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Nantong 南通市 Nantung | |
|---|---|
 Skyline of Nantong CBD  Nantong Bell Tower  Tianing Temple | |
 Location of Nantong City jurisdiction in Jiangsu | |
  Nantong Location of the city center in Jiangsu Show map of Jiangsu Nantong Nantong (Eastern China) Show map of Eastern China Nantong Nantong (China) Show map of China | |
| Coordinates (Nantong municipal government):31°58′52″N120°53′38″E / 31.981°N 120.894°E /31.981; 120.894 | |
| Country | People's Republic of China |
| Province | Jiangsu |
| Municipal seat | Chongchuan District |
| Government | |
| • CPC Municipal Secretary | Lu Zhipeng (陆志鹏) |
| • Mayor | Han Liming (韩立明) |
| Area | |
| 8,544.1 km2 (3,298.9 sq mi) | |
| • Urban | 2,840 km2 (1,100 sq mi) |
| • Metro | 2,840 km2 (1,100 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 2 m (6.6 ft) |
| Population (2020 census)[1] | |
| 7,726,635 | |
| • Density | 904.32/km2 (2,342.2/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 3,766,534 |
| • Urban density | 1,330/km2 (3,430/sq mi) |
| • Metro | 3,766,534 |
| • Metro density | 1,330/km2 (3,430/sq mi) |
| GDP[2] | |
| • Prefecture-level city | CN¥ 1.103 trillion US$ 164 billion |
| • Per capita | CN¥ 142,642 US$ 21,211 |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (China Standard) |
| Postal code | 226000 (Urban centre) 226100-226600 (Other areas) |
| Area code | 513 |
| ISO 3166 code | CN-JS-06 |
| MajorEthnicity | Han |
| County-level divisions | 8 |
| Township-level divisions | 146 |
| Licence Plate Prefixes | 苏F |
| Website | www |
Nantong[a] is aprefecture-level city in southeasternJiangsu province, China. Located on the northern bank of theYangtze River, near the river mouth. Nantong is a vital river port borderingYancheng to the north;Taizhou to the west;Suzhou,Wuxi andShanghai to the south across the river; and theEast China Sea to the east. Its population was 7,726,635 as of the 2020 census, 3,766,534 of whom lived in the built-up area made up of three urban districts.
On September 26, 2004, the first World Metropolitan Development Forum was held in Nantong. In 2005, Nantong had aGDP growth of 15.4%, the highest growth rate in Jiangsu province, and in 2016 Nantong's GDP had a total of about 675 billion yuan, ranking 21st in the whole country.[citation needed]
Although the city took a blow from the economic depression of the 1930s, as well as the Japanese occupation of the 1930s and 40s, Nantong has remained an important center for the textile industry. Because of its deepwater harbor and connections to inland navigational canals, it was one of 14 port cities opened to foreign investment in recent Chinese economic reforms.
In 958 CE, the area was organized as aprefecture, named Tong Prefecture (Chinese:通州;pinyin:Tōngzhōu;lit. 'Opening Prefecture').[3] The name was possibly derived from its position near the mouth of the Yangtze.[citation needed] In 1151, another Tong Prefecture with an identical name was established in present-dayTongzhou, Beijing.[3] During theQing dynasty, to avoid confusion, the Tong Prefecture in present-day Nantong was changed to Nantong Prefecture (Chinese:南通州;pinyin:Nántōng Zhōu;lit. 'South Opening Prefecture'), to indicate its location to the south of the other Tong Prefecture.[3]
The area of present-day Nantong is part of theYangtze river'salluvial plain, with the land being form fromsediment carried down the river.[3] The area was first inhabited over 5,000 years ago.[3] Most of the area of present-day Nantong was formed within the past 2,000 years, as localsandbars grew and connected with one another.[3]
The area that is now Nantong was originally part of thestate of Wu during theSpring and Autumn period, which was later conquered by thestate of Yue in 473 BCE.[citation needed] After yet again being subjected to a new foreign rule by thestate of Chu in 334 BCE, the inhabitants of present-day Nantong would again experience another regime change during thefirst unification of China by thestate of Qin.[citation needed]
