Yangzhou

Yangzhou (simplified Chinese: 扬州; traditional Chinese: 揚州; pinyin: Yángzhōu) is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu, China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital 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. Its population was 4,414,681 at the 2010 census and its urban area is home to 2,146,980 inhabitants, including three urban districts, currently in the agglomeration.

Historically, Yangzhou is one of the wealthiest cities in China, known at various periods for its great merchant families, poets, artists, and scholars. Its name (lit. "Rising Prefecture") refers to its former position as the capital of the ancient Yangzhou prefecture in imperial China.

Administration

Currently, the prefecture-level city of Yangzhou administers six county-level divisions, including three districts, two county-level cities and one county. Accordingly, they are further divided into 98 township-level divisions, including 87 towns and townships, and 11 subdistricts.

China

China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a sovereign state in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population of over 1.35 billion. The PRC is a one-party state governed by the Communist Party, with its seat of government in the capital city of Beijing. It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces; five autonomous regions; four direct-controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Chongqing); two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau); and claims sovereignty over Taiwan.

Covering approximately 9.6 million square kilometers, China is the world's second-largest country by land area, and either the third or fourth-largest by total area, depending on the method of measurement. China's landscape is vast and diverse, ranging from forest steppes and the Gobi and Taklamakan deserts in the arid north to subtropical forests in the wetter south. The Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir and Tian Shan mountain ranges separate China from South and Central Asia. The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the third- and sixth-longest in the world, run from the Tibetan Plateau to the densely populated eastern seaboard. China's coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500 kilometres (9,000 mi) long, and is bounded by the Bohai, Yellow, East and South China Seas.

Grand Canal

Grand Canal can refer to multiple waterways:

Other

Marco Polo

Marco Polo (ⁱ/ˈmɑːrkoʊ ˈpoʊloʊ/; Italian pronunciation: [ˈmarko ˈpɔːlo]; September 15, 1254 – January 8–9, 1324) was an Italian merchant traveller whose travels are recorded in Livres des merveilles du monde (Book of the Marvels of the World, also known as The Travels of Marco Polo, c. 1300), a book that introduced Europeans to Central Asia and China.

He learned the mercantile trade from his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, who travelled through Asia, and met Kublai Khan. In 1269, they returned to Venice to meet Marco for the first time. The three of them embarked on an epic journey to Asia, returning after 24 years to find Venice at war with Genoa; Marco was imprisoned and dictated his stories to a cellmate. He was released in 1299, became a wealthy merchant, married, and had three children. He died in 1324 and was buried in the church of San Lorenzo in Venice.

Marco Polo was not the first European to reach China (see Europeans in Medieval China), but he was the first to leave a detailed chronicle of his experience. This book inspired Christopher Columbus and many other travellers. There is a substantial literature based on Polo's writings; he also influenced European cartography, leading to the introduction of the Fra Mauro map.

Yangzhou University

Yangzhou University (Chinese: 扬州大学) is a university in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, China. It grew out of a merger in 1992 of six existing colleges. The school has around 2,000 faculty and 31,000 undergraduates. It offers 92 undergraduate programs covering 11 disciplines.

The programs and research include humanity, science, business, engineering, architecture, computer, medicine, art, music, agriculture, animal husbandry, etc.

Around 2,000 faculty members work on campus, including around 1000 professors and associate professors. 97 faculty members are entitled to State Fund for Specialists, 29 are entitled as Outstanding Contribution-making Young Experts by the government.

At undergraduate level, the university has over 16,000 adult students in its continued education programs. Undergraduate programs are also available for students from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. Students from foreign countries can be seen in this program as well.

At the graduate level, around 3800 graduate students are studying in 21 doctoral and 122 master's programs, in which around 748 faculties are involved as doctoral and master's program supervisors.