Danyang (simplified Chinese: 丹阳; traditional Chinese: 丹陽; pinyin: Dānyáng) is a county-level city located on the southwest (right) bank of the Yangtze River, and is under the administration of Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province, China. It is noted for the production of optical lenses used in sunglasses and eyeglasses. Danyang has a total area of 1,059 km2 (409 sq mi) and a population of[when?] roughly 890,000. Danyang locals speak a dialect of Wu Chinese, and the city is on the linguistic borderline between Wu Chinese and Jianghuai Mandarin.
History
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During the period of the four Southern Dynasties (Nan Chao) from 420 to 589 A.D. when China's national capital was in Jiankang (modern Nanjing), Danyang was the hometown of the emperors of the Southern Qi (479-502) and Liang Dynasties (502-557), who were buried in the countryside outside the city. Today 11 of these Southern Dynasties imperial tombs can still be found to the east and northeast of the city. They are notable for their unique stone statues of mythical animals marking the sacred way (shen dao) leading to each imperial tomb.
Administrative divisions
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At present, Danyang City has 13 towns and 1 other.[2]
陵口镇
)珥陵镇
)访仙镇
)司徒镇
)延陵镇
)埤城镇
)新桥镇
)界牌镇
)后巷镇
)吕城镇
)导墅镇
)云阳镇
)皇塘镇
)丹阳经济技术开发区
)Climate
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Climate data for Danyang (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1981–2010) Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Record high °C (°F) 19.8(≥ 0.1 mm)
9.5 9.2 10.7 9.7 10.4 11.3 12.5 11.8 7.9 7.6 8.0 7.4 116 Average snowy days 3.3 2.5 0.9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.3 1.2 8.2 Average relative humidity (%) 73 73 72 71 72 77 80 80 77 73 74 72 75 Mean monthly sunshine hours 118.2 118.7 141.8 168.1 175.3 129.2 172.6 177.0 157.7 159.9 138.6 132.5 1,789.6 Percent possible sunshine 37 38 38 43 41 30 40 43 43 46 44 43 41 Source: China Meteorological Administration[3][4]Economy
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As one of the key cities in the Yangtze River Delta open to foreign trade, Danyang has shown strong economic and standard-of-living growth since 2000. In 2007, the GDP and per capita GDP of Danyang reached 35.7 billion yuan (US$4.7 billion) and 44,242 yuan (US$6,061) respectively. Danyang's economy was 16th in a 2010 ranking of China's top county-level cities.
Businesses from 32 countries and regions have invested in Danyang with accumulated paid-in capital of US$1 billion. As a developing city within the Shanghai economic sphere of influence, Danyang has attracted domestic and foreign businesses. The main industries in Danyang are prescription eyewear, tools and hardware, and automobile parts.
Spectacles City
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The Spectacles City, located in Danyang, is one of the largest eyeglass merchandise centers in China.[5] Built in 1986, the market center's construction occurred in three phases.[6] It subsequently merged with the Huayang Spectacles and Yunyang Spectacles markets. It covers an area of over 344,445 square feet (32,000 square meters).
Education
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Schools
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Transport
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Railway stations
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There are three railway stations in Danyang:
The high-speed trains (typically, listed in schedules as G-series or D-series trains) take about an hour and a half[7] to get to Shanghai and about 30 minutes to get to Nanjing, the provincial capital. Direct service to Beijing from Danyang North Station takes about 4 hours and 30 minutes.
Local food
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Danyang is known for its barley gruel and huangjiu (yellow wine), which has traditional medicinal properties.
Tourist attractions
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Kaitai Bridge is a historic stone arch bridge in the city.
