the gateway to central Jiangsu.
It is also an important node city for the Shanghai metropolitan area, the Nanjing metropolitan area and the Suzhou-Wuxi-Changzhou metropolitan area.
The Xinyi-Changxing Railway, Nanjing-Qidong Railway, Beijing-Shanghai Expressway, Nanjing-Nantong Expressway, Yancheng-Jingjiang Expressway and Qidong-Yangzhou Expressway run across the entire city. Five railway lines starting from Taizhou Railway Station connect the city with hundreds of other cities throughout the country.
Taizhou also boasts the Yangzhou Taizhou International Airport, as well as the Jiangyin Yangtze River Bridge and the Taizhou Yangtze River Bridge.
An enchanting view of Taizhou Port at dusk. [Photo provided to etaizhou.gov.cn]
The State-level open port Taizhou Port is an influential logistics facility with an annual throughout capacity of 100 million metric tons. It also has six major riverside port areas.
The superior location and the integrated structure of the roads, railways, water and air underscores the important position of the northern wing of the Yangtze River Delta.