Meaning of the name

Population
800,000 in the urban area, plus another 2,500,000 people in the 3 counties and 5 districts under its administrative control.

Location
On the Grand Canal, 20 km south of the Yangzi River and 150 km northwest of Shanghai

History

Only 8 km from Changzhou City are the remains of an ancient walled town, founded over 3000 years ago at the beginning of the Western Zhou dynasty. The earliest record of a settlement on the site of modern Changzhou is of a commandery (a district under the control of a commander) founded in 221 BC. It got its present name in 589 AD. After the Grand Canal was constructed in 609, Changzhou became a canal port and transshipment point for locally-grown grain, and has maintained these roles ever since. The rural counties surrounding Changzhou are noted for the production of rice, fish, tea, silk, bamboo and fruit.

During the Taiping Rebellion of the 1850's, one of 5 palaces housing the leaders of the so-called "Kingdom of Celestial Peace" was contructed in Changzhou. Today the ruins of the "King's Palace" can be found near the People's No.1 Hospital.

Changzhou has always prospered through its history. In the 1920's, Changzhou started to attract cotton mills. The cotton industry got a boost in the late 1930's when businesses began relocating outside of Shanghai due to the Japanese occupation. Unlike most Chinese cities, Changzhou continued to prosper even during the upheavals of the cultural revolution of 1966-76. Today it is an important industrial center for textiles, food processing, engineering (diesel engines, generators, transformers and other machinery), and high technology.

In 1982, Changzhou was made a "Model Town" for China's one-child policy. In that year, officials in Changzhou reported that nearly 100% of married couples had pledged to have only one child.

Culture
A Qing dynasty poet declared "there are none such under heaven as Changzhou, where famous persons come from." Numerous memorial halls in Changzhou and the surrounding area commemorate its famous citizens, including soldiers, scholars, revolutionaries, industrialists, physicians, artists and writers. Among others, the great poet and essayist Su Dongpo (a.k.a. Su Shi 1036-1101) lived and died here, and Hong Shen (1894-1955) a pioneering dramatist and filmmaker was born here. Sheng Xuanhuai (1844-1916) was an important Chinese industrialist in the 19th century.

A factory in Changzhou continues an ancient tradition of producing double-edged fine-toothed combs. The neighbourhood of the factory, called Comb Lane, was the scene of the last farewell of Jia Baoyu with his father in the classic novel A Dream of Red Mansions. Other famous handicrafts of Changzhou are the "crisscross" style of silk embroidery and carvings made from green bamboo.

Changzhou has active religious institutions for the practice of Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, and Islam.

Folklore
Because of the industries based in Changzhou, the Chinese say that Changzhou is where people work with three knives: scissors, choppers, and slicers.

Food
Famous snacks made in Changzhou include Dried Radish ("aromatic, sweet, crisp and tender") Sesame Candy ("fragrant, sweet, soft and crispy") Sweet Glutinous Rice Flour Dumpling With Fermented Glutinous Rice, and Silver Thread-like Noodles.

Some notable restaurant dishes are: Steamed Bread with Pork and Crab Meat, Vegetable and Meat Dumpling in Chicken Soup, and Three Delicacy Dumpling (shrimp, carp and pork).

Families adopting here have been treated to dishes such as Fried Eel, Frog Stew, and Steamed Pea-shoots with Peanut Oil.