Nantong, considered the gateway to the Yangtze River and the Huanghai Sea, was a defensive frontier in ancient China.

In the second year of the reign of emperor Li Xuan during the Tang Dynasty (875), Langshan town was established on the Hudou sandbar.

The town was administrated by a township governor under the control of the military commissioner of the western area of Zhejiang province.

At the end of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), Nantong's present urban area and surrounding areas were known as Jinghai, and the Xinzhang Sandbar at the mouth of the Yangtze River was known as the Dong Sandbar.

In the fourth year of the reign of emperor Li Ye during the Tang Dynasty (907), Yao Cun occupied the two sandbars in east Hailing (Hudou and Dong sandbars) and established Jinghaidu town on Dong Sandbar, which was guarded and ruled over by his son Yao Tinggui.

The Yao family ruled there for 50 years. During the period, they built a city and government offices, creating the foundation for what would become modern Nantong.

During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (907-960), Jinghai was renamed Tongzhou, which was under the jurisdiction of Yangzhou and included Jinghai and Haimen counties.

This was the beginning of the establishment of Tongzhou, which means "standing at the confluence of the river and the sea and connecting Wu and Yue states during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC)".

Wang Delin, deputy governor of Jinghai, built a city with four gates in four directions.

The entire city was square-shaped, and its perimeter stretched 6.23 Chinese miles (equivalent to 3,455.76 meters).

The moat Haohe River was later built on the natural river channels.

The city had long streets crossing from east to west and from north to south, including avenues, streets, and alleys.

Residential houses lined the alleys.

This was the first large-scale construction in the history of Nantong.

It adopted the typical square pattern design of the city of Fuzhou at the time.

The city faced Langshan Mountain, the middle of the five mountains in Nantong, forming a central axis pointing directly from the government office to the mountain.

According to local historical records, the North Gate was soon abolished due to the presence of many rogues north of the city.

After that, the city had only three gates. During the Song Dynasty (960-1279), barbicans were built in front of the three gates to prevent the invasion of Liao Dynasty (916-1125) soldiers.

During the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, Tongzhou city further expanded as its economic strength increased.

In the early Ming Dynasty, Yang Qing and Jiang Rong, who were guarding the city, successively expanded Tongzhou city, built three water gates, and set up three suspension bridges outside the city gates.

In the 26th year of the reign of emperor Wanli (1598), in order to prevent harassment from Japanese people, governor Wang Zhicheng quarried stones to renovate the city, which was completed the following year.

The city was expanded by two fifths and its shape began to resemble a gourd.

By the Qing dynasty, Tongzhou had become a major city.

The rapid development of the city attracted more merchants from other cities.

Moreover, Nantong was located in a secluded corner of the confluence of the river and sea, and thus became a safe haven for war refugees.

This contributed to its diversity of cultures.

With the development of the salt and fishing industries and more economic activity, new towns gradually emerged along the coastline of Tongzhou.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the main townships in Nantong were Rucheng, Hai'an, Juegang, Bencha, Jiaoxie, Shigang, Jinsha, Yuxi, Yudong, Lyusi, Maojia Town, Sijia, Xiting, Xingren, Baipu, Dingyan, Linzi, Shizhuang, Qutang, Libao, Fengli, and Matang.

Lyusi became a distribution center for fishing and salt from five provinces in China, while Juegang, known as "Little Yangzhou", became a distribution center for salt, cotton, rice, and cocoons.

Editor-in-chief: Yu Lei

Editor: Wang Yun

Photo by Gu Yao

Translated by Wang Haifei from the Shanghai Waiyuan Translation Agency