Zaozhuang

Zaozhuang () is a prefecture-level city in the south of Shandong province, People's Republic of China. Since January 2019 (after the Laiwu prefecture got incorporated into Jinan prefecture), the smallest prefecture-level city in the province, it borders Jining to the west and north, Linyi to the east, and the province of Jiangsu to the south. The Battle of Taierzhuang occurred in the city during the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1938. The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–45) had a significant impact on Zaozhuang. Archaeologists have found evidence of human activities in this region dating back to the Neolithic era. Its culture started from 7300 years ago of ancestor culture, and developed to city-state culture 4300 years ago, then evolved to canal culture 2700 years ago, and finally stepped to industrial culture 130 years ago. Its population is 3,855,601 at the 2020 census whom 975,539 in the built-up area made of Shizhong and Yicheng districts. The history of Zaozhuang is closely linked to the canal. According to archaeological discoveries, the earliest canal in the territory, the Qianyang Canal, was excavated in the Spring and Autumn Period. The Zaozhuang section of the Jinghang Canal was excavated in the 32nd year of Ming Wanli (1604), flowing through the city's Taierzhuang, Yucheng, Xuecheng and Tengzhou, with a total length of 93.9 kilometers, from Xiazhen Lijiagang to Zhangzhou. The estuary enters the Yellow River, because the Weihe River is the main supplementary water source. Its opening has changed the situation that the Beijing-Hangzhou Expressway is unreasonable due to the flooding of the Yellow River. For hundreds of years, it has played an important role in the transportation of Nanliangbei, material circulation and cultural exchange. The continuity of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal also promotes economic prosperity along the canal area. Taierzhuang along the coast has rapidly developed into a “lunan town”, and “Yixian County” records: “Taierzhuangtun Canal, merchants are convinced, Tianyibi, and Xuyi is also a city.