Current Time in Tongshan, China

Tongshan is a large district of the city of Xuzhou in northern Jiangsu province, in eastern China. It wraps almost entirely around the older urban core of Xuzhou, occupying a broad plain of wheat and maize fields broken by low hills, lakes and reservoirs, and lies close to the point where Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan and Anhui meet. The Grand Canal and several branches of the Huai river system cross its territory.

More than a million people live in the district, which makes it one of the most populous local divisions in the region. Its role is that of the productive belt around a major inland city, containing industrial parks, mining areas, logistics centres, university campuses and a growing number of residential developments that have absorbed rapid growth from the surrounding countryside.

The area has been settled for a very long time. Xuzhou, historically called Pengcheng, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in China and was the home region of Liu Bang, founder of the Han dynasty. Because of its position on the North China Plain, controlling the routes between north and south, it has been fought over in almost every Chinese conflict, from the campaigns of the Three Kingdoms to the enormous Huaihai battle of 1948 and 1949 that decided the outcome of the civil war in the east. Tongshan county, as it was long known, was reorganised as an urban district in 2010.

The district contains some of the most important sights of the Xuzhou area. The Han dynasty tombs cut into the rock at Guishan, with their precisely engineered corridors, and the terracotta army of miniature figures unearthed at Shizishan, are among the finest archaeological discoveries in eastern China. Yunlong Lake and Yunlong Mountain, on the boundary with the central districts, form a large park with temples, a Buddhist grotto and long lakeside walks. Further out, the hot springs and orchards of the countryside draw weekend visitors from the city.

Cultural life mixes northern and southern traditions, reflected in local opera, in Bangzi folk singing and in a distinctive cuisine that is spicier than most Jiangsu cooking and famous for its dog-day soup and hearty noodle dishes. Museums in the neighbouring central districts display Han dynasty jade burial suits and stone reliefs excavated nearby, and martial arts schools remain popular.

Transport is a particular strength. Xuzhou sits at the junction of the Beijing to Shanghai and the Longhai railways, and the high-speed station allows travel to Beijing or Shanghai in around two and a half hours. Several expressways cross the district, Guanyin International Airport lies within it, and the metro network opened in 2019. The China University of Mining and Technology and Jiangsu Normal University have their main modern campuses here, giving Tongshan a substantial student population.

Tongshan is worth knowing as the place where an ancient strategic crossroads meets contemporary Chinese urban expansion, combining Han dynasty archaeology, lake and hill scenery, and the industry and universities of a fast-growing regional centre.