References
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A display stand for eyeglasses Photo: VCG
There is a popular saying that "one out of the two people in the world wear glasses with lenses from Danyang", East China's Jiangsu Province, known as China's "capital of glasses."From the research and development of relevant technologies to the actual manufacturing and sales, Danyang is just a snapshot of multiple domestic cities and towns that have become famous for concentrated and specialized manufacturing, while supporting the global industrial and supply chain.As the world's largest lens production base and the biggest eyeglass products distribution center in Asia, Danyang currently has more than 1,600 enterprises engaged in eyewear and associated sectors, official data showed.Data reveals that the city produces more than 400 million pairs of lenses each year, accounting for about 50 percent of the global production and 80 percent of China's total production, with an annual output of more than 100 million pairs of frames.In 2022, Danyang exported $661-million-worth of glasses and related products abroad, growing 18.61 percent over 2021, according to a statement sent to the Global Times by the Danyang Commercial Chamber of Eyewear (DCCE).Local industry insiders noted that the globally leading glasses manufacturing hub was established on a solid basis of continuously promoting technological innovation, industry integration and logistics improvement, as well as firm policy support from the government.From the perspective of boosting technological innovation, Danyang has accelerated the cultivation of talent, and strengthen the construction of research, DCCE told the Global Times on Wednesday.For instance, professional institutes covering various sectors from research to quality inspection all operate locally in Danyang, the chamber said, adding that multiple local enterprises have established their own quality-testing and R&D centers, while linking up with universities and research institutes in Shanghai and Jiangsu Province for technology cooperation.As for industry integration, the DCCE noted that Danyang has formed a complete industrial chain with prominent advantages and a pivotal position in the global glasses industry. More than 600 eyewear manufacturers are among the aforementioned 1,600 engaged enterprises, with more than 1,000 supporting merchants and up to 50,000 employees in the industry, the chamber said.In terms of sales promotion and distribution, the Danyang International Optical Center includes more than 1,000 retail stores. The city has also initiated specific tours targeting glasses purchases. According to incomplete statistics, the city attracts 2 million business visitors and tourists each year, and the annual sales volume of the optical center tops 6 billion yuan ($871 million).
A shop at Danyang International Optical Center in East China's Jiangsu Province Photo: VCG
Danyang in Jiangsu Province, Shenzhen in South China's Guangdong Province, Xiamen in East China's Fujian Province, and Wenzhou in East China's Zhejiang Province are China's four major production hubs for glasses, said an industry report by iResearch Consulting Group, adding that the export of China's glasses exceeded $4 billion in 2021.Manufacturing a pair of glasses involves several processes, and some of the technology and equipment was previously a source of bottlenecks and inefficiencies for domestic enterprises. Aiming to address these challenges, firms in Danyang have ramped up R&D efforts and overcome a traditional foreign monopoly in the sector.Danyang-based Dingxin Machinery, a company dedicated for the development, production and sales of vacuum coating machines, developed China's first coating machine targeting glasses lens in 2014, which has broken through the monopoly held by foreign countries including Germany, Japan and South Korea, Zhang Chunlong, technical director of Dingxin Machinery told the Global Times on Wednesday.Coating is the last procedure but also a key procedure for lens production."Domestic coating machines have majorly lowered the purchasing cost for glasses manufacturers," said Zhang. He noted that previous costs for importing foreign coating machines might add up to three to six million yuan from South Korea and Japan, while the sales price for coating machines from Dingxin remain at merely 1.25 to 1.30 million yuan.Zhang added that the operating and maintenance costs have also been efficiently utilized as imported coating machines may require foreign professionals to maintain and fix the machines with additional costs because of expensive import from abroad.Meanwhile, Zhang said that the domestic designed coating machines can better meet Chinese consumers' increasing demand for improved product quality, and design dedicated machines for clients based on their own technological needs.Dingxin has been deploying in exporting machines to overseas markets, with products such as parts already being exported to Pakistan, India, Malaysia, and Egypt, Zhang said.In addition to coating machines, Danyang-based enterprise Gongda Jinkai High Value Manufacturing Ltd achieved breakthroughs in lens-related production equipment and technologies, and relevant technologies have broken the absolute monopoly of foreign equipment manufacturers, the company said on its website.