Kunshan <!--Chinese in infobox; see WP:MOS-ZH--> is a county-level city in Suzhou with Shanghai bordering its eastern border.

History

Imperial Era

During the Han Dynasty, Lou () County was established, named after the Lou River (present-day Liu River: ) which flowed from west to east through the region. It was briefly renamed Louzhi () during the Xin Dynasty under Wang Mang. In 220 AD, Zhang Zhao of Eastern Wu, was enfeoffed as the Marquess of Lou, making the county a marquessate. Following several administrative transitions, it was renamed Xinyi () in the 5th century, with the administrative seat eventually relocating near Mount Kun (Kunshan).

During the Wu-Yue period, polder fields were actively expanded in low-lying areas. However, from the late 10th to the mid-11th century, hydraulic management deteriorated; the area remained sparsely populated with unrestricted land occupation, while the peripheral marshlands served as hideouts for fugitives and salt smugglers.

By the late 11th century, extensive land reclamation led by local magnates—particularly around Dianshan Lake—began to obstruct irrigation and drainage systems. The weakening flow of the Wusong River further impeded flood discharge—an environmental crisis that persisted until the mid-12th century.

In 1217, the eastern higher-lying areas of Kunshan County, being geographically remote and marked by tax evasion, were partitioned to form Jiading county. The region's strategic importance grew after the 12th Ad with the rise of maritime grain transport.

In 1296, Kunshan was elevated to a subprefecture, and in 1315 its administrative seat was relocated to present-day Taicang, until Zhang Shicheng seized control of the region. The era was marked by the emergence of notably wealthy individuals, including Shen Wansan. Concurrently, a vibrant cultural scene developed, supported by patrons such as Gu Ying, whose "Yushan Grass Hall" became an important gathering place for artists like Ni Zan.

Following the establishment of the Taicang Guard in 1367, Taicang Subprefecture was formally created in 1497 from the elevated portions of Kunshan, Changshu, and Jiading.

In the 16th century, Wei Liangfu reformed the local Southern songs into the more sophisticated Kunshan melody, favored by the literati. Kunshan native Liang Chenyu subsequently authored Washing Silk (Huan Sha Ji), the first play composed specifically for this melody. Known as Kunqu, the genre became the dominant form of elite theatre in China proper until the mid-19th century Taiping Rebellion.

Xu Qianxue established a large private library: Chuanshi lou (Pavilion for the Transmission of the Truth) in the county. In 1724, due to its dense population, Kunshan was split into two counties: Kunshan and Xinyang () to share a same walled city. By the mid-Qing period, market towns such as Siqiao, Shipu, Qiuxu, and Penglang rose to prominence.

Modern Period

Following Humphrey Marshall's 1853 meeting in Kunshan, his successor Robert M. McLane also met with Governor-General Yiliang there in 1854, formally requesting the opening of the Yangtze River.

In 1860, the Taiping Army captured Kunshan. In 1863, Charles George Gordon moved the headquarters of the Ever Victorious Army from Songjiang to Kunshan. The rebellion caused significant destruction and population loss in both counties. thumb|405x405px|Troops of the Quinsan (Kunshan) Garrison, under Major Gordon from The Illustrated London News, 1864.|border|noneThe post-rebellion destruction of hydraulic systems forced a shift from rice to reed farming. By the 1920s, reeds occupied 10% of Kunshan's farmland, while rice dropped to 25%. This environmental change fostered habitats for snail intermediate hosts, making schistosomiasis highly prevalent in the area.

In 1912, Xinyang County was merged back into Kunshan. During 1911-2, 130 local villages formed an alliance to protest rents. A 1920s survey indicated intensifying social polarization as landownership became more concentrated. The proportion of landless tenant farmers rose from 57% in 1905 to 77% by 1924, with 66.4% of them indebted to their landlords. Additionally, 65.9% of landlords were absentees residing in cities like Suzhou and Shanghai.

