Taizhou is located in the central part of Jiangsu, bordering the Yangtze River in the south, Yancheng in the north, Nantong in the east and Yangzhou in the west. It covers a total area of 5,787 square kilometers and has a registered population of 4.52 million as of 2021.

The city administrates three county-level cities, namely Jingjiang, Taixing and Xinghua, three districts of Hailing, Gaogang and Jiangyan, and Taizhou Pharmaceutical High-tech Zone. In 2022, the city's GDP reached 640.18 billion yuan ($92.99 billion), a year-on-year increase of 4.4 percent.

Taizhou is a famous historical and cultural city with a 2,100-year-long history. For thousands of years, Taizhou has been in good weather and peace environment, and was dubbed an auspicious land. Plenty of celebrities were born here, such as Shi Nai'an, Zheng Banqiao and Mei Lanfang.

The city has several famous scenic spots such as Guangxiao Temple, Chongru Temple, Anding Academy, and the Sea-watching pavilion. In addition, Gingko Forests, Qinhu Wetland, Waterfront Forests and Tiande Lake Park are also attractive natural scenic spots.

Taizhou is located in the central part of Jiangsu, bordering the Yangtze River in the south, Yancheng in the north, Nantong in the east and Yangzhou in the west. [Photo/taizhou.gov.cn]

Economy

The GDP of Taizhou city in East China's Jiangsu province came in at 640.18 billion yuan ($94.75 billion) in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 4.4 percent – ranking it second in the province in terms of growth.

The added value of Taizhou's primary, secondary and tertiary industries hit 33.44 billion yuan, 315.8 billion yuan and 290.93 billion yuan, respectively – increases of 2.1 percent, 6 percent and 3 percent.

The total output value of the agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fisheries sectors was a combined 55.87 billion yuan, up 2.8 percent year-on-year. Total grain output was 2.81 million metric tons.

In 2022, the total industrial output value of Taizhou's industries above a designated size reached 841.07 billion yuan, higher by 12.5 percent. The added value of Taizhou's industries above a designated size increased 8.5 percent over the previous year - ranking it fourth in Jiangsu.

The city's total retail sales of consumer goods in 2022 reached 158.84 billion yuan, for year-on-year growth of 0.7 percent.

Statistics showed that Taizhou's fixed-asset investment rose 9.4 percent in 2022, 5.6 percentage points higher than that of the province and ranking it third in Jiangsu.

The city's imports and exports reached $19.61 billion, an increase of 4.9 percent.

Per capita disposable income of all residents in Taizhou in 2022 was 46,363 yuan, up 5.9 percent year-on-year, ranking the city second in Jiangsu. It consumer price index or CPI rose 2.3 percent.

A cultural celebration preserved by Taizhou residents [Photo/taizhou.gov.cn]

Culture & History

In ancient times, Taizhou was called Haiyang or Hailing. In the early period of the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220), Taizhou was established as a county; in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420), it became a prefecture, and then in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), it was a state, whose name means "the country is prosperous and the people live in peace".

Taizhou has many famous food, such as sesame oil, sesame cake, wine preserved crab, dried pork slices, crab dumplings in soup, noodle, globe fish, and dried tofu.

Dried pork slices is a specialty of Taizhou. [Photo/taizhou.gov.cn]