Qidong
Encyclopedia
Jiangsu
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" , the second character of its name...
Province of People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. It is located on the north side of the Yangtze River
Yangtze River
The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...
opposite Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
. It occupies a total of 1,208square kilometers in land area, with a population of 1,12 million.
The city has a center named Huilong Township. It also has a well-known fish port named Lü Si town -- meaning Mr. Lü Dong Bing, a legendary figure, had visited the place for four times. The other towns include Hui Ping, Yin Yang, Bei Xin, Hai Fu, Nan Yang and others.
History
Before the Han Dynasty,still under the Yellow SeaYellow Sea
The Yellow Sea is the name given to the northern part of the East China Sea, which is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It is located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula. Its name comes from the sand particles from Gobi Desert sand storms that turn the surface of the water golden...
.It became the land until Mid-Qing Dynasty.March 1928, Qidong County was set up.In November 1989, the name "Qidong County" is abolished by following current policies. It has adopted the name "Qidong City" ever since.
Population and Culture
The county was formed from sands in the Yellow SeaYellow Sea
The Yellow Sea is the name given to the northern part of the East China Sea, which is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It is located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula. Its name comes from the sand particles from Gobi Desert sand storms that turn the surface of the water golden...
in Qing Dao Guang or Qian Long. People migrated to the newly founded land from both South Ning Bo, Or North. And therefore there are two dialects.
Language
People living in Lüsi town speak a different dialect -- known as Lüsi dialect (lǜsìhuà ) or Tongdong dialect (tōngdōnghuà ) -- from most other residents, who generally speak Qidong Dialect (qǐdōnghuà ). The two dialects are considerably different and thus they are not mutually intelligible. Because most economic, educational and governmental activities are held in the city capital Huilong, where Qidong Dialect is prevalent, many residents of Lüsi have learned to understand and even speak the majority dialect.Qidong Dialect is a dialect of Wu Chinese. Some people consider it similar to Shanghainese
Shanghainese
Shanghainese , or the Shanghai language , is a dialect of Wu Chinese spoken in the city of Shanghai and the surrounding region. It is classified as part of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. Shanghainese, like other Wu dialects, is largely not mutually intelligible with other Chinese varieties...
, also a dialect of Wu Chinese, mostly spoken in the city of Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
. It is almost the same as the dialect spoken in Chongming
Chongming
Chongming County is the only county under the jurisdiction of Shanghai, China. The county consists of three main islands: Chongming Island ; Changxing Island; and Hengsha Island. These are low-lying alluvial islands in the mouth of the Yangtze River. With an area of , Chongming Island is listed as...
, which is a town under administration of Shanghai.
Both of the two dialects belong to the Northern Wu dialect. However, because of cultural differences among two places, there still exist non-intelligible usage mostly in vocabulary.
Education
Qidong High School located at Huilong Town enjoys a high reputation which basically is owed to its so-called "Special Class" where most students can be awarded in national mathematics, physics and chemistry competitions and almost half of the students can be admitted to Tshinghua University, Peking University and other famous universities.Except Qidong High School, there are many other high schools, such as Huilong High School
Huilong High School
Huilong High School is a middle school in Jiangsu, China. It is considered a modern education technology experimental school. The school motto is "Advocate genuine knowledge, pursuit outstanding".-History:...
, Dongnan High School and so on. Although these schools are not as famouse as Qidong High School, the quality of the education is also good.
People in Qidong pay much attention to the education.
Entertainment
At the end of 2006, KFCKFC
KFC, founded and also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is a chain of fast food restaurants based in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States. KFC has been a brand and operating segment, termed a concept of Yum! Brands since 1997 when that company was spun off from PepsiCo as Tricon Global...
and McDonalds made their debut in Qidong respectively. This is seen as unusual because those two international companies rarely set up branches in county-level cities in China.
Qidong hosts an annual Seafood festival and trade fair in late May.
Constructions
A newly constructed 200-300 mile Ning Qi highway connects Nanjing to Qidong.There is a on-going plan to build a bridge across the Yangtze River
Yangtze River
The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...
to link with Qidong-ChongMing-Shanghai, which might be finished around 2010.
The bridge is still under construction as of 30 July 2011. However, a short 1/2 hour ferry ride connects Qidong & Chongming Island from which we can travel on road to Changxing Island onward to Pudong, Shanghai.
Local Industry
The local industry focuses on pharmaceutical production, computer accessory production and chemical fertilizer production.Qidong is today an offshore engineering & construction hub hosting companies like COSCO, SINOPACIFIC, DAO DA Heavy Industry and several other HEAVY INDUSTRY shipyard & fabrications facilities.
Agriculture
Major agriculture crops are fatwa beans, wheat, corns, rapes, soy beans, peanuts, yams, etc, and the cotton is very common there. The climate is suitable for pears, peaches, oranges and water melons.Weather
There are four distinguish seasons. Spring, Summer, Fall and mild Winter. In Summer, monsoon lasts for weeks and there is plenty of rain.External links
- City government official site
- Qidong City English guide (Jiangsu.NET)