Folk culture in the flower and tree wholesale market in northern Jiangsu

Since liberation, especially since the reform and opening up, social undertakings such as culture, education, health and so on in northern Jiangsu have made great progress. In recent years, the county party committee and the county government have adhered to the market-oriented approach and vigorously promoted the industrialization process of social undertakings, making them true market entities and achieving unprecedented development in market competition. At present, there are 963 educational institutions of various types in the county, including one national model high school and one provincial key middle school. 326 new private educational institutions were built, with an investment of 140 million yuan in fixed assets, and a number of private schools with advanced teaching facilities emerged. Urban and rural hospitals and clinics are reasonably configured, and county people's hospitals and county hospitals of traditional Chinese medicine in urban areas have advanced equipment and strong technology. All township health centers in the county have completed privatization and restructuring, and more than 10 private hospitals have been established. A number of large-scale and high-grade private medical institutions have been born, such as Jiangsu Eye Hospital, Renren Hospital, ENT Hospital, Cardiovascular Hospital, and Ping An Hospital. . The funeral industry has achieved new development, with private investment in Tianfuyuan Cemetery and Wanfu Funeral Home, the only star-rated funeral home in northern Jiangsu. Literary and artistic forms such as Huaihai opera, children's opera, Huaihai drums and gongs, Qinshu, flower boats, and Allegro with distinctive local colors have developed rapidly, and various art categories such as literature, drama, music, folk art, painting, calligraphy, photography, sculpture, and radio and television have developed rapidly. Unprecedented prosperity, and a cultural network at the county, township and village levels has gradually formed.

Northern Jiangsu has a history of more than 2,000 years. Within the territory was the Tanzi Kingdom, which was built in the ninth year of Duke Cheng of Lu (582 BC), and its ruins can still be found 20 kilometers northwest of today's Shu City. The ancient cities of Hoqiu, Jianling, Yinping, Xiacheng, Linzha, Huaiwen and Fuwu in Donghai County during the Pre-Han Dynasty were all within the territory. In the later Han Dynasty, Jianling County was merged into Houqiu County. In Jin Dynasty, Yinping County was also merged into Houqiu County. In the 12th year of Jia Dynasty of Song Dynasty and Yuan Dynasty, Houqiu County was abolished and became Xiangben County. It was not until the 6th year of Jianqing Dynasty in the Northern Zhou Dynasty (556) that Huaiwen County was changed to Shuyang County, and the county name is still used today.

With such a long history and being the seat of an ancient city, it naturally retains many historical monuments and cultural heritage. For example, Zangdun and the tombs of the Six Dynasties in the Neolithic Age, Mengdun and Yindun in the Western Zhou Dynasty, Houqiu and Yinpingcheng sites in the Pre-Han Dynasty, and the flood control achievements left by the great scientist Shen Kuo of the Song Dynasty are related to the birthplace of Yuji. Gou, Yuji Temple, Jiulongkou, Bawang Bridge, etc.; the fortress built by the anti-Japanese general Liu Wei in the Ming Dynasty, Yuan Gongteng and the classical and elegant Xiaoyao Hall left by Yuan Mei, a poet of the Xingling School in the Qing Dynasty. Some of them have been decorated and embellished to make them more unique, and some are listed as national protected cultural relics. These historical and cultural relics often make Shuyang people proud. Northern Jiangsu was a place of disputes in ancient times and is now one of the old revolutionary areas. During the Northern Song Dynasty, the Song Jiang Rebel Army was active in the Hai and Shu area, and during the Southern Song Dynasty, Han Shizhong fought against the Jin Dynasty here. During the Shunzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, the peasant rebel army led by Yuyuanshan rose up to resist the Qing rule. During the democratic revolution, the older generation of revolutionaries Liu Shaoqi, Chen Yi, Huang Kecheng, Zhang Aiping, Li Yimeng and other comrades all led revolutionary struggles here.