In 411 CE, during theEastern Jin dynasty, fourcounties were established in the area: Ninghai County (simplified Chinese:宁海县;traditional Chinese:寧海縣;pinyin:Nínghǎi Xiàn), Rugao County (simplified Chinese:如皋县;traditional Chinese:如皋縣;pinyin:Rúgāo Xiàn), Linjiang County (simplified Chinese:临江县;traditional Chinese:臨江縣;pinyin:Línjiāng Xiàn), and Putao County (simplified Chinese:蒲涛县;traditional Chinese:蒲濤縣;pinyin:Pútāo Xiàn).[3] All four counties were subordinate toNanyan Prefecture [zh], which could later be incorporated asYangzhou.[3] Under theSouthern dynasties, a fifth county, Hai'an County (simplified Chinese:海安县;traditional Chinese:海安縣;pinyin:Hǎi'ān Xiàn), was also established.[3]
In the earlySui dynasty, all of the counties in present-day Nantong were abolished.[3] Hai'an County was briefly re-established in 708 CE, during theTang dynasty, when it was carved out of the eastern portion of nearbyHailing County [zh].[3] In 722 CE, it Hai'an County was merged back into Hailing County.[3] Rugao County was re-established in 952 CE.[3]
In 958 CE, the area was organized as aprefecture, named Tong Prefecture (Chinese:通州;pinyin:Tōngzhōu;lit. 'Opening Prefecture').[3] It administered two counties: Jinghai County (simplified Chinese:静海县;traditional Chinese:靜海縣;pinyin:Jìnghǎi Xiàn) and Haimen County (simplified Chinese:海门县;traditional Chinese:海門縣;pinyin:Hǎimén Xiàn).[3] Its administrative seat was located in Jinghai County.[3] In 1023, Tong Prefecture was briefly renamed to Chong Prefecture (Chinese:崇州;pinyin:Chóng Zhōu), although its name was reverted to Tong Prefecture within the year.[3]
In 1278, during theYuan dynasty, Tong Prefecture was reorganized as acircuit.[3] This change was reverted six years later.[3]
In 1368, the first year of theMing dynasty, Jinghai County was abolished, and the area was put under the direct administration of Tong Prefecture.[3] At this time, Tong Prefecture also held jurisdiction over Haimen County and Chongming County (simplified Chinese:崇明县;traditional Chinese:崇明縣;pinyin:Chóngmíng Xiàn).[3] Eight years later, Chongming County was transferred from Tong Prefecture toSuzhou Fu [zh].[3]
During theQing dynasty, Tong Prefecture was renamed to Nantong Prefecture (Chinese:南通州;pinyin:Nántōng Zhōu;lit. 'South Opening Prefecture') to avoid confusion with another Tong Prefecture located in present-dayBeijing.[3] In 1672, Haimen County was abolished and placed under the direct administration of Tong Prefecture.[3] In 1724, Nantong was reorganized as adirectly administered prefecture [zh].[3]
Nantong was the first place in China to be developed into a modern city after the collapse of the Qing dynasty, and was also the birthplace of China's modern industry.[citation needed]
The prosperity of Nantong has traditionally depended on salt production on the nearby seacoast, rice and cotton agriculture, and manufacture of cotton and silk textiles, especiallyNantong blue calico.[citation needed] A local statesman and industrialist namedZhang Jian founded Nantong's first modern cotton mills in 1899. He then developed an industrial complex that included flour, oil, and silk reeling mills, a distillery, and a machinery shop.[citation needed] He also founded a shipping line and reclaimed saline agricultural land to the east of Nantong for cotton production. Thanks to these efforts, by 1911 Nantong was commonly called "Zhang Jian's Kingdom". In the earlyRepublican period, the Nantong Special Administrative District includedChongming County, now part ofShanghai.[4]
The Republic of China reorganized the area's administrative units in 1912, to be three counties: Nantong, Rugao, and Haimen.[3] All three were directly administered byJiangsu province.[3]
Following theShanghai massacre of 1927, theChinese Communist Party (CCP) became active in the Tonghairutai area (simplified Chinese:通海如泰地区;traditional Chinese:通海如泰地區;pinyin:Tōnghǎirútài dìqū), spanning present-day Nantong,Haimen,Rugao, andTaizhou.[5] In April 1928, the14th Army [zh] of theChinese Red Army commencedguerilla operations throughout the area.[5] In February 1929, the CCP established a localsoviet in Nantong.[5] The following year, led by the 14th Army, numerous local soviets were established.[5]
Invading Japanese forces conquered Nantong on March 17, 1938.[5] Local CCP forces began covertly resisting Japanese occupation in August 1938.[5] Forces belonging to theNew Fourth Army crossed from south of the Yangtze river near the end of 1939, entering nearbyJiangdu in present-dayYangzhou.[5] Following an attack fromKuomintang generalHan Deqin on New Fourth Army forces south of the Yangtze in early October, CCP forces shifted their focus north of the river, including in present-day Nantong.[5] Japanese occupation came to an end in Rugao on September 21, 1945.[5]
