Yangzhou 扬州
—  Prefecture-level city  —
扬州市
Five Pavilion Bridge at Shouxi Lake
Yangzhou's location within Jiangsu province
Yangzhou Location in China
Coordinates: 32°24′N 119°25′E / 32.4°N 119.417°E / 32.4; 119.417Coordinates: 32°24′N 119°25′E / 32.4°N 119.417°E / 32.4; 119.417
Country	People's Republic of China
Province	Jiangsu
County-level divisions	6 (3 Districts, 2 County-level cities, 1 County)
Government
• CCP Yangzhou	Xie Zhengyi (谢正义) Committee Secretary
• Mayor	Zhu Mingyang (朱民阳)
Area
• Prefecture-level city	6,678 km2 (2,578 sq mi)
• Metro	2,310 km2 (890 sq mi)
Population (2010 census)
• Prefecture-level city	4,459,760
• Density	670/km2 (1,700/sq mi)
• Metro	2,146,980
• Metro density	930/km2 (2,400/sq mi)
	Includes only those with Hukou permits
Time zone	Beijing Time (UTC+8)
Telephone	+86 (0)514
Licence plate prefixes	苏K

Yangzhou (simplified Chinese: 扬州; traditional Chinese: 揚州; pinyin: Yángzhōu; former spellings: Yang-chou, Yangchow, Yang-chow; literally "Rising Prefecture") is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. Sitting on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, it borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yancheng to the northeast, Taizhou to the east, and Zhenjiang across the river to the south. Historically it is one of the wealthiest of China's cities, known at various periods for its great merchant families, poets, painters, and scholars.

Its population is 4,414,681 at the 2010 census and its built up area is home to 2,146,980 inhabitants including three urban districts plus currently in the agglomeration.

Administration[link]

The prefecture-level city of Yangzhou administers seven county-level divisions. There are three districts, two county-level cities and one county:

• Guangling District (广陵区)
• Hanjiang District (邗江区)
• Jiangdu District (江都区)
• Gaoyou City (高邮市)
• Yizheng City (仪征市)
• Baoying County (宝应县)

These are further divided into 98 township-level divisions, including 87 towns and townships, and 11 subdistricts.

In November 2011, Weiyang District (维扬区) was merged into Hanjiang District, while the former county-level Jiangdu City was renamed Jiangdu District.^[1]

History[link]

The first settlement in the Yangzhou area, called Guangling (廣陵, Kuang-Ling) was founded in the Spring and Autumn Period. After the defeat of Yue by King Fuchai of Wu a garrison city was built 12 metres (39 ft) above water level on the northern bank of the Yangtze River c 485 BCE. This city in the shape of a three by three li square was called Hancheng.^[2] The newly created Han canal formed a moat around the south and east sides of the city. The purpose of Hancheng was to protect Suzhou from naval invasion from the Qi. In 590 CE, the city began to be called Yangzhou, which was the traditional name of what was then the entire southeastern part of China.

Under the second Sui Dynasty (581–617 CE) Emperor Yangdi (r. 604–617), Yangzhou was the southern capital of China and called Jiangdu upon the completion of the Jinghang (Grand) Canal until the fall of the dynasty. The city has remained a leading economic and cultural center and major port of foreign trade and external exchange since the Tang Dynasty (618-907). At one time many Arab and Persian merchants lived in the city in the 7th century but they were massacred in the thousands in 760 CE during the An Shi Rebellion by the Tian Shengong's (T'ien Shen-kung) 田神功 rebel insurgents during the Yangzhou massacre (760).^{[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]} During the Tang Dynasty many merchants from Korea's Silla Dynasty also lived in Yangzhou. There were also Arabic inscriptions from the 1200s and 1300s.^[14]

The city, still known as Guangling, was briefly made the capital of the Wu Kingdom during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period.

In 1280 AD, Yangzhou was the site of a massive gunpowder explosion when the bomb store of the Weiyang arsenal accidentally caught fire. This blast killed over a hundred guards, hurled debris from buildings into the air that landed ten li away from the site of the explosion, and could be felt 100 li away as tiles on roofs shook (refer to gunpowder article).

Marco Polo claimed to have served in Yangzhou under the Mongol emperor Kubilai Khan in the period around 1282-1287 (to 1285, according to Perkins^[3]). Although some versions of Polo's memoirs imply that he was the governor of Yangzhou, it is more likely that he was an official in the salt industry, if indeed he was employed there at all. Chinese texts offer no supporting evidence for his claim. The discovery of the 1342 tomb of Katarina Vilioni, member of an Italian trading family in Yangzhou, does, however, suggest the existence of a thriving Italian community in the city in the 14th century.

During the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) until the 19th century Yangzhou acted as a major trade exchange center for salt (a government regulated commodity), rice, and silk. The Ming were largely responsible for building the city as it now stands and surrounding it with 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) of walls.

A late Qing artist conception of the Yangzhou massacre.

After the fall of Beijing and northern China to the Manchus in 1644, Yangzhou remained under the control of the short-lived Ming loyalist government of the so-called Hongguang Emperor, based in Nanjing. The Qing forces, led by Prince Dodo, reached Yangzhou in the spring of 1645, and despite the heroic efforts of its chief defender, Shi Kefa, the city fell on May 20, 1645, after a brief siege. A ten-day massacre followed, in which, as it was traditionally alleged, 800,000 people died. Shi Kefa himself was killed by the Manchus as well, after he refused to switch his allegiance to the Qing regime.^[15]

The city's rapid recovery from these events and its great prosperity through the early and middle years of the Qing dynasty were due to its role as administrative center of the Lianghuai sector of the government salt monopoly. As early as 1655, the Dutch envoy Johan Nieuhof described the city (Jamcefu, i.e. Yangzhou-Fu, in his transcription) commented on the city's salt trade as follows:^[16]

This Trade alone has so very much enrich'd the Inhabitants of this Town, that they have re-built their City since the last destruction by the Tartars, erecting it in as great splendor as it was at first.

