Nantong

Nantong (Chinese: 南通; pinyin: Nántōng; former names: Nan-t'ung, Nantung, Tongzhou, or Tungchow; Qihai dialect: [nie tʰoŋ]) is a prefecture-level city in Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. Located on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, near the river mouth. Nantong is a vital river port bordering Yancheng to the north, Taizhou to the west, Suzhou and Shanghai to the south across the river, and the East China Sea to the east. Its current population is 7,282,835 at the 2010 census, 3,180,924 of whom live in the built-up area made up of 3 urban districts plus Haimen City.

Nantong 南通
Prefecture-level city
南通市
Nantong's Skyline
Location of Nantong City jurisdiction in Jiangsu
Country	People's Republic of China
Province	Jiangsu
Government
• CPC Municipal Secretary	Ding Dawei (丁大卫)
• Mayor	Zhang Guohua (张国华)
Area
• Prefecture-level city	8,544.1 km2 (3,298.9 sq mi)
• Urban	1,692 km2 (653 sq mi)
• Metro	2,840 km2 (1,100 sq mi)
Elevation	2 m (7 ft)
Population  (2010 census)
• Prefecture-level city	7,282,835
• Density	850/km2 (2,200/sq mi)
• Urban	2,273,326
• Urban density	1,300/km2 (3,500/sq mi)
• Metro	3,180,224
• Metro density	1,100/km2 (2,900/sq mi)
	[1]
Time zone	UTC+8 (China Standard)
Postal code	226000 (Urban centre) 226100-226600 (Other areas)
Area code	513
GDP	¥341.8 billion (2010)
GDP per capita	¥44,856 (2010)
Major Nationalities	Han
County-level divisions	8
Township-level divisions	146
Licence Plate Prefixes	苏F
Website	nantong.gov.cn

Because the coast of the East China Sea is constantly expanding eastward as the Yangtze River adds silt to its delta, the distance between Nantong and the seashore is getting longer than it once was in ancient times. From the Han dynasty up until the Tang dynasty, what is now called Nantong was a minor county subordinate to Yangzhou. By 958 AD a city of sufficient importance had developed for a new, independent prefecture called Tongzhou ("Opening Prefecture", possibly from its position near the mouth of the Yangtse) to be created. The increasing wealth of Yangzhou caused Tongzhou to be once again eclipsed as an administrative center in 1368 AD. When Tongzhou finally regained prefecture status in 1724, it was renamed Nantong ("Southern Tong") to avoid confusion with another Tongzhou, located near Beijing.

The prosperity of Nantong has traditionally depended on salt production on the nearby seacoast, rice and cotton agriculture, and especially the production of cotton textiles. A local statesman and industrialist named Zhang Jian founded Nantong's first modern cotton mills in 1899. He then developed an industrial complex that included flour, oil, and silk reeling mills, a distillery, and a machinery shop. He also founded a shipping line and reclaimed saline agricultural land to the east of Nantong for cotton production. Thanks to these efforts, by 1911 Nantong was commonly called "Zhang Jian's Kingdom".

Although the city took a blow from the economic depression of the 1930s, as well as the Japanese occupation of the 1930s and 40s, Nantong has remained an important center for the textile industry. Because of its deep-water harbor and connections to inland navigational canals, it was one of 14 port cities opened to foreign investment in recent Chinese economic reforms.

Nantong has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), with four distinct seasons. Winters are chilly and damp, and cold northwesterly winds caused by the Siberian high can force temperatures to fall below freezing at night although snowfall is relatively uncommon. Summers are hot and humid, and downpours or freak thunderstorms often occur. Monthly daily average temperatures range from 3.1 °C (37.6 °F) in January to 27.2 °C (81.0 °F) in July, and the annual mean is 15.3 °C (59.5 °F). With the plum rains in June and early July comes the rainiest part of the year.

The prefecture-level city of Nantong administers 8 county-level divisions, including 3 districts, 3 county-level cities, and 2 counties.

These are further divided into 146 township-level divisions.

• Nantong museum

Nantong city and its 6 counties (or county-level cities) are rich in linguistic diversity, featuring both important Northern Wu varieties and highly divergent dialects of Mandarin (see Nantong dialect). People in the city of Nantong speak a unique dialect which sounds nothing like standard Mandarin or any other dialect, and it is also holds distinctive differences from surrounding dialects. About 2 million people in the southern parts of Tongzhou, Haimen, and Qidong speak the Wu dialect, which is often referred to as "Qi-hai Hua" (启海话), meaning Qidong-Haimen speech. It is about the same as the dialect spoken on the island of Chongming, which is a part of Shanghai city. People in northern parts of these counties speak "Tongdong Hua" (tōngdōnghuà 通东话), meaning Eastern Tong Talk. People in Rugao, Hai'an speak other dialects.

