Xinghua City has a jurisdiction over 34 towns and townships and a provincial economic development zone, the fourth largest city in Jiangsu. Its municipal government is stationed in the Town of Zhaoyang. The post code is 225700 and telephone area code is 523.
Xinghua City is situated between the two prefecture jurisdictions, Yangzhou and Yancheng, and borders Taizhou on south. Lying in a basin, the city has a low elevation over sea lever, only 1.8 m in average, and is nicknamed a big “Water Town”, surrounded by 22 rivers and 13 lakes in diverse sizes and lengths.

Most lakes Xinghua possesses are in the city’s north-western territory including Dazong Lake, Wugon Lake, Desheng Lake, Pingwang Lake, etc. It has totally 22 rivers and the total length of rives reaches 11,000 km. The total water surface area occupies 27% of the city’s land mass.

Water resource is the most important natural resource for the city. Major bodies of water provide advantages for its agriculture, industry and transportation. Other natural resources include crude oil, nature gas, geothermal heat, spring.

Xinghua has a maritime monsoon climate, with distinct four seasons. The annual average temperature is 15ºC and average rainfall is around 1,000 mm

In its history, the land, now called Xinghua, was mostly under the jurisdiction of Yangzhou. It became one of cities under the legal control of Taizhou in recent years, which is one of thirteen prefecture-level cities in Jiangsu Province.

Dubbed as “Town of Han and Tang”, Xinghua has been a town for duration of more than a century since it was established in 920 A.D. Not just a Jiangsu’s historical and cultural city, Xinghua is now one of the top 100 cities (county-level) in China with its comprehensive economic capability.

For its well protected water resource, the city is honored as a national example for its ecological-balance environment.
Xinghua was traditionally described as a water town and its agricultural products based on its water resource were well known. The city was also an important agricultural area for production of rice and cotton in past. However, the income from this sector is shrinking over years.

Industrial sectors have brought the city into a new direction and a fast-growing industry has increased the capability of the city’s economic performance. The city has been listed on the China Top 100 Cities for its comprehensive strength in economy.

The city environment is relatively well protected by the municipal government. In 2007, the municipal government inspected near 500 factories with a high pollution index and shut down one tenth of them due to the dissatisfaction in their improvement.