Famed at that time and since for literature, art, and the gardens of its merchant families, many of which were visited by the Kangxi and Qianling emperors during their Southern Tours, the Qing-era Yangzhou has been the focus of intensive research by historians.

The Yangzhou riot in 1868 was a pivotal moment of Anglo-Chinese relations during the late Qing Dynasty that almost led to war.^[17] The crisis was fomented by the gentry of the city who opposed the presence of foreign Christian missionaries there. The riot that resulted was an angry crowd estimated at eight to ten thousand who assaulted the premises of the British China Inland Mission in Yangzhou by looting, burning and attacking the missionaries led by Hudson Taylor. No one was killed, however several of the missionaries were injured as they were forced to flee for their lives. As a result of the report of the riot, the British consul in Shanghai, Sir Walter Henry Medhurst took seventy Royal marines in a Man of war and steamed up the Yangtze to Nanjing in a controversial show of force that eventually resulted in an official apology from Viceroy Zeng Guofan and financial restitution made to the injured missionaries.

From the time of the Taiping Rebellion (1853) to the end of the Communist revolution (1949) Yangzhou was in decline, due to war damage and neglect of the Grand Canal as railways replaced it in importance. During the anti-Japanese War it endured eight years of enemy occupation and was used by the Japanese as a site for internment camps. Hundreds of civilian "aliens" from Shanghai were transported here in 1943, and located in one of three camps (A, B, and C). Camp C, located in the former American Mission in the north-west of the city, was maintained for the duration of the war.

Among early plans for railways in the late Qing was one for a line that would connect Yangzhou to the north, but this was jettisoned in favour of an alternative route. The city's status as a leading economic centre in China was never to be restored. Not until the 1990s did it begin to regain some semblance of prosperity, benefitting from national economic growth and a number of targeted development projects. With the canal now partially restored, and excellent rail and road connections, Yangzhou is once again an important transportation and market center. It also has some industrial output, chiefly in cotton and textiles. In 2004, a railway linked Yangzhou for the first time with Nanjing.

Geography and climate[link]

An ancient construction over Shouxi Lake.

Rivers: the Yangtze River, Jinghang Canal, Baoshe River, Datong River, Beichengzi River, Tongyang Canal, Xintongyang Canal, Baima Lake, Baoying Lake, Gaoyou Lake, Shaobo Lake.

Local landscape: Slender west lake, Ge garden, He garden, Da ming temple, Phoenix island, etc. Subtropical monsoon climate with humid changeable wind; longer winters for about 4 months, summers 3 months and shorter springs and autumns, 2 months respectively; frost-free period of 222 days and annual average sunshine of 2177 hours. Average temperature: 15 °C annually; the hottest in July of 27.6 °C and the coldest in January of 1.7 °C; maximum temperature of 39.8 °C and minimum −19 °C

The annual average precipitation is 1,030 mm, and about 45 percent of rainfall is concentrated in the summer. The rainy season known as "plum rain season" usually lasts from mid-June to late July. During this season, the plums are ripening, hence the name plum rain.

Transportation[link]

Airport[link]

The Nanjing Lukou International Airport is over 100 km away, and it takes one hour and 40 minutes to get there. There are over 10 airline ticket offices in the city, providing convenient service for foreign and domestic tourists.

Railway Station[link]

Until 2005, Yangzhou had no railway station. The new station, located on the western outskirts of the city, is served by the Nanjing-Taizhou-Nantong railway line, and provides direct passenger service not only to these three cities, but also to a number of major cities to the west, north, and south (such as Xi'an, Wuhan, and Guangzhou), including an overnight Z-series express train to Beijing.^[18] There is no direct rail service between Yangzhou and Shanghai, however; to travel to Shanghai, or elsewhere in the Yangtze Delta regions, passengers cross the Yangtze over the new Runyang Bridge to Zhengzhou (frequent commuter bus service is available) and take a train from the Zhenjiang Railway Station, which is located on the main Nanjing-Shanghai rail line.

Prior to the bridge's completion, round-the-clock ferry services operated across the river; it took about 40 minutes to reach the Zhenjiang Railway Station from Yangzhou.

Harbour[link]

The modern route of the Grand Canal passes within a few kilometers east of the city's main urban area

Yangzhou harbor, 11.5 km south from the city center, is located at the junction of the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal and the Yangtze River. The average water depth is 15–20 meters. In 1992, the State Council approved it to become a first-grade open state harbor, and General Secretary Jiang Zemin inscribed its name. Now, it has developed into a comprehensive harbor, integrating passenger, freight, container transportation and harbor trade, and has become the main distribution center of northern Jiangsu province, eastern Anhui Province and southeast Shandong Province. There are several dozen categories of goods including iron and steel, timber, minerals, coal, grain, cotton, container, products of light industry and machinery. The passenger routes reach Nanjing, Wuhu, Jiujiang, Huangshi and Wuhan in the west, and Nantong and Shanghai in the east. Some well-known luxury international liners also anchor here. The harbor has greatly promoted the development of exports and the overall local economy.

Entry/Exit of Expressways[link]

The Ningyang (Nanjing-Yangzhou) Expressway has the Bazi Bridge as its entry/exit to the southern part of Yangzhou while the Ningtong (Nanjing-Nantong) Expressway entries and exits Yangzhou in Liaojiagou. In recent years, the Yangzhou municipal Party committee and the local government have attached great importance to the development of the tourist industry, in conjunction with a greater effort dedicated to the improvement of the local road transport system. With a total investment of 680 million yuan, the Yangzhou section of the Ningyang Expressway was completed on December 18, 1998 and opened to traffic at the end of June 1999.Stretching nearly 18 km, the section of the expressway starts from the Bazi Flyover as the entry/exit, via the Yanggua Highway, the Tonggang Highway, an ancient canal, the Yangwei Highway, the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and the Yangling Highway, to Liqojiagou Entry/Exit of Yangjiang Highway. It then passes the Jiangdu Flyover to directly link up with the Huaijiang Expressway. In addition, the section of Huaijiang Expressway within the territory of Yangzhou began construction on March 22, 1997, which will be commonly used by the state planned Tongjiang-Sanya and Beijing-Shanghai trunk lines. The section of Huaijiang Expressway in Yangzhou totals 112.04 km in length, starting from Jinghe Town of Baoying in the north to the entry/exist of Zhuanqiaozhen Flyover of Jiangdu in the south. It then links with Ningtong Expressway, passing by three counties (cities) such as Baoying, Gaoyou and Jiangdu and 26 towns, at a total cost of 3.7 billion yuan. It is expected to be open to traffic by the year 2000.

