How Enchanting Is Jiangsu's Largest City?

As the most frequently mentioned place name in ancient Chinese poetry, the line "Dreaming into the misty water roads of Jiangnan" inspires countless travelers to explore the imagined splendor of the region. However, during holidays, the envisioned misty Jiangnan might only offer crowds of people.

Shift your gaze slightly, and you’ll find a low-key yet largest city in Jiangsu along the Yellow Sea coast, now at its finest moment. Here, ethereal elk, mist-shrouded mudflats, and endless flower fields await. This is Jiangsu’s largest prefecture-level city by area—

Photo / Aerial Notes by Youzi, Image / Tuchong Creative

Fan Zhongyan once wrote in Yancheng, "The sun’s warmth spares no land; even the seaside greets spring." Spring in Yancheng is truly stunning: emerald-green plains and mudflats stretch for miles, salt fields gleam like snow, and countless migratory birds flock to the vibrant Yellow-Bohai Sea Wetlands. Blossoming flower seas, crystal-clear rivers, and urban vibrancy intertwine, surpassing even Jiangnan’s charm.

Yancheng locals thrive by the sea—delicacies like sea intestines, mussels, mantis shrimp, and the indispensable crab roe buns and fish noodle soup are unforgettable. With Jiangsu’s longest coastline and the East China region’s vastest maritime area, Yancheng’s boundless wetlands, fresh seafood, and coastal forests craft a "Maritime Jiangsu."

Land and sea intertwine, forging a fairy-tale Yancheng.

To many, Jiangsu evokes either Jiangnan’s misty rains or Nanjing’s imperial grandeur—a river civilization shaped by the Yangtze, Huaihe, and Grand Canal. Yet Jiangsu boasts nearly 1,000 km of coastline, abundant ports, mudflats, and fisheries. Overshadowed by the Grand Canal’s ancient legacy and modern Southern Jiangsu’s economic brilliance, "Maritime Jiangsu" remains little-known.

Ocean blue defines Yancheng’s palette.

And Yancheng epitomizes Maritime Jiangsu’s essence.

Many place names in Yancheng seem "odd"—Panwan, Xinyanggang, Xiaohai... spots with "bay," "sea," "ocean," or "port" in their names yet lie inland. This reflects Yancheng’s geological evolution: 2,000 years ago, much of today’s Yancheng was underwater. Sediment from the Huaihe and Yellow Rivers gradually lifted submerged land above sea level, pushing these once-coastal areas farther from the ocean.

Yancheng has no true mountains,

but its intricate water networks add unique charm.

Courtesy / Jiulongkou Town Government

Yancheng is Jiangsu’s largest prefecture-level city by area—twice Suzhou’s size, 2.5 times Nanjing’s, and 3.5 times Wuxi’s. Its landmass continues to grow as the sea recedes. Across this vast expanse, not a single mountain rises; the average elevation is just 5 meters. Ask locals about their highest peak, and they might cite "Green Together Hill"—a 30-meter-tall mound built by Yancheng High School students in 1957 during spare time!

Central Yancheng also features many place names with "gang" (ridge), like Longgang, Shanggang, and Dagang. Yet visitors find no ridges—just endless flatlands. Historically, tidal actions formed coastal sand dunes here, noted in the *Huai’an Prefecture Records*: "No mountains in Yancheng, only a sandy ridge stretching 50–60 *li* from Gangmen south to the sea north." Over time, natural and human factors leveled these dunes into the North Jiangsu Plain, leaving only the names.

No mountains doesn’t mean bland scenery.

Yancheng lies at the land-sea interface, with low elevation. Much coastal land has cyclically flooded due to tides and silt, creating vast wetland mudflats.

On these expansive mudflats, land and sea still vie. Ebbing and flowing tides carve countless gullies, where seawater streams like creeks, converging into main channels back to the ocean—forming "tidal trees" on the landscape.

99% resemblance to real trees.

Repeated land-sea shifts and ample rainfall gift Yancheng’s coast with vast wetlands, earning it the title "Oriental Wetland, Green Water Yancheng."

Amid the relentless shifts of time, a quarter of Yancheng's land has transformed into fertile tidal wetlands, where life thrives and multiplies. This area has attracted over 60 species of wild birds, including the rare Reed Parrotbill, and serves as the world's largest wintering ground for Red-crowned Cranes. Yancheng is home to the only World Natural Heritage site in Jiangsu Province and the Yangtze River Delta: the "Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf (Phase I)."

