Yangzhou

Related Category: Chinese and Mongolian Political Geography

or Yangchow(both: yäng´jō´), city (1994 est. pop. 355,500), Jiangsu prov., China, on the Grand Canal. It is an agricultural market and transportation center with textile and other light industries. An ancient walled city, Yangzhou was in the 6th cent. one of the three capitals of the Sui dynasty and was later an important cultural center under the T'ang dynasty. A center of Nestorian Christianity, Marco Polo was an official there from 1282 to 1285. It is famous for its storytellers (who still perform today) as well as for its historic buildings and former palaces. The city was formerly known as Jiangdu.