Yangtze River Delta
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Yangtze River Delta
Yangtze River Delta

The Yangtze River Delta or Yangtze Delta, also called Chang Jiang Delta, or the Golden Triangle of the Yangtze (traditional Chinese: 长江三角洲; simplified Chinese: 長江三角洲; Hanyu Pinyin: Cháng Jiāng Sānjiǎozhōu (help·info)), generally comprises the triangular-shaped territory of Wu-speaking 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 is home to an economy the size of a medium-sized developed country, encompassing a GDP (when measured to purchasing power parity) of some $2 Trillion US, which is 21% of the national economy (about the size of that of France, 2,046,899 MM$ in 2007 according to the International Monetary Fund). The urban build-up in the area has given rise to the Yangtze Delta Metropolitan Area, the largest metropolitan area in China, with an area of 99600 km2, it is home to over 80 million people as of 2007, of which an estimated 50 million are urban.

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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 delinta 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 80 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

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:

Main bridges:

Climate

Average temperatures (red) and precipitation (blue) in Shanghai
Average temperatures (red) and precipitation (blue) in Shanghai

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 of fish 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

References

  1. ^ Shanghai Vice-Mayor Zhou Yupeng: 周禹鹏：加快推进长三角城市群的连带发展 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
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