The Chinese Civil War in Nantong resumed in July 1946, when the New Fourth Army's Central China Field Army (simplified Chinese:华中野战军;traditional Chinese:華中野戰軍;pinyin:Huázhōng Yězhàn Jūn) and Kuomintang forces engaged in theBattle of Suzhong [zh], which CCP forces won in August.[5] Despite the CCP victory, Kuomintang forces went into the winter of 1946 occupying a larger portion of Nantong, both in terms of population and area.[5] Large-scale fighting resumed in the area during the autumn of 1948 with theHuaihai campaign.[5] Towards the end of the campaign, the CCP forces (now re-organized as thePeople's Liberation Army) moved south towards the Yangtze, conquering a number of towns in Nantong's periphery throughout January 1949 into February 1949, before ultimately taking Nantong's urban core on February 2, 1949.[5]
In January 1950,Hai'an and Rugao were transferred to the jurisdiction of Nantong.[5]
In May 2021, a violent storm hit the city, leaving 11 people dead, and a further 102 people injured. According to authorities, many homes were badly damaged during the storm, and more than 3,000 people were evacuated.[6] They were among many other cities on China's east coast that were affected.
| Nantong | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese | 南通 | ||||||||||||||||
| Postal | Nantung | ||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | southern passage | ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| Tongzhou | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese | 通州 | ||||||||
| Postal | Tungchow | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Nantong belongs to thealluvial plain of theYangtze river, formed by the deposit ofsediment that flowed through the river.[3] Most of the city's current land was formed within the past 2,000 years.[3]
Nantong has ahumid subtropical climate (KöppenCfa), with four distinct seasons. Winters are chilly and damp, and cold northwesterly winds caused by theSiberian high can force temperatures to fall below freezing at night although snowfall is relatively uncommon. Summers are hot and humid, and downpours or freak thunderstorms often occur. Monthly daily average temperatures range from 3.6 °C (38.5 °F) in January to 27.9 °C (82.2 °F) in July, and the annual mean is 16.2 °C (61.2 °F). With theplum rains in June and early July comes the rainiest part of the year.
| Climate data for Nantong, elevation 5 m (16 ft), (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1952–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 20.1 (68.2) | 25.3 (77.5) | 33.1 (91.6) | 33.3 (91.9) | 34.8 (94.6) | 36.4 (97.5) | 38.7 (101.7) | 40.0 (104.0) | 38.5 (101.3) | 32.2 (90.0) | 27.3 (81.1) | 22.6 (72.7) | 40.0 (104.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 7.4 (45.3) | 9.6 (49.3) | 14.0 (57.2) | 20.1 (68.2) | 25.4 (77.7) | 28.2 (82.8) | 32.0 (89.6) | 31.7 (89.1) | 27.8 (82.0) | 22.8 (73.0) | 16.8 (62.2) | 10.2 (50.4) | 20.5 (68.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 3.6 (38.5) | 5.3 (41.5) | 9.3 (48.7) | 14.9 (58.8) | 20.3 (68.5) | 24.0 (75.2) | 28.0 (82.4) | 27.7 (81.9) | 23.7 (74.7) | 18.3 (64.9) | 12.5 (54.5) | 6.1 (43.0) | 16.1 (61.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 0.7 (33.3) | 2.1 (35.8) | 5.6 (42.1) | 10.7 (51.3) | 16.2 (61.2) | 20.8 (69.4) | 25.0 (77.0) | 24.8 (76.6) | 20.5 (68.9) | 14.8 (58.6) | 8.9 (48.0) | 2.8 (37.0) | 12.7 (54.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −9.6 (14.7) | −7.2 (19.0) | −3.9 (25.0) | −0.7 (30.7) | 5.5 (41.9) | 12.8 (55.0) | 15.6 (60.1) | 16.5 (61.7) | 9.9 (49.8) | 3.4 (38.1) | −2.8 (27.0) | −8.9 (16.0) | −9.6 (14.7) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 55.8 (2.20) | 50.7 (2.00) | 73.1 (2.88) | 72.8 (2.87) | 83.9 (3.30) | 209.1 (8.23) | 195.7 (7.70) | 183.9 (7.24) | 102.9 (4.05) | 59.5 (2.34) | 55.4 (2.18) | 37.4 (1.47) | 1,180.2 (46.46) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.1 mm) | 9.4 | 9.1 | 10.8 | 10.0 | 10.7 | 12.7 | 12.8 | 11.9 | 9.2 | 7.0 | 8.4 | 7.2 | 119.2 |