Intercity bus service[link]

During the daytime, frequent bus service operates between Yangzhou and nearby cities. There are several bus stations on the city's outskirts; most of the buses from Nanjing (Nanjing West Bus Station) and Zhenjiang (where the bus station is adjacent to the Zhenjiang Railway Station) arrive to Yangzhou South Bus Station, located a few kilometers southwest from downtown. Most of the intercity bus service stops in the early evening.

Transportation in the Urban Area[link]

The city is served by an extensive network of public bus routes.

Yangzhou's taxi industry began in 1982, and has developed rapidly since 1993. the city has over 40 taxi companies of various ownerships, with a total of 1,571 vehicles. Parking lots were established at key stations and hotels, and eight taxi companies have opened round-the-clock telephone service. The construction department of the municipal government has strengthened the management of taxi services, providing education in the relevant laws, professional ethics and safety aspects.

Tourist Transportation[link]

To develop Yangzhou tourism, sightseeing buses have been introduced in the city run by Tianma Travel Agency Co. Ltd, under the Yangzhou Tourist Bureau. There is a tour guide on each bus. The route, starting from Yangzhou station, has eight stops, and goes by such scenic spots of the Slender West Lake, Daming Temple, Imperial Dock, Siwang Pagoda, Wenchang Pagoda and Shita Temple. Yangzhou Public Transport Company also operates No.1, No.5 and No.2 special public tourist lines. No.1 bus starts from the bus station and goes by the Slender West Lake, Shigong Temple, Geyuan Garden and Heyuan Garden; No.5 bus starts from the bus station and goes by the Crane Temple, Wenchang Pagoda, Slender West Lake, Five-Pavilion Bridge, and Pingshan Hall. A sight-seeing route on Slender West Lake has opened, connecting Imperial Dock, Yichun Garden, Hong Garden, Dahong Bridge, Xiaojinshan, Diaoyutai, Five-Pavilion Bridge, and the 24-bridge, finally reaching Daming Temple and Pingshan Hall.^[19]

Cuisine[link]

Yangzhou dishes may be one of the reasons why the people of Yangzhou are so infatuated with their city. They have an appealing color, aroma, taste and appearance. The original color of each ingredient is preserved after cooking, and no oily sauce is added, so as to retain the fresh savor of the food.

In Yangzhou all dishes, whether cheap or expensive, are elaborate. Cooks will not scrimp on their work, even with Zhugansi (stewed sliced dry bean curd), a popular dish that costs only a few yuan. Dry bean curd is made by each restaurant that serves it, so the flavor is guaranteed. The cook slices the 1-cm-thick curd into 30 shreds, each one paper-thin but none broken, and then stews them for hours with chopped bamboo shoots and shelled shrimps in chicken soup. In this way the dry bean curd shreds can soak up the flavor of the other ingredients, and the soup is clear but savory. It is not only Yangzhou cooks but also the ordinary people who are conscientious about cooking.

• Fu Chun Teahouse

Culture[link]

Children's Library building, on the premises of Yangzhou Public Library

The Yangzhou Dialect (Chinese: 扬州话, Yangzhou Hua) is moderately understandable by an outsider as it does differ a lot from Modern Standard Chinese. The Yangzhou Dialect is considered to be the representative dialect of Jiang-huai dialect group 江淮话 within the Mandarin language family. It is regarded by linguists to be very close to the official Mandarin (based on Nanjing dialect) spoken during Ming dynasty and early Qing dynasty.

Dialect has also been used as a tool for regional identitity and politics in the Jiangbei and Jiangnan regions. While the city of Yangzhou was the center of trade, flourishing and prosperous, it was considered part of Jiangnan, which was known to be wealthy, even though Yangzhou was north of the Yangzi river. Once Yangzhou's wealth and prosperity were gone, it was then considered to be part of Jiangbei, the "backwater". After Yangzhou was removed from Jiangnan, its residents decided to replace Jianghuai Mandarin, which was the dialect of Yangzhou, with Taihu Wu dialects. In Jiangnan itself, multiple subdialects of Wu fought for the position of prestige dialect.^[20]

During a period of prosperity and Imperial favour, the arts of storytelling and painting flourished in Yangzhou. The innovative painter-calligrapher Shitao lived in Yangzhou during the 1680s and again from 1697 until his death in 1707. A later group of painters from that time called the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou are famous throughout China.

Former General secretary of CPC, President of China Jiang Zemin was born and raised in Yangzhou. His middle school is located right across from the public notary's office in Yangzhou.

Yangzhou is famous for its carved lacquerware and jade carvings.

Poet Li Bai (c.700-762) wrote in Seeing Meng Haoran off to Yangzhou from Yellow Crane Pavilion:

At Yellow Crane Pavilion in the west

My old friend says farewell;

In the mist and flowers of spring

He goes down to Yangzhou;

Lonely sail, distant shadow,

Vanish in blue emptiness;

All I see is the great river

Flowing into the far horizon.

Some of China’s most creative and eye catching dishes come from the Yangzhou school of cuisine called Huaiyang (also commonly known as the Weiyang school). Along with Sichuan cuisine, Cantonese cuisine, and Shandong cuisine, Huaiyang cuisine (淮扬菜) is a distinctive and masterful skill that locals are quite proud of.

The city is famous for its public bath houses, lacquerware, jadeware, embroidery, paper-cut, art & crafts velvet flavers.

The city was awarded Habitat Scroll of Honour in 2006.

