Taizhou

Historically known as Hailing (often interpreted as"hill by the sea"), Taizhou was established as a county no later than the 2nd century BCE. Its administrative center was located on an ancient sandspit along the north bank of the Yangtze River, at an elevation of about 6–7 meters, while Xinghua to the north lay in the Lixiahe lowlands. Over the following centuries, sedimentation at the Yangtze estuary caused the coastline to shift southeastward. As a result, the southern regions of Taizhou and Taixing gradually emerged as land, and Jingjiang, originally a sandbar, had accreted to the north bank of the Yangtze by the turn of the 17th century. The shifting coastline created extensive coastal salt fields in and around Taizhou, and the city at times served as a regional hub of salt administration, with the Hailing Salt Directorate established there in the Tang dynasty. …

Taizhou lies at the confluence of the Yangtze River and the Jinghang Canal (Grand Canal of China), in the south-central Jiangsu Province, which is on the north bank of lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the south end of Jianghuai Plain. Its latitude ranges from about 32° 02′ — 33°11′ N and longitude 119° 38′ — 120° 32′ E, with a total area of 5,793 square kilometres (2,237 sq mi). Neighbouring areas: Yangzhou to the west, Nantong to the east, and Yancheng to the north. As with the rest of central and southern Jiangsu, Taizhou has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), influenced by the East Asian Monsoon, with cold, damp, but comparatively dry, winters, and hot, humid summers with copious rain. The normal monthly mean temperature ranges from 2.4 °C (36.3 °F) in January to 27.5 °C (81.5 °F) in July, while the annual mean is 15.36 °C (59.6 °F). …

Taizhou is a center for flour mills, textile works, fishing net manufacturing, and other industries based on local agriculture. In the past 20 years, the economic growth has remained stable with an average annual growth rate exceeding 10%. It is one of the central cities inside the Yangtse River Delta with its developed industry, convenient transportation and prosperous commerce. In 2024, the GDP reached RMB 702.09 billion yuan, the GDP per capita RMB 156,351 yuan, equals to 21,954 dollars, the fiscal revenue RMB 37.5 billion yuan, the total amount of bank deposits RMB 688 billion yuan. Five county-level cities or districts are ranked among the "China's Top 100 Counties with Greatest Comprehensive Power". It boasts numbers of large-sized enterprises or groups, such as Chunlan Group Corp. …