Chongchuan District 崇川区

History

A walled town was built here in 958, under the Later Zhou, and named Tongzhou (通州). In 1023, under the Song, it was renamed Chongzhou (崇州), also known as Chongchuan, the name the district carries today. After the 1911 revolution the prefecture became Nantong County. The present district took its shape in July 2020, when the old Chongchuan District and neighbouring Gangzha District (港闸区) were merged; the district government sits in Hongqiao Subdistrict (虹桥街道).

What to see

The Hao River scenic area is a national 4A site in the middle of the city: a moat of about 30 li (some 15 kilometres) that encircles the old town and is nicknamed "the jade necklace on a girl's neck". The district congress describes a cluster of museums around the river with the Nantong Museum (南通博物苑) at its core.

The Nantong Museum was founded by the industrialist and educator Zhang Jian (张謇) in January 1905 on the south side of the Hao River, and is widely counted as the first public museum set up independently by Chinese people. It was built as a garden and museum in one: the South Hall (1906) was the main exhibition building, the Middle Hall (1906) began as a weather station, and the North Hall (1911) was altered to display a whale skeleton dug up on the coast at Lüsi (吕四). A new hall opened in September 2005, and the site is a national key cultural relics protection unit.

Langshan, on the southern outskirts, rises to 106.94 metres and is the first of the "five hills of Langshan" (狼五山) with Ma'anshan (马鞍山), Jianshan (剑山), Junshan (军山) and Huangnishan (黄泥山). It is one of China's eight lesser Buddhist mountains and carries Guangjiao Temple (广教寺). The Langshan Church of Our Lady (狼山圣母堂) on its north side is an important Catholic church for northern Jiangsu, and papal decrees in the 1930s placed Langshan among twelve Catholic pilgrimage sites in China. On Jianshan lies the grave of a Dutch engineer who worked on Nantong's water control, rebuilt in 1987.

Setting and local products

The district lies on the flat Jianghai plain (江海平原) with the Yangtze on its west, Haimen District (海门区) to the south and Tongzhou District (通州区) to the east. Local products listed for the district include hard clams (文蛤), Reeves shad (鲥鱼) and yellow croaker (黄鱼). The district people's congress notes that Nantong West railway station is on the Shanghai–Suzhou–Nantong railway.

Highlights

• Nantong Museum 南通博物苑: Founded by Zhang Jian in 1905 as a combined garden and museum; a national key cultural relics protection unit.
• Hao River scenic area 濠河风景区: A national 4A moat of about 30 li that rings the old town.
• Langshan 狼山: 106.94-metre hill with Guangjiao Temple; one of China's eight lesser Buddhist mountains.
• Langshan Church of Our Lady 狼山圣母堂: Catholic church on the north side of Langshan, which papal decrees of the 1930s made one of twelve Catholic pilgrimage sites in China.