Yancheng

Yancheng () is a city located in northern Jiangsu Province, People's Republic of China (Postcode: 224001) with an area of 15,000 square kilometres and a population of 8,100,000.

In Mandarin, "yan" refers to salt while "cheng" refers to city, and "Yancheng" could be interpreted as "Salt City". Lying along the China Yellow Sea, Yancheng has the longest coastal line in Jiangsu, which made it a perfect place for salt production in the past. Yancheng is also a preferred habitat of rare species "red-crowned crane" and "elk".

Yancheng has a history of 2,100 years since the first canton was founded here in Han Dynasty at year 119 BC. Yancheng was in the limelight in the civil war during 1930s to 1940s. The New Fourth Army (N4A) led by the China Communist Party was reestablished in Yancheng after being ambushed and thrashed by the enemy. After the revival, the N4A played an very important role in the war and finally the independence of China. Many monuments in honor of N4A heros can still be found in the Yancheng region.

Currently Yancheng has nine prefectures, namely Binhai , Funing, Xiangshui, Sheyang, Jianhu, Dongtai, Dafeng, Tinghu, and Yandu.

Yancheng's financial income used to rely heavily on agricultural industry. Recently, Yancheng's economy has been boosted by the automobile industry. The joint venture between local Yueda Corporation and the multinational company Kia has set up car factories in Yancheng. Up to today three models including two saloons and one MPV have been released and the production is going to reach 50,000 units/year soon.

There has been a number of celebrities born in Yancheng. Qiao Guanhua (1913-1983) was the Chinese Foreign Minister during the 1970s and he was the first top Chinese diplomat at the UN after the legitimate position of China was restored during the Cold War. Hu Qiaomu (1912-1992) served as a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, Director of the Party Literature Research Centre of the Central Committee, Director of the Party History Research Centre of the Central Committee and President of the Chinese Academy of Social Science in the 1980s. Two of them are always referred to "Two Qiao" of Yancheng.

External links

• Yancheng City Government
• Yancheng Hotline
• Yancheng High School
• Dongfeng Yueda KIA Co. Ltd.
• Yancheng Tourism Board
• Yancheng Institute of Technology
• Qiao Guanhua bios - Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China