Yangzhou is also very famous for its toy industry (especially stuffed animals). Many tourists from neighboring cities travel to the city for its good-quality and low-priced toys.

It is worth mentioning that the city is also famous for an ancient folk art called Yangzhou storytelling (扬州评话), which is like Xiangsheng - the traditional Chinese comedic performance. It rose as a performing act during the Ming Dynasty. In the performance, the artist details an interesting historical story to audiences, using Yangzhou dialect. These stories have been edited by artists, so they sound very soul-stirring and funny. The best known artist of Yangzhou storytelling was Wang shaotang. His most famous works are The 10 chapters of Wu Song (武十回), The 10 chapters of Song Jiang (宋十回), The 10 chapters of Lu Junyi (卢十回), and The 10 chapters of Shi Xiu (石十回).^[21]

Shopping[link]

Compared with the neighbouring cities of Nanjing and Shanghai, Yangzhou cannot be called a shopping paradise. Perhaps due to its history of more than 2500 years, the Yangzhou city government is fairly strict with new construction proposals in the city center. Consequently, most buildings in downtown area are not taller than 6 stories, which is a big restriction for the development of large department stores. Nonetheless, you can still find some grand shopping centers around #Wenchangge; the de facto city center. For those fans of big expensive brands, Golden Eagle Shopping center, Wanjiafu department store and Times Square are the easy choice. The new built Living Mall in west end of Yangzhou aims at a higher end of market, which could be seen from the sellers inside, such as Starbucks and Dairy Queen.

Located on the south-west corner of Wenchang Pavilion Roundabout, Yangzhou Golden Eagle Shopping Center is the most up-market store in the city center and features a wide variety of clothes, electronics and jewellery.

Situated diagonally across Wenchangge from Golden Eagle, Wanjiafu Department Store boasts a favourable geographical position. It has a business area of 18,000 square meters with a good selection of clothes.

Located on the west side of the Golden Eagle Shopping center, Times Square attracts thousands of citizens and covers an area of 23,000 square meters. Compared with the previous two shopping centers, Times Square is more like an "American" style mall, with a wide variety of clothing stores, appliances, restaurants, and a cinema. Many young people shop in the basement for cheap fashion. Also, a large book store is located on the top floor. English books could also be found. However, they are not originals.

Jinghua Living Mall or Living City-Recently Yangzhou did get an "American" style mall known as: Living City. The mall is located in the west of the city, about 1 kilometre east to the railway station, across from the Yangzhou Museum. Living City targets high market customers with many global brands. This is perhaps the easiest place in Yangzhou to meet foreigners, what with a Starbucks, Dairy Queen and the highest concentration of restaurents catering to western tastes.

Besides big stores, there are many small clothing outlets lining most of the streets in the city center. Unlike the stores listed above, here you can bargin with the shopkeeper for a better price, and usually the prices are cheaper than for like items in Nanjing or Shanghai.

Tourism[link]

Tourist sights include Slender West Lake (瘦西湖) and old residences in the moated town, such as the Wang Residence and the Daming temple. Yangzhou is famous for its many well preserved Suzhou style gardens. Most of the Historic city is in the Guangling District.

Slender West Lake (shòuxīhú)（瘦西湖）[link]

Named after Hangzhou's famous West Lake, this long, narrow stretch of water which meanders through Yangzhou's western limits is a well-known scenic spot. A long bank planted with weeping willows spans the lake; at its midpoint stands a square terrace with pavilions at each of the corners and one in the center. Around the lake is a park in which are found several attractions: Lotus Flower Pagoda (Lianhua SO, a white structure reminiscent of the White Pagoda (Baita) in Beijing's Beihai Park; Small Gold Mountain (Xiao Jin Shan); and the Fishing Platform (Diaoyutai), a favorite retreat of the Qing emperor Qian Long. The emperor was so gratified by his luck in fishing at this spot that he ordered additional stipends for the town. As it turns out, his success had been augmented by local swimmers who lurked in the lake busily attaching fish to his hook.

• 

  Study hall

• 

  Four bridges in rain and mist

• 

  Imperial birthday celebration stage

• 

  Mao Zedong's calligraphy of Tang dynasty poet Du Mu poem

• 

  24 ancient beauties played flute on this bridge

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  Entrance to a garden

• 

  The jinjingge bridge

• 

  The Xu Garden

Daming temple (大明寺）[link]

Located on Shugang Hill, in the city's northwest, is Fajing Temple, formerly known as Daming Temple. The original temple was built in Liu Song Dynasty (420-479 CE). A nine-story pagoda, the Qilingta, was built on the temple grounds in the year of Sui Dynasty (589-618 CE ) . A recent addition to the temple complex is the jian Zhen Memorial Hall, built according to Tang Dynasty methods and financed with contributions raised by Buddhist groups in Japan. When Qing Emperor Qian Long visited Yangzhou in 1765, he was troubled by The temple's name Daming (which literally means "Great Ming') fearing that it might revive nostalgia for the Ming Dynasty, which was overthrown by his Manchu predecessors. He had it renamed Fajing Temple. The temple was seriously damaged during the Taiping Rebellion at the beginning of the 20th century. The present structure is a reconstruction dating from the 1930s.

• 

  Da Ming Temple

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  Memorial Hall of monk Jianzhen

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  Da Ming temple pagoda

Flat Hills (Ping Shan) Hall[link]

Built by the Song Dynasty writer Ouyang Xiu when he served as prefect of the city, this hall stands just west of Fajing Temple. Looking out from this hall, the mountains to the south of the Yangtze River appear as a line at the viewer's eye level, hence the name Fiat Hills Hall. When Ouyang Xiu's student Su Dongpo moved to Yangzhou, he too served as prefect of the city. He had a hall built directly behind the one erected by his master, and called it Guling Hall.

Pavilion of Flourishing Culture (Wenchang Ge, 文昌阁)[link]

Wenchang Ge

This round, three-story pavilion in Yangzhou's eastern sector was built in 1585 and celebrates the city's rich cultural traditions. It is also the de facto center of the city.

