Yangtze River Delta
The 'Yangtze River Delta' or 'Yangtze Delta', also called 'Chang Jiang Delta', or the 'Golden Triangle of the Yangtze' (
Simplified Chinese: 长江三角洲;
Traditional Chinese: 長江三角洲;
Hanyu Pinyin: ), generally comprises the triangular-shaped territory of
Shanghai, southern
Jiangsu province and northern
Zhejiang province of
China. The area lies at the heart of the region traditionally called
Jiangnan (literally, "south of the
Yangtze River"). The Yangtze river drains into the
East China Sea. In modern times the area has given rise to the 'Yangtze Delta Metropolitan Area', the largest metropolitan area in China, with an area of 99600 km squared, it is home to over 90 million residents as of
2007, of which an estimated 50 million are urban.
Early History
The area near the Yangtze River Delta was the location of the
Majiabang Neolithic culture from around 5000-3000 BC. In late
Neolithic times, the delta was the site of the
Liangzhu culture (3400-2250 BC). In the
Spring and Autumn period, it was occupied by the
State of Wu, which was annexed by the
State of Yue in
473 BC, in turn conquered by the
State of Chu in
334 BC. In
223 BC the area became part of the unified empire under the
Qin Dynasty.
Since the
Tang Dynasty, the Yangtze Delta has been an area of intense agrarian
agriculture and high population density. It is criss-crossed with canals for
transportation and
irrigation. Since the
Northern and Southern Dynasties period, the Yangtze Delta has been a main cultural and economic center of
China. Key cities of the region in pre-modern times include
Suzhou (Wu),
Nanjing,
Hangzhou and
Shaoxing.
Population
The delta is one of the most densely populated regions on earth, and includes one of the world's largest cities on its banks—
Shanghai, with a density of 2,700 inhabitants/km². Because of the large population of the delta, and factories, farms, and other cities upriver, the
World Wide Fund for Nature says the Yangtze Delta is the biggest cause of marine pollution in the
Pacific Ocean.
Most of the people in this region speak
Wu Chinese (sometimes called
Shanghainese, although Shanghainese is actually one of the dialects within the Wu group of Chinese) as their
mother tongue, in addition to
Mandarin. Wu is
mutually unintelligible with other varieties of Chinese, including Mandarin.
The area of the Yangtze Delta incorporates twenty relatively developed municipalities in three provinces. The term can be generally used to refer to the entire region extending as far north as
Lianyungang, Jiangsu and as far south as
Taizhou, Zhejiang. The region includes some of the fastest-growing economies in China in recent years, and as of 2004 has occupied over 21% of China's total gross
GDP[1].
Metropolitan Area
Since the
9th century, the Yangtze Delta has been the most populous area in China,
East Asia, and one of the most densely populated areas of the world. During the mid to late period of
Tang Dynasty (
618-
907), the region emerged as an economic centre, and the Yangtze River Delta became the most important agricultural, handicraft industrial and economic center for the late Tang China.
In
Song Dynasty, especially during the South Song Dynasty period (
1127–
1279), with its capital situated in Lin'an (Now
Hangzhou), Hangzhou became the biggest city in the
East Asia (and some claim, in the world) with a population more than 1.5 million, and the economic status of the Yangtze Delta became more enhanced.
Ningbo became one of the two biggest seaports in East Asia along with
Quanzhou (in
Fujian Province)
During the mid-late
Ming Dynasty period (
1368–
1644), the first capitalism bud of the East Asia was born and developed in this area, although it was disrupted by the Manchurian invasion and controlled strictly and carefully by the Confucian central government in
Beijing, it continued its development slowly throughout the rest of the
Qing Dynasty (
1644-
1911). During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the delta became the a large financial centre for the country. And also played the most important role in Agriculture and handicraft industry.
