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Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of
Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its c ...
province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...
of the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, sli ...
. It is a sub-provincial city, a
megacity A megacity is a very large city, typically with a population of more than 10 million people. Precise definitions vary: the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs in its 2018 "World Urbanization Prospects" report counted urb ...
, and the second largest city in the
East China East China () is a geographical and a loosely defined cultural region that covers the eastern coastal area of China. A concept abolished in 1978, for economical purposes the region was defined from 1949 to 1961 by the Chinese Central Govern ...
region. The city has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a total recorded population of 9,314,685 . Situated in the
Yangtze River Delta The Yangtze Delta or Yangtze River Delta (YRD, or simply ) is a triangle-shaped megalopolis generally comprising the Wu Chinese-speaking areas of Shanghai, southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang. The area lies in the heart of the Jiangnan reg ...
region, Nanjing has a prominent place in
Chinese history The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the '' Book of Documents'' (early chapte ...
and
culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these grou ...
, having served as the
capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...
of various Chinese dynasties, kingdoms and republican governments dating from the 3rd century to 1949, and has thus long been a major center of culture, education, research, politics, economy, transport networks and tourism, being the home to one of the world's largest inland ports. The city is also one of the fifteen sub-provincial cities in the People's Republic of China's administrative structure, enjoying jurisdictional and economic autonomy only slightly less than that of a
province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...
. Nanjing has been ranked seventh in the evaluation of "Cities with Strongest Comprehensive Strength" issued by the National Statistics Bureau, and second in the evaluation of cities with most sustainable development potential in the Yangtze River Delta. It has also been awarded the title of 2008 Habitat Scroll of Honor of China, Special UN Habitat Scroll of Honor Award and National Civilized City. Nanjing is also considered a Beta (global second-tier) city classification, together with
Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a municipality in Southwest China. The official abbreviation of the city, "" (), was approved by the State Cou ...
,
Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, wh ...
and
Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popu ...
by the
Globalization and World Cities Research Network The Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) is a think tank that studies the relationships between world cities in the context of globalization. It is based in the geography department of Loughborough University in Leicestersh ...
, and ranked as one of the world's top 100 cities in the
Global Financial Centres Index The Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) is a ranking of the competitiveness of financial centres based on over 29,000 financial centre assessments from an online questionnaire together with over 100 indices from organisations such as the World ...
. Nanjing has many highly ranked educational institutions, with the number of universities (13) listed in 147 Double First-Class Universities ranking third (after
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
and
Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
), including
Nanjing University Nanjing University (NJU; ) is a national public research university in Nanjing, Jiangsu. It is a member of C9 League and a Class A Double First Class University designated by the Chinese central government. NJU has two main campuses: the Xianli ...
, which has a long history and is among the world's top 20 universities ranked by
Nature Index The Nature Index is a database that tracks institutions and countries and their scientific output since its introduction in November, 2014. Each year, Nature Index ranks the leading institutions (which can be companies, universities, government agen ...
. The ratio of college students to the total population ranks No.1 among large cities nationwide. Nanjing has the eighth-largest scientific research output of any city in the world. As of 2022, it has been regarded as the world's top second scientific research center in earth & environmental sciences after Beijing and the world's top third scientific research center in chemistry (behind Beijing and Shanghai), according to the
Nature Index The Nature Index is a database that tracks institutions and countries and their scientific output since its introduction in November, 2014. Each year, Nature Index ranks the leading institutions (which can be companies, universities, government agen ...
."It will come as no surprise that the top performing Chinese cities in the Nature Index are Beijing, Shanghai and Nanjing. All three are significant players economically and politically, Beijing and Shanghai particularly. ... As the capital of the wealthy eastern coastal province of Jiangsu, Nanjing is located in a region rich in economic and technological activity. ..." – from "Three giants tighten their grip", ''Nature'' 528, S176–S178 (17 December 2015) Nanjing, one of the nation's most important cities for over a thousand years, is recognized as one of the
