Dagang, Yancheng
| Dagang, Yancheng 大冈 | |
|---|---|
| Town |
Dagang (Chinese: 大冈; pinyin: Dàgāng) is a town in Yandu District, Yancheng, Jiangsu Province, China. Founded during the Neolithic Age, Dagang was named after a huge sandy hill (Chinese: 沙岗之巨: "巨" in Chinese means large and the two characters gang 岗 (hill) and 冈 are homophonous).
Geography
Dagang is located to the south of the downtown area of Yancheng (Chinese: 盐城),[1] bordering Xinghua (Chinese: 兴化), Dafeng and Tinghu District. After the incorporation of Gangzhong (Chinese: 冈中) into Dagang in June, 2001, the town grew to a total area of 130.71 square kilometers, with approximately 88,400 residents. It has a flat terrain, a dense river network and fertile soil. The climate features four distinct seasons and abundant rainfall.
Culture
According to oral history, there has been commercial activity in Dagang throughout the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. Cooperage and shoemaking were prominent industries. Traditional crafts of shoemaking such as embroidered tiger shoes[2] and embroidery cotton-padded shoes[3] have been maintained up to the present day. There is a fair every five days. In Dagang, there are some historical sites like Wolong Bridge (Chinese: 卧龙桥), Boots Ditch (Chinese: 靴子沟) and Dayun Mountain Temple (Chinese: 大云山寺).[4] Today the old streets of Dagang still retain examples of traditional architecture, such as slab stone bridges and houses built of old blue bricks and tile.
Economy
Dagang mainly manufactures machines for shoemaking at present. It has established a "Shoemaking Hub" and is known as "China's Shoemaking Machinery Capital." The famous sociologist Fei Xiaotong, the Vice-Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, visited Dagang twice[5] and provided the calligraphy for the inscription: "Yancheng's Shoemaking Machines Shall Conquer the World."
Honors
Dagang Town has earned the following distinctions:
- "National Spark small town model town" by the State Ministry of Science and Technology, the only one in Jiangsu Province (2002)
- Province key towns (2006)
- Province Town of Health (2009)
- Shoemaking Industry Base (2009)
- Innovative Town (2010)
See also
References
- ↑ "中国盐城 (Yancheng China)".
- ↑ "绣花老虎鞋(Embroidered tiger shoes)". 华夏收藏网. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
- ↑ "龙凤绣花棉鞋(Dragon and phoenix embroidered cotton-padded shoes)". 土家族文化网.
- ↑ 大冈党政办. "大云山寺大雄宝殿建到主体二层 (Large cloud Mountain Temple Main Hall was built to the main two-story)" (in Chinese). 盐都区大冈镇人民政府网站. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
- ↑ 费孝通. "小城镇 苏北初探 (Small Town, the Initial Exploration of North Jiangsu)" (in Chinese). Retrieved 7 May 2012.
External links
Coordinates: 33°11′20″N 120°06′17″E / 33.1890°N 120.1046°E