Liuhe Town, under the jurisdiction of Taicang, is located at the mouth of the Loujiang River with Chongming Island to the east, Suzhou City to the west, Shanghai to the south, and Taicang Port to the north. Close to the mouth of the Yangtze River, the town is at the intersection of the Yangtze and the sea and thus enjoys an important strategic position, allowing it to become a place of critical military significance. Liuhe Town, known as “Louhe,” “Liujiahe,” “Liujiagang,” and “Liuhe,” (“Liu” corresponds to the character “刘.”), was renamed “Liuhe” (The Chinese equivalent for the “Liu” here is “浏.” ) during the period of the Republic of China and the name has been used to the present. Liuhe has a history of 1,800 years. It was the starting point of Zheng He’s seven voyages to the West during the Ming Dynasty. Thanks to its high and flat terrain, Liuhe is suitable for cultivating rice and cotton and seldom troubled by flooding. It is, therefore, an important grain base. Moreover, this famous “granary” has advanced manufacturing and processing industries as well as fully-developed industries of catering, services and tourism. In ancient times, Liuhe was a “dock that served six states” while today, it is the “back garden of Shanghai.”
In 2004, Liuhe was listed as one of the first batch of key towns in China. In 2007, it was awarded the titles of “National Hygienic Town” and “National Beautiful Environment Town.” In 2015, it was granted the China Habitat Environment Award. At the same time, it is one of the national-level 1,000 towns with advanced comprehensive strength and a provincial-level civilized town in Jiangsu Province.
A long history and abundant talents
Liuhe Town was regarded as a strategic spot and military fortress of Sun Quan, the King of Wu, during the period of Three Kingdoms. Thus, it became a place of critical military significance. The Liuhe Port, serving as a military barrier, played an important role in defending and strengthening the State of Wu. Since then, Liuhe’s strategic importance has been fully recognized. The general public first knew about Liuhe from the Eastern-Jin-Dynasty writer Yu Zhongchu’s “A Song of Yangdu,” in which he wrote “Taihu Lake stretches eastward into the Songjiang River; its northern branch is the Loujiang River, and its western branch the Dongjiang River.” The “Loujiang River” in the quote refers to the part close to the mouth of the Liuhe River, which is an important channel for Suzhou to access other rivers and the sea.
Ocean transport, beginning in the Song Dynasty, thrived in the Yuan Dynasty and continued into the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The ancient Liuhe River supported teams of ships coming and going. It was when mechanical sea vessels appeared during Emperor Daoguang’s reign of the Qing Dynasty (1821—1850) that water-transport along the Liuhe River ceased. With marine trade reaching its peak in the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, Liuhe became domestically and internationally known as a “dock that served six states.”
The historical incidents and ruins of Zheng He’s reknowned voyages to the West have become Liuhe Town’s cultural signature. When Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty appointed Liujiagang (Liuhe) to be the starting point and anchorage for Zheng He’s voyages, Shanghai had not been opened as a port yet. This choice made Liuhe’s strategic value even more distinct. Zheng He’s seven voyages to the West turned out to be the most glorious chapter in the history of Liuhe. The town has thus been a unique one among the ancient towns in the area south of the Yangtze River. Water-transport, marine trade and the seven voyages have been viewed as most valuable historical and cultural legacy to Liuhe.
The long history and rich cultural heritage have contributed significantly to the cultivation of talented people in Liuhe. The town has benefited immensely not only from its priceless legacy of the previous dynasties such as the remaining customs of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the literary and artistic traditions of the Tang and Song Dynasties, the globalized trade practice of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties and the calligraphy art of the Qing dynasty but also from contemporary talents in varied fields.
Liuhe is a place known for a dedication to learning. It used to have quite a number of free schools and private schools. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there were 26 Jinshi (including three Wu Jinshi who were excellent at martial art.), including two candidates whose test results ranked the second in national imperial examinations, 63 Juren who succeeded in provincial-level imperial exams (including seven Wu Juren), and 227 Xiucai (those who passed the imperial examination).
The Wang family in Liuhe yielded four high officials, namely Wang Xijue, Wang Heng, Wang Shimin, and Wang Shan, which has become a legend to local people. The Loudong School of Painting with Wang Shimin and his grandson Wang Yuanqi as its representatives set the artistic trend for their days and held an important position in the history of Chinese painting.
The contemporary cultural elites in Liuhe include the centenarian painter Zhu Qizhan and the worldly-renowned nuclear physicist Wu Jianxiong, who have achieved domestic and international recognition.
Close to the Yangtze and facing the sea;
Blessed with countless beautiful views.
The closer the Yangtze River approaches its estuary, the wider the River becomes. The mouth of the Liuhe River is located in the widest area of the Yangtze River with a maximum depth of 12 meters, which makes the river a golden waterway. The sufficient natural depth means there is no need to dredge the watercourse, so the river mouth area turns out to be an ideal harbor. It has been supportive to the water-transport in the Yuan Dynasty, Zheng He’s seven voyages during the Ming Dynasty and the modern marine fishing industry. A popular comment on this feature reads: Suzhou has numerous affluent towns, among which Liuhe is outstanding due to its position close to the Yangtze and facing the sea.