Four Great Ancient Capitals of China This is a list of historical capitals of China. Four Great Ancient Capitals There are traditionally four major historical capitals of China referred to as the "Four Great Ancient Capitals of China" (). The four are Beijing, Nanjing, Luoyang and X ...
. It has been one of the world's largest cities, enjoying peace and prosperity despite wars and disasters.Rita Yi Man Li
"A Study on the Impact of Culture, Economic, History and Legal Systems Which Affect the Provisions of Fittings by Residential Developers in Boston, Hong Kong and Nanjing"
, ''Global Business and Management Research: An International Journal''. 1:3–4. 2009.
Nanjing served as the capital of
Eastern Wu Wu ( Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' < Eastern Han Chinese: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in historiography as Eastern Wu o ...
(229–280), one of the three major states in the
Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...
period; the
Eastern Jin Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 * Eastern Air ...
and each of the
Southern dynasties The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered as ...
(
Liu Song Song, known as Liu Song (), Former Song (前宋) or Song of (the) Southern Dynasty (南朝宋) in historiography, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China and the first of the four Northern and Southern dynasties#Southern ...
,
Southern Qi Qi, known in historiography as the Southern Qi ( or ) or Xiao Qi (), was a Chinese imperial dynasty and the second of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties era. It followed the Liu Song dynasty and was succeed ...
, Liang and Chen), which successively ruled southern China from 317 to 589; the
Southern Tang Southern Tang () was a state in Southern China that existed during Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, which proclaimed itself to be the successor of the former Tang dynasty. The capital was located at Jinling, Nanjing in present-day Jiangsu ...
(937–75), one of the
Ten Kingdoms The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (), from 907 to 979, was an era of political upheaval and division in 10th-century Imperial China. Five dynastic states quickly succeeded one another in the Central Plain, and more than a dozen concu ...
; the
Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
when, for the first time, all of China was ruled from the city (1368–1421); and the
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northea ...
under the nationalist
Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
(1927–37, 1946–49) before its flight to
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northe ...
by
Chiang Kai-Shek Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...
during the
Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on main ...
. The city also served as the seat of the rebel
Taiping Heavenly Kingdom The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, later shortened to the Heavenly Kingdom or Heavenly Dynasty, was an unrecognised rebel kingdom in China and a Chinese Christian theocratic absolute monarchy from 1851 to 1864, supporting the overthrow of the Q ...
(1853–64) and the Japanese puppet regime of Wang Jingwei (1940–45) during the
Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Thea ...
. It suffered severe atrocities in both conflicts, most notably the
Nanjing massacre The Nanjing Massacre (, ja, 南京大虐殺, Nankin Daigyakusatsu) or the Rape of Nanjing (formerly romanized as ''Nanking'') was the mass murder of Chinese civilians in Nanjing, the capital of the Republic of China, immediately after the Ba ...
of 1937. Nanjing has served as the capital city of Jiangsu province since the establishment of the People's Republic of China. It has many important heritage sites, including the Presidential Palace and
Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum () is situated at the foot of the second peak of Purple Mountain in Nanjing, China. Construction of the tomb started in January 1926, and was finished in spring of 1929. The architect was Lü Yanzhi, who died shortl ...
. Nanjing is famous for human historical landscapes, mountains and waters such as Fuzimiao,
Ming Palace The Ming Palace (), also known as the "Forbidden City of Nanjing", was the 14th-century imperial palace of the early Ming dynasty, when Nanjing was the capital of China. History 14th century Zhu Yuanzhang, who became the founder and first Empe ...
, Chaotian Palace, Porcelain Tower, Drum Tower,
Stone City The Stone City () is the site of an ancient fortified city within Nanjing, Jiangsu province, China. Almost all of the original city is gone; all that remains are portions of the massive city wall. History The original town was built during the ...
,
City Wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...
, Qinhuai River, Xuanwu Lake and Purple Mountain. Key cultural facilities include Nanjing Library,
Nanjing Museum The Nanjing Museum () is located in Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu Province in East China. With an area of , it is one of the largest museums in China. The museum has over 400,000 items in its permanent collection, making it one of the largest ...
and Jiangsu Art Museum.


