On the infinite sea the vast Taizhou bordering; With the green islands the waters and clouds singing. [Li Bai-----the most famous ancient Chinese poet living in Tang Dynasty, AD 701-762]
Taizhou in China	Taizhou in Zhejiang	Gov't area of Taizhou

Taizhou (simplified Chinese: 台州; traditional Chinese: 臺州; pinyin: Tāizhōu, but usually mis-spelled by outsiders as Táizhōu) is a prefecture-level city in east China's Zhejiang province. It borders Ningbo to the north, Shaoxing to the northeast, Jinhua to the west, Lishui to the southwest, Wenzhou to the south, and looks out to the East China Sea to the east.

Taizhou,in Chinese: 台州,wherein "台"(Tai) is derived from "天台山"(TianTai Mountain) within its territory,"州"(Zhou) is the most frequently used title of political division in ancient China. You may have been vary familiar with those area names such as Hangzhou,Guangzhou, Fuzhou,Zhenzhou etc.

Location: Located in middle Zhejiang, Taizhou is south to Ningbo and Shaoxing, north to Wenzhou, east to Jinhua and Lishui and west off the East China Sea.

Population: 5,570,000

Area: 9,413 square kilometers (3,634 square miles)
Area (Sea) ： 80,000 km²
GDP ：¥30,385 per capita (Year 2007)
Major Ethnicity ：Han
Present CPC Taizhou Committee Secretary： Chen Tiexiong (陈铁雄) ,who is promoted from the mayorship in 2009. (In the People's Republic of China, CPC Secretary is the Top Executive Officer of an administrative area and Mayor, as in a City, ranks second.
Area code： 0576
(When you dial a phone number of Taizhou from outside, you shall first dial 0576)
License Plate Prefix ：浙J
(Any automobile bearing a License plate with 7 letters/numbers starting with 浙J is from Taizhou)

Administrative Division: 3 districts (Jiaojiang, Huangyan, Luqiao); 4 counties (Sanmen, Tiantai, Xianju, Yuhuan); 2 county-level cities (Linhai, Wenling)

Transportation
Taizhou was once a relatively inaccessible area. This has changed due to large infrastructure restructuring in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Presently, Taizhou has Yong-Tai-Wen Expressway(Yong is the alias of Ningbo ;Tai and Wen is the short form of Taizhou and Wenzhou Respectively) linking the city with Ningbo in the north and Wenzhou in the south, National Highway 104 and the under-construction Yong-Tai-Wen Railway on the land. Taizhou Luqiao Airport (Formerly Huangyan Airport) serves daily flights to Beijing and Shanghai Hongqiao, and regular flights to other Chinese cities.

Language and Culture
Like the majority of areas in Zhejiang, most people from Taizhou speak a dialect of Wu Chinese, known as Huangyan Hua (Huangyan Dialect). It is not mutually intelligible with Mandarin Chinese, and only partially intelligible with Shanghainese. There is also a small portion of Min Nan and Wenzhou dialect speakers in the southern regions. None of these three languages are mutually intelligible amongst each other, but the linguistic diversity of some regions has resulted in a segment of the population becoming fluent in speaking up to four languages, when Mandarin is included.
The city's people are reputed to be industrious and business-minded, although not to the same degree as neighboring Wenzhou. Many people from the area have migrated abroad after economic reforms began in China in 1978. The city's seafood is of note. The same is true is for the local banking sector.

History: The land of Taizhou has been cultivated since the Neolithic Age. In the Qin Dynasty (221BC-206BC), it was called Puxiang, which was changed into Puxian Shire in the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-24AD). In 621 of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), it was called Haizhou State. The name of Taizhou came into being in 622. It was in 1994 when Taizhou became a prefecture-level city under the approval of the State Council.

Physical Features: With the East China Sea to its east, the land of Taizhou inclines from high west to low east. It is covered with various landforms including hills, plains, mountains, islands and sea.

Climatic Features: Taizhou belongs to the subtropical monsoon climate zone. Summer there is quite hot especially in July when the average temperature can be as high as 34C (93F). Winter is long but not too cold. The average temperature is about 4C (39F) to 8C (46F). Early May, late June and early September are rainy season of Taizhou.

When to Go: Best time to visit Taizhou is from April to October. Every year from April to May, the Azalea Festival and Stone Culture Festival are held. The China Taizhou Tourism Festival is held between May and September. The South China Great Wall Tourism Festival is held from October to November. These interesting festivals can be the good reference for choosing the time to visit.

Local Highlights: Taizhou is newly developed harbor city. It is an important manufacture base of Zhejiang with the most renowned productions of mold and water pump. Taizhou has the second largest coal-fired power plants in Zhejiang. It is also one of China's main bases of fruit and fishing industry.

Special Local Products: Handicrafts: glass sculpture, bamboo sculpture, stone sculpture, tree root carving, shell carving, waxwork, paper lantern, pearl
Foods: satsuma, waxberry, loquat, orange, shaddock, chestnut, long persimmon, sugarcane

Famous Tourism Spots:
South China Great Wall: It is a well kept ancient Great Wall under the state protection in Linhai, the national historical and cultural city. It is said to be the original version of the Badaling Great Wall.
Tiantai Mountain Scenic Area: It is a national AAAA tourism spot, not only famous for its breath-taking scenery, but also for its Buddhism and Taoism culture.
Xianju National Scenic Area: Located in Xianju County, it attracts tourists with its fairy landscape. Yong'an River cruise is the highlight of this area.
Taozhu Provincial Scenic Area: It is a national geological park in Linhai. Taozhu Ancient Town and Coral Rock are most famous there.
Fangshan-Nansong Mountain Scenic Area: Linked with the famous Yandang Mountain, it is composed of three parts: Fangshan Mountain, Lion Peak and Longjiangmen Gateway.
Changyu Dongtian Scenic Area: It is a national AAAA tourism spot in Wenling. The grand cave scenery formed due to the stone exploration 1,500 years ago. Thousands of caves link and form a natural music hall.
Other Spots: Shitang Fishing Village, Dalu Island, Dachen Island, Shepan Island, Taizhou Sea World, Wu Zixiong Glass Art Exhibition Hall, Yuhuan Agricultural Sightseeing Garden, Shaddock Orchard

Tourist Tips: Taizhou Luqiao Airport is located in Luqiao District. Formerly known as Huangyan Airport. It has directly flights to Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Fuzhou, Wuhan, Xiamen, Xi'an and other cities. Taizhou has no railways but well developed highways. Taizhou Chief Bus Station, located in Luqiao District, operates long distance buses to many other cities in the mainland. Haimen Port is the third largest port of Zhejiang. The passenger wharf has scheduled routes to many islands. No.901 city bus link the three districts of Taizhou together, providing quite convenient way for traveling around the city.