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Meaning of the name of "Gaoyou"
"High Post (Office)"

Population
825,000 people live in Gaoyou County, of which most are of the Han ethnic group. Gaoyou is claimed however to have the only "minority commune" in China.

Location
40 km north of Yangzhou, on the east shore of Gaoyou Lake

History
Recent archaeological research at the Longqiuzhuang site in Gaoyou has found evidence of rice-growing dating back to 5,500-7,000 years ago. The discovery was recognized as one of China's Top Ten Archaeological Finds of the year.

Founded in 223 BC as a city, Gaoyou has since ancient times been an important post on the imperial mail route along the Grand Canal between Beijing and Nanjing.

A post office constructed here in 1375 called Yucheng You was in use until 1911. After lying in ruin until recently, it has just been reopened as China's first postal museum.

Besides agriculture, Gaoyou now boasts industries as diverse as silk reeling mills, chemical plants, electrical appliance manufacturers, and a brewery.

Language
Gaoyou is in the region of Lower Yangzi Mandarin Chinese , which means the natives speak a dialect more like Standard Chinese than their neighbours who live closer to Shanghai.

(Source: www.magma.ca)

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