Yancheng

Yancheng, city, north-central Jiangsu sheng (province), eastern China, in the province’s eastern coastal district.

Yancheng is now some 25 miles (40 km) from the coast, but in ancient times it was close to the sea and, from the 8th century onward, had to be constantly protected by dikes. The most famous of these was the “Dike of Lord Fan” (Fangong Di), constructed early in the 11th century by a famous statesman, Fan Zhongyan. The inhabitants of the surrounding area did not cultivate the land but lived from the profits of salt production, salt dealing, and fisheries. From the 8th century onward, Yancheng was the centre of a network of canals connecting the salt pans of the coastal region with the stretch of the Grand Canal between Huai’an and Yangzhou. In the vicinity were innumerable saltworks, as well as the government depots that administered the salt monopoly.

As a result of repeated flooding in the mid-19th century, the Huang He (Yellow River) changed its lower course in 1855 to empty into the sea north of the Shandong Peninsula. A flood-discharge channel, which had run past Yancheng, ceased to flow, and repeated floods wrecked the area around Yancheng and its economy. In the early 20th century the entrepreneur Zhang Jian (1853–1926) tried to help improve the river system and urged local peasants to reclaim wasteland and plant cotton, efficiently exploiting the mud banks along the coastline and promoting the development of the textile industry of Jiangsu province.

The construction of extensive irrigation works in northern Jiangsu province in the 1950s and ’60s greatly improved flood control and irrigation in the Yancheng area. Yancheng was designated as a prefecture-level city in 1983, and in 1988 the central government sanctioned Yancheng to be opened to foreign trade and investment. Considerable growth followed. The city now has a diversified industrial base that produces textiles, processed foods, machinery, and electronics.

Highways link Yancheng with the surrounding counties and cities, and expressways from the city north to Lianyungang and south to Taizhou have been built. A major north-south rail line through Jiangsu that passes through Yancheng and heads into northern Zhejiang was completed in 2004 and has greatly enhanced land transportation to the city. In addition, two new ports, Dafeng and Sheyang, along the Yellow Sea coast and under the city administration, have been constructed.

Yancheng National Nature Reserve (established 1983) and the smaller Dafeng Milu National Nature Reserve (1986) encompass much of Jiangsu’s Yellow Sea coastline north and south of Yancheng. They protect salt marsh and mudflat habitats and are home to large populations of fish and aquatic birds and such endangered species as the red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis) and (at Dafeng) Père David’s deer (Elaphurus davidianus). The reserves were collectively named a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1993. Pop. (2002 est.) city, 419,265; (2007 est.) urban agglom., 839,000.