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Zhangjiagang (l=Zhang family port), formerly Shazhou County (s=沙洲县), is a county-level city under the administration of Suzhou, Jiangsu province, China and one of the many ports along the Yangtze river.
With 1,246,762 inhabitants as of the 2010 census, the city is now part of Jiangyin-Zhangjiagang-Jingjiang built-up or metropolitan area with 3,526,260 inhabitants. Continued growth will encompass the Yangtze River Delta metropolitan region. It borders the prefecture-level cities of Taizhou and Nantong across the Yangtze River, as well as Wuxi to the west. Its total area is 986.53 square kilometers, including a land area of 791.05 kilometers.
In the top 100 country-level city list in China, Zhangjiagang ranks the third in 2019, and 2020.
Zhangjiagang is named a National Civilized City in China in 2020, and this is the sixth time that the city achieves this honor.
The shoals formed by alluvial deposits in varying of shape and size border the Yangtze River were called shazhou in Chinese. Thus, when the CPC established a new county which located in then Northern Changshu, it was designated as Shazhou. The county was disestablished after the Double Tenth Agreement was signed. In 1962, Changshu and Jiangyin separated their owned parts to establish a county bearing Shazhou. When the county was turn into a county-level city in 1986, it was renamed Zhangjiagang.
It is divided into 8 towns: (2025). 9787514420494 ISBN 9787514420494
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The city is involved in the Shanghai-Nantong Railway, the Nantong-Suzhou-Jiaxing Intercity Railway and the Southern Jiangsu Riverside Intercity Railway.
The city is claimed to be one of 100 Chinese countries or country-level cities with the biggest potential to develop tourism in 2020 by organizations including the China Economic Herald newspaper and the China Information Industry Association.
In Zhangjiagang, Mandarin Chinese is the official language. Zhangjiagang dialect is a sub-dialect of the broader Jianghuai Mandarin (Lower Yangtze Mandarin), which is spoken in the surrounding region. This dialect is characterized by its distinctive pronunciation and vocabulary, which differ from the standard Mandarin Chinese. It contains a total of five different dialects, including Yuxi dialect, Chengdong dialect, Chengyao dialect (subdivided from Jiangyin dialect), Laosha dialect, Xinsha dialect (also known as Chongming dialect), and a small amount of Northern Jiangsu dialect. Among them, Yuxi dialect, Chengdong dialect, Laosha dialect, and Xinsha dialect are the most widely distributed and have the most populations. They have become the representative dialects of the city.
Yuxi dialect is spoken by the southeastern town of Tangqiao, which is basically the same as the Changshu urban area, commonly known as the "Changshu dialect", distributed in the southeast near Changshu, Tangqiao, and other towns and the east of Yangshe. Yuxi dialect accounts for 25.53% of the registered population.
Chengdong dialect is represented by Yangshe dialect in the urban area, it is actually the transition zone between the Wu Chinese around Lake Tai and the surrounding districts of Suzhou. Chengdong dialect accounts for 26.4% of the registered population.
Represented by Deji, Laosha dialect is distributed in Chenyang, Daxin, and other towns in the northwest, with the using population taking up about 20.76%. Laosha dialect contains a characteristic of Jianghuai official dialect, for example, "nothing" is said to be "nope".
Xinsha dialect is also known as "Shashang dialect" and "Chongming dialect", spoken by people in Jinfeng, Sanxing, Nanfeng and other towns along the river in the northeast and Changyinsha Farm, the population who speak Xinsha dialect accounts for about 23.13%.
Northern Jiangsu dialect includes Nanhua dialect, Rugao dialect, and Taixing dialect. People in the southern part of Zhangjiagang are original residents, and the northern part is where immigrants live. Therefore, the residents in the south part are called Jiangnan (south part of Yangtze River) people in tradition, which accounts for 51.93% of the population. The rest of the residents in the north are called Shashang people and account for 48.07% of the population. These vernaculars share some basic properties like voice Sonorant. It’s a complete voice produced by the vibration of the vocal tract, and it’s always voiced. For example, the sound "sh" is often pronounced as "s" in Zhangjiagang dialect, and some words may be pronounced differently or have different meanings.
Despite the prevalence of Mandarin Chinese in China, regional dialects like Zhangjiagang dialect remain an essential part of local culture and identity. Many locals continue to speak the dialect daily and use it to communicate with family and friends. However, with the increasing homogenization of language and culture throughout China, the use of regional dialects like Zhangjiagang dialect is slowly declining.
In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in preserving and promoting local dialects in China, including Zhangjiagang dialect. Efforts to document and study these dialects are underway, and some schools and community organizations are offering classes in local dialects to help preserve them for future generations.
Overall, while Mandarin Chinese remains the dominant language in China, regional dialects like Zhangjiagang dialect continue to play an important role in local culture and identity. As China continues to modernize and globalize, it will be interesting to see how these dialects evolve and adapt to changing circumstances.
As of 2022, the total permanent residence population in Zhangjiagang is 1,447,658, 2022年张家港市国民经济和社会发展统计公报 suzhou.gov.cn while the household population is 927,364. The city population is mainly consisted by the eight districts: Yangshe, Jingang, Jinfeng, Tangqiao, Fenghuang, Leyu, Nanfeng, and Daxin. Search results maigoo.com
In terms of population distribution, Yangshe District has the highest share, with 29.11% of the permanent residence population and 26.67% of the household population in 2021. Other significant districts include Jingang, Tangqiao, and Jinfeng. The remaining districts, namely Fenghuang, Leyu, Nanfeng, and Daxin, have relatively smaller populations.
Overall, Zhangjiagang's population trends show consistent growth in permanent residence, while the household population has experienced a slight decrease. The majority of the population is concentrated in the Yangshe, Jingang, Tangqiao, and Jinfeng districts, indicating that these areas are the city's key residential and economic centers.
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