Wikipedia
Zhangjiagang , formerly Shazhou County (沙洲县), is a county-level city under the administration of Suzhou, Jiangsu province, China. With 1,246,762 inhabitants at the 2010 census, the city is now part of Jiangyn-Zhangjiagang-Jingjiang metropolitan area with 3,526,260 inhabitants. Continued growth will encompass the Shanghai-Suzhou-Wuxi-Changzhou Metroplex. It borders the prefecture-level cities of Taizhou and Nantong across the Yangtze River, as well as Wuxi to the west.
Natives of the area speak a variant of Wu Chinese, which is similar to the Suzhou variant, but distinct from Shanghainese. Communities surrounding the city are mostly rural, and their economies traditionally depend heavily on agriculture and water-based activities. The GDP reached RMB 140.2 billion yuan (US$20.5 billion) in 2009, a growth of 11.7% from 2008. The GDP per capita reached RMB 155,900 yuan (ca. US$22,800). In 2008, Zhangjiagang received the UN Habitat Scroll of Honour Award for its integrated urban-rural development which improved the quality of life for its rural residents.