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Wuxi 无锡市
Prefecture-level city
Clockwise from top: Yunfu Mansion, Grand Buddha at Ling Shan, Lihu Lake, city canal, Liyuan Gardens
Motto(s): Wuxi is full of warmth and water
Location of Wuxi City jurisdiction in Jiangsu
Wuxi Location in China
Coordinates: 31°34′N 120°18′E / 31.567°N 120.300°E / 31.567; 120.300Coordinates: 31°34′N 120°18′E / 31.567°N 120.300°E / 31.567; 120.300
Country	People's Republic of China
Province	Jiangsu
County-level divisions	9
Township-level divisions	73
Government
• CPC Municipal Secretary	Li Xiaomin
• Mayor	Wang Quan (汪泉)
Area
• Prefecture-level city	4,787.61 km2 (1,848.51 sq mi)
Population (2017 Census)
• Prefecture-level city	6,553,000
• Density	1,400/km2 (3,500/sq mi)
• Urban	3,542,319
• Metro	3,542,319
Time zone	China Standard (UTC+8)
Postal code	Urban center: 214000 Other Area: 214200, 214400
Area code(s)	510
ISO 3166 code	CN-JS-02
License plate prefixes	苏B
GDP (2017)	CNY 1.0511trillion
- per capita	CNY 160412
HDI	0.909 - very high
Local Dialect	Wu: Wuxi dialect
Website	www.wuxi.gov.cn

Wuxi
"Wuxi" in Simplified (top) and Traditional (bottom) Chinese characters
Simplified Chinese	无锡
Traditional Chinese	無錫
Hanyu Pinyin	PRC Standard Mandarin: Wúxī ROC Standard Mandarin: Wúxí
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin PRC Standard Mandarin: Wúxī ROC Standard Mandarin: Wúxí Bopomofo PRC: ㄨˊ   ㄒㄧ ROC: ㄨˊ   ㄒㄧˊ Gwoyeu Romatzyh PRC: Wushi ROC: Wushyi Wade–Giles PRC: Wu2-hsi1 ROC: Wu2-hsi2 Tongyong Pinyin PRC: Wúsi ROC: Wúsí Yale Romanization PRC: Wúsyī ROC: Wúsyí MPS2 PRC: Wúshī ROC: Wúshí IPA PRC: [ǔ.ɕí] ROC: [ǔ.ɕǐ] Wu Romanization Vu-sik [vusiʔ] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Mòuhsik Jyutping Mou4sik3 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Bû-sek

Wuxi (Chinese: 无锡) is a city in southern Jiangsu province, China. The city borders two other large cities, Changzhou to the west and Suzhou to the east, and borders Zhejiang Province as well in the south. It also covers a coastline of the Yangtze River in the north and two separate coasts of Lake Tai. Wuxi is noted for its modern industry and commerce, along with its resorts around Lake Tai.

Etymology

Wuxi means "without tin" literally. Despite varied tales, many modern Chinese scholars favour the view that the word dervived from the "old Yue language" or, supposedly, the old Kra–Dai languages.^[1][2][3]

History

Pre-Qin and Qin dynasties

There is an account about brothers Taibo and Zhongyong among several ones that they made Meicun the state of Wu's capital. The region was variously occupied by the state of Yue, Chu and Qin.

Han dynastsy

Wuxi county was founded in 202 BC originally. It was a part of Kuaiji Commandery during the Western Han, later Wu Commandery.^[2] As a part of Wang Mang's regime, the place name Wuxi was once changed to Youxi (有錫), meaning "with tin", until his death.

Six dynasties, Tang and Song dynasties

The county was dissovled during the Three Kingdoms, but restored in 280. It was annexed by Jinling Commandery , then Changzhou, since the Eastern Jin.^[2]Agriculture and the silk industry flourished in Wuxi and the town became a transportation center under the early Tang Dynasty after the construction of the Grand Canal. Although Suzhou became the center of the Wu area, Wuxi was also important in the county of Wu.

Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties

The front of Donglin Academy

Donglin Academy, which was restored in Wuxi 1604, is the cradle of Donglin movement.

During the Taiping Rebellion, Wuxi was devastated by the war's destruction, like other parts of the lower Yangtze valley. Warfare disrupted planting in the region.^[4]

During the late 19th century, Wuxi became a center of the textile industry in China and one of the four most important rice markets nationwide. By 1878, Wuxi was the leading silk-producing county in Jiangsu, outstripping even Suzhou, the traditional center of that industry. In the late 19th century, Wuxi was also the regional center for the waterborne transport of grain and a major commercial center.

20th century

Between 1900 and 1940, Wuxi was considered one of the most important counties in China. In dramatist Cao Yu's well-known drama "Thunderstorm", Wuxi was mentioned several times with the comment "Wuxi is a good place". After the People's Republic of China was established by the communists in 1949, Wuxi continued to grow in importance, with increases in textile production along with both light and heavy industry. This city was considered the second most important city in Jiangsu Province after the capital Nanjing. However, its developmental model has been criticized for the environmental deterioration caused. New strategies are now under consideration to ensure its sustainable development.

Geography

Map showing the city Wuxi (Arrowed ) and its relation to the City of Shanghai, The Yangtze River and Lake Tai.

The city plan, as is typical of many older Chinese cities, is of a central city with a roughly circular plan, crisscrossed with older canals, the main canal still seeing heavy barge traffic.

Wuxi itself is on an alluvial plain of deep sedimentary deposits cut between limestone foothills, making it one of the sources for "scholar's rocks", the intricately weathered stones which were used as devices for contemplation.

Climate

Wuxi is hot and humid in summer and chilly and damp in winter, with an average annual temperature of 18 °C (64 °F) and very occasional snow. Because of its proximity to the East China Sea, it has a monsoon season and receives 100 centimetres (39 inches) of rain annually.^{[citation needed]}

Environment

Wuxi is a national garden city. In Wuxi, there are 17 wetland parks. Among these parks, Changguangxi Wetland Park (长广溪湿地公园) and Lianghong Wetland Park (梁鸿湿地公园) are ranked as national wetland parks.

In 2009, Wuxi was honored as the annual 'Global Green City' by the United Nations. In 2013, Wuxi was ranked first in competitiveness among livable cities of the Chinese mainland, which was only after Hong Kong and Macao, in the annual report on China's urban competitiveness published by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Demographics

According to the 2010 Census, the prefecture-level of Wuxi has a population of 6,372,624, an increase of 1,192,777 from the 2000 census, giving it a population growth of 20.9% for the period 2000-2010.^[6]

Administration

The prefecture-level city of Wuxi administers seven county-level divisions, including 5 districts and 2 county-level cities. The information here presented uses the metric system and data from 2010 Census.

These districts are sub-divided into 73 township-level divisions, including 59 towns and 24 subdistricts.

Map
Lake Tai Ge Lake Xishan Huishan Binhu Liangxi Xinwu Jiangyin (city) Yixing (city)
Subdivision	Hanzi	Pinyin	Population (2010)	Area (km2)	Density
City Proper
Liangxi District	梁溪区	Liángxī Qū	836,198	72	11,613
Suburban
Binhu District	滨湖区	Bīnhú Qū	688,965	567	1,215
Xinwu District	新吴区	Xīnwú Qū	536,807	219	2,451
Xishan District	锡山区	Xīshān Qū	681,300	396	1,720
Huishan District	惠山区	Huìshān Qū	691,059	327	1,215
Satellite cities (County-level cities)
Jiangyin	江阴市	Jiāngyīn Shì	1,594,829	987	1,616
Yixing	宜兴市	Yíxīng Shì	1,235,476	2,177	568
Total			6,372,624	4,787	1,300
Defunct: Chong'an District, Nanchang District, & Beitang District

Economy

Wuxi is a regional business hub with a GDP per capita of ¥126,000 in 2014, ranking it first in Jiangsu, ahead of Nanjing and Suzhou.^[7]

The city has a rapidly developing skyline with the opening of three supertall skyscrapers (300 metres or 980 feet) in 2014. These buildings are the Wuxi IFS, Wuxi Suning Plaza 1, and Wuxi Maoye City - Marriott Hotel. There are 7 other skyscrapers between 200 and 300 metres (660 and 980 feet) tall including the Yunfu Mansion.