Names

The city has a number of other names, and some historical names are now used as names of districts of the city; among them there is the name Jiangning or Kiangning (), whose former character Jiang (, Yangtze) is the former part of the name
Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its c ...
and latter character Ning (, simplified form ) is the short name of Nanjing. When it was the capital of China, for instance under the ROC, Jing () was adopted as the abbreviation of Nanjing. The city first became a Chinese national capital as early as the Jin dynasty. The name Nanjing, which means "Southern Capital", was officially designated for the city during the
Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
, about six hundred years later. Nanjing is sometimes known as Jinling or Ginling (, "Gold Hill") of the eponymous
Ginling College Ginling College (), also known by its pinyin romanization as Jinling College or Jinling Women's College, is a women's college of Nanjing Normal University in Nanjing, China. It offers both bachelor's and master's degrees. It offers six underg ...
; the old name has been used since the
Warring States period The Warring States period () was an era in ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded with the Qin wars of conquest ...
in the
Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by ...
. In English, the spelling Nanking was traditional until
Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese fo ...
, developed in the 1950s and internationally adopted in the 1980s, standardized the spelling as "Nanjing".


History


Early history and foundation

Archaeological discovery shows that " Nanjing Man" lived more than 500 thousand years ago. Zun, a kind of wine vessel, was found to exist in Beiyinyangying culture of Nanjing in about 5000 years ago. There were ancient human activities in the Nanjing area 6000 years ago. About 7000 years ago, there was an agricultural civilitation in Qixia area today. In the downtown area of Gulou Gangbei Yinyangying and Taowu Township, Jiangning District, the ruins of primitive villages from the Neolithic Age were discovered more than 6000 years ago. About 4000 years ago, dense Bronze Age primitive settlements appeared in the Qinhuai River Basin, known as the Hushu Culture. Based on these settlements, the earliest cities in Nanjing were formed. Hushu culture developed into Wu culture under the influence of Shang and Zhou cultures in the Central Plains. In 571 BC, the State of Chu established Tangyi in Liuhe, and the Tangyi doctor was set up. This is the earliest administrative establishment in Nanjing in history, and it has a history of 2591 by 2020. In 541 BC, Wu State built Laizhu Town in Gaochun. Because of its strong city, it was also called Gucheng. In 473 years ago, Wu was destroyed by Yue, and the city was built at the mouth of the Qinhuai River in the following year. Later it was called Yuecheng, which was the beginning of the construction of the main city of Nanjing. In 333 BC, Chu defeated Yue and built Jinling Town on the Stone Mountain by the river. It was the earliest administrative construction in the main city of Nanjing. The name of Jinling comes from this. In 210 BC, the first emperor of Qin visited the east and changed Jinling City to Moling County, In the late period of
Shang dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Dynasties in Chinese history, Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally suc ...
, Taibo of Zhou came to
Jiangnan Jiangnan or Jiang Nan (; formerly romanized Kiang-nan, literally "South of the River" meaning "South of the Yangtze") is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, incl ...
and established Wu state, and the first stop is in Nanjing area according to some historians based on discoveries in Taowu and Hushu culture. According to a legend quoted by an artist in Ming dynasty, Chen Yi,
Fuchai Fuchai (reigned 495–473BC), sometimes also written Fucha, was the last king of the state of Wu during the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history. His armies constructed important canals linking the Yellow, Ji, and Huai River systems of th ...
, King of the
State of Wu Wu (; Old Chinese: ''*'') was one of the states during the Western Zhou dynasty and the Spring and Autumn period. It was also known as Gouwu ( /''*''/) or Gongwu ( /''*''/) from the pronunciation of the local language. Wu was located at the ...
, founded a fort named Yecheng in today's Nanjing area in 495BC. Later in 473BC, the
State of Yue Yue (, Old Chinese: ''*''), also known as Yuyue (), was a state in ancient China which existed during the first millennium BC the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods of China's Zhou dynasty in the modern provinces of Zhejiang, Sh ...
conquered Wu and constructed the fort of Yuecheng () on the outskirts of the present-day Zhonghua Gate. In 333BC, after eliminating the State of Yue, the
State of Chu Chu, or Ch'u in Wade–Giles romanization, (, Hanyu Pinyin: Chǔ, Old Chinese: ''*s-r̥aʔ'') was a Zhou dynasty vassal state. Their first ruler was King Wu of Chu in the early 8th century BCE. Chu was located in the south of the Zhou ...
built Jinling Yi () in the western part of present-day Nanjing. It was renamed Moling () during the reign of the First Emperor of Qin. Since then, the city experienced destruction and renewal many times. The area was successively part of
Kuaiji Shaoxing (; ) is a prefecture-level city on the southern shore of Hangzhou Bay in northeastern Zhejiang province, China. It was formerly known as Kuaiji and Shanyin and abbreviated in Chinese as (''Yuè'') from the area's former inhabitants. ...
,
Zhang Zhang may refer to: Chinese culture, etc. * Zhang (surname) (張/张), common Chinese surname ** Zhang (surname 章), a rarer Chinese surname * Zhang County (漳县), of Dingxi, Gansu * Zhang River (漳河), a river flowing mainly in Henan * ...
and Danyang prefectures in Qin and Han dynasty, and part of Yangzhou region which was established as the nation's 13 supervisory and administrative regions in the 5th year of Yuanfeng in Han dynasty (106BC). Nanjing was later the capital city of Danyang Prefecture, and had been the capital city of
Yangzhou Yangzhou, postal romanization Yangchow, is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province (Suzhong), East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Ya ...
for about 400 years from late Han to early Tang.


