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About Taicang
Taicang, or "Great Granary" in Mandarin, is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Suzhou Prefecture City. During the Three Kingdoms Period (220-280 A.D.), the Kingdom Wu began to build a granary on the land, which was called Taicang later, in order to store grain or rice. This initiated the small town's booming economy and improved its transportation in later years. In Yuan Dynasty (1271 - 1368 A.D.), the ancient town was further expanded into not just a civil community but also a military base, in which the local municipal authority built moats, town walls and streets.
A port under Taicang's jurisdiction, Liujia Port, was once honored as the "No. 1 Port in the World" in the Yuan Dynasty and it was where Zheng He began his voyages adventures. These abundant storages, excellent harbor, and advanced technologies in ship manufacture all helped Zheng He's later explorations.
As a newly shaped industrial city, Taicang has been listed in the front of the 100 Top Chinese Cities for its comprehensive economic capability for three years in a row, with its booming economy and elegant municipal landscapes.
Taicang was the place where the well-known explorer, Zheng He, started his great voyage explorations between1405-1433, and is the birthplace for many notable artists, scientists, writers, etc, in its history or in the modern society.
Geography, Resources and Climate
Taicang City is located in the South Jiangsu Plain and on the southern bank of Yangtze River, close to the mouth of the river. The city borders Baoshan and Jiading Districts of Shanghai on south, Kunshan City on west and Changshu City on north.
The most important natural resources is freshwater, which occupies 30 per cent of its land mass of Taicang including more than half of the area belonging to Yangtze River surface.
The city is under the influence of the East Asia Monsoon, like its neighbor cities of Suzhou and Shanghai. It has a mild and humid climate and seasons are distinct. The average annual temperature is close to 15ºC and the normal precipitation exceeds 1,000 mm yearly. Meiyu Season generally starts in the middle of June and lasts for about 3 to 4 weeks, during which the city experiences a period of mild rain but dampness.
Administration and Jurisdiction
Under the jurisdiction of Suzhou, Taicang is comprised of 7 towns and an economic development zone. The municipal government is stationed in the Chengxiang Township.
Area and Population
The city's physical size of the land is near 823 square kilometers and the water surface area 285 square kilometers including 174 square kilometers for Yangtze River water surface area. Its population is close to a half million.
Transportation and Tourism
Taicang is 50 km away from both Suzhou and Shanghai metropolises, and the driving times to Shanghai Hongqiao Airport and Shanghai Pudong Airport are one and a half hours, respectively. Taicang has a convenient road transportation network including highway/expressway and railway. The expressways that are still under construction are Ningtai (Nanjing-Taicang), Sukuntai (Suzhou-Kunshan-Taicang) and Xitai (Wuxi-Taicang) expressways.
Taicang Port owns 38.8 km of Yangtze bank and is one of prestigious river port along the river. The port has set up 14 national and international lines for cargo transport.
Taicang has many tourist destinations to visit, including Jincang Lake, Zheng He Memorial Hall, Taicang Museum, Tianfei Palace, and a couple of bridges built in the Yuan Dynasty.
Jincang Lake
Jincang Lake is not a simple lake but an artificial wetland park completed in 2008 and located in Taicang, in Suzhou, China. It was a public project, and the government's total investment was up to 353 million. Thanks to the successful construction of Jincang Lake, people living in the city have a chance to get close to nature.
Wetlands are known as "lungs of the urban city". Jincang Lake is a typical wetland park. Wetlands have a unique function like a sponge, which can take in certain harmful substances. Due to wetlands' great contributions, the quality of water, environmental protection and the variety of ecological diversity can be significantly improved. The construction of Jincang Lake also insisted that principle centered in nature.
Jincanghu covers an area of 6 square kilometers. In the middle of the park, a central lake covers 600,000 square meters. Surrounding the center, many different sizes of man-made streams cross. Jincang Lake has been approved to enter the provincial list. Until then, Suzhou's provincial wetland parks had increased to six and the total extent exceeded 56000 acres.
Zheng He Park
Zheng He Park, located in the Taicang port development zone, covers122 hectares of land area. The park follows the architecture style that restores the historical value of Zheng He's seven voyages to the Western Seas in the 15th century.
By integrating a modern design, the park has reproduced the heroic undertakings of the sailor who led the led the largest and most advanced fleet in the world at the time. The riverside area marks the first theme park for the city.
The most striking scenic spot could be the Zheng He Memorial Hall, which captures his spirit and displays exhibits of the navigations by showing various visual angles to highlight prominent features of his hometown.The memorial hall has installed advanced acoustics, lighting and electronic technology to portray the 30 years of voyages conducted by Zheng He.
Yuanhuayuan Villa
The Yuanhuayuan Villa is reputed to be the best garden in the southern region of the Yangtze River, which is home to 400 varieties of peonies with over 40,000 flowers in full bloom.
Each spring, the villa sponsors a peony cultural festival. It furnishes recreational activities in the vanilla garden, root carving gallery, and Dai ethnic group folk customs villa.
The villa completed its renovations just before the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, which features one center, one quarter and seven zones to highlight the Forest Hot Springs resort and Riverside Landscape Avenue.To date, it greets guests with garden-based scenery characterized with peonies, an eco-friendly atmosphere and a riverside area.
More information, please check http://jiangsu.chinadaily.com.cn/taicang/