In 1926, National Association of Vocational Education of China selected Xugongqiao of Kunshan as an experimental zone for rural reconstruction. Despite its intellectual legacy, Liang Shuming criticized the experiment for its over-reliance on gentry elites and failing to mobilize the broader peasantry, leading to a very low actual participation rate.

The integration of Kunshan into the Shanghai metropolitan area began to emerge in the early 20th century. Following the opening of the Shanghai-Nanjing Railway and the establishment of Kunshan Station, the Zikawei Observatory was forced to relocate its terrestrial magnetism station to Lujiabang (Lukiapang) in southeastern Kunshan, due to electromagnetic interference from Shanghai's trams. This regional connectivity was further strengthened in 1935 with the construction of the Shanghai-Suzhou cinder road passing through the county.

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Nanking-Shanghai Garrison Command relocated to Kunshan on August 23, 1937. On November 15, Japanese forces occupied the city, maintaining control until August 1945. In 1948, the local government implemented rent reductions to curb Communist expansion. The county's first comprehensive census in 1970 recorded an infection rate of 47.5%. Reed-clearing campaigns in the 1950s met local opposition due to dependence on the crop.

In the late 20th century, Kunshan pivoted toward an export-oriented economy by establishing a development zone through self-raised funds. In September 1989, Kunshan was officially upgraded from a county to a county-level city. Town and village-level industries, once the most important enterprises in Kunshan comprised 69.8 percent of the 2,205 industrial enterprises and 58.5 percent of the gross value of industrial output in 1996.

Prior to China mainland's accession to the WTO in 2001, over 900 Taiwanese enterprises had settled in the city, with contracted investment exceeding $5.4 billion USD, representing approximately one-tenth of the total contracted Taiwanese investment in mainland China at the time.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, Kunshan has been granted exceptional administrative powers for its economy. In 2012, Kunshan was selected to pilot the reform that places counties directly under Jiangsu provincial administration.

Administration

Kunshan is divided into several towns and development areas:

  • Yushan (, the seat of city nominally)
  • Bacheng ()
  • Dianshanhu ()
  • Huaqiao ()
  • Jinxi ()
  • Lujia ()
  • Qiandeng ()
  • Penglang ()
  • Zhangpu ()
  • Zhoushi ()
  • Zhouzhuang ()

thumb|279x279px|Map of Koen-chan-hien (Kunshan county) from Du Halde's 1735 [[Jean-Baptiste Du Halde|Description de la Chine, based on reports by Jesuit missionaries]]

Kunshan New & Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone (, KSND) administering the main part of Yushan functions as the seat of the city, while Huaqiao Economic Development Zone () administers the north of Huaqiao and Kunshan Economic & Technological Development Zone (, KETD) administers the east of Yushan.

On July 10, 2018, the Jiangsu Provincial Government approved the Master Plan of Kunshan for Urban Development (2017-2035), which is based on the master plan of the Xiong'an New Area. These zones include the Qingyang Port Waterfront City Center, the Duke Creative Park, the Kunshan South Gateway, the Chaoyang Road CBD and the Tinglin Park Traditional Culture Zone—in addition to the Line 11 Rail Line Corridor.

Qingyang Port Waterfront City Center September Record High all-time extreme

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According to an analysis of the local meteorological bureau, from 1961 to 2008, the annual and seasonal air temperatures were the increasing trends, especially in spring. The total precipitation remained static relatively, however, much concentrated in summer and winter.

Economy

thumb|Apartment blocks in Kunshan

The composition of local GDP have changed drastically since 1978. In 1978, the primary sector, the secondary sector and the tertiary sector accounted for 51.4%, 28.9% and 19.7% of Kunshan's GDP, respectively. However, in 2015, the primary sector only accounted for 0.9% of Kunshan's GDP, while the secondary sector accounted for 55.1% and the tertiary sector accounted for 44.0%. Kunshan is also home to over 1,000 hi-tech companies that have helped shape the city's four economic pillars—optoelectronics, semiconductors, intelligent manufacturing, and RNAi and biomedicine. the highest of any Chinese county-level city in 2016.