Built during Ming dynasty, it is located on the cross of Wenchang Road and Wenhe Road. The whole building is about 79 foot high, and looks like Temple of Heaven in Beijing. Today, bordered by many shopping stores, Wenchange had been a symbol of commercial center to residents.

Stone Pagoda (Shita)(石塔）[link]

Standing west of the Pavilion of Flourishing Culture is a five-story Tang Dynasty pagoda. Built in 837 AD, it is the oldest pagoda still standing in Yangzhou.

Tomb of Puhaddin (Puhading Mu, 普哈丁墓)[link]

The mosque complex at the tomb of Puhaddin

This is essentially a Ming Dynasty graveyard that includes the tomb of Puhaddin (Chinese: 普哈丁, Puhading). According to information at the tomb, he was a 16th generation descendant of Muhammad, The Prophet. The tomb is on the eastern bank of the (Old) Grand Canal in the eastern sector of the city and is adjacent to a mosque which houses a collection of valuable materials documenting China's relations with Muslim countries.^[22]

[edit] Ge Garden (Gè Yuán)(个园）^[23]

The entrance to this typical southern style garden with its luxuriant bamboo groves, ponds, and rock grottoes is on Dongguan St. in the city's northeast section. Designed by the great Qing Dynasty landscape painter Shi Tao for Wang Yingtai, an officer of the Qing imperial court, this garden takes its name from the shape of bamboo leaves which resemble the Chinese character ge, meaning "a" or "an."

[edit] He Garden (Hé Yuán)（何园）^[24]

this garden, also called Jixiao Shan Zhuang, was built by He Zhidao, a 19th century Qing government official, this garden home is famous for a 430m. (1,377 ft) two storied winding corridor, the walls of which are lined with stone tablets carved with lines of classical poetry, In the garden is also an open air theater set on an island in the middle of a fish pond.

Yechun Garden (Yechun Yuan)[link]

In this garden, which lies on the banks of the Xiading River at the city's northern limits, the Qing Dynasty poet Wang Yuyang and a circle of friends used to gather to recite their works. The thatched roofs of the pavilions in this garden give it a quaint, rustic air.

Yangzhou Museum & Yangzhou Block Printing Museum （扬州博物馆 & 扬州中国雕版印刷博物馆)[link]

Yangzhou Museum / China Block Printing Museum

Situated by the west side of the Bright Moon Lake of Yangzhou, China Block Printing Museum and Yangzhou Museum look into the distance of Yangzhou International Exhibition Centre and covers an area of 50000 square meters, with a construction space of 25000 square meters, and an exhibition area of 10000 square metres. Its unique architectural form embodies the harmony of man nature, structure and natural environment. In August, 2003, over 300000 ancient books blockings were collected from Guangling Press of Yangzhou and China Block Printing Museum was established under the approval of the State Council, over 300000 ancient book blockings collected by Guangling Press of Yangzhou were included in the new museum.

Jiangdu Hydro Project[link]

Construction of this multiple-purpose water control project, the biggest in China, started in 1961 and was completed in 1975. The project includes facilities for irrigation, drainage, navigation, and power generation. It consists of four large modern electric pumping stations, six medium sized check gates, thrice navigation locks, and two trunk waterways.

Yangzhou's three knives[link]

Kitchen knife, pedicure knife and hair knife are Yangzhou‘s traditional products. the Qianlong Emperor had been hair care right here and famous with hair knife and skill .

Education[link]

• Yangzhou University

International relations[link]

Twin towns — Sister cities[link]

Yangzhou is twinned with:

• Atsugi, Kanagawa, Japan since 1984
• Jeju, Jeju, South Korea
• Kent, Washington, U.S.
• Vaughan, Ontario, Canada
• Rimini, Italy
• Razgrad, Bulgaria
• Bree, Belgium
• Karatsu, Saga, Japan
• Nara, Nara, Japan
• Porirua, New Zealand
• Colchester, Essex, England^[25]
• Breda, Netherlands
• Balashikha, Russia
• Yangon, Myanmar^[26]
• Herzliya, Israel
• Westport, Connecticut, U.S.

References[link]

• Austin, Alvyn (2007). China’s Millions: The China Inland Mission and Late Qing Society. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans. ISBN 978-0-8028-2975-7. 
• Finnane, Antonia (2004). Speaking of Yangzhou: A Chinese City, 1550 - 1850. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard Asia Center. ISBN o-674-01392-1. 
• Hay, Jonathan (2001). Shitao: Painting and Modernity in Early Qing China. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-39342-6, 9780521393423. 
• Ho, Ping-ti (1954). "The Salt Merchants of Yang-chou: A Study of Commercial Capital in Eighteenth-Century China,"Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, 17: 130-168. 
• Hsü, Ginger Cheng-chi (2001). A Bushel of Pearls: Painting for Sale in Eighteenth-Century Yangchow. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. ISBN o-8047-3252-3. 
• Meyer-Fong, Tobie (2003). Building Culture in Early Qing Yangzhou. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. ISBN o-8047-4485-8. 
• Olivová, Lucie, and Vibeke Børdahl (2009). Lifestyle and entertainment in Yangzhou. Copenhagen: NIAS Press. ISBN 978-87-7694-035-5. 
• "Yangzhou." Encyclopedia of China. ed. Dorothy Perkins. Chicago: Roundtable Press. 1999. ISBN 1-57958-110-2
• Schinz, Alfred (1996). The magic square: cities in ancient China. Edition Axel Menges. pp. 428. ISBN 3-930698-02-1. http://books.google.com/books?id=qhcRYkz-I3YC. 

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Yangzhou

• Government website of Yangzhou (available in Chinese and English)
• Yangzhou city guide with open directory (Jiangsu.NET)
• [4] Yangzhou Club
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This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

This is a Chinese name. The family name is Hán.

