Taicang is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Suzhou, Jiangsu province, China. The city located in the south of the Yangtze River estuary opposite Nantong, being bordered by Shanghai proper to the south, while the river also delineates much of its northeastern boundary along Chongming Island.

Taicang
太仓市
Skyline of Taicang
Skyline of Taicang
Taicang is located in Jiangsu
Taicang
Taicang
Location in Jiangsu
Coordinates: 31°33′50″N 121°10′26″E / 31.564°N 121.174°E / 31.564; 121.174
CountryPeople's Republic of China
ProvinceJiangsu
Prefecture-level citySuzhou
Municipal seatChengxiang [zh]
Area
 • Total794 km2 (307 sq mi)
 • Land620 km2 (240 sq mi)
 • Water174 km2 (67 sq mi)
Population
 (2019)
 • Total501,700
 • Density630/km2 (1,600/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+8 (China Standard)
Postal code
215400—215434
Area code0512
Taicang
Traditional Chinese太倉市
Simplified Chinese太仓市
PostalTaitsang
Literal meaningLake Tai granary city

Administration edit

Taicang administers 7 towns:[1]

History edit

Toponym edit

Taicang as a place name is mentioned in a memorial to the throne of geographer Jia Dan during the Song dynasty, "Where lies to the east of Kunshan nowadays", he supposedly wrote, "is called Taicang, also known as Gangshen".[2]

Overview edit

Taicang is a natural port. Under the Yuan, the city reached its peak between 1271 and 1368. Under the Ming, Taicang's Liuhe Harbor was the departure point for Zheng He's treasure fleets. It was also during this period that the shoals in the Yangtze estuary which later became Chongming Island were placed under the supervision of Taicang Prefecture.[3]

It was the venue for the 2014 IAAF World Race Walking Cup.

Geography edit

The Taicang port is in the east of the city, and south of the Yangtze exit into the East China Sea. The center of the Taicang port is on 31°37′00" North, 121°14′00" East. The port line stretches 24.3 miles (38.8 km), of which 15.6 miles can park 50 thousand ton vessels. Taicang is in a humid subtropical climate zone with distinctive seasons. The average year round temperature is 15.5 Celsius. Precipitation is around 1078.1 mm.

Climate edit

Climate data for Taicang (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1981–2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 21.3
(70.3)
26.3
(79.3)
28.9
(84.0)
33.8
(92.8)
35.6
(96.1)
37.4
(99.3)
38.7
(101.7)
39.0
(102.2)
37.4
(99.3)
32.9
(91.2)
28.4
(83.1)
22.5
(72.5)
39.0
(102.2)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 7.9
(46.2)
10.1
(50.2)
14.4
(57.9)
20.4
(68.7)
25.6
(78.1)
28.3
(82.9)
32.6
(90.7)
32.1
(89.8)
28.1
(82.6)
23.0
(73.4)
17.3
(63.1)
10.7
(51.3)
20.9
(69.6)
Daily mean °C (°F) 4.1
(39.4)
5.9
(42.6)
10.0
(50.0)
15.5
(59.9)
20.9
(69.6)
24.4
(75.9)
28.7
(83.7)
28.2
(82.8)
24.1
(75.4)
18.7
(65.7)
12.9
(55.2)
6.5
(43.7)
16.7
(62.0)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 1.1
(34.0)
2.6
(36.7)
6.3
(43.3)
11.5
(52.7)
16.9
(62.4)
21.3
(70.3)
25.5
(77.9)
25.3
(77.5)
21.0
(69.8)
15.1
(59.2)
9.3
(48.7)
3.2
(37.8)
13.3
(55.9)
Record low °C (°F) −8.5
(16.7)
−6.5
(20.3)
−3.5
(25.7)
−0.4
(31.3)
7.6
(45.7)
12.5
(54.5)
18.2
(64.8)
16.4
(61.5)
11.4
(52.5)
2.7
(36.9)
−2.4
(27.7)
−8.6
(16.5)
−8.6
(16.5)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 66.5
(2.62)
61.6
(2.43)
84.5
(3.33)
79.5
(3.13)
90.4
(3.56)
210.5
(8.29)
161.0
(6.34)
201.9
(7.95)
105.3
(4.15)
62.0
(2.44)
58.5
(2.30)
44.7
(1.76)
1,226.4
(48.3)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 10.4 10.0 12.0 10.8 11.0 14.1 12.1 12.8 9.0 7.5 8.7 8.4 126.8
Average snowy days 3.1 2.1 0.6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.1 0.9 6.8
Average relative humidity (%) 77 76 74 72 73 80 78 80 80 77 77 75 77
Mean monthly sunshine hours 117.2 123.3 147.5 169.3 180.7 135.1 203.0 208.0 176.0 170.5 137.9 136.1 1,904.6
Percent possible sunshine 37 39 40 43 42 32 47 51 48 49 44 44 43
Source: China Meteorological Administration[4][5]

Economy edit

Taicang is known for having operations from companies established by Germans since 1985, when the first German businessperson went to Taicang. Accordingly, the city obtained the nickname "Little Swabia" with it having German-inspired businesses. The area does not have a significant German population as the German expatriates prefer Shanghai since it contains the German School of Shanghai. The city has the German Centre for Industry and Trade Taicang (Chinese: 太仓德国中心).[6]

ABA Chemicals, a chemicals manufacturing company, is headquartered in Taicang.[7]

By 2021 the city had a labor shortage with workers demanding higher wages.[6]

Notable people edit

 
Chien-Shiung Wu

See also edit

External links edit

References edit

  1. ^ 2011年统计用区划代码和城乡划分代码:太仓市 (in Chinese). National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China. Archived from the original on 2012-11-01. Retrieved 2013-06-03.
  2. ^ "吳郡志/卷19 - 维基文库,自由的图书馆". zh.wikisource.org (in Chinese). Retrieved 2017-07-06.
  3. ^ "Chongming County" in the Encyclopedia of Shanghai, pp. 50 ff. Archived 2015-01-10 at the Wayback Machine Shanghai Scientific & Technical Publishers (Shanghai), 2010. Hosted by the Municipality of Shanghai.
  4. ^ 中国气象数据网 – WeatherBk Data (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  5. ^ 中国气象数据网 (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  6. ^ a b Bradsher, Keith; Ewing, Jack (2021-03-19). "Why Biden's China Policy Faces an Obstacle in Germany". The New York Times. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  7. ^ "ABA Chemicals Corporation: Private Company Information". Bloomberg. Retrieved January 30, 2019.