Capital of the Six Dynasties

Nanjing first became a state capital in AD229, when the state of
Eastern Wu Wu ( Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' < Eastern Han Chinese: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in historiography as Eastern Wu o ...
founded by
Sun Quan Sun Quan (, Chinese: 孫權) (183 – 21 May 252), courtesy name Zhongmou (), posthumously known as Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of the Eastern Wu dynasty, one of the Three Kingdoms of China. He inherited control of the warlord regime es ...
during the
Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...
period relocated its capital to Jianye (), the city extended on the basis of Jinling Yi in AD211. Although conquered by the
Western Jin dynasty Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
in 280, Nanjing and its neighboring areas had been well cultivated, developing into one of the commercial, cultural and political centers of China during the Eastern Wu. This city would soon play a vital role in the following centuries. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Sun Quan, who ruled Jiangdong, moved his ruling office to Moling in 211. The following year, he built a stone city fortress in the old place of Jinling Town. In 229, Sun Quan proclaimed himself emperor in Wuchang and established Dong Wu (Eastern Wu). Then he moved his capital to Jianye, known as the "Zhongshan Dragon Plate, Stone Tigers", and opened the history of Nanjing as the capital. In 280, the Western Jin Dynasty destroyed Wu and rebuilt the industry into Moling. In 282, with the Qinhuai River as the boundary, Moling was divided into two counties, Jianye and Moling. In 313, Ye was renamed Jiankang because of avoiding the name taboo of Emperor Sima Ye of the Jin Dynasty. In 317, Emperor Sima Rui of the Jin and Yuan dynasties was building a country, known as the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and the northern gentry moved south. After more than 270 years of the Great Separatism between North and South, Jiankang became the orthodox place of China. Shortly after the unification of the region, the Western Jin dynasty collapsed. First the rebellions by eight Jin princes for the throne and later rebellions and invasion from Xiongnu and other nomadic peoples that destroyed the rule of the Jin dynasty in the north. In 317, remnants of the Jin court, as well as nobles and wealthy families, fled from the north to the south and reestablished the Jin court in Nanjing, which was then called
Jiankang Jiankang (), or Jianye (), as it was originally called, was capital city of the Eastern Wu (229–265 and 266–280 CE), the Jin dynasty (317–420 CE) and the Southern Dynasties (420–552), including the Chen dynasty (557–589 CE). Its wall ...
(), replacing
Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...
.Shufen Liu, "Jiankang and the Commercial Empire of the Southern Dynasties", in Pearce, Spiro, Ebrey eds. ''Culture and Power'', 2001:35. This marked the first time a Chinese dynastic capital moved to
southern China South China () is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is that most of its citizens are not ...
. During the period of North–South division, Nanjing remained the capital of the
Southern dynasties The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered as ...
for more than two and a half centuries. During this time, Nanjing was the international hub of East Asia. Based on historical documents, the city had 280,000 registered households. Assuming an average Nanjing household consisted of about 5.1 people, the city had more than 1.4 million residents. A number of sculptural ensembles of that era, erected at the tombs of royals and other dignitaries, have survived (in various degrees of preservation) in Nanjing's northeastern and eastern suburbs, primarily in Qixia and
Jiangning District Jiangning District () is one of 11 districts of Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu province, China. The District has a population of 1,025,000 and an area of 1600 square kilometers. It includes southern and south-eastern suburbs of Nanjing. Jiangnin ...
. Possibly the best preserved of them is the ensemble of the Tomb of
Xiao Xiu Xiao Xiu (), formally Prince Kang of Ancheng ( (475–518), was a younger half-brother of Xiao Yan (Emperor Wu), the founder of the Liang dynasty of China. According to the '' Book of Liang'', he was the 7th son of Xiao Yan's father Xiao Shunzhi. ...
(475–518), a brother of
Emperor Wu of Liang Emperor Wu of Liang () (464 – 12 June 549), personal name Xiao Yan (蕭衍), courtesy name Shuda (叔達), childhood name Lian'er (練兒), was the founding emperor of the Chinese Liang dynasty, during the Northern and Southern dynasties peri ...
.
Six Dynasties Six Dynasties (; 220–589 or 222–589) is a collective term for six Han-ruled Chinese dynasties that existed from the early 3rd century AD to the late 6th century AD. The Six Dynasties period overlapped with the era of the Sixteen Kingdoms ...
is a collective term for six Chinese dynasties mentioned above which all maintained national capitals at Jiankang. The six dynasties were:
Eastern Wu Wu ( Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' < Eastern Han Chinese: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in historiography as Eastern Wu o ...
(222–280),
Eastern Jin dynasty Eastern may refer to: Transportation * China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 * Eastern Air ...
(317–420) and four southern dynasties (420–589).


