Zhenjiang

 

(jŭn'jyäng') or Chinkiang (chĭn'kyăng', jĭn'jyäng') , city (1994 est. pop. 405,700), S Jiangsu prov., China, a port at the junction of the Grand Canal with the Chang River. It is also on the Shanghai-Nanjing RR. An important commercial and industrial center, it is known for its lumbering and food processing industries. Pharmaceuticals, machine tools, and paper products are also made. Zhenjiang was known in the Sung dynasty (12th cent.), flourished under the Ming and Manchu dynasties, was held by the Taipings and ravaged (1857), and was opened to foreign trade in 1859. It was a British concession until 1927 when it was returned to China. It declined in the late 19th cent. when the Grand Canal lost its importance, but flourished again as capital (1928–49) of Jiangsu. The Jiangsu medical college is there. The name also appears as Chen-chiang.

镇江市
Zhènjiāng Shì

Administration Type	Prefecture-level city
City Seat	Dantu District (32°12′N, 119°25′E)
Area - Total - Urban center	3,847 km² 1,082 km²
Population - Total - Urban center	2,672,100 (2004) 625,400 (2006)
GDP - Total - Per Capita	¥78.116 billion (2004) ¥29,235 (2004)
Major Nationalities	Han - 99.43% Hui Uyghur Kazak Tatar
County-level divisions	6
Township-level divisions	77
CPC Committee Secretary	Shi Heping (史和平)
Mayor	Xu Jinrong (许津荣)
Area code	511
Postal Code	212000, 212100 (Urban center) 212200-212400 (Other areas)
License Plate Prefix	苏L

Zhenjiang (simplified Chinese: 镇江; traditional Chinese: 鎮江; pinyin: Zhènjiāng; Wade-Giles: Chen-chiang) is a prefecture-level city in the southwestern Jiangsu province, 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 known as Jingjiang (京江, Wade-Giles Chingkiang) or Jingkou (京口 Wade-Giles Chingk'ou), Zhenjiang is today an important transportation hub owing to its location near the intersection of the Yangtze River and the Grand Canal.

Administration

The prefecture-level city of Zhenjiang administers 6 county-level divisions, including 3 districts and 3 county-level cities.

• Dantu District (丹徒区)
• Jingkou District (京口区)
• Runzhou District (润州区)
• Danyang City (丹阳市)
• Jurong City (句容市)
• Yangzhong City (扬中市)

These are further divided into 77 township-level divisions, including 66 towns, 1 township and 10 subdistricts.

History

Zhenjiang was the seat of feudal domains from the 8th century BC onwards. After it was captured by Qin Shi Huang, the first Chinese emperor, in 221 BC, it became a county town. Conquered by the Sui dynasty in 581 AD, it was made a garrison to guard the entrance to the Yangtze River, hence its name which means "Garrison [of the] River". Its importance grew with the building of a precursor to the Grand Canal, when it became the chief collection and forwarding center for tax grain paid by the Yangtse delta region.

The city reached its zenith under the Song dynasty (960-1279), when it produced fine silks, satins, and silverware for the emperors. In a garden estate on the outskirts of Zhenjiang, the scientist and statesman Shen Kuo (1031-1095 AD) lived the rest of his days in isolation, where he wrote his famous Dream Pool Essays (1088). In about 1300, a census reported that some Nestorian Christians were living in Zhenjiang.

Zhenjiang suffered from strife during the Opium War (1839-42) when it was bombarded by British warships, and again during the Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864). Zhenjiang declined economically with the closure of the northern portion of the Grand Canal in the 1850s, and the obstruction of the entrance to the southern canal in the 20th century.

From 1928 to 1949, during the Nationalist (Guomindang) regime of Chiang Kaishek, Zhenjiang was made the capital of Jiangsu Province, while Nanjing (the present-day capital of Jiangsu) served as the capital of China.

Zhenjiang is still one of China's busiest ports for domestic commerce, serving as a hub for trade between northern Jiangsu and Anhui provinces, and Shanghai. The trade mostly consists of grain, cotton, oils, and lumber. The other main industries are mostly in the field of food processing and paper pulp manufacturing. It is famous among Chinese for its heroic resistance against the British (in 1842 and 1949) and the Japanese (in the Second World War).

Culture and folklore

Zhenjiang natives speak a dialect of Lower Yangtze (Jianghuai) Mandarin Chinese, at the edge of a linguistic border with the Wu language.

In a park on the edge of Zhenjiang there is a spring which was described in the Tang dynasty (618-907 AD) as being the best in Jiangsu for the making of tea, now famous as "Number One Lifespring Under Heaven".

The hilly scenery in Zhenjiang's southern suburbs was considered beautiful enough to be the theme of many landscapes by Chinese painters.

Near the Zhenjiang Museum in Boxian Park is the Shaozong Library, which among other documents contains a 100-volume collection of old sayings and proverbs, dating from the 7th to 11th centuries.

Zhenjiang is home to the Silkworm Raising Research Institute of the Academy of Agricultural Science of China.

A local specialty is a steamed meat pastry called Crab Cream Bun. Other famous special products include fragrant black vinegar, pork, and pickles.

Because of its strategic location on the Yangzi River, Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China, believed that the power of fengshui in Zhenjiang was too strong, so he ordered 3,000 prisoners to dig a tunnel through a hill to divert the power away.

In the traditional Chinese story Tale of the White Snake, a magical, 1000 year old snake who could take the form of a woman escapes through a cave in Gold Hill (Jin Shan), to be reunited with her lover in the far-away city of Hangzhou.

Education

Public institutions having full-time Bachelor's degree programs include Jiangsu University (江苏大学) and the Jiangsu University of Science and Technology (江苏科技大学).

Notable people

• Liu E (1848–1909), late Qing Dynasty writer
• Pearl S. Buck (1892–1973), Nobel Prize-winning author of The Good Earth and other novels about China, lived in Zhenjiang with her missionary parents until the age of 15. Her childhood home is preserved on the grounds of a semiconductor factory in Zhenjiang; nearby is Zhengiang Number 2 Middle School at which she studied and taught.
• Li Lanqing (born 1932), former vice premier of China.
• Shen Kuo (1031 - 1095), Song Dynasty Scientist.

Social Welfare Institute

Until sometime in 1995, Zhenjiang Social Welfare Institute was located in central Zhenjiang, on the south side of Zhong Shan Road, between the train station and Huang Shan Road.

In 1995 it was moved a short distance to Number 22 Huang Shan Road, on the west side of the street facing south towards the railway tracks. At this time a couple of dozen young children were housed in the upper middle floor, occupying the two rooms immediately to the left (west) of the entrance. The building is now a hospital.

On June 5, 1997, a large and modern facility was completed as a civic improvement project by the Zhenjiang City government. Located in the suburbs of Zhenjiang, it has 330 beds and cares for orphans, handicapped adults and senior citizens.

External links

• Government website of Zhenjiang (available in Chinese and English)
• Zhenjiang comprehensive guide with open directory (Jiangsu.NET)

Prefecture-level divisions of Jiangsu Sub-provincial cities: Nanjing Prefecture-level cities: Changzhou | Huai'an | Lianyungang | Nantong | Suqian Suzhou | Taizhou | Wuxi | Xuzhou | Yancheng | Yangzhou | Zhenjiang

List of Jiangsu County-level divisions

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