Yangtze Delta
The Yangtze Delta or Yangtze River Delta (YRD, Chinese: 长江三角洲 or simply Chinese: 长三角) is a triangle-shaped megalopolis generally comprising the Wu Chinese-speaking areas of Shanghai, southern Jiangsu, northern Zhejiang and northern Jiangxi. The area lies in the heart of the Jiangnan region (literally, "south of the River"), where the Yangtze River drains into the East China Sea. Having fertile soil, the Yangtze Delta abundantly produces grain, cotton, hemp and tea. In 2021, the Yangtze Delta had a GDP of approximately US$4.3 trillion, about the same size as Japan.
Yangtze Delta
长江三角洲城市群 | |
|---|---|
Map of Yangtze Delta city belt | |
| Coordinates: 32.1759°N 119.4307°E | |
| Provincial | |
| Major cities | Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Ningbo, Wuxi, Nantong, Shaoxing, Changzhou, Jinhua, Jiaxing, Taizhou, Yangzhou, Yancheng, Taizhou, Zhenjiang, Huzhou, Huai'an, Zhoushan, Quzhou, Jiujiang, Hefei |
| Government | |
| • Shanghai | Gong Zheng |
| • Jiangsu | Xu Kunlin |
| • Zhejiang | Wang Hao |
| • Anhui | Wang Qingxian |
| Area | |
| • Total | 350,000 km2 (140,000 sq mi) |
| Population (2020) | |
| • Total | c. 240,000,000 |
| • Density | 700/km2 (2,000/sq mi) |
| GDP | |
| • Shanghai-Jiangsu—Zhejiang-Anhui | CN¥27.765 trillion (US$4.303 trillion) (2021) |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (CST) |
| Yangtze Delta | |
|---|---|
| Simplified Chinese | 长江三角洲 |
| Traditional Chinese | 長江三角洲 |
| Hanyu Pinyin | ⓘ |
| Romanization | Zankaon Saekohtseu |
The urban build-up in the area has given rise to what may be the largest concentration of adjacent metropolitan areas in the world. It covers an area of around 350,000 square kilometres (140,000 sq mi) and is home to over 240 million people. With about a sixth of China's population and a fourth of the country's GDP, the YRD is one of the fastest growing and richest regions in East Asia.