Highlighted with a history of more than 4,500 years, Taicang has been an important seaport of great commercial importance, known as “Dock of the Six Kingdoms” since Yuan (13C to 14C) and Ming (14C to 17C) Dynasties. It is the starting point of the famouse navigator of the Ming Dynasty, Zheng He’s voyages to the West. Taicang was also called Loudong in ancient times for its geographic location of being in the east of Loujing River. It is the birthplace of Jiangnan Sizhu and Loudong culture.

Taicang is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Suzhou, in Jiangsu Province. Located along the Yangtze River, northwaest of Shanghai, Taicang is adjacent to Baoshan District and Jiading District of Shanghai in the south, Kunshan City in the west, and Changshu City in the north. It is 50 km distant from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport. It takes about 45 minutes by car or 30 min by train.