Manufacturing zones

The city has extensive manufacturing including large industrial parks devoted to new industries. Historically a center of textile manufacturing, the city has adopted new industries such as electric motor manufacturing, MRP software development, and solar technology. Two major photovoltaic companies, Suntech Power and Jetion Holdings Ltd, are based in Wuxi, making the city a hub for solar technology in China. Bicycle manufacturing for international brands is another industry, including bicycle assembly and bicycle component manufacturing. One of the two Chinese factories of Taiwan-based brake manufacturer Tektro is in Wuxi. Hynix completed a new chip plant in Wuxi.^[8]

Wuxi New District

Since it was established in 1992, Wuxi New District (WND) has evolved to be one of the major industrial parks in China. A wide variety of components, sub-systems and original equipments are made in WND. Approximately 1200 enterprises have been registered in WND by the end of 2008. Wuxi New District provides strong support for international manufacturing operations. The Zone focuses on formation of the five pillar industries of electronic information, precision machinery and mechanical and electrical integration, bio-pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals and new materials.^[9]

Wuxi Export Processing Zone

Established in 1992, Wuxi Export Processing Zone is located in Wuxi New District with a planned area of 2.98 km². The encouraged industries include electronic information, optical-mechanical-electronic-integration, precision machinery, and new materials. It is situated near to Wuxi Airport and Changzhou Port.^[10]

Culture and sports

As an important city for the "Wu" area, Wuxi is one of the art and cultural centers of "Jiangnan". Its culture bears distinctive characteristics, which can be identified in its dialect, architecture, waterway transportation and various art types.^{[citation needed]}

Arts

One of the handicraft specialties of Wuxi is the production of Huishan clay figurines.^{[citation needed]} and clay tea pots.

Several famous Chinese authors claiming Wuxi as their home town. Among them, most recently, Qian Zhongshu, author of Fortress Besieged, a comedy of manners set in China in the 1930s. Wuxi was the birthplace of the famous Chinese (later American) artist Chen Chi (1912—2005), in whose honor a museum has been erected in the city.

In modern times Wuxi has produced a number of cultural figures such as Hua Yanjun (1893–1950) also known as "Blind Abing" (瞎子阿炳), famous for his erhu and pipa music. Another famous musician is Liu Tianhua, who was the first to compile folk music using staff.

Tourism

Nanchan Temple and Pagoda

Wuxi is a major tourist area of the Lower Yangtze Delta. It has natural and man-made places of interest.

The city was built on the shore of Lake Tai with the lake providing a rich tourism resource. Noted spots include Yuantouzhu (the Islet of Turtlehead) and Taihu Xiandao (Islands of the Deities). Passengers can enjoy the scenery of Lake Tai and the city center on a 115-metre (377 ft) tall Ferris wheel that takes 18 minutes to complete one revolution. At night, lighting effects are switched on around the wheel.^[11]

Literally "Tin Mountain" and "Kindhearted Mountain", Mount Xi and Mount Hui are two small hills in the western part of the city. The classic royal Ji-chang-yuan Gardens are at the foot of the hill as well as the Tianxia di er quan (天下第二泉), literally "the second spring under heaven").

Jichang Garden

The Grand Canal passes through the city. There are two canals: one is the old one that has been there since it was excavated, the other is the new canal created after 1949.