| Average snowy days | 2.6 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 6.2 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 76 | 76 | 75 | 74 | 75 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 81 | 76 | 76 | 73 | 77 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 131.3 | 126.6 | 152.0 | 176.9 | 184.0 | 133.0 | 183.0 | 196.1 | 167.8 | 167.7 | 141.0 | 144.5 | 1,903.9 |
| Percentagepossible sunshine | 41 | 40 | 41 | 45 | 43 | 31 | 42 | 48 | 46 | 48 | 45 | 46 | 43 |
| Source 1:China Meteorological Administration[7][8]all-time extreme temperature[9] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Weather China[10] | |||||||||||||
Nantong city and its six counties (orcounty-level cities) are rich in linguistic diversity, featuring both important Northern Wu varieties and highly divergent dialects of Mandarin (seeNantong dialect). People in the city of Nantong speak a unique dialect which sounds nothing like standard Mandarin or any other dialect, and it also holds distinctive differences from surrounding dialects.
About 2 million people in the southern parts ofTongzhou,Haimen, andQidong speak theWu language, the specific local variety of which is often referred to as "Qi-hai Hua" (启海话), meaning Qidong-Haimen speech. It is about the same as the dialect spoken on the neighbouring island ofChongming,Shanghai. People in northern parts of these counties speak the "Tongdong dialect" (Chinese:通东话;pinyin:Tōngdōnghuà;lit. 'Eastern Tong Talk'. People in Rugao, Hai'an speak other dialects.
The Hao River, known as the Emerald Necklace of Nantong, surrounds the city with a total length of 15 km (9.3 mi). Most city scenery lines this river.[11]
Popular tourist sites includeLangshan ("Wolf Hill"), which is around 110 meters high. On top of the hill is a Buddhist temple dedicated to aSong dynasty monk. Because of the monk's legendary powers over water demons, sailors pray to him for protection on their voyages.[citation needed]
The Cao Gong Zhu Memorial Temple commemorates a local hero who defended the city against Japanese pirates in 1557.[citation needed]
Shuihuiyuan Garden, meaning Water Garden, is unique of all Chinese classical gardens due its creation in the Hui style. It includes the tombs of several people, such as Luo Binwang, a poet of the Tang dynasty; Wen Tianxiang, the national hero of the Nansong dynasty; and Zhang Jian, the scholar of the late Qing dynasty, who was a modern industrialist and supporter of education.[citation needed]
Nantong was historically known as an agricultural area and a traditional site for salt-making.[citation needed] Its principal agricultural products include cotton, silk, rice, wheat, fishing, fruits, rice wine, and more. Currently, the city is making efforts to upgrade its farming sectors and increase production of organic foods.[citation needed]
Nantong is one of the 14 port cities opened to foreign investment projects under China's current policies of modernization. Nantong was traditionally an industrial city, especially around the turn of the 20th century, specializing in salt and cotton textile production. Today's industrial corporations have made Nantong into an industrial hub since it opened its door to the outside world in the 1990s. With its excellent geographic location and the completion of two Yangtze River bridges, the prefecture is attracting more investment funding nationwide.[citation needed] Many of these investments come from international corporations. In October 2007, Singapore RGM International signed an agreement with Rudong, a county under Nantong's jurisdiction, to invest in a port project, costing 9 billion Yuan or US$1.33 billion, at Rudong Yangkou Port.[citation needed]
Today, Nantong is one of many fast-growing coastal cities in China.[citation needed] With the opening ofSutong Bridge in April 2008 andChonghai Bridge in 2009, the city has been listed as the number one city in theYangtze River Delta Economic Zone for foreign investment, surpassing its rivals Suzhou, Hangzhou and Nanjing.[citation needed]
As a sprawling metropolis, Nantong has experienced environment damage from its industrialization as well. The municipal government has been putting stiffer environmental policies into practice over the years and has spent tremendous amounts of money to curb pollution and plant more trees along its roads. The city is active in shutting down factories that do not meet its environment laws.[citation needed]
