Lianyun District 连云区

Setting and landscape

Most of the district is hill country formed by Rear Yuntai Mountain, Beigu Mountain and East-West Lian Island, highest in the middle and falling away on every side. It lies on the southern edge of the warm temperate zone, with a monsoon maritime climate grading towards the subtropics. The district government gives a coastline of 102.3 kilometres, and names the neighbouring Haizhou Bay fishing ground as one of China's eight well-known fisheries; the district farms 'tiaoban' laver (条斑紫菜), a seaweed, and the offshore Qiansan Islands (前三岛) are described as Jiangsu's only base for sea delicacies.

History

The port began in 1933, when the Longhai Railway administration opened a harbour at the fishing village of Laoyao (老窑) on Haizhou Bay. Because the harbour lay between Lian Island and Yuntai Mountain, it was named Lianyungang. The railway reached the quay in 1935, and the station here became kilometre zero of the Longhai line. Its old station building, once the offices of the railway's port bureau and of Lianyungang customs, is a Jiangsu provincial protected site and has served as a railway history museum since October 2013.

What to see

Lian Island (连岛), a 5A scenic area, is named by the district government as the largest island in Jiangsu. It covers 7.57 square kilometres and stretches 9 kilometres from east to west, is about 80 percent forested, and is joined to the mainland at its western end by the West Causeway (西大堤); its seaside resort is part of the Yuntai Mountain national scenic area. Haishang Yuntaishan (海上云台山), a 4A scenic area, is listed as a national forest wellness base. The district government names Lianyun Old Street (连云老街) and Beigu Mountain Forest Park (北固山森林公园) among the sites it is developing for visitors, and points to its sandy beaches and rocky shoreline.

Getting oriented

The Longhai Railway and the Shenyang–Haikou, Changchun–Shenzhen and Lianyungang–Khorgos expressways converge on the district, and the district government lists the newly opened Qingdao–Lianyungang–Yancheng, Lianyungang–Huai'an–Yangzhou–Zhenjiang and Lianyungang–Xuzhou railways. Lianyungang Port, in the district, is a national main hub port, and National Highway 310 begins here.

Highlights

• Lian Island 连岛: 5A island, the largest in Jiangsu, joined to the mainland by the West Causeway.
• Haishang Yuntaishan 海上云台山: 4A scenic area and national forest wellness base.
• Lianyun Old Street 连云老街: Old street named by the district government among its developing attractions.
• Lianyun railway station 连云站: Kilometre zero of the Longhai Railway; the old station building is a railway history museum.