Han Geng
Hangeng in Jakarta, Indonesia
Chinese name	韓庚 (Traditional)
Chinese name	韩庚 (Simplified)
Pinyin	Hán Gēng (Mandarin)
Ancestry	Nanai
Born	(1984-02-09) 9 February 1984 (age 28) Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang, China
Occupation	Singer, dancer, actor, model
Genre(s)	Mandopop, K-pop, dance, R&B, folk dance
Label(s)	SM Entertainment (2005–2010) Yue Hua Entertainment (2010-present)
Years active	2005–present
Associated acts	SM Town, Super Junior, Super Junior-M
Influences	Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Jackie Chan, Andy Lau
Official Website	Han Geng's Official Site

Han Geng (born February 9, 1984) is a Chinese Mandopop singer and actor well known for his powerful dance skills. He is skillful in all China's 56 ethnic traditional dances, as well as ballet and hip-hop dance. He has been dubbed "Dancing King" and "King of Popularity" in China. He started his career, in 2001, when he was chosen by SM Entertainment (SME) to become a member of South Korean boy band Super Junior, which debuted in 2005, and as the leader of its sub-group Super Junior-M in 2008.

On 21 December 2009, Han filed a lawsuit against SME to terminate his contract as he felt that the 13-year contract was unlawful, overly restrictive and unfair. He also argued that he was forced to do things outside of his contract and refused sick leave which led to kidney illness.^[1][2] and has since returned to China to pursue a solo career. On 21 December 2010 the Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of Han, however a representative of SM Entertainment said that they will file an immediate appeal to reverse the decision.^[3] On September 27, 2011, Han Geng's departure from Super Junior was made official when legal representatives of both Han Geng and S.M. Entertainment eventually released a statement stating, "Han Geng and S.M. Entertainment have amicably settled on a mutual agreement, and the lawsuit was able to come to a close after Han Geng submitted his 'Notice of Withdrawal of Appeal'." ^[4][5]

For his various contributions to the spread of Chinese culture, Han was chosen as a torch bearer for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, becoming the first boy band member in history to hold this role.^[6]

Early life[link]

Han Geng, of ethnic Nanai descent from Northeast China, was born in Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang, China.^[7] He attended Guang Hua Elementary School from 1990 to 1996.^[8]

Han Geng started to learn dancing since he was young. By the age of 12, he was accepted into the dance department of the Central University for Nationalities. He left his family and his hometown in the Northeastern part of China to attend dance school in Beijing. During his years in the school, he mastered all 56 types of Chinese traditional dances from the 56 Chinese ethnic groups.^[a][9]

At Central University for Nationalities[link]

At the age of 12, he was accepted into Central University for Nationalities and left Mudanjiang for Beijing to pursue dancing. During that time he also learned ballet and martial arts^[8] and performed in many countries including the United States, Russia, Taiwan, and Macau.^[8]

In 1999, as a representative of the Nanai ethnic group, he participated in the parade in honor of China's 50 year anniversary.^[10]

Career[link]

Korea and Super Junior[link]

In December 2001, South Korea's biggest Entertainment Agency, SM Entertainment, went to China to hold an audition in Beijing with hopes of finding new talents in the country. The audition was called H.O.T. CHINA Audition Casting. Han Geng, who was preparing for his graduation performance at the Central University for Nationalities, immediately caught the attention of the agency's talent scouts and was invited to participate in the audition, but he wasn't very interested as he never heard of the company before. One of his friends, however, was very interested and persuaded Han Geng in accompanying him to the audition. Although hesitant at first, Han agreed to audition with his friend. The competition rate was 3,000 to 1, and Han had no hopes of getting selected after auditions ended.^[9]

After the audition, Han began to work briefly as a cameo actor in short low-budget Chinese films and performing in local events across the country to earn a salary before entering college. In late August 2002, Han was notified that he had been selected by SM Entertainment.^[8] After Han's graduation from the Central University for Nationalities, he was sent to South Korea in March 2003 and received private lessons in singing, dancing, acting, and Korean language. By mid 2003, Han had moved into dormitories and lived with other trainees who were under the same label and started to receive intense hip hop and street dance training. He started out as a Class C dancer (the lowest class for dancing), as he had zero knowledge in hip hop dance at the time, but in the short period of six months, he went straight to Class A, skipping Class B. At that time, there were only 3 people in Class A – Han Geng, Donghae, and Eunhyuk.^[8]

On February 6, 2005, Han was officially announced to be part of one of South Korea's all-boy rotational musical groups, Super Junior, as a member of its first generation, Super Junior 05. Being the first group with a Chinese and foreign member to formally debut in South Korea, the media closely followed the group. Three months later after the announcement, Han made his first media appearance as a runway model along with fellow group member Choi Siwon in a fashion show organized by Bum Suk. The two members are extremely good friends, and have even considered themselves "sworn brothers."

Han was one of the few members of Super Junior who actively appeared on variety shows, such as being a regular guest in Love Letter and Star Golden Bell. Being active in variety shows, his popularity within Super Junior grew and Han became popular overseas. Aside from South Korea, Han also became well known in China, where he made guest appearances in different Chinese variety shows, being one of the first K-pop idols to appear in them.^[11] Han became a national celebrity in China with the debut of Super Junior's third subgroup Super Junior-M on April 8, 2008 in China, with Han Geng as the leader of the group. The subgroup released their first Chinese-language studio album, Me, on May 2, 2008. The album debuted on Taiwan's G-music combo charts as #2 and #1 on many of China's and Thailand's music charts.^[12] Leading his fellow Korean members to develop in his home country, his popularity immediately soared in China. His overwhelming popularity set him apart from the rest of the group, catching the media's attention and making him become in high demand by numerous TV shows, commercials and movies. However, his agency did not allow him to take part in such activities without the rest of the group, restricting his solo appearances.

Han Geng ceased activities with Super Junior and Super Junior-M, the sub-group that he was leading, after filing for contract termination from SM Entertainment on December 21, 2009. Currently, most of the lines in the Chinese language songs that he sang while active with Super Junior-M are now covered by Eunhyuk and Sungmin who were added into the group as of 2011.