During the Qianlong Era (1735-1796), Shanghai began developing rapidly and became the largest port in the Far East. From late 19th century to early 20th century, Shanghai was the biggest commercial center in the Far East. And the Yangtze River Delta became the first industrialized area in China. After the
Chinese economic reform program, which began in
1978,
Shanghai again became the most important economic center in
mainland China, and is emerging to become one of Asia's centres for commerce. In modern times, the Yangtze Delta metropolitan area centred at Shanghai, and also flanked by the major urban centres of
Hangzhou,
Suzhou,
Ningbo, and
Nanjing, home to nearly 90 million people (of which an estimated 50 million are urban residents), is the center of Chinese economic development, and surpasses all other major metropolitan regions (including the
Pearl River Delta) in the
People's Republic of China in terms of economic growth, productivity and per capita income. In the future the area may well evolve into the largest
megacity in the world in terms of population.
Cities
★ Urban cores: '
Shanghai,
Nanjing,
Hangzhou',
Suzhou,
Ningbo
★
Jiangsu Province:
Suzhou (including county-level urban centres of
Changshu,
Taicang,
Kunshan, and
Zhangjiagang),
Wuxi (including county-level urban centers of
Yixing and
Jiangyin),
Nantong (including County-level urban cores of
Qidong and
Tongzhou),
Changzhou,
Zhenjiang (including county-level urban centre of
Danyang),
Yangzhou,
Taizhou
★
Zhejiang Province: Hangzhou's county-level urban centres of
Jiande,
Fuyang and
Lin'an;
Ningbo (including county-level urban centre of
Cixi),
Shaoxing,
Jiaxing,
Huzhou,
Zhoushan,
Taizhou,
Jinhua (including urban centre of
Yiwu)
★ In addition, the Shanghai districts of
Minhang,
Jiading and
Pudong, although nominally "districts", are all municipal-level in administration, and all have ''de facto'' separate urban planning systems.
Transportation
The area is home to a very extensive transportation network that include railways and
expressways. The area has one of the highest
private vehicle ownership rates in the country, and traffic rules governing Jiangsu, Shanghai, and Zhejiang are relatively strict compared to the rest of the country.
The region is served by some of the country's largest seaports:
★ Port of
Shanghai, sea & river, the world's largest cargo port in 2005
★ Port of
Ningbo-
Zhoushan, sea & river, the world's 4th largest cargo port in 2005
★ Port of
Lianyungang, sea port
★ Port of
Suzhou, river & lake
★ Port of
Wenzhou, sea & river
The region has five major airports, whose area of coverage is generally around an-hour's drive's length from any point of the Delta. They include:
★
Shanghai Hongqiao Airport and
Shanghai Pudong International Airport, hub of
Shanghai Airlines and
China Eastern Airlines; the two airports combined serve the heaviest air traffic flow in China
★
Nanjing Lukou International Airport, situated in
Nanjing, Jiangsu
★
Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport, situated in
Hangzhou, Zhejiang
★
Ningbo Lishe International Airport, situated in
Ningbo, Zhejiang
Main bridges:
★
Donghai Bridge, Shanghai-Zhejiang, 32.5km, the world's longest sea-cross bridge
★
Hangzhou Bay Bridge, Ningbo-Shanghai, 36km
★
Runyang Bridge
★
Jiangyin Suspension Bridge
★
Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge
★
Lupu Bridge,
Puxi-Pudong
Climate
The Yangtze Delta has a
marine monsoon subtropical climate, and the weather is generally warm and humid. Winter temperatures can drop as low as -10°C (a record), however, and even in springtime, large temperature fluctuations can occur.
Fishing and agriculture
The Yangtze River Delta contains the most fertile soils in all of China.
Rice is the dominant crop of the delta, but further inland fishing rivals it. In Qing Pu, 50 ponds containing five different species of
fish produce 29,000 tons each year. One of the biggest fears of fish farmers in this region is that
toxic water will seep into their man-made
lagoons and threaten their livelihood.
See also
★
Pearl River Delta
References
1. Shanghai Vice-Mayor Zhou Yupeng: 周禹é¹ï¼šåŠ 快推进长三角城市群的连带å‘展 People.cn
★ Asia Times Online,
June 2,
2005 -
[1]
★ PBS.org, Journey to Planet Earth, Yangtze River Delta, China -
[2]
★ United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) -
[3]
External Links
★
Golden Triangle extending to become a parallelogram?
★
Constructing the next world megacity: The Yangtze Delta
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