The ruins of
Yancheng () have been unearthed in Changzhou's
Wujin District, a walled settlement founded near the beginning of the
Zhou dynasty around 1000BC. Changzhou proper is first attested as a commandery (
jun) established near the beginning of the
Qin in 221 BC. Changzhou got its present nameChinese for "ordinary district"in AD589 under the
Sui. Following the completion of the
Grand Canal in 609, Changzhou prospered as a stop along its course. During the interregnum between the
Sui and
Tang, the city of
Piling () was the capital of
Shen Faxing's short-lived
Liang Kingdom (619620). Changzhou served as a prefectural seat (
fu) of
Ming Nanzhili and the
Qing provinces of
Jiangnan and Jiangsu. In the 1850s and 1860s, the
Taiping Rebellion held the area. One of five palaces housing the leaders of Taiping was constructed in Changzhou. Today the ruins of the "King's Palace" can be found near the People's No. 1 Hospital. File:Changcheu.jpg|Changcheu Prefecture between the
Yangtze and
Lake Tai, from
Martino Martini's 1655
Novus Atlas Sinensis File:ChangzhouOldCityDistrict.jpg|The parks and pagodas of the old city of Changzhou File:大运河 - panoramio.jpg|The
Grand Canal at Changzhou in 2006 In the 1920s, Changzhou started to attract cotton mills. The cotton industry got a boost in the late 1930s when businesses began relocating outside of
Shanghai due to
its Japanese occupation. On January 1, 1953, Changzhou was set as a provincially administered municipality. In 1958, Zhenjiang Prefecture was renamed Changzhou Prefecture and the administration office was moved from Zhenjiang to Changzhou. Changzhou was incorporated by Changzhou Prefecture. In 1959, Changzhou Prefecture was changed into Zhenjiang Prefecture, and the administration office was moved from Changzhou to Zhenjiang. Changzhou was incorporated by Zhenjiang Prefecture. In 1960, Wujin County of Zhenjiang Prefecture was incorporated into Changzhou. In 1962, Changzhou was changed into a provincially administered municipality and Wujin County was incorporated into Zhenjiang Prefecture. Unlike many Chinese cities, Changzhou continued to prosper even during the upheavals of the 1966–76
Cultural Revolution. In 1983, when the municipally affiliated county system was carried out, Wujin County, Jintan County and Liyang County of Zhenjiang were incorporated into Changzhou. The urban area was divided into five municipally administered districts, Guanghua, Tianning, Zhonglou, Qishuyan and Jiaoqu. At that time, Changzhou administered three counties and five districts. From September 1986, as approved by State Council, Guanghua District was revoked and the previous administrative area was incorporated into Zhonglou District and Tianning District. Liyang County was changed into Liyang City (county level). At that time, Changzhou administered one city, two counties and four districts. In 1993, Jintan County was changed into Jintan City. In 1995, Longhutang Town, Xinqiao Town, Baizhang Town and Weitang Town of Wujin County were incorporated into Jiaoqu District. As approved by State Council on June 8 of 1995, Wujin County was promoted to Wujin City, with the government set in Hutang Town. In 1999, as approved by the provincial government, Taixiang Town of Jiaoqu District was revoked and incorporated into Xueyan Town of Wujin City. Today, Changzhou is an industrial center for textiles, food processing, machinery such as diesel engines, generators, and transformers, and high technology. The rural counties surrounding it are noted for the production of rice, fish, tea, silk, bamboo, and fruit. As approved by State Council on June 8, 1995, Wujin County was promoted to Wujin City, with the government set in Hutang Town. In 1999, as approved by the provincial government, Taixiang Town of Jiaoqu District was revoked and incorporated into Xueyan Town of Wujin City. == Geography ==