The Local Cultural History of Jiangsu – Nantong Volume. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

The first book on the cultural history of Nantong in East China's Jiangsu province will soon be published.

Led by Professor Qian Ronggui at Nantong University, it took six years to compile the Local Cultural History of Jiangsu – Nantong Volume.

More than 20 experts visited districts and counties in Nantong many times to carry out field investigations and collect documents and literature.

"Nantong people now have their own recorded cultural history," said Qian. "We proposed in the book that Nantong culture has its own unique historical status in five areas, a concept which is widely accepted by Chinese academic circles."

The five areas are Qingdun culture, an important culture of the Neolithic Age in eastern Jianghuai area, sea salt culture, textile culture, education culture, and city culture.

Nantong has been the main producer of sea salt in the Jianghuai area since the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24). The city has grown from an important hand-woven cloth manufacturer in ancient times to a cotton textile town in modern China. The more than 370 schools built in the city in the 1900s laid a solid foundation for Nantong's education industry. Nantong has also created multiple firsts in China such as the first public museum in China, according to Qian.

Speaking of the difference between Nantong culture and other regional cultures, Qian stated that Nantong culture is more diverse, has sea and river characteristics, and features the integration of Chinese and western cultures.