Mingran Cao
Institute for Area Studies, Leiden University
When one thinks of China’s port cities, places such as Shanghai, Tianjin, and Guangzhou usually come to mind. These trade hubs situated on China’s long coastline have indeed played pivotal roles in connecting the country’s domestic market to the global economic network. Yet the coastal region of Jiangsu province, long overshadowed by the prominence of Shanghai as the pivotal port city, has often been left out of discussions concerning China’s industrial transitions.
Coastal Jiangsu encompasses the prefectural cities of Nantong, Yancheng, and Lianyungang. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries salt production formed the backbone of the local economy (江苏省地方志编纂委员会, 1997, p. 1). Over the twentieth century the region shifted toward cultivating cotton to supply China’s emerging textile industry (Cao, 2025, p. 5). In the past two decades offshore wind farms arose as the latest marker of industrial transformation. Tracing these transitions in coastal Jiangsu, from salt to cotton to wind power, reveals how state, business, society, and natural environment intersect across successive phases of industrial change in this port city region.
The Era of Salt
For centuries salt fields have been situated across Jiangsu’s long coastline. In 1736, the heyday of salt production, twenty three salt fields once operated in the region (江苏省地方志编纂委员会, 1997, p. 34). Salters produced raw salt by burning saline water in pans and using reeds as fuel (Wang, 1935, pp. 22966–22969). Once harvested, the raw salt was sold to licensed merchants, who transported it along a state-regulated route. Salt fleets sailed through canals connecting the coastal fields to the Grand Canal (大运河), and from there to Yangzhou, the Chinese Empire’s salt capital and a flourishing port city of the Grand Canal trade network (Finnane, 2004, pp. 34–35). At multiple checkpoints state officials inspected the shipments before the salt continued its journey to inland markets (Finnane, 2004, p. 140).
Salt was one of the most important commodities that the state monopolized in imperial China. Over the past millennium the state developed a sophisticated bureaucracy to manage it, placing administrators in cities, canals, and salt fields. In 1800, the salt produced in coastal Jiangsu alone contributed for 40 percent of China’s total salt tax (Ni, 2006, p. 5).
The salt economy’s demand for labor profoundly reshaped the local community in coastal Jiangsu. For example, in the mid- to late fourteenth century the Ming court drafted more than 100,000 people from southern Jiangsu and reclassified them as salt households affiliated with the salt fields on Jiangsu’s coast (江苏省地方志编纂委员会, 1995, p. 257). Beyond changes in demographic structure this policy-driven massive resettlement laid the foundation for coastal Jiangsu’s long-term dependence on state-regulated salt production during the Ming and Qing dynasties.
The Era of Cotton
The rise of cotton plantations in coastal Jiangsu reflected a broader trend of industrialization in modern China. Zhang Jian, a leading industrialist and social reformer, believed that producing raw cotton in rural China could supply textile mills in the cities. More than an economic venture, Zhang viewed cotton cultivation as a nationalist project: one that would strengthen China’s domestic market and reduce its dependence on foreign imports.
The Tonghai Land Reclamation Company, founded by Zhang Jian and his fellow industrial pioneers in 1901, was the first of its kind to reorient the region’s salt production to cotton cultivation. From 1901 onwards, over 50 land reclamation companies were incorporated in coastal Jiangsu (Wang Shuhuai, 1985, pp. 204–207). The challenges encountered by the companies provide a lens to examine how the new industry interacted with the state, society, and the environment.
Firstly, the company had to acquire land from existing stakeholders, including salt producers and military garrisons (Köll, 2003, p. 214). Although much of this land was dismissed as “wasteland” from the perspective of cotton cultivation, it remained valuable within the salt economy. Reeds, which grew abundantly in coastal wetlands, were essential fuel for boiling brine (Sun, 1984, p. 19).
Secondly, transforming the saline mudflats into arable cotton land required major hydraulic works. Drainage systems had to be constructed to block tides and desalinate the soil. Qiu Yunzhang, a manager at the Tonghai Company, recalled that after completing the hydraulic system, the company planted reeds to desalinate the soil, a process that took almost a decade before the land could support large-scale cotton cultivation (Qiu, 1991, p. 55).
In short, the land reclamation companies mobilized their political, economic, and social capital to acquire land from its original owners. With state sanctions, they emerged as the primary forces governing this agricultural frontier and undertook the construction of large-scale water infrastructure to transform the land from salt fields into cotton plantations.
Towards the Future
Today, visitors to coastal Jiangsu are usually fascinated by a new landscape: endless rows of wind turbines rising above the shoreline. In Sheyang County, Yancheng, a drive along the coastal highway, built on top of the old sea dyke, offers a striking view. To the east lie the vast salt ponds of the past, but now they are punctuated by wind turbines, symbols of a new industrial era.
Although salt long remained a state monopoly, its importance to both local economies and national revenue has sharply declined. Over the past two decades wind farms have instead become the defining feature of coastal Jiangsu. Yancheng now leads the country in offshore wind power generation. By July 2025, its installed capacity was at 5.547 GW, accounting for about 13.4 percent of China’s and 7 percent of the global total (Yuan & Mei, 2025).
This transition has been so efficient due to central governmental planning as well as the proactive efforts of provincial and local authorities to attract investment, streamline regulations, and create a supportive business environment. These measures are now driving transformations in society and the natural environment.
Conclusion
The history of coastal Jiangsu reveals how a port city region can be impacted in successive waves of industrial transition. From salt to cotton to wind power, each phase illustrates how the state negotiated with business actors, such as Zhang Jian, to mobilize land and natural resources for both state and commercial goals. These transitions were driven by economic goals and: reshaped local society and environments.
Finally, coastal Jiangsu’s trajectory cannot be understood in isolation. Its fortunes have always been tied to nearby port cities such as Yangzhou and Shanghai, which interconnect the broader economic network. By tracing these shifts, coastal Jiangsu emerges not as a mere hinterland of Shanghai but as a vital laboratory of industrial transformation in China’s modern history.
Acknowledgments
This blog post has been written in the context of discussions in the LDE PortCityFutures research community. It reflects the evolving thoughts of the authors and expresses the discussions between researchers on the socio-economic, spatial and cultural questions surrounding port city relationships. This blog was edited by the PortCityFutures editorial team: Wenjun Feng, and Eliane Schmid.
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