Lianyungang

Lianyungang (lit. "the port connected to the clouds") is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Jiangsu Province of China. It borders Yancheng to its southeast, Huai'an and Suqian to its south, Xuzhou to its southwest, and the province of Shandong to its north. Its name derives from Lian Island (formally Dongxilian Island) the largest island in Jiangsu Province which lies off its coastline, and Yuntai Mountain, the highest peak in Jiangsu Province, a few miles from its town center.

Lianyungang (as Yuntai Mountain) was one of the four original ports opened up for foreign trade in the 1680s by the Qing Dynasty Government. The others were Ningbo, Xiamen and Guangzhou.

Tourism
Lianyungang is small, but is famous for its Huaguoshan Shuiliandong attraction. Shuiliandong literally means the "Water Curtain Hole," since, according to legend, the hole was hidden behind a waterfall, therefore resembling a "curtain of water." The hole is famous because, according to legend, the home of Sun Wukong, also named Sunxingzhe and sometimes known as Monkey King. It was supposedly the place where his monkey subjects lived, while he became a god with Buddha and rejoiced in his title of the Qitiandasheng or the Great Sage Equal to Heaven. Monkey King might not have existed, though Tang Seng, whose name was Xuanzang did travel to India to receive holy scripts. When Tang Seng's adventure was rewritten, many mythical parts were added, which might of included Tang Seng's four disciples.