CHINA / Cities
Wuxi
Updated: 2006-05-28 18:33
Wuxi, also named "Liangxi", is a famous city with a long history in the
lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Three thousand years ago, Taibo, the
eldest son of the Emperor Zhouwu in the West Zhou Dynasty came here, set
up the State of Gouwu and created the Wu culture.
A sparkling pearl of the Taihu Lake
Wuxi is situated in the southern part of Jiangsu Province and in the
middle of the Shanghai-Nanjing Railway. It is 128km away from Shanghai
with Suzhou in between and 183km away from Nanjing with Changzhou in
between. With the Taihu lake in the south and the south and the Yangtze
River in the north, it borders Zhejiang Province and has bank of 35km
along the Yangtze.
A famous city with a long history in southern china.
As early as 3000 years ago (end of 11th century BC ), in order to give
the throne to his brother Jili, Taibo, the eldest son of the Emperor
Zhouwu in the northern tribe, came here from Shaanxi together with his
younger brother Zhongyong and set up the State of Gouwu (now Meicun Town
of Xishan city ).By leading the local people to engage in water
conservancy,agricultural and sericultural production,
Taibo promoted the combination of central and southern Chinese culture
and created the Wu Culture. In the 5th year of West Han Dynasty (202BC),
Wuxi County was formally established. The name of Wuxi, literarily
meaning "no tin ", was given due to the extinguishing resource of tin of
the Tin Hill. The City of Wuxi was set up in 1949.
It is now a city directly under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.
Wuxi has under its jurisdiction Xishan, Jiangyin and Yixing Cities
(county-level ) and Chongan, Nanchang, Beitang, Suburban, Mashan and New
Districts. The total area of the city is 4650sq.km. and the population
4.33 million by the end of 1999, of which 1.1 million are in the
metropolitan area.
As the birthplace of the Wu Culture, Wuxi has a galaxy of evergrowing
talented personnel who have made contributions to the development of
China's economy and culture. Key celebrities of Wuxi origin are as
follows : Poet Li Kun of Tang Dynasty, Poet Youmao of Song Dynasty,
Painter Ni Zan of Yuan Dynasty, Painter Wang Fu and Traveler Xu Xiake of
Ming Dynasty, Diplomat Xue Fucheng of Qing Dynasty, Scientists Xu Shou
and his son Xu Jiangyin, Scientists Hua Hengfang and Hua Shifang
brothers, contemporary and modern revolutionaries Qin bangXian, Lu
Dingyi, Wang Kunlun, Yan Pu, Scientists Zhou Peiyuan and Qian Weichang,
Economists Sun Yefang and Xue Moqiao, Industrialists Rong Zongjin and
Rong Desheng, Writer and Historian Liu Bannong, Writer Qian Zhongshu,
Movie Star Shangguan Yunzhu, Painer Xu Beihong and National Musician Hua
Yanjun ( A Bin the Blind ), etc.
An important economic center.
Early this century, Mr Rong Zongjin and Mr Rong Desheng, representatives
of China's national industrialists, set up a group of industrial
enterprises in their hometown, recording Wuxi as a birthplace in the
history of China's national industry. Due to developd industry and
flourishing economy, Wuxi is reputed as "Little Shanghai" for half a
century. Since the founding of New China, Wuxi's economy is developing
rapidly. And since the 3th Plenary Session of the 11th Party Central
Committee and under the guild line of the Deng Xiaoping Theory and the
basic line of the Party, the people in Wuxi emancipate their mind in high
spirit, grasp the opportunity and have created unprecedented glories in
the history of its development. Wuxi is listed as one of China's 15 key
economic centers.
It is also one of the 50 cities in China with powerful comprehensive
strength, and among 40 cities in China with excellent investment
environment. Wuxi has formed a processing system with complete category
and powerful support capability. Its key sectors of industry include
those of machinery, electronics, light and textile, metallurgical,
chemical and pharmaceutical industries. It has also become a modernized
industrial city with large scale and high standard along China's coastal
areas. In 1999. The GDP of the whole city was 113.8 billion yuan and its
public revunue 8.72 billion yuan. Its per capita GDP supassed 26,000
yuan, which continued to rank the first place in Jiangsu Province.
A regional hub of transportation.
With railways, highways, air routes, and waterways, Wuxi enjoys
convenient transportation network and connects Jiangsu with Zhejiang and
Anhui Provinces. Nine highways connect Wuxi with important cities like
Shanghai, Nanjing and Hangzhou. Shanghai-Nanjing Railway and
Shanghai-Nanjing Expressway Pass through the city. It is only 2hr's drive
from Wuxi to shanghai-Hongqiao Airport. The Wuxi Airport has opened up
domestic air routes and large jumbo jets are able to take off and land
there. By relying on the Yangtze, the Grand Canal and the Taihu Lake,
Wuxi has 7 waterways which connect different places.
The city centre is 40km away from Jiangyin Harbour and Zhangjiang
Harbour. Both Wuxi-Jiangyi Expressway and JiangyinYangtze River Highway
Bridge have been open to traffic, while Xinyi-Changxing Railway under
fast construction. With developed post and telecommunications system, all
the telephone exchanges in urban and rural areas are
programme-controlled, transmission digitalized and direct calls can be
made to 156 countries and territories in the world. The EMS service is
established between Wuxi and 27 countries and territories in the world
which include those of USA, Japan and UK.
A famous tourist resort.
The landscape of the city embodies the beauty of the Yangtze, the Grand
Canal, the Taihu Lake, fountains, caves and gardens and is characteristic
of the unique features of a water village in southern China. Wuxi takes
over the most beautiful corner of the Taihu Lake and on the shore of the
that Lake scatter famous parks such as Turtle-head Peninsula Park, Lee
Garden, Plun Garden and Xihui Park. Humanitarian and historical relics
wellknown at home and abroad are all located in the whole city. To name
only a few, they are the Donglin College, Native House of Zhang Wentian,
Native House of Xu Xiake, Huangshen Fort, Taibo Temple, Taibo Tomb and
Memorial House of Xu Beihong, etc.
In recent years, the Wuxi National Tourist Resort Zone at Mashan has
completed a few large sightseeing and amusement projects such as the
International Angling Center, the Moon-bay Vacational Village and the
Linshan Scenic Spot. The Wuxi Taihu Film & Television City has built the
theme parks such as "City of Europe", "City of Tang Dynasty", "City of
Three Kingdoms" and "City of Water Margin". In the past few years, Wuxi
is evaluated as one of China's ten major tourist cities, and early this
year, it is listed in the first group as one of " China's Excellent
Tourist Cities" by the National Tourism Administration.
The dawn of the new Millenium has set in and Wuxi-"the Glistening Pearl
of Taihu Lake" will shine even brighter than ever.
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