Wuxi has many private gardens or parks built by learned scholars and rich people in the past. Among these, Li Yuan, Mei Yuan are good examples that have been well preserved. Xihui Gongyuan (Xihui Park),at the foot of Xi Shan also houses historical relics, notably Jichang Garden. Lihu Park is another popular park, owing it popularity to legends that Fan Li and Xi Shi boated here. Fragrant Cedar Pavilion (Chinese: 香楠厅; pinyin: Xiāngnán tīng) is a protected site, which was dedicated in the Ming dynasty to Consort Duan by her father after her execution for involvement in an assassination attempt against the Jiajing Emperor.^[12]

The dome made of lights of the Holy Altar in Brahma Palace, near the Grand Buddha at Ling Shan

Wuxi's Mashan Town was built during 16th–19th century A.D.. The town is in the northwest part of Wuxi on the west bank of the Grand Canal and at the foot of Mount Hui. The town's buildings are mainly family ancestral halls.^{[citation needed]} South of the Long Mountain, near the town, is the 88 metres (289 ft) tall Grand Buddha at Ling Shan, one of the largest Buddha statues in China and the ninth tallest statue worldwide.

In the western part of Wuxi, the district is classified as a AAAAA scenic area by the China National Tourism Administration and consists of Wuxi Three State City Park, Tang City, and Shuihu City. Established in 1987, it was the first film studio in China. CCTV Wuxi Film/TV Studio used the studio for the shooting of The Three Kingdoms and Water Margins.^[13]

In Yixing (part of Wuxi), Shan Juan Cave is a four-star scenic zone. The folktale figures of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai were said to study behind the cave.

Other historical places include the former residence of Xue Fucheng, former residence of A Bin, former residence of Xu Xiake, site of Luotuo Dun, Taibo Temple and Tomb, and Donglin Shuyuan.

Sports

Wuxi football stadium

Wuxi has two stadiums. The old stadium is in the southern part of the city and has yet to reopen. The other is Wuxi New Stadium, which consists of a swimming stadium, soccer stadium and other facilities. It is located in the south-west part of the city, near Lake Tai.
Major League Baseball has also had its main Chinese Development Center in Wuxi since 2008. At the Development Center, Major League Baseball scouts and recruits the best players in China to play at the DC in the hopes that they will eventually play professional baseball in America.

Transport

Railways

Wuxi is situated on the Shanghai–Nanjing Intercity High-Speed Railway, linking it directly with the provincial capital of Nanjing (1.5 hours), China's economic hub, Shanghai (45 minutes) and major economic hub and tourist destination Suzhou (24 minutes).

Air transport

Sunan Shuofang International Airport (IATA: WUX) opened in 2004 and serves the cities of Wuxi and Suzhou. It is situated 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) from the city centre and has direct flights to Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore, and Osaka.

Expressways and highways

Expressways:

• 
  Shanghai-Nanjing Expressway (Hu Ning Gao Su 沪宁高速)


• 
  Wuxi-Yixing Expressway (Xi Yi Gao Su 锡宜高速)

National highways:

• China National Highway 312

Provincial roads:

• S342

Metro

The Wuxi government has planned a network of 8 metro lines. Line 1 and line 2 of the Wuxi Metro began operation in 2014, on July 1 and December 28 respectively.

Education

Universities and colleges

• 
  Jiangnan University (江南大学)


• 
  Wuxi campus,SEU (东南大学无锡分校）


• 
  Wuxi Fisheries College,NAU (南京农业大学无锡渔业学院)


• 
  Wuxi Professional College of Science and Technology (无锡科技职业技术学院)


• 
  Wuxi Institute of Technology (无锡职业技术学院)


• 
  Wuxi Institute of Commerce (无锡商业职业技术学院)


• 
  Wuxi City College of Vocational Technology (无锡城市职业技术学院)


• 
  Wuxi South Ocean College (无锡南洋职业技术学院)


• 
  Jiangsu College of Information Technology (江苏信息职业技术学院)


• 
  Wuxi Teachers' College (无锡高等师范学校)


