About Zhangjiagang
Zhangjiagang is a county-level city in Jiangsu province, China, and is an administrative division of Suzhou City. Zhangjiagang's population is around 1,500,000, with around 90,000 residents of the urban area. Natives speak a variant of Wu Chinese, close to the Suzhou variant, and similar to Shanghainese but distinct from Shanghainese. Communities surrounding the city are mostly rural, and their economy traditionally depends mainly on agriculture and water-based business. In 2006, the revenue from the farming is less than 2% of the city's total GDP.The city has been in a fast growth of its industrial sectors. The GDP reached RMB 140.2 billion yuan (US$20.5 billion) in 2009, a growth of 11.7% from 2008. The GDP per capita reached RMB 155,900 yuan (ca. US$22,800).
Business
Zhangjiagang is a new city, having been developed from a small farming town following the economic reforms of the mid-1980s. By 1994 the city had the second-highest economic rating in China, with an urban per-capita income of $1000/year. In 2006, the city had been in a fast growth of its industrial sectors.
Especially the plastic (beverage) machinery industry of Zhangjiagang was developing rapidly with the global economic recovery. Till 2010, there were all together 389 enterprises producing plastics (beverage) machinery with a total number of over 28,000 sets of related equipments, with the total export volume of plastic (beverage) industry reached $ 200 million, which increased by 35% compared with 2009.
Now the industrial income occupies half of the city's total revenue. The GDP has also ranked the second in all prefecture cities of the Jiangsu province and is listed No. 3 on the national Top 100 Cities ranking with economic strength.
Famous Sight
here are several family-friendly parks scattered throughout the city, including Xiangshan Scenic Area, Shazhou Park, Zhangjiagang Park, and Jiyang Lake. And a handful of temples can be found in the area surrounding Zhangjiagang, including the Dongdu temple, which according to local legend used to be the home of a monk who traveled by sea to Japan. His story had been memorialized by locally-produced Dongdu cigarettes.
Hotel Information
There are many business hotels with high travelers rating in Zhangjiagang for your choices, such as :
Guomao Hotel: It is located in the center of Zhangjiagang City, at the cross of People Road and Chang An Road. It enjoys perfect location.
Hanting Express (Jiyang Road): It is located in the bustling downtown commercial area, with a long-distance bus station nearby.
Home Inn (Zhangjiagang Pedestrian Street): Situated on the pedestrian street, Zhangjiagang's vibrant commercial area, it is a short walk from the Zhangjiagang Long Distance Bus Station and a number of dining, shopping venues and banks.
MG Global Hotel: It is a deluxe hotel located in Zhangjiagang Free Trade Zone's International Finance Center and is about a two-hour drive from the Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport and Nanjing Lukou International Airport respectively.
Xinyuan Holiday Hotel: It is located on Chengyang Road, about 1km from the city center. This hotel is a garden hotel with beautiful surrounding. It is about 52km from the railway station and 98km from the airport.
Traffic Information
It takes only an hour and a half of driving distance from Zhangjiagang to Shanghai, and around half hour to the downtown of Suzhou.The city borders Suzhou, Wuxi, Changshu and Taicang. It faces Nantong across the Yangtze River, and it is around 100 kms away from Shanghai. There are no train stations in Zhangjiagang city, but two long-distance bus stations which make traveling to major destinations relatively fast and convenient locate in the city. The most precious natural resource is water. Yangtze River is the most important river for the city and its port, like other more than eight thousands of rivers, lakes and canals.
Most of Zhangjiagang's area is accessible on foot. The streets are clean and well-maintained by Chinese standard. All major roads are marked with signs in Pinyin. Taxis are cheap and ubiquitous. The city center is mainly within that range, though far-flung areas may be a little higher. There is a city bus service, with RMB 1 Yuan. For short distance and if route known, buses are better.
