A photo taken on Feb 9 shows a memorial archway at Dasheng Dock in Tangzha Old Town, Nantong, Jiangsu province. [Photo/VCG]

Tangzha Old Town was an important industrial base in modern China. It was named after a water lock on the Nantong-Yangzhou Canal that was located there in ancient times.

It became a prominent location for industrial development in 1895, when Zhang Jian, a famous contemporary entrepreneur and educator in the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), set up a yarn manufacturing plant in the town.

Zhang also used the geological advantage of Tangzha to establish a shipping company, becoming the first in water transport in central and northern Jiangsu province.