Acting[link]

Han made a cameo appearance with band-mate Eunhyuk as a friend of Heechul in an episode of the MBC drama Rainbow Romance early 2006. In August 2006, Han played the role of a police officer in Zhang Liyin's debut music video "Timeless", starring alongside Lee Yeon-hee and bandmate Siwon. The two-part music video was released separately in September 2006. The music video was ranked #1 for four weeks on Melon's Video Chart. In November 2007, Han starred as the lead role in Zhang's debut Chinese music video, "I Will", and "The Left Shore of Happiness" alongside Lee and Siwon. Both music videos were released in February 2008.

Han's first big-scale film was Attack on the Pin-Up Boys, an SM Pictures production that starred all Super Junior members except Kyuhyun. He made a cameo as a popular basketball player who later got attacked by a mysterious force. Despite positive critical ratings, that film did not do well in the box-office. However, all four versions of the film's DVD were sold out and broke chart records.^[13]

In late 2008, Han filmed the CCTV mini drama called Stage of Youth in China. In the mini drama, he played Xia Lei, a young man who has to go through numerous obstacles and challenges in order to achieve his dream to become the new generation's dancing star. The 12 episode drama was a Chinese New Year Special and also a tribute to the Beijing Olympics 2008. It aired on CCTV-Children (少儿频道) from January 19–31, 2009.

In the middle of 2010, Han Geng was given a cameo role as Deng Xiaoping in the government funded film The Founding of a Party (建党伟业) along with many other A-list Chinese celebrities. The movie premiered in China on June 15, 2011.

Han Geng was cast alongside Barbie Hsu and Fahrenheit's Wu Chun for the Sino-Hollywood collaboration action movie My Kingdom (2011) (大武生). The film is directed by Gao Xiaosong, produced by Andre Morgan and features action directing by Sammo Hung. Filming began in October 2010, although the actors trained in martial arts and Beijing opera for three months before this. The filming wrapped up in late January 2011, and the movie was released September 9th, 2011 in eight different countries.

In mid-2011 Han Geng was cast in the film "The First President" (第一大总统) as Hu Han Min, the secretary of Sun Yat-sen. He started filming on June 14, 2011, and the film was released September 30th, 2011.

2008 Beijing Olympics torch bearer[link]

On March 20, 2008, Han was announced to be one of the torch bearers for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the first boyband member to be chosen in history.^[6] Being active in a foreign country, Han had constantly promoted Chinese culture in Korea, earning him a spot as torch bearer.^[6] His torch relay was in the Beijing route on August 7, 2008. He was runner number 240. Besides being a torch bearer, he also sung in the Beijing Olympic theme song "Beijing Welcomes You" (北京欢迎你).

Charity Work[link]

Han Geng is extremely active in many charities and constantly tells his fans that instead of buying gifts for him, they should use their resources to help those in need. Han Geng is most noted for donating most of his 2008 income to the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake.^[14] He also donated 100,000RMB to the 2010 Yunnan Drought.^[15] In 2010, Han Geng became a spokesperson for "I Want To Go To School Kappa 1200 Help the School Children Project," a charity designed to help underprivileged Chinese children go to school. While most celebrities that participated sponsored one child through the program, Han Geng chose to sponsor ten, and Han Geng's fans, known as Gengfans (庚饭, lit. "Geng Rice"), sponsored another 124.^[16] Han Geng also recorded a song with Olivia Ong to promote the charity.^[17] In 2011, Han Geng recorded a charity song "孩子 (Children)" with various artists in order to promote child-trafficking awareness. Also in 2011, Han Geng became a spokesperson for the "Sunflower Project" which aims to provide electricity to students in rural China so that they can complete their studies. In early 2012, Han Geng became the Mainland China initiator of the "Love Life" charity movement.

In response to Han Geng's request, Gengfans are also extremely active in charities and often gather together to go to poor regions in China to help kids and families in need in Han Geng's name. They call this project "Let Love Fly". Such charities have become a tradition among Gengfans, especially during Han Geng's birthday every year.

Solo career[link]

On June 22, 2010, Han Geng officially announced his solo career at a press conference held at The Great Wall Of China, revealing the release of his first solo album titled Geng Xin 庚心, which hit stores throughout Asia on July 27. The name of the album literally means "Geng's heart", but it is also a play on words because it has the same pronunciation as "start anew" in Chinese. There is also a third meaning to it: the character Geng 庚 in his name comes from the evening star Hesperus/Venus (长庚星, Chang Geng Xin), which is what he's named after. So his album’s title can also mean "Evening Star" or "Geng's star", since Xing 星 (star) and Xin 心 (heart) have similar pronunciation in Chinese.^[18] There are two versions of the album depending on the locations of where it was released. In Mainland China the albums came with the titles of the songs and the song lyrics written in simplified Chinese characters while in Hong Kong and Taiwan and oversea Chinese communities they are all written in traditional Chinese characters.

On July 6, Han Geng published a complete demo version of his album's title song "My Logo". The song was produced by American producers, Craig Williams and Rene Van Verseveld.^[19] Remarkably, Han Geng and Craig Williams invited Travis Payne and Stacey Walker (best known as Michael Jackson's choreographers) along with Michael Jackson's This Is It dancers – Dres Reid, Shannon Holtzapffel, Tyne Stecklein, and Daniel Celebre to join the choreography for the MV of this song. The lead track "My Logo" is listed at number 26 on Hit Fm Taiwan's Hit Fm Annual Top 100 Singles Chart (Hit-Fm年度百首單曲) for 2010.^[20]

Han Geng also held his first two solo concerts in Beijing on July 17 and 18. Tickets for the 2 concert days were sold out in a record time of 37 minutes. His first solo album has topped various major music charts in China, Taiwan, Singapore and Thailand. It has sold more than 350,000 copies within only 2 months after its release, and to celebrate such remarkable results, a special celebratory version of the album was released on October 1 with a limited number of 20,000 copies. In addition of the 10 songs in the album, the special version contains 7 MVs and a karaoke disc.^[21] As of December 2010, the album has sold more than 530,000 copies. The DVD for his Beijing concerts was released on 20 May 2010, and quickly took the number 1 position on various online retail charts.