Among Yancheng's diverse wildlife populations, the most legendary is undoubtedly the milu deer. Many might be puzzled by the name "milu deer," but its alternate moniker, "sibuxiang" (literally "four不像" or "four unlikes"), is practically a household term.

In mythology, the "sibuxiang" was the mount of Jiang Ziya. In reality, it is an exceedingly rare and precious species. Wild milu deer inhabit swampy wetlands, their broad hooves and webbed skin membranes allowing them to traverse marshy terrain. They are also adept swimmers and fond of mud baths, once widely distributed across the wetland plains of the Yangtze River Delta and the Yellow River Basin.

Due to climate change and human activity, milu deer were nearly extinct 2,000 years ago. By the Yuan Dynasty, the last remaining milu deer were captured from the wetlands of the middle and lower Yangtze and kept in imperial hunting grounds, thereafter existing only in small numbers near Beijing. During the Boxer Rebellion, the Eight-Nation Alliance looted Beijing and took all the milu deer to the West, displaying them in zoos in Berlin, Paris, Antwerp, and elsewhere—thus began the milu deer's "global journey."

They walk on marshes and swim through waters.

Milu deer are naturally suited to wetland survival.

Pictured: Milu deer swimming in the reserve.

It wasn’t until the 1980s that over 60 milu deer were reintroduced to China and released into Yancheng’s wetlands, the ideal habitat for their recovery. Wild milu deer finally reappeared along the Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf coast. Today, the world’s largest milu deer nature reserve, both in area and population, is located in Yancheng.

Yancheng’s uniqueness stems from the sea. It is China’s only prefecture-level city with "salt" in its name.

Salt is a creation of nature and a cornerstone of civilization. For the masses, it is a daily necessity; for salt-producing regions, it is a wealth-generating machine. Over 2,000 years ago, Emperor Wu of Han nationalized the salt industry, a pillar of the economy. To enforce state control over salt and iron, he established Yandu County in what is now Yancheng. Amid salt pans evaporating seawater and salt kilns boiling it, the city of Yancheng was born.

According to local records, Yancheng has enjoyed "a culture of scholarly refinement and communal harmony, with people thriving on the bounty of fish and salt" for millennia. Indeed, salt sustained Yancheng’s prosperity for 2,000 years.

Salt administration, river works, and grain transport were once the core pillars of Jiangsu’s economy. Yancheng, a key north-south transit hub in eastern Jiangsu, is also the province’s most water-rich prefecture-level city. A local ballad goes: "The Lixia River, a web of waters, stretches a thousand miles of splendid scenery." The Lixia River is not a single river but a vast network around Yancheng, granting the city one-fifth of Jiangsu’s total waterway mileage—despite not bordering the Yangtze.

Where there was salt and transport, there were salt merchants. With Yancheng’s sea salt and the Grand Canal’s north-south shipping convenience, the merchants who controlled the Lianghuai salt trade amassed fortunes rivaling nations.

Yancheng’s aquatic maze: Dazong Lake.

Sun Jian of the late Eastern Han Dynasty was the first recorded county magistrate of Yandu. Here, he built his military and financial resources through the salt trade, laying the foundation for Sun Quan’s eventual tripartite division of the realm.

By the Song Dynasty, as China’s economic center shifted south, Yancheng’s advantages grew more pronounced. Three Northern Song prime ministers—Fan Zhongyan, Yan Shu, and Lü Yijian—all served as salt officials in Yancheng, earning the trio the enduring nickname "Three Heroes of Xixi." During his tenure, Fan Zhongyan also constructed the seawall "Fan Gong Di," separating the agriculturally fertile Lixia River Plain from the salt-producing tidal flats, a project that still benefits Yancheng today.

As Gao Qiqiang in the TV series *The Knockout* said, "The fiercer the storm, the more valuable the fish." Coastal people have always been among the most daring and enterprising. Yancheng’s bold character is well-documented in history.

The late Yuan salt workers' uprising, led by Zhang Shicheng, originated in Yancheng. This massive rebellion lasted 14 years, profoundly shaking and ultimately dismantling Yuan rule.

