Business environment

5. Prosperous Culture

With a time-honored history and prosperous cultural background, Yangzhou is listed among the first batch of 24 famous historical and cultural cities announced by the State Council. 

Yangzhou, as a city, has a founding history of over 2,500 years which can be dated back to 486 BC, when Emperor Fuchai of the Wu Kingdom started the construction of Hangou River and Hancheng City.

In the course of the long history, Yangzhou created three splendid prosperities during the Western and Eastern Han dynasties, Sui and Tang dynasties, reign of emperors Kangxi and Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty, leaving footprints of a large number of well-known poets and scholars, such as Li Bai, Du Mu, BaiJuyi, OuyangXiu, Su Shi, Zheng Banqiao and Zhu Ziqing, and boasting 477 historic sites and relics. 

Yangzhou is unique and colorful in its cultural characteristics, boasting Yangzhou School of Learning, the Eight Eccentrics, Yangzhou Opera, Yangzhou Art Crafts, the potted landscape of Yangzhou style, the block printing, and Huaiyang cuisine. 

Guqin (an ancient Chinese musical instrument), paper-cutting and block printing are enlisted in Human Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO. Yangzhou Opera, story-telling in Yangzhou dialect, the singing in Yangzhou style, story-telling accompanied by stringed instrument, lacquer wares, and jade carving, all together 19 items, have been listed as National Intangible Cultural Heritages. In 2014, Yangzhou led a campaign contributing to China's Grand Canal's successful enlistment as a World Cultural Heritage to become the 46thworld heritage site in China.