Wuxi

Wuxi
无锡
—  Prefecture-level city  —
无锡市
Downtown Wuxi
Motto: "Wuxi is full of warmth and water"
Location of Wuxi Prefecture within Jiangsu
Wuxi is located in China
Wuxi
Location within China
Coordinates:
Country China
Province Jiangsu
County-level divisions 8
Township-level divisions 73
Government
 - CPC Secretary Yang Weize (杨卫泽)
 - Mayor Mao Xiaoping (毛小平)
Area
 - Prefecture-level city 4,787.61 km2 (1,848.5 sq mi)
 - Urban 1,659 km2 (640.5 sq mi)
Population
 - Prefecture-level city 4,471,900
 - Density 934.1/km2 (2,419.2/sq mi)
 - Urban 2,235,700
Time zone China Standard Time (UTC+8)
Postal code Urban center: 214000
Other Area: 214200, 214400
Area code(s) 510
License plate prefixes 苏B
GDP (2009) CNY 499.2 billion
 - per capita CNY 81,151
Local Dialect Wu: Wuxi dialect
Website http://www.wuxi.gov.cn/

Wuxi (simplified Chinese: 无锡; traditional Chinese: 無錫; pinyin: Wúxī; former spellings: Wu-shi, Wushi, or Wu-hsi; lit. "Without Tin"; Shanghai dialect: [ɦu.ɕiɪʔ]) is an old city in Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. Split into halves by Lake Taihu, Wuxi borders Changzhou to the west and Suzhou to the east. The northern half looks across to Taizhou to the north over the Yangtze River, while the southern half also borders the province of Zhejiang to the south. Wuxi earned its nickname "Pearl of Lake Tai" because it's built on the shore of Lake Tai with beautiful sceneries. Wuxi was also dubbed "little Shanghai" because of its close proximity to the city and its fast urbanization and booming economy.

Contents

Name

Wuxi means "No tin", though scholars suggest the city name may come from "Wuxu" (吳墟), meaning ruins of Wu (state), or a Baiyue word which may mean "god bird".[1][2][3][4][5][6]

History

Zhou Dynasty

Wuxi was founded 3,000 years ago by two fugitive princes, Taibo and Zhongyong, of Zhou from northern China, who intended to give their brother "Jili" (季歷) the throne. The two princes settled down in "meili" (梅里), which is believed to be today's Meicun of Wuxi (albeit some historic records lead to somewhere in today's Suzhou). They helped developing local agriculture and waterways and soon this area flourished. After the death of Taibo, because Taibo has no son, the emperor of Zhou named a descendant of his family king of kingdom "Wu". The king called his kingdom itself "Gowu". Taibo's shrine was set up in today's Meicun and the original wood structure was destroyed during the wars over the course of history. It has been renovated several times and today's architecture is mostly from Qing dynasty. A stone carved with Confucius' comment can still be seen in today's Taibo Shrine.

Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period

Wu became one of the strongest kingdoms during the spring and autumn period. Sunzi (Suntzu), who wrote the famous "the Art of War" came to Wu and helped the king in military affairs. Wu was considered one of the seven strongest kingdoms during Spring and Autumn Period . Some of Sunzi's descendants are still living in Sunxiang in Wuxi near the Plum Garden. However, Wu was defeated by Yue (today's Zhejiang and Fujian) later on, which was also defeated by Chu later and Wu became part of Chu during the Warring States Period.

Qin and Han Dynasty

The culture and economy center of the "Wu" area shifted to Suzhou after Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of Qin Dynasty united China and Wuxi belonged to Suzhou back then. During the Han dynasty, Wuxi was set up as a county by the emperor Han Wudi. Historic records showed that tin was discovered during the early Han era, leading to conflicts in the area. Soon, however, the tin was depleted. This is generally believed to be the origin of the name Wuxi, meaning "no tin." Recent scholarship has brought this explanation into doubt, however. It is claimed that "Wu" is one of the auxiliary suffixes common in the local dialect. This is similar to referring to Suzhou as "Gusu" and Wu as "Gowu". The name was changed to Youxi (有錫), meaning "having tin", during the Wang Mang conflicts period because Wang wanted to change the name.

Six dynasties, Tang and Song Dynasties

Agriculture and silk industry flourished in Wuxi especially after the construction of the Grand Canal. Although Suzhou became a bigger center of the Wu area, Wuxi is still important in the county of Wu.

Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties and on

The agriculture (rice and fish as major products) and industry continued to develop and until the early 20th century, Wuxi became a center of the textile industry in China and one of the four most important rice markets nationwide. During the period between 1900 and 1940, Wuxi was considered a most important county in China. That is why in dramatist Cao Yu's famous drama "Thunderstorm" Wuxi was mentioned several times with a comment "Wuxi is a good place". After the PRC was set up by communists in 1949, Wuxi continued to grow in importance, with the establishment of more textile production and both light and heavy industry. This city was considered a second important city in the Jiangsu province just after the capital city Nanjing. However, its developmental model has been criticized for the environmental deterioration it caused. New strategies are demanded by the people to ensure its development is sustainable.

