Changzhou

Human activity in the Changzhou region can be traced back more than 6,000 years to the Neolithic Majiabang culture.^[4] The Weidun (previously known as Yudun, 圩墩) site, located in the region, is one of the northernmost major sites of that culture and contains a large cemetery whose use continued into the subsequent Songze culture.^[4]

By the Liangzhu period, the region was characterized by the Sidun (寺墩) site, a polity covering approximately 900,000 square meters. The settlement was organized around a central earthen altar, roughly 100 meters in diameter and 20 meters high, surrounded by multiple moats and distinct cemetery clusters.^[5] Notably excavations of a high-status burial at the site yielded an assemblage of 57 jade artifacts, including bi discs and cong tubes.^[4]

During the late Spring and Autumn period, the walled site of Yancheng (淹城) was constructed in the region.^[6] The site, roughly 850 meters across, is noted for its three concentric systems of walls and moats. Because clear evidence of ordinary habitation is limited, scholars have proposed various interpretations of Yancheng's function: as a ritual center, or a stronghold associated with a local chiefdom later absorbed into the Wu sphere. Ancient written accounts, by contrast, identify it as a Wu settlement and sometimes connect it with Prince Jizha (季札) of Wu.^[7]

• 
  A high-status burial (Tomb No. 3) at the Liangzhu Sidun site, showing the ritual arrangement of jade bi and cong.
• 
  Scale model of Yancheng, illustrating the "three concentric walls and moats" layout.
• 
  The preserved moats and earthen ramparts of the Yancheng site today.

Changzhou is traditionally associated with Prince Jizha, who reportedly settled in Yanling (延陵) —an area encompassing modern Changzhou—after declining the Wu throne. While early records focus on his self-imposed exile, later traditions treat Yanling as his formal fief.^[8] His reputation for integrity made him a central figure in the city's identity; the veneration of "Master Ji of Yanling" persisted throughout imperial China, as evidenced by numerous local temples dedicated to him.^[9]

Following the completion of the Grand Canal in 609, Changzhou prospered as a stop along its course. During the interregnum between the Sui and Tang, the city of Piling (毗陵) was the capital of Shen Faxing's short-lived Liang Kingdom (619–620).

In spring 1275, Mongol forces briefly occupied Changzhou after its surrender on 8 April, but the city reverted to Southern Song control a week later. In autumn, the Mongols launched a siege lasting about 45 days. On 5 December, commander Bayan issued an ultimatum: surrender for amnesty or face annihilation. After one day, the Mongols breached the city on 6 December and ordered a general massacre; only some 400 women and children were reportedly spared.^[10][11][12] The operation may have intimidated the Song populace and prompted other cities to surrender smoothly to avoid a similar outcome.^[13][14]

Changzhou served as a prefectural seat (fu) of Ming Nanzhili and the Qing provinces of Jiangnan and Jiangsu. In the 1850s and 1860s, the Taiping Rebellion held the area. One of five palaces housing the leaders of Taiping was constructed in Changzhou. Today the ruins of the "King's Palace" can be found near the People's No. 1 Hospital.

In the 1920s, Changzhou started to attract cotton mills. The cotton industry got a boost in the late 1930s when businesses began relocating outside of Shanghai due to its Japanese occupation. On January 1, 1953, Changzhou was set as a provincially administered municipality.

As approved by State Council on June 8, 1995, Wujin County was promoted to Wujin City, with the government set in Hutang Town. In 1999, as approved by the provincial government, Taixiang Town of Jiaoqu District was revoked and incorporated into Xueyan Town of Wujin City.^[15]

Changzhou is located in the Yangtze Delta region, in the northwestern part of the Taihu Lake Plain. It is bordered by the Yangtze River in the north, Taihu Lake in the south, Anhui province and Nanjing in the southwest, Wuxi in the east and Zhenjiang in the west. It is equidistant from Shanghai and Nanjing, and 144 kilometres from the provincial capital Nanjing. Southwest of the Yili mountains, mountain peaks have Maoshan.^[16]

Changzhou has Tao Lake and Ge Lake. Rivers are Beijing–Hangzhou Grand Canal, Wuyi Canal, Tai Ge Canal, Jingxi, South Canal and so on. Changzhou has a dense network of waterways, and in the 1930s, when flooding broke out in the southern part of the Yangtze River, Zhou Chen went to the southern part of the Yangtze River to control the water, he greatly promoted the enclosure of lakes to create fields. The local government created ‹The template Convert mu is being considered for merging.› 37,000 mu (2,500 hectares) of land in 20 years, making Furong Lake, Yang Lake and Linjin Lake gradually shrink to the point of disappearing.^[17][18]

The prefecture-level city of Changzhou administers seven county-level divisions, including five districts and one county-level city.

Ge
Lake

Tiao
(Changdang)
Lake

Lake
Tai

Tianning

Zhonglou

Xinbei

Wujin

Jintan

Liyang
(city)

Its total population was 5,278,121 inhabitants at the 2020 census, a 1.4% annual increase since the previous census.

Local universities include Hohai University's Changzhou campus. Secondary schools include the Changzhou Senior High School of Jiangsu Province and the newly established Changzhou Songjianhu Senior High School.

• 
  Changcheu Prefecture between the Yangtze and Lake Tai, from Martino Martini's 1655 Novus Atlas Sinensis.
• 
  The parks and pagodas of the old city of Changzhou.
• 
  The Grand Canal at Changzhou in 2006.

• Su Dongpo (Su Shi; 1036–1101), poet and essayist.
• Sheng Xuanhuai (1844–1916), late Qing dynasty bureaucrat and reformer.
• Lü Simian (1884–1957), historian and member of the Doubting Antiquity School
• Zhao Yuanren (1892–1982), linguist.
• Hong Shen (1894–1955), pioneering dramatist and filmmaker.
• Yun Daiying (1895–1931), revolutionary and pioneer of early Communist Youth activities.
• Liu Haisu (1896–1994), artist.
• Zhang Tailei (1898–1927), one of the founders of Chinese Communist Party (CCP), first Chinese ever working in Communist International.
• Qu Qiubai (1899–1935), former General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and prominent Marxist thinker and writer. Named "Changzhou San Jie" together with Yun Daiying and Zhang Tailei.^[31]
• Zhou Youguang (1906–2017), linguist often credited as the "father of Hanyu Pinyin"
• Hua Luogeng (1910–1985), mathematician.
• Xie Zhiliu (1910–1997), painter.
• Yuan-Cheng Fung (1919–2019), professor and author. A founder of biomechanics.
• Tang Jun, former President of Microsoft in China.
• Lu Lan (1987–), Olympic athlete and badminton player. Won the woman's championship at the 2009 BWF World Championships.
• Bai Lu (1994–), actress, model and singer.
• Yang Li, human rights activist.

In the film Pacific Rim, Changzhou is credited as the city the jaeger Crimson Typhoon was assembled in.

• List of twin towns and sister cities in China
• Chinese frigate Changzhou