Changzhou

Changzhou (; Gwoyeu Romatzyh: Charng jou; formerly romanized as Changchow) is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It was previously known as Yanling, Lanling, Jinling, and Wujin. Located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, Changzhou borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the west, Zhenjiang to the northwest, Wuxi to the east, and the province of Zhejiang to the south. The city is situated in the affluent Yangtze Delta region of China.

History

"The Ruins of Yancheng" (), comprise the remains of a walled city located in the Wujin district of Changzhou that was founded over 3000 years ago at the beginning of the Western Zhou dynasty. The earliest record of a settlement on the site of modern Changzhou is as a commandery founded in 221 BC at the beginning of the Qin Dynasty. Changzhou got its present name meaning "ordinary prefecture" in AD 589. Following construction of the Grand Canal in AD 609, Changzhou became a canal port and transshipment point for locally-grown grain, and has maintained these roles ever since. The rural counties surrounding Changzhou are noted for the production of rice, fish, tea, silk, bamboo and fruit.

During the Taiping Rebellion of the 1850s, one of five palaces housing the leaders of the so-called "Kingdom of Celestial Peace" was constructed in Changzhou. Today the ruins of the "King's Palace" can be found near the People's No.1 Hospital.

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