Taicang

Administration

Taicang administers 7 towns:{{cite web |script-title = zh:2011年统计用区划代码和城乡划分代码：太仓市 |access-date = 2013-06-03 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121101004153/http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjbz/cxfldm/2011/32/05/320585.html |archive-date = 2012-11-01

• Chengxiang (城厢镇)
• Shaxi (沙溪镇)
• Ludu (陆渡镇)
• Liuhe (浏河镇)
• Fuqiao (浮桥镇)
• Huangjing (璜泾镇)
• Shuangfeng (双凤镇)

History

Toponym

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".

Overview

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.

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

Geography

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

|Jan record high C = 21.3 |Jan record low C = -8.5 |Feb record high C = 26.3 |Feb record low C = -6.5 |Mar record high C = 33.4 |Mar record low C = -3.5 |Apr record high C = 33.8 |Apr record low C = -0.4 |May record high C = 35.6 |May record low C = 7.6 |Jun record high C = 37.4 |Jun record low C = 12.5 |Jul record high C = 38.7 |Jul record low C = 18.2 |Aug record high C = 39.0 |Aug record low C = 16.4 |Sep record high C = 37.4 |Sep record low C = 11.4 |Oct record high C = 32.9 |Oct record low C = 2.7 |Nov record high C = 28.4 |Nov record low C = -2.4 |Dec record high C = 22.5 |Dec record low C = -8.6

Economy

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 ().[[File:Walking China, TaiCang, a Newly Developed Satellite city near Shanghai.webm|thumb|287x287px|Walking through Nanyang square, in Taicang.]]ABA Chemicals, a chemicals manufacturing company, is headquartered in Taicang.

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

Notable people

• Chien-Shiung Wu, Chinese-American physicist who built the atomic bomb in the Manhattan Project and disproved the conservation of parity

References

References

1. "Taicang Jiangsu China: Important Port City with A German Center".
2. "吳郡志/卷19 - 维基文库，自由的图书馆".
3. [http://zhuanti.shanghai.gov.cn/encyclopedia/en/Default2.aspx#50 "Chongming County" in the ''Encyclopedia of Shanghai'', pp. 50 ff.] {{Webarchive. link. (2015-01-10 Shanghai Scientific & Technical Publishers (Shanghai), 2010. Hosted by the Municipality of Shanghai.)
4. link. [[China Meteorological Administration]]
5. (2021-03-19). "Why Biden's China Policy Faces an Obstacle in Germany". [[The New York Times]].
6. "ABA Chemicals Corporation: Private Company Information".