Nantong has developed rapidly in the last 25 years, as have most of the cities in theYangtze River Delta. Nantong's rapid economic growth is generally attributed to its advantageous location just north ofShanghai. Nantong's Sutong Bridge is expected to further Nantong's integration with Shanghai, cutting transportation time between the cities down from three hours to one hour.[12]
The shipping corporationCosco has a large port and ship repair yard on the river. Cosco (Nantong) Shipyard Co., Ltd, the first shipyard of the Cosco group, has placed itself adjacent to the busy port of Nantong. The yard has 1120 m of coastline and is equipped with one cape-size and one panamax size floating dock. Cosco Shipyard handles approximately 150 vessels per year.[13]Nantong Mingde Heavy Industries originally operated a shipyard in Nantong, but declared bankruptcy in 2014.[14] Minde's parent company,Jiangsu Sainty Marine Corporation, would cease operations in 2017.[15]
Some companies in Nantong:
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Established in January 2012 according to State-level development zone standards, Nantong Binhai Park is under the direct governance and significant investment of the Nantong Municipality. Benefiting from favorable policies, the park spans an expansive land area of 820 km2 (320 sq mi).
Situated 50 km (31 mi) east of Nantong's downtown area, it is conveniently located within a 1.5-hour drive from Shanghai Pudong and Hongqiao airports. Binhai Park boasts excellent transportation infrastructure, with access to key expressways linking Tongyang to Nantong downtown, Haiqi to Qidong and Shanghai Pudong, as well as seaports featuring 500 berths ranging from 50,000 tons to 300,000 tons in the Tongzhou Bay port cluster.
The industries in Binhai Park primarily focus on maritime and offshore activities, logistics, equipment manufacturing, new energy, advanced materials, electronics, and more.
Established in 1984, Nantong Economic & Technological Development Area (NETDA) was one of the first state-level development zones approved by the Chinese Central Government and has been certified as an ISO 14000 National Demonstration Zone. The zone benefits from superior transportation facilities by both rail and road. NETDA has direct links to two railways: the Xinyi-Changxing Railway and the Nanjing-Qidong Railway. Su-Tong Yangtze River Bridge feeds into the center of NETDA and connects the Nanjing-Nantong and Yancheng-Nantong Expressways to the north, and Shanghai-Nanjing and Suzhou-Jiaxing-Hangzhou Expressways and Riverside Expressways to the south.
NETDA includes several subsidiary zones including Nantong Export Processing Zone, New Material Park, Opto-mechatronics Industrial Park and NETDA Business Park. Special incentives are offered for investments in areas of modern equipment manufacturing, such as in new materials, engineering, fine chemicals, new medicines, new energy and modern services. At present, NETDA has attracted a large number of renowned companies to settle in Nantong, such as Vonnex Allied IT Services, OJI Paper, Maxion, Johnson Controls, ITOCHU, TSRC Corporation, and Merck KGaA.[17][18]
Established in 2009, STP is one of the key projects of Jiangsu Province coastal development. It's also a joint-venture park between Suzhou and Nantong, linking them on either side of the Yangtze River. The intended area is 50 km2 (19 sq mi) and is to be developed in three phases. It claims the project as "An International Enterprise Park and Eco-friendly City in Yangtze Delta".[19]
Nantong Export Processing Zone (NTEPZ) is situated in the Nantong Economic and Technological Development Area with a planned area of 2.98 km2 (1.15 sq mi). The Tong-Qi canal marks its western and northern boundaries, with Dongfang Avenue and Fuxin Road its eastern and southern boundaries respectively. NTPEZ is located at a communication hub, adjoining the main coastal artery of communications between north and south, close to the estuary of the Yangtze River, only 8 kilometers to the Su(Suzhou)-Tong(Nangtong) Changjiang Bridge.[20]
Theprefecture-level city of Nantong administers sevencounty-level divisions, including threedistricts, threecounty-level cities, and onecounty.
