The Wu dialects of China are a group of dialects spoken in the southeastern part of Kiangsu province and in most of the province of Chekiang. The most characteristic feature of these dialects is the tripartite division of initial stops into voiceless unaspirated, voiceless aspirated, and voiced aspirated, a feature which constitutes a defining differentia of Wu. Within Wu, the voiced initials of Chekiang are more fully voiced than in Kiangsu, and there is less double reading because of borrowing from Mandarin. Another intra-Wu contrast discussed is the fronting of diphthongs cognate with Mandarin ou along the Grand Canal.