Geography

The city plan, as is typical of many older Chinese cities, is of a central city with a roughly circular plan, crisscrossed with older canals, the main canal still seeing heavy barge traffic.

Wuxi itself is on an alluvial plain of deep sedimentary deposits cut between limestone foothills, making it one of the sources for "scholar's rocks", the intricately weathered stones which were used as devices for contemplation.

Wuxi ranges from a very hot summer to a chilly winter, having an average annual temperature of 18 °C, though it seldom sees snow. Because of its proximity to the East China Sea, it has a monsoon season and receives 100 cm of rain annually.

Climate

Climate data for Wuxi
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Source: MSN Weather[7]

Administration

Old Town and Canal

The prefecture-level city of Wuxi administers 9 county-level divisions, including 7 districts and 2 county-level cities.

The Wuxi New District belongs to Binhu District, but it has its own administrative committee, dealing with its affairs. These are further divided into 73 township-level divisions, including 59 towns and 24 subdistricts.

Economy

Wuxi Modern Area

Currently Wuxi is designated an investment grade city, and has two large industrial parks devoted to new industry. While current manufacturing centers on textiles, there are projects to move to electric motor manufacturing and MRP software development, and most recently there is a movement toward the solar city of China with two big solar companies (STP and JHL) listed on overseas board.

A major push has been made by the Wuxi government to become a leader in new energy industries. According to most recent figures (2002) from the local government, 24% of economic activity is textile trade, and another 25% is industrial based manufacturing, including motors, molds and casting, with another 8% being light industry.

In 2008 new energy industries were worth 37.8 Billion RMB, with the solar photovoltaic industry accounting for 30.2 Billion RMB of the total.[8] The GDP per capita was ¥81,151 (US$11,885) in 2009, ranked second in Jiangsu Province, less than Suzhou but more than the capital city Nanjing.

Wuxi is one of the top business cities in China. According to Forbes ranking, Wuxi is in the third position for best business cities in Mainland China in 2008.

The center of the city is filled with modern high rise buildings and the market is being redeveloped in a postmodern style. Hynix completed a new chip plant in Wuxi. [9]

Industry

Since it was established in 1992, Wuxi New District (WND) has evolved to be one of the major industrial parks in China. A wide variety of components, sub-systems and original equipments are made in WND. Approximately 1200 enterprises have been registered in WND by the end of 2008. Wuxi New District provides strong support for international manufacturing operations. The Zone focuses on formation of the five pillar industries of electronic information, precision machinery and mechanical and electrical integration, bio-pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals and new materials.[10]

Established in 1992, Wuxi Export Processing Zone is located in Wuxi New District with a planned area of 2.98 sqkm. The encouraged industries include electronic information, optical-mechanical-electronic-integration, precision machinery, and new materials. It is situated near to Wuxi Airport and Changzhou Port.[11]

Culture

Jichang Garden
Wuxi Painter Yu Wenshan c. 1658, landscape With Western Influenced Perspective

As an important city for "Wu" area, its culture bears distinctive "wu" characteristics, which can be identified in its dialect, architecture, waterway transportation and various art types.

It was one of the arts and cultural center in "Jiangnan", with several famous Chinese authors claiming Wuxi as their home town. Among them, most recently, Qian Zhongshu, author of Fortress Besieged, a comedy of manners set in China in the 1930s.

One of the handicraft specialties of Wuxi is the production of Huishan clay figurines.

In modern times Wuxi has produced a number of cultural figures such as Hua Yanjun (1893–1950) also known as "Blind Abing" (瞎子阿炳), famous for his erhu and pipa music. Another famous musician is Liu Tianhua, who was the first to compile folk music using staff.

As for cuisine, Wuxi is famous for its Wuxi-style spareribs, sweetened pork dumplings and fried gluten.

Transportation

Train

By rail, Wuxi is conveniently situated on the Nanjing-Shanghai Railway, linking it directly with the provincial capital of Nanjing (1.5 hours train-ride) and China's economic hub, Shanghai (45 minutes train-ride) and the fifth biggest economic hub, top tourist destination Suzhou (24 minutes train-ride). K-series trains all stop at Wuxi.

Air Transport

Wuxi Airport, which opened in 2004, is situated 14 km from city centre, and has direct flights to Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong kong, Osaka.

Expressway and Highway

Expressways:

National Highways:

Provincial Roads:

Folklore

The nine peaks of Huishan, in Xihui Park on the western outskirts of Wuxi, are said to be the sleeping sons of the legendary Dragon King.

The wittiness of Wuxi natives is legendary. A popular joke is that "they can sell you meat that is really bones and they sell you dumplings that are just air inside", i.e. Wuxi pork ribs and Wuxi fried tofu dumplings, which are hollow. Some consider this trait untrustworthy.