When strolling along the embankment of the Yangtze River and wandering around wetland parks, one may indulge himself in the view: against the background of water and sky merging into one stretch, a long bridge arches over shiny waves. One may also watch gigantic ships enter and exit the harbor at the spot called Anchorage Point of the World or sit in the Wangjiang Pavilion to admire the ebb and flow of the tides. Its unique geographical location, long history and profound culture have endowed Liuhe with a great many scenic spots and historical sites.
Tianfei Palace (“Tian Fei” means “the Queen of Heaven.”) in Liuhe is an important historical relic of the Ming Dynasty, closely connected with the legendary navigator Zheng He’s voyages. It is a key historical and cultural site under national-level protection. In the Ming Dynasty, Zheng He would invariably pray to the goddess of the sea for safety and peace on behalf of his crew before setting sail at Liuhe. He also erected a monument to commemorate his trips to overseas places at the spot.
Facing the Yangtze River, the Military Reviewing Platform is on the southern side of the Yangtze River embankment at the mouth of the new Liuhe River. The Platform was first built during the Song Dynasty when people vigorously engaged in the resistance against the Jin invaders. The story of General Han Shizhong’s resistance was so popular that it has been passed down from generation to generation. The Platform played an important part in the struggle against Japanese invaders during the Ming Dynasty as well.
Wu Jianxiong’s Cemetery, located on the campus of Mingde Junior High School in Liuhe, is the joint tomb for the world-famous nuclear physicist Wu Jianxiong and her husband Yuan Jialiu. In front of the tomb stands a screen wall on which Wu’s life experience is engraved. Beside the tomb are a century-old crape myrtle and Ziwei Pavilion. A bronze statue of Wu Jianxiong is set at the school gate. Inside Mingde Building on the campus, there is an exhibition about Wu Jianxiong’s achievements.
The Plum Blossom Thatched Cottage was originally the study of the centenarian painter Zhu Qizhan. Today the Cottage is in Liuhe Park, whose title was written by the Chinese painting master Qi Baishi and is inscribed on a huge rock erected at the main entrance of the park. In the park, there are plum trees and a wisteria planted by Zhu Qizhan in his teens.
The Temple of General Yang is in the Xintang Management Zone of Liuhe. The original temple was destroyed. The present one was built in 2014 with private donations. The temple is known for the epitaph “A Record of Renovating the Temple of General Yang” by Wen Zhengming in the Ming Dynasty. It is now a religious and cultural site similar to a shrine dedicated to Guan Yu.
Erected on the Yangtze River embankment is a monument to the construction of seawalls, on which is a truthful and touching record of local people’s efforts for regulating rivers and watercourses and controlling flood. Today, people of Liuhe have not only conquered the flood but also built a cofferdam beneath the seawall monument to store water. This artificial reservoir steadily supplies thousands of households with water from the Yangtze River.
Liuhe accommodates a batch of ancient inscriptions of high historical value, including inscribed records of interactions with foreign countries, Zhou Wen’s epitaph by Li Jun, Wang Heng’s epitaph by Gui Zigu, Wang Mo’s epitaph by Chen Shiguan, the record of the construction of the seawall in the 11th year of the Sexagenary Cycle by Tang Wenzhi and the record of the reconstruction of the military reviewing platform during the reign of Emperor Qianlong.
A livable and prosperous town with thriving industries
Blessed with rich aquatic resources, Liuhe has a highly developed fishery industry where numerous ships and boats gather. The town is a key distribution center for fishery resources in East China. As a result, the local catering industry characteristic of aquatic delicacies has thrived and given rise to the growth of tourist industry. These distinct advantages assure one to enjoy delicious food to his heart’s content in Liuhe. In the town, one can find hairtail, yellow croaker, pomfret and other delicacies of the best quality from rivers and the sea. Every March to May when peach trees bear blossoms, willows turn green and peonies bloom, Liuhe Town holds a gourmet festival to attract visitors at home and abroad with fresh locally-produced aquatic delicacies.
The modern industrial system has developed vigorously in Liuhe. It has become the powerhouse for the advancement of the local economy. Successful attraction of investments has brought rapid changes to the town. The overall industrial structure of Liuhe highlights Zhanan Industrial Zone and the industrial zone in the northern part of the town as well as the neighbouring cosmopolitan Shanghai. The town aims to build a comprehensive industrial structure centering around the electromechanical industry, whose major functions are auto parts production, processing and manufacturing industries. To accelerate the competitiveness of the town, industries such as new materials, alternative energy and modern logistics are also encouraged to develop.
The Yangtze River Estuary Resort built in 2012 has made the tertiary industry, especially the industries of real estate, catering and entertainment, a new driving force for Liuhe’s sustainable development. A solid proof for this change is the fact that the proportion of the tertiary industry even exceeds the combination of the local primary and secondary industries. The robust economic development has substantially supported the optimization of eco-environment and the construction of beautiful rural areas. The town’s overall growth follows a virtuous cycle and thus knows no barriers.