Kunshan is also home to many Taiwanese who have invested over the decades since the reform and opening up in the late 70s. Kunshan is also known as "Little Taiwan" because of the large Taiwanese community there.

The Chinese subsidiary of American Megatrends, American Megatrends Information Technology (Kunshan) Co., Ltd. (安迈信息科技（昆山）有限公司), has its headquarters in Kunshan.

Culture

Kunqu Opera

Kunshan is the origin of Kunqu, also known as Kunqu opera. Kunqu is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera. It evolved from the local melody of Kunshan, and subsequently came to dominate Chinese theater from the 16th to the 18th centuries. Today, Kunqu is performed in many cities in China.

Kunshan Culture & Art Center

thumb|356x356px|Aozao noodles ()

Kunshan Culture & Art Center, situated west of downtown, is usually used as the venue for considerable local performances and conventions. The center is composed of a performing arts center, a convention center, a movie theater. Its first phase of the project is set in about 17.6 acres of land.

Cuisine

Kunshan is known for its Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs, which are prized for their sweet flesh and fatty roe. Yangcheng Lake, famous for its hairy crabs, is located in Kunshan.

Recreation and tourism

Kunshan is one of the most visited tourist destinations among the Yangtze River Delta with over 20 million visits in 2016.

The 2013 World Cyber Games were held in Kunshan in order to draw in tourism and positive press.

<gallery>

File:Zhouzhuang 4.jpg|Zhouzhuang Ancient Town

File:Qiandeng-Wasserdorf.jpg|Qiandeng Ancient Town

File:Town of Jinxi Jiangsu China2.JPG|Jinxi Ancient Town

File:Tinglin Guwenhua Yizhi.jpg|Tinglin Park

File:Bacheng Water Town.jpg|Bacheng Water Town

</gallery>

Education

thumb|344x344px|Panorama of Duke Kunshan University, a Sino-American joint venture between Duke University and Wuhan University

There are two institutions in Kunshan issuing at least bachelor's degree:

  • Duke Kunshan University
  • Applied Technology College of Soochow University

The city also hosts a variety of primary and secondary schools, both public and private:

  • Canadian International School Kunshan
  • Kunshan Middle School
  • Kunshan West High School
  • Kunshan Zhenchuan High School

Transportation

Road

Expressways

  • G2 Beijing–Shanghai Expressway
  • G15<small>01</small> Shanghai Ring Expressway
  • S5 Changshu–Jiaxing Expressway
  • S48 Shanghai–Yixing Expressway
  • S58 Shanghai–Changzhou Expressway

National Highway

  • China National Highway 312

Railway

  • Kunshan Railway Station is a railway station on Jinghu Railway situated in the south of the downtown. It principally handles freight.
  • Kunshan South Railway Station is a junction where Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway and Shanghai–Nanjing Intercity High-Speed Railway link at. Besides, both Yangcheng Lake Railway Station and Huaqiao Railway Station are on the Shanghai–Nanjing Intercity High-Speed Railway.

Metro

A plan made to construct two metro lines running through the city center was approved by the Jiangsu provincial government. Kunshan is the first county-level city with a metro line. Line 11, Shanghai Metro has been extended to Huaqiao, Kunshan in 2013. Line 11 of the Suzhou Metro opened in June 2023.

Notable people

  • Gui Youguang
  • Gu Yanwu
  • Gong Xian
  • Ding Shande
  • Fei Junlong
  • Zhang Xinyu
  • Li Qin
  • Qian Qihu
  • Zhang Kejian

Literature

  • Einar Tangen: Cities of China – Kunshan. The Kunshan Way. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 2010; .

References

Citations

Sources

  • City of Kunshan
  • City of Kunshan
  • Kunshan City English guide (Jiangsu.net)
  • Kunshan City Guide
  • Kunshan Leaps to the Head of China's Top 10 Richest Counties