These are further divided into 146township-level divisions.
| Administrative divisions of Nantong | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subdivision | Chinese (S) | Pinyin | Postal | Population (2020 census)[21] | Area(km2) | Density(/km2) | |
| Chongchuan District | 崇川区 | Chóngchuān Qū | 226000 | 1,516,013 | 564.1 | 2,687 | |
| Tongzhou District | 通州区 | Tōngzhōu Qū | 226300 | 1,258,739 | 1,432 | 879.0 | |
| Haimen District | 海门区 | Hǎimén Qū | 226100 | 991,782 | 1,138 | 871.5 | |
| Rural | |||||||
| Rudong County | 如东县 | Rúdōng Xiàn | 226400 | 880,006 | 2,252 | 390.8 | |
| Satellite cities (County-level cities) | |||||||
| Qidong City | 启东市 | Qǐdōng Shì | 226200 | 972,525 | 1,714.59 | 567.21 | |
| Rugao City | 如皋市 | Rúgāo Shì | 226500 | 1,238,448 | 1,579 | 784.3 | |
| Hai'an City | 海安市 | Hǎi'ān Shì | 226600 | 874,334 | 1,152 | 759.0 | |
| Total | 7,726,635 | 9,802 | 788.3 | ||||
Nantong Xingdong International Airport, located in the town of Xingdong inTongzhou District, 9.8 kilometers northeast of city center and 120 kilometers from Shanghai, serves Nantong and its neighboring areas. The construction of terminal 2 was completed in 2014, marking an important step towards serving international flights,[22] the first of which took place on 26 May 2023, to Hong Kong.[23]
Nantong has twobridges across the Yangtze to the south. TheChongming–Qidong Yangtze River Bridge, completed in 2011, carries theG40 Shanghai–Xi'an Expressway fromQidong toChongming Island. TheSutong Yangtze River Bridge, which carries theG15 Shenyang–Haikou Expressway from Nantong toChangshu, was completed in 2008 and is one of thelongest cable-stayed bridges in the world.
TheNanjing-Qidong (Ningqi) andXinyi-Changxing (Xinchang) railways intersect atHai'an in the northwestern part of Nantong Prefecture. TheNantong–Shanghai railway opened in 2020 with theHutong Yangtze River Bridge and provides a link south toSuzhou andShanghai.
Currently, Nantong Railway station and Hai'An railway station have the highest train volume in the city. Due to the single-track nature of the Nanjing-Qidong railway east of Nantong railway station, Electrified Multiple Unit service are not available beyond Nantong railway station; Qidong railway station currently receives 4 round trip trains per day operated as "K" trains. A line from Hai'an also connects Rudong county to the national rail network, with daily departures bounding for Nanjing.
The first line of theNantong Metro opened in 2022.[24]
Nantong hosts a comprehensive university, Nantong University (made by the merger of the former Nantong Medical College, former Nantong Normal College, and former Nantong Engineer College). It includes 21 schools and had around 22,000 registered students in 2007.
Nantong has contributed to China's educational development with several firsts: establishment of the first school for teacher training, the first folk museum (Nantong Museum[25]), the first school for industrial textile manufacturing, the first school for embroidery, the first drama school, and the first school for the deaf and the blind.[26][27][28]
Zhang Jian founded the first normal school in modern China, Nantong Normal College. Zhang also founded museums, libraries, and theaters, making Nantong into an important cultural center.
Established in 1906, Nantong Social Welfare Institute was originally created by Zhang Jian as a house for orphans, the aged, and the disabled.
Located on the banks of the Haohe, the site of the institute has an area of 13.2mu (8,800 m2). At present,[when?] there are 79 staff members who care for around 170 orphans, widows, and disabled children, plus 70 retirees.[citation needed] Since 1952, Nantong Social Welfare Institute has adopted more than 16,000 elderly, orphaned and disabled children.[31]
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