Brief introduction of Taizhou city in Jiangsu province

A sweeping view of Taizhou city. [Photo/WeChat ID: tzfabu]

• Geography

Taizhou city is located in the central part of East China's Jiangsu province, bordering the Yangtze River to the south, Yancheng city to the north, Nantong city to the east and Yangzhou city to the west. As such, it is one of the central cities in the Yangtze River Delta region.

• Area

The total area of Taizhou covers 5,787.98 square kilometers, of which the land area accounts for 78.19 percent and the water area occupies 22.81 percent. The urban area stretches out 1,567.75 sq km.

• Administrative divisions

As of December 2023, Taizhou administered the three county-level cities of Jingjiang, Taixing and Xinghua and it also had three districts: Hailing, Gaogang and Jiangyan. It includes 61 towns, two townships, 25 sub-district offices, 1,165 village committees and 543 neighborhood committees.

• History

Taizhou, known as Haiyang in the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), Hailing in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) and Taizhou during the Southern Tang Dynasty (937-975), has a recorded history of more than 2,100 years.

During the Southern Tang Dynasty, it was upgraded from a county to a state and became known as Taizhou. It is a place where the cultures of the Wu, Yue and Chu states were integrated, and customs in the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River regions combined.

• Economy

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), the city's gross domestic product is projected to have reached 730 billion yuan ($105.24 billion), while GDP per capita exceeded 160,000 yuan. The income gap between urban and rural residents is forecast to have narrowed to 1.82:1, reflecting more inclusive growth.

Total retail sales of consumer goods increased by more than 200 billion yuan compared with the previous five-year period, and cumulative imports and exports are expected to surpass $100 billion.

Taizhou has become the fifth city in Jiangsu province to have all of its counties surpass a GDP of 100 billion yuan. Taixing Economic Development Zone and Taizhou Port Economic Development Zone have remained among the province's top 10 development zones, while Xinghua, Hailing and Jiangyan high-tech zones have been upgraded to provincial-level status.

For the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30), Taizhou has set clear and forward-looking targets. The city aims to achieve average annual GDP growth of more than 5 percent, with GDP per capita approaching $30,000. R&D expenditure is expected to account for over 3.3 percent of GDP, underscoring a stronger focus on innovation-driven development.

• Transportation

Taizhou city in Jiangsu province is an important transportation hub connecting the north and south and is the gateway to central Jiangsu.

It is also an important node city for the Shanghai metropolitan area, the Nanjing metropolitan area and the Suzhou-Wuxi-Changzhou metropolitan area.

The Xinyi-Changxing Railway, Nanjing-Qidong Railway, Beijing-Shanghai Expressway, Nanjing-Nantong Expressway, Yancheng-Jingjiang Expressway and Qidong-Yangzhou Expressway run across the entire city. Five railway lines starting from Taizhou Railway Station connect the city with  hundreds of other cities throughout the country.

Taizhou also boasts the Yangzhou Taizhou International Airport, as well as the Jiangyin Yangtze River Bridge and the Taizhou Yangtze River Bridge.

An enchanting view of Taizhou Port at dusk. [Photo provided to etaizhou.gov.cn]

The State-level open port Taizhou Port is an influential logistics facility with an annual throughout capacity of 100 million metric tons. It also has six major riverside port areas.

The superior location and the integrated structure of the roads, railways, water and air underscores the important position of the northern wing of the Yangtze River Delta.