Han Geng quickly became one of the most marketable young idols in the Mandopop scene, and since the start of his solo career has received over 20 awards. He has also picked up several major endorsements, most notably with China Mobile, Meng Niu Yogurt, Yishion clothing store, which signed an eight year contract with him due to the overwhelming positive feedback, Nokia, X-step Athletic-wear's Urban Series, Royal Wind Shampoo, online store Lumei, and the video game Tian Xia 2 (ended in 2011), which features a character in his likeness. Due to his overwhelming popularity, Han Geng was invited to perform in the 2011 CCTV Spring Festival, where he sang the opening and performed a short dance.

Han Geng also received much love from the Chinese fashion industry in 2011, constantly gracing the covers of top-tier fashion magazines. He is currently the youngest person to ever grace the cover of Harper's BAZAAR China at the age of 26 and the youngest artist for the cover of the MR Hong Kong at the age of 27. He is also the first ever mainland Chinese artist to appear on the cover of L'OFFICIEL HOMMES China, the issue was also a double cover, both featured Han Geng.

Han Geng also already announced a second album, to feature rock music elements, and an Asia-wide tour expected in the Summer of 2012.

Gengfans and Wings Of Love[link]

Gengfan (庚饭) is the official name of Han Geng's fans. The name was created by his Chinese fans and it literally means "Geng Rice". The name is a play on words which contains various meanings. One of them is the fact that the word for rice in Chinese sounds like the English word "fan". The other meaning is that because Han Geng is known to love eating, they call themselves his "rice" so they can be his main source of energy. The third meaning is that the word Gengfan when abbreviated, becomes GF, which is also the abbreviation of the word "girlfriend" in English. There are also many sub-classifications of Gengfans such as Sister Fans (Gengfans who are older than him), Geng Knights (male Gengfans), Mother Fans (Gengfans who are mothers), etc. Gengfans generally use the colors yellow and black to represent themselves. They are known for their strong and unconditional support as well as for their massive numbers. They're also known to be very active in charities ever since Han Geng asked them to not give him gifts but use the money to help those in need instead.

On Han Geng's 23rd birthday in February 2007, they created a song called Wings of Love as a gift for him. The lyrics, arrangement, singing and music video were all done by his fans as an encouragement for him to continue pursuing his dreams. The lyrics of the song are extremely touching and became a type of anthem for Gengfans all around the world; thus, they call themselves his wings of love. As a gesture of gratitude, Han Geng has recorded his own version of the song in his first solo album, changing the lyrics slightly to sing it back to his fans.

Controversies[link]

Performance restrictions[link]

Before his debut, Han entered Korea with a vacation visa and had to return to China every three months for a new one.^[8] After debuting in 2005, his company obtained an E-6 (Entertainment Industry) passport, allowing him to stay for longer periods. However, a Chinese passport strictly limited his promotional activities and appearances in various broadcasting corporations in Korea. By law, a Chinese passport holder is only allowed to perform on three television stations. Han was allowed to perform on KBS and SBS, as stated by Lee Soo Man during a Harvard Korean Wave conference in early 2007. Fellow labelmate, Zhang Liyin, also experienced the same issue. Initially, the company did not know of the procedures and was fined because of it. Before Han signed contracts with KBS and SBS, he performed on stage with a mask and a hat to hide his face on screen. Many thought Han was a backup dancer until three months later when his bandmate Heechul finally revealed him to the media by publicly taking off his mask.^[8]

Despite visa restrictions, Han performed with the rest of Super Junior at the 2007 M.NET/KM Music Festival and the 2007 Golden Disk Awards. Both award ceremonies aired on channels that Han was restricted to perform on.^[22]

Lawsuit[link]

On December 21, 2009, Han Geng filed for contract termination from his former company SM Entertainment. The following day, December 22, 2009, Han Geng's lawyer released the reasons for the contract termination: the contract had provisions in SM Entertainment's favor, the 13-year contract length was unlawful, it would take an unfair sum of money to end the contract, he was not allowed to request to revise his contract, he was forced to do things that were not in his contract, he was forced to do things against his will, he was fined if he disobeyed the company, missed any events or was late, and there was unfair profit distribution. Along with this, it was disclosed that because of SM Entertainment's refusal to give him a day off in over two years, he had developed gastritis and kidney disease.^[23]

Han Geng's current manager, Sun Le, also submitted a statement to the Korean courts citing SM Entertainment's violation of Han Geng's rights. This statement was later leaked to the public via the internet. Though many suspected the statement to be fan created, it was later confirmed as legitimate.^[24] Sun Le's statement contended that Han Geng was forced to wear a mask due to SM Entertainment's ill handling of the visa issue, SM Entertainment purposely discriminated against Han Geng and his family, SM Entertainment refused to cooperate or listen to any of Han Geng's suggestions, SM Entertainment purposely turned down individual activities for Han Geng (including Ariel Lin's "Fireflies" music video, which later starred two other Super Junior members) and SM Entertainment treated Han Geng's potential endorsers poorly.^[25]

On 21 December 2010 the Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of Han. However a representative of SM Entertainment said that they will file an immediate appeal to reverse the decision^[3] On September 25, 2011, the Seoul Courts announced that they had received a request from Han Geng 's attorney to retract his claim made against SM Entertainment on the 21st.

As of September 27, 2011, Han Geng and SM Entertainment have officially come to a mutual agreement regarding Han Geng's contract, closing the case. Han Geng will not continue his exclusive contract with SME and no longer has any legally binding connection with SME, as stated by Yue Hua Entertainment, Han Geng's current management company. ^[26]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

Filmography[link]

Film and Television[link]

Music Video Appearances for Other Artists[link]

Individual Achievements[link]

Music Awards[link]

Acting Awards[link]

See also[link]

• Nanai
• Super Junior
• Super Junior-M

Notes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Han Geng's Official Site
• Han Geng's Weibo
• Han Geng's Baidu Bar Official Site (Chinese)