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2 Economy 3 Culture |
The city plan, as is typical of many older Chinese cities, is of a central city with a roughly circular plan, crisscrossed with older canals, the main canal still seeing heavy barge traffic.
Wuxi itself is on an alluvial plain of deep sedimentary deposits cut between limestone foothills, making it one of the sources for "scholar's rocks", the intricately weathered stones which were used as devices for contemplation.
Wuxi ranges from a very hot summer to a chilly winter, having an average annual temperature of 18C, though it seldom sees snow. Because of its proximity to the East China Sea, it is has a monsoon season and receives 100 cm of rain annually.
Currently Wuxi is designated an investment grade city, and has two large industrial parks devoted to new industry. While current manufacturing centers on textiles, there is a project to move to electric motor manufacturing and MRP software development.
According to most recent figures (2002) from the local government, 24% of economic activity is textile trade, and another 25% is industrial based manufacturing, including motors, molds and casting, with another 8% being light industry.
Wuxi was originally a mining town, which, legend has it, exhausted its tin deposits, hence its name. It subsequently became an arts and cultural center, with several famous Chinese authors claiming Wuxi as their home town. Among them, most recently, Qian Zhongshu, author of Fortress Besieged a comedy of manners set in China in the 1930s.
Graphic artist Wassle Ting, who emigrated from China in 1952 was also born in Wuxi, he is best knwon for his erotic drawings in a pop art style.
Currently resident in Wuxi is puzzle artist Ruan Genquan.Geography
Economy
Culture