Lianyungang, dubbed as China's "East-West Freight Corridor", is one of the first fourteen Chinese cities permitted to open to international economy and foreign trade by the Chinese State Council in 1984. As a prefecture jurisdiction, Lianyungang City administered 3 districts and 4 counties.
Like its other Jiangsu neighbors, Lianyungang has a history starting in the Tang Dynasty and was described as a paradise in the famous Chinese novel, Journey to the West. The archaeological findings in 1979 in the Yushan Mountain, brought its human history back to the New Stone Age, 40,000-50,000 years earlier. There are numerous historical or cultural relics found from the the early human habitat.
Lianyungang is a transportation hub in Jiangsu as well as in China. As the bridgehead of the New Asian-European Continent Corridor, the Longhai Railway (Lianyungang-Lanzhou) starts at Lianyungang, and stretches out westwards to Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, further to Russia and Europe, connecting two continents, Asia and Europe. The beautiful port city has been listed as one of 50 selected destinations for international travelers, voted by millions of online voters.
The city has efficient transport means, including highway/expressway, railway, air and waterway. At present, at least five expressway/highway lines link the city to other major cities in the province, including expressways Lainyungang-Suzhou, Nanjing-Lianyungagn, Xuzhou-Lianyungang, two highways, Lianyungang-Huerguosi, Linayungang-Tianshui.
Lianyungang is a hot tourist destination and its coastal line and landmarks would give you unforgettable memories. Huaguoshan Mountain, meaning Flowers & Fruits Mountain in Mandarin, was selected as one of 50 the must-see list for international travelers in the national tourist destinations. Many historical relics are listed as the national or provincial sites for tourists.
Huaguoshan Mountain, meaning "Flowers & Fruits Mountain" in Mandarin Chinese, is the well-known place in which its national reputation is not actually from its real natural beauty but from a fictionalized novel, Journey to the West, published anonymously in 1590 A.D. by Wu Cheng’en. In his legendary stories, the beautiful wild mountain was described as the territory of a magic monkey transformed from a stone, Monkey Sun, and nourished by the Five Elements, who learns the art of the 72 polymorphic transformations, combat and secrets of immortality. When his powers grow, he started his rebellion against the Heaven. However, his efforts were defeated and was captured by warriors of the Heaven. In order to be free from the Heaven, he agreed to be a protector for a Buddhist monk, Xuanzang, in the Tang Dynasty for his pilgrimage to India in order to obtain Buddhist religious texts called sutras. The fiction is honored as one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese Literature.