Some people believe criminals who were living in Mongolia or Tibet moved to Nantong when the area was first formed hundreds years ago. Hence it is said that a small group in Mongolia or Tibet speak the same dialect as people in the city of Nantong.

The Hao River, known as the Emerald Necklace of Nantong, surrounds the city with a total length of 15 km. Most city scenery lines this river.^[2]

Popular tourist sites include Langshan ("Wolf hill"), which is around 110 meters high. On top of the hill is a Buddhist temple dedicated to a Song dynasty monk. Because of the monk's legendary powers over water demons, sailors pray to him for protection on their voyages.

The Cao Gong Zhu Memorial Temple commemorates a local hero who defended the city against Japanese pirates in 1557.

Shuihuiyuang Garden, meaning Water Garden, is unique of all Chinese classical gardens due its creation in the Hui style. It includes the tombs of several notable people, such as Luo Binwang, a famous poet of Tang Dynasty; Wen Tianxiang, the national hero of Nansong Dynasty; Zhangqian, the number one scholar of the late Qing Dynasty who was a modern industrialist and supporter of education.

Nantong was historically known as an agricultural area and an traditional site for salt-making. Its principal agricultural products include cotton, rice, wheat, fishing, fruit, and more. Currently, the city is making efforts to upgrade its farming sectors and increase production of organic foods.

Nantong is one of the 14 port cities opened to foreign investment projects under China's current policies of modernization. Nantong was traditionally an industrial city, especially around the turn of the 20th century, specializing in salt and cotton textile production. Today’s industrial corporations have made Nantong into an industrial hub since it opened its door to the outside world in the 1990s. With its excellent geographic location and the completion of two Yangtze River bridges, the prefecture is attracting more investment funding nationwide. Many of these investments come from international corporations. In October 2007, Singapore RGM International signed an agreement with Rudong, a county under Nantong's jurisdiction, to invest in a port project, costing 9 billion Yuan or 1.33 billion USD, at Rudong Yangkou Port.

Today, Nantong is one of many fast-growing coastal cities in China. With the opening of Sutong Bridge in April 2008 and Chonghai Bridge in 2009, the city has been listed as the number one city in the Yangtze River Delta Economic Zone for foreign investment, surpassing its rivals Suzhou, Hangzhou and Nanjing.

As a sprawling metropolis, Nantong has experienced environment damage from its industrialization as well. The municipal government has been putting stiffer environmental policies into practice over the years and has spent tremendous amounts of money to curb pollution and plant more trees along its roads. The city is active in shutting down factories that do not meet its environment laws.

Nantong has developed rapidly in the last 25 years, as have most of the cities in the Yangtze River Delta. Nantong's rapid economic growth is generally attributed to its advantageous location just north of Shanghai. Nantong's Sutong Bridge is expected to further Nantong's integration with Shanghai, cutting transportation time between the cities down from three hours to one hour.^[3]

The shipping corporation Cosco has a large port and ship repair yard on the river. Cosco (Nantong) Shipyard Co., Ltd, the first shipyard of the Cosco group, has placed itself adjacent to the busy port of Nantong. The yard has 1120 m of coastline and is equipped with one cape-size and one panamax size floating dock. Cosco Shipyard handles approximately 150 vessels per year.^[4]

Nantong has five KFC stores and one McDonald's.

Some companies in Nantong:^[5]

• Empire Clothing Co. Ltd. - Manufacturer of garments for men, women and children. Products gallery.
• Nantong No.2 Yarn-dyed Weaving Mill - Cloth and garment manufacturer.
• Nantong Taierte Clothing Co. Ltd. - Textile production and processing.
• Nantong Freezing Equipment Factory - Refrigeration and quick freezing equipment for the food industry.
• Nantong Printing and Dyeing Co. Ltd. - Textile processor. Product specifications.
• Nantong Suzhong Textile Co. Ltd. - Yarn and thread manufacturer. Product specifications.
• Nantong General Pharmaceutical Factory - Manufacturer of pharmaceutical materials such as tablets, capsules and injections. Product specifications.
• Nantong Xiaoxing Transformer Co., Ltd. -Various range of electric transformers
• Nantong Fujitsu Microelectronics Co Ltd ^[6]

• Nantong Economic & Technological Development Area

Established in 1984, Nantong Economic & Technological Development Area (NETDA) was one of the first state-level development zones approved by the Chinese Central Government and has been certified as an ISO 14000 National Demonstration Zone. The zone benefits from superior transportation facilities by both rail and road. NETDA has direct links to two railways: the Xinyi-Changxing Railway and the Nanjing-Qidong Railway. Su-Tong Yangtze River Bridge feeds into the center of NETDA and connects the Nanjing-Nantong and Yancheng-Nantong Expressways to the north, and Shanghai-Nanjiang and Suzhou-Jiaxing-Hangzhou Expressways and Riverside Expressways to the south.

