Taizhou[a] is a city located at the middle of the East China Sea coast of Zhejiang province.

As of the 2020 census, its total population was 6,662,888 inhabitants whom 3,578,660 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of the three urban Districts and Wenling City now being largely conurbated.

During the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, when the Chinese state was largely confined to the Yellow River basin, the area of present-day Taizhou was part of Dong'ou.

In 1999, Taizhou was approved by the State Council to be a leading city in Zhejiang's urbanization structure and the center of sub zone of the first-class economy.

Approved by the National Development and Reform Commission, Taizhou formally became one of the 16 cities of Yangtze River Delta area on August 15, 2003.

At the time of 2010 census, the whole population of Taizhou, including the whole prefecture-level city and subsidiary counties was 5,968,838 with 3,269,304 in the emerging built-up area made of 3 urban districts, Jiaojiang, Huangyan, Luqiao and Wenling City largely being urbanized.

It is the 4th most populous, and the 4th[clarification needed] largest industrial prefecture-level city in Zhejiang Province as of 2011[update].

Taizhou is also one of the most important Mandarin, Loquat, Wendan (a kind of Pomelo), Myrica rubra producers in China.

[citation needed] Many people from the area have migrated abroad after economic reforms began in China in 1978.

The Guoqing Temple where the Tiantai (Chinese and Japanese: 天台宗; pinyin: tiāntāi zōng; ), an important school of Buddhism in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam originates, is located here.