Zhang Shicheng’s advisor Shi Naihui, after Zhang’s defeat, retreated with Luo Guanzhong to their hometown of Baiju (now Baiju Town, Dafeng County, Yancheng) and wrote *Water Margin* and *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*. Though Liangshan Marsh is in Shandong, much of its depiction in *Water Margin* drew inspiration from Yancheng’s dense waterways. Many of the two epics’ portrayals of war and heroes also trace back to this historic salt workers' revolt. For instance, Song Jiang is widely believed to be modeled on Zhang Shicheng, while Wu Yong’s prototype may have been Han Shantong, the "Han Scholar" of the Red Turban Rebellion.

The snow-white sea salt brought immense wealth,

Today, the salt industry remains a pivotal pillar of Yancheng's economic development, with the Subei Salt Field, one of China's four major salt fields, located in Yancheng.

Due to shallow offshore waters and predominantly muddy coastal flats, Yancheng, like other coastal cities in Jiangsu, lacks large ports. However, the construction of multiple estuary port zones and the national-level Dafeng Port is transforming this situation, positioning Yancheng as a giant vessel for Jiangsu's maritime economy.

From Jiangsu Province's current high-speed rail network,

one can discern Yancheng's role in China's north-south transportation.

Today, over 500 automotive and parts enterprises and a steel industry worth hundreds of billions support Yancheng's economic growth. The development and utilization of new energy also drive its rapid expansion, with abundant coastal wind and solar resources making Yancheng the first city in the Yangtze River Delta to achieve 10 million kilowatts of new energy generation, earning it the title of "Green Energy City." With the successive openings of the Qingyan and Yantong high-speed railways, Yancheng is becoming a key node in China's north-south transportation artery.

In Yancheng, "living off the sea" is no empty phrase—seafood and river delicacies from the east-flowing rivers and lakes grace locals' tables almost daily.

Beachcombing is a familiar activity for coastal residents.

Yancheng's vast mudflats teem with fish, shrimp, crabs, and snails. In April, while the Yellow Sea yields oysters, scallops, and mantis shrimp, Yancheng's mudflats also offer plump mud snails at their peak.

The mud snails from Huangsha Port in Sheyang are top-tier—large, thick-fleshed, and dubbed the "soft gold" of the Yellow Sea mudflats, suitable for stir-frying or marinating. Among various preparations, Wuyou drunken snails are the most famous. After desanding and preservation, locals marinate them with strong liquor and brown sugar, creating a blend of rich alcohol and oceanic umami that’s a peerless pairing for drinks.

Laden with gifts from the sea.

Fig. 1/Tuchong Creative, Figs. 2 & 3 Photo/Liu Chenghe

Yancheng locals enjoy crabs slightly earlier than Jiangsu and Zhejiang, as local beach crabs mature by summer. Crab paste over rice was once a staple snack for coastal fishermen. Yancheng also boasts hairy crabs from Dazong Lake, a water source for millions, whose pristine waters yield crabs rivaling those of Yangcheng Lake in quality—including a record 9-ounce "Crab King"—at more affordable prices. In the debate over the origins of crab roe soup dumplings, Yancheng, famed for its sea and lake crabs, is a strong contender.

First sip the soup, then eat the meat and skin.

Before the fishing moratorium, sea bass and shrimp flood Yancheng's seafood markets. Dishes like four-gill perch, shrimp dumplings, and roe shumai fill the city with briny flavors.

Yancheng's culinary passion is renowned in Jiangsu. Its vibrant breakfast culture features silky-smooth dried tofu shreds and dazzling arrays of steamed buns. A day for a true Yancheng native starts with steaming baskets of dim sum and a pot of warming tea.

Dongtai fish soup noodles—their milky broth looks "fresh enough to make eyebrows fall off."

No discussion of Yancheng breakfast omits Dongtai fish soup noodles. Though less flashy than seafood feasts, they distill the essence of Yancheng's vast coastline into a humble bowl of creamy broth.

Yet for Yancheng expats, hometown flavor might be an unassuming egg pancake. Neither ancient nor gourmet, its fluffy texture and street-side ubiquity have made it the soul of Yancheng cuisine.

Local Yancheng snacks: cold jelly with fermented tofu, spiced dried tofu, and Jianhu lotus root starch dumplings.

Figs. 1 & 2 Photo/Garfield, Fig. 3 Photo/Liu Chenghe

This coastal town born from salt is full of surprises. Whether it's the spectacular spring gatherings of migratory birds, the boundless mudflats, or its profound historical culture and tempting seafood, all reveal the city's uniqueness. This is Yancheng, a city shaped by the sea, a distinctive "Maritime Jiangsu."

Uncredited image source | VCG