Destruction and revival

The period of division ended when the Sui dynasty reunified China and almost destroyed the entire city, turning it into a small town. The city was razed after the Sui took it over. It was renamed Shengzhou () in the
Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...
and resuscitated during the late Tang. It was chosen as the capital and called Jinling () during the
Southern Tang Southern Tang () was a state in Southern China that existed during Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, which proclaimed itself to be the successor of the former Tang dynasty. The capital was located at Jinling, Nanjing in present-day Jiangsu ...
(937–976), which succeeded the state of
Yang Wu Wu (), also referred to as Huainan (), Hongnong (), Southern Wu (), or Yang Wu (楊吳), was one of the Ten Kingdoms in eastern China which was in existence from 907 to 937. Its capital was Jiangdu Municipality () (modern Yangzhou in Jiangsu ...
. It was renamed Jiangning () in the
Northern Song Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...
and renamed Jiankang in the
Southern Song The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...
. Jiankang's textile industry burgeoned and thrived during the Song despite the constant threat of foreign invasions from the north by the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty. The court of
Da Chu Da Chu was a short-lived Chinese dynasty in 1127 ruled by Zhang Bangchang (1081–1127), a puppet emperor enthroned with the support of the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty. The dynasty was abolished scarcely a month after its formation. By 1127, the Ji ...
, a short-lived puppet state established by the Jurchens, and the court of Song were once in the city. The Southern Song were eventually destroyed by the
Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...
; during their rule as the
Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongols, Mongol-led Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Division of the M ...
, the city's status as a hub of the textile industry was further consolidated. According to Odoric of Pordenone, Chilenfu (Nanjing) had 360 stone bridges, which were finer than anywhere else in the world. It was well populated and had a large craft industry.