• 
  Jiangyin Polytechnic College (江阴职业技术学院)


• 
  Wuxi Higher Health Vocational Technology School (无锡卫生高等职业技术学校，原无锡卫生学校)

High schools

• 
  Wuxi No.1 High School (无锡市第一中学)


• 
  Jiangsu Tianyi High School (江苏省天一中学)


• 
  Provincial Nanjing Senior High School (江苏省南菁中学)


• 
  Wuxi Big Bridge Experimental School (无锡市大桥实验中学)


• 
  Wuxi Furen High School (No.2 Senior High School)] (无锡市辅仁中学/无锡市第二中学)


• 
  Wuxi No.3 Senior High School (无锡市第三高级中学)


• 
  Wuxi Shibei High School (无锡市市北高级中学)


• 
  Wuxi Qingshan High School (无锡市青山高级中学)


• 
  Jiangsu Xishan Senior High School (江苏省锡山高级中学)


• 
  Wuxi No.1 Girls High School (无锡市第一女子中学，原东林中学)


• 
  Jiangsu Meicun High School (江苏省梅村高级中学)


• 
  Wuxi No.6 High School（无锡市第六高级中学）


• 
  Taihu International School^[14]


• 
  Xi Dong Senior High School Of Jiangsu Province （江苏省锡东高级中学，原羊尖高中，荡口高中）

Notable people

• 
  Gu Kaizhi (c. 344–406), painter.


• 
  Li Sheng (772–846), poet, who lived and was buried in Wuxi.^{[citation needed]}


• 
  Gu Xiancheng (顧憲成, 1550–1612), scholar and politician, especially well known in the "Dong Lin Movement".^{[citation needed]}


• 
  Xu Xiake (1587–1641), Ming Dynasty traveller and writer.


• 
  Hua Hengfang (1833–1902), mathematics in late Qing Dynasty who did studies in various area of science and technology. He participated in designing the first streamer and the first steamboat in China.


• 
  Xue Fucheng (薛福成, 1838–1894), thinker, diplomat (to England, France, Belgium, Italy) and a leading proponent for political reform in the late Qing Dynasty.


• 
  Rong Zongjing (荣宗敬, 1873–1938) and Rong Desheng (荣德生, 1875–1952), two brothers who started Rong Enterprises, a conglomerate of flour mills and textile mills all across China that employed tens of thousands of workers during the first half of the twentieth century.


• 
  Cai Pei (1884–1960) a diplomat and politician in the Republic of China.


• 
  Abing (1893–1950) folk musician, best known for his work "Er Quan Ying Yue" (moon reflected on Er stream) for the erhu.


• 
  Xu Beihong (1895–1953), painter, most noted for his paintings of horses.


• 
  Qian Zhongshu (钱锺书, 1910–1998), writer, best known for his comedy of manners Fortress Besieged.


• 
  Chen Chi (1912–2005), internationally famous painter.


• 
  Rong Yiren (1916–2005), Rong Desheng's son, the powerful "Red Capitalist", the capitalism-communist, Vice-President of the People's Republic of China from 1993 to 1998.


• 
  Lu Yaochen (吕尧臣, born 1941), Chinese art master, famous Zisha (purple clay teapot) master, born in Yi Xing.


• 
  Ding Junhui (born 1987), Snooker player.


• 
  Zhou Yongkang (born 1942), senior Communist Party of China leader.


• 
  Jimmy Wang Yu (born 1943), Chinese actor who appeared in the Shaw Brother's One Armed Swordsman. His movie, the Chinese Boxer (1969) is credited with being the first Hong Kong martial arts film that kick started the unarmed combat genre that took Asia by storm in the 1970s.


• 
  Marie Lu (born 1984), author of the Legend series.

See also

• List of twin towns and sister cities in China


• China Wu Culture Expo Park


• Jiangnan


• List of cities in the People's Republic of China by population

References

External links

• 
  Government website of Wuxi (available in Chinese, Japanese and English)