One of the most famous folklores is about the Wuxi traditional pork ribs. It was said that the ribs were created by a peasant Lu Xiaosheng. His wife was ill but he was poor. One day she wanted to eat pork. Lu went to buy some ribs and cooked with wrapping in a "Po Gao Jian" (lit. damaged haulm cushion). Amazingly, the taste of the ribs was so good that his wife immediately recovered from her illness. Folks say that the cushion was used by a beggar who happened to be a god. Lu then began to sell the pork ribs, and became rich and famous for the brand "Old Lu's Gao Jian".

Tourism

Nanchan Temple and Pagoda

Wuxi is a major tourist spot in the Lower Yangtze Delta. It has both natural and man-made places of interest.

Taihu Lake: The city was built on its shore. Naturally the lake is a rich tourism resource. Famous spots include Yuantou Zhu (the Islet of Turtlehead), Taihu Xiandao (Islands of the Deities).

Star of Taihu Lake: Completed in 2008, this Ferris wheel is 115-meter high. It takes 18 minutes to complete a circle. There are some other recreation facilities. Sitting in the Ferris wheel, tourists can enjoy beautiful scenery of Lake Tai and the city center. At night, lighting effects make the wheel more attractive.

Xi Shan, Huishan: Literally means "Mountain of Tin" and "Mountain of Kindheartedness". They are two small hills located at the western part of the city. The classic royal Ji-chang-yuan Gardens are located at the hill foot area as well as the very famous Tian-xia-di-er-quan Spring (lit. second best spring).NOTE: Please distinguish that Xi Shan is also a name for a more attractive tourist spot located in Suzhou. Because two independent Chinese characters are both pronounced "Xi": one stands for "West", the other (in this case) is for the metal material tin.

The Grand Canal: It passes the city. There are two canals: one is the old canal that has been there ever since it was excavated, the other is the new canal created after 1949.
Wuxi is famous for the many private gardens or parks built by learned scholars and rich people in the past. Among them, Li Yuan, Mei Yuan are good examples that have been well preserved. Xihui Gongyuan (Xihui Park), located at the foot of Xi Shan also houses historical relics, notably Jichang Garden. It is about 1770 km long.

Grand Buddha at Ling Shan: Located at the south of the Longshan Mountain, near Mashan town of Wuxi, the 88 metres Grand Buddha is one of the largest Buddha statues in China, and it is the ninth tallest statue worldwide.

Huishan ancient town: Built during 16th - 19th A.D., the town is located at the north-west part of Wuxi, west bank of Grand Canal, at the foot of Huishan. The town's buildings are mainly families ancestral halls.

Movie&TV Base: Located in the west of Wuxi, it consists of Wuxi Three State City Park, Tang City, and Shuihu City. Established in 1987，and it is the first Movie and TV base for shooting.

Shan Juan Cave: Located in Yixing (a region belongs to Wuxi), it is one of the 4-starts scenic zones. Chinese Romeo and Juliet, Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai were said to study behind the cave.

Other Historical Places: Former Residence of Xue Fucheng, Former Residence of A Bin, Former Residence of Xu Xiake, Site of Luotuo Dun, Taibo Temple and Taibo Tomb, and Donglin Shuyuan, etc. These historical places are well protected by the city government.

Wuxi Museum

Sports and stadiums

Wuxi have two stadiums, one is the old stadium located in the south part of the city and is waiting to be released. Another one is the new one named Wuxi New Stadium. The new stadium that consists of swimming stadium, soccer stadium and other functionalities is located at south-west part of the city, near Lake Tai.

Wuxi new stadium

Education

Universities and Colleges

High Schools

Notable people

Gallery

Downtown Wuxi

Liyuan Gardens

Yuantouzhu peninsula, Sanshan Islands and Lake Tai, Wuxi

West part of Wuxi from temple of Mt. Qingshan

Morning market in old town

Ling Shan giant buddha, Wuxi

"The Light of Lihu lake", Wuxi

Wuxi night skyline

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Wuxi is twinned with:

The two county-level cities administered by Wuxi, Jiangyin and Yixing, are also twinned with:

See also

References

  1. ↑ “无锡”地名的由来
  2. ↑ 而今现在(2006-05-01 00:00:00 ～ 2006-06-01 00:00:00档案)
  3. ↑ 无锡市
  4. ↑ 无锡
  5. ↑ 考“无锡”地名的由来
  6. ↑ 无锡地名典故
  7. ↑ "MSN Weather". http://weather.msn.com/monthly_averages.aspx?wealocations=wc:36903&q=Wuxi%2c+CHN+forecast:averagesm. Retrieved April 2, 2009. 
  8. ↑ China Business News http://thechinaperspective.com/articles/wuxicitywantsroleingreenenergy6391/index.html
  9. ↑ Hynix completes new chip plant in China
  10. ↑ RightSite.asia | Wuxi New District
  11. ↑ RightSite.asia | Wuxi Export Processing Zone

External links

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