NETDA includes several subsidiary zones including Nantong Export Processing Zone, New Material Park, Opto-mechatronics Industrial Park and NETDA Business Park. Special incentives are offered for investments in areas of modern equipment manufacturing, such as in new materials, engineering, fine chemicals, new medicines, new energy and modern services. At present, NETDA has attracted a large number of renowned companies to settle in Nantong, such as Vonnex Allied IT Services, OJI Paper, Maxion, Johnson Controls, ITOCHU, and TSRC Corporation.^[7]

• China Singapore Sutong Science & Technology Park(STP)

Established in 2009, STP is one of the key projects of Jiangsu Province coastal development. It’s also a joint-venture park between Suzhou and Nantong, linking them on either side of the Yangtze River. The intended area is 50 square kilometers and is to be developed in three phases. It claims the project as "An International Enterprise Park and Eco-friendly City in Yangtze Delta".

• Nantong Export Processing Zone

Nantong Export Processing Zone (NTEPZ) is situated in the Nantong Economic and Technological Development Area with a planned area of 2.98 square kilometers. The Tong-Qi canal marks its western and northern boundaries, with Dongfang Avenue and Fuxin Road its eastern and southern boundaries respectively. NTPEZ is located at a communication hub, adjoining the main coastal artery of communications between north and south, close to the estuary of the Yangze River, only 8 kilometers to the Su(Suzhou)-Tong(Nangtong)Changjiang Bridge.^[8]

Rail

The Nanjing-Qidong (Ningqi) and Xinyi-Changxing (Xinchang) Railways intersect at Hai'an in the northwestern part of Nantong Prefecture.

Plans also exist for a cross-river connection from Nantong to the Shanghai metropolitan area (the Shanghai–Nantong Railway). It will connect to the Nanjing–Qidong Railway at Pingdong Station (平东站) on the northwestern outskirts of Nantong's urban core. Construction work is expected to start in 2013.^[9]

Nantong hosts a comprehensive university, Nantong University (made by the merger of the former Nantong Medical College, former Nantong Normal College, and former Nantong Engineer College). It includes 21 schools and had around 22,000 registered students in 2007.

Nantong has contributed to China's educational development with several firsts: establishment of the first school for teacher training, the first folk museum, the first school for industrial textile manufacturing, the first school for embroidery, the first drama school, and the first school for the deaf and the blind.^{[10] [11] [12]}

The "King of Nantong", Zhang Jian, founded the first teacher-training schools in China at Nantong. These eventually merged with his agricultural, industrial, and medical schools to become Nantong University. Zhang also founded museums, libraries, and theaters, making Nantong into an important cultural center.

The city has a compulsory primary school education system. Secondary schools, including high schools, have high graduation rates. ^{[citation needed]} Its adult vocational education system has brought diverse programs to its labor forces.

• primary schools (incomplete list):
  • No 2. Affiliated Primary School of Nantong Normal school.

• Secondary schools (incomplete list):
  • Nantong Middle School. - [2]
  • Nantong No.1 Middle School. - [3]

• Universities and colleges:
  • Nantong University

• International Schools
  • Nantong International School

Established in 1906, Nantong Social Welfare Institute was originally created by Zhang Jian as a house for orphans, the aged, and the disabled.

Located on the banks of the Haohe, the institute has an area of 13.2 mu (8,800 m²), with beautiful scenery and surroundings. At present, there are 79 staff members who care for around 170 orphans, widows, and handicapped children, plus 70 retirees. The current director's name is Jia Gui Lin.

Twin towns — Sister cities

Nantong is twinned with:

• Qin Shao, Culturing Modernity: The Nantong Model, 1890-1930 (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2004).
• Zhiyan Gao, "nantong dialect phonological inventory"
• Bao, Mingwei & Wang,Jun(2002). Nantong Diqu Fangyan Yanjiu [A Study on the Dialects in

Nantong Area]. Jiangsu Jiaoyu Press

• Government website of Nantong (available in Chinese, Japanese and English)
• Nantong comprehensive guide with open directory (Jiangsu.NET)
• The Columbia Encyclopedia: Nantong - Brief facts about the city
• Nantong Science and Technology Commission - Brief description of the city and a list of cooperative projects available
• Historic US Army map of Nantong in 1942