Southern capital of Ming dynasty

The first emperor of the
Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
, Zhu Yuanzhang (the
Hongwu Emperor The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328 – 24 June 1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang (), courtesy name Guorui (), was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, reigning from 1368 to 1398. As famine, plagues and peasant revolts ...
), who overthrew the Yuan dynasty, renamed the city Yingtian (), rebuilt it, and made it the dynastic capital in 1368. He constructed a long city wall around Yingtian, as well as a new
Ming Palace The Ming Palace (), also known as the "Forbidden City of Nanjing", was the 14th-century imperial palace of the early Ming dynasty, when Nanjing was the capital of China. History 14th century Zhu Yuanzhang, who became the founder and first Empe ...
complex, and government halls.Ebrey (1999), 191. It took 200,000 laborers 21 years to finish the wall, which was intended to defend the city and its surrounding region from coastal pirates. The present-day City Wall of Nanjing was mainly built during that time and today it remains in good condition and has been well preserved. It is among the longest surviving
city wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...
s in China. The
Jianwen Emperor The Jianwen Emperor (5 December 1377 – ?), personal name Zhu Yunwen (), was the second Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1398 to 1402. The era name of his reign, Jianwen, means "establishing civility" and represented a sharp cha ...
ruled from 1398 to 1402. It is believed that Nanjing was the largest city in the world from 1358 to 1425 with a population of 487,000 in 1400. In 1421, the
Yongle Emperor The Yongle Emperor (; pronounced ; 2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), personal name Zhu Di (), was the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 1424. Zhu Di was the fourth son of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dyn ...
relocated the capital to Beijing. The city began to be called the 'southern capital' – Nanjing (), in comparison to the capital in the north. His successor, the
Hongxi Emperor The Hongxi Emperor (16 August 1378 – 29 May 1425), personal name Zhu Gaochi (朱高熾), was the fourth Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1424 to 1425. He succeeded his father, the Yongle Emperor, in 1424. His era name " Hongxi" mean ...
, wished to revert the relocation of the imperial capital from Nanjing to Beijing that had happened during the Yongle reign. On 24 February 1425, he appointed Admiral
Zheng He Zheng He (; 1371–1433 or 1435) was a Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat, fleet admiral, and court eunuch during China's early Ming dynasty. He was originally born as Ma He in a Muslim family and later adopted the surname Zheng conferre ...
as the defender of Nanjing and ordered him to continue his command over the Ming treasure fleet for the city's defense. Zheng He governed the city with three eunuchs for internal matters and two military noblemen for external matters, awaiting the Hongxi Emperor's return along with the military establishment from the north. The emperor died on 29 May 1425 before this could have taken place,. so Beijing remained the ''de facto'' capital and Nanjing remained the secondary capital. The succeeding
Xuande Emperor The Xuande Emperor (16 March 1399 31 January 1435), personal name Zhu Zhanji (朱瞻基), was the fifth Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1425 to 1435. His era name " Xuande" means "proclamation of virtue". Ruling over a relatively ...
remained in Beijing, so the aforementioned Nanjing government eventually became a permanent institution. In official Ming documents of 1425 to 1441, Nanjing was designated as the capital and Beijing was designated as the temporary capital. In 1441, Emperor Yingzong ordered to not to prefix the word "provisional" () on the Beijing Government seals any longer, while Nanjing's need to prefix "Nanjing" for distinguishing purposes remained. Hence, Nanjing still had itself imperial government with extremely limited power before 1644. Besides the city wall, other Ming-era structures in the city included the famous
Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum The Ming Xiaoling () is the mausoleum of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dynasty. It lies at the southern foot of Purple Mountain, located east of the historical centre of Nanjing. Legend says that in order to prevent robbery of the to ...
and Porcelain Tower, although the latter was destroyed by the Taipings in the 19th century either to prevent a hostile faction from using it to observe and shell the city or from superstitious fear of its geomantic properties. A monument to the huge human cost of some of the gigantic construction projects of the early Ming dynasty is the
Yangshan Quarry The Yangshan Quarry () is an ancient stone quarry near Nanjing, China. Used during many centuries as a source of stone for buildings and monuments of Nanjing, it is preserved as a historic site. The quarry is famous for the gigantic unfinished ste ...
(located some east of the walled city and Ming Xiaoling mausoleum), where a gigantic stele, cut on the orders of the Yongle Emperor, lies abandoned, just as it was left 600 years ago when it was understood it was impossible to move or complete it. As the center of the empire, early-Ming Nanjing had worldwide connections. It was home of the admiral
Zheng He Zheng He (; 1371–1433 or 1435) was a Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat, fleet admiral, and court eunuch during China's early Ming dynasty. He was originally born as Ma He in a Muslim family and later adopted the surname Zheng conferre ...
, who went to sail the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and it was visited by foreign dignitaries, such as a king from Borneo (), who died during his visit to China in 1408. The Tomb of the King of Boni, with a spirit way and a tortoise stele, was discovered in Yuhuatai District (south of the walled city) in 1958, and has been restored. Over two centuries after the removal of the capital to Beijing, Nanjing was destined to become the capital of a Ming emperor one more time. After the fall of Beijing to
Li Zicheng Li Zicheng (22 September 1606 – 1645), born Li Hongji, also known by the nickname, Dashing King, was a Chinese peasant rebel leader who overthrew the Ming dynasty in 1644 and ruled over northern China briefly as the emperor of the short-liv ...
's rebel forces and then to the
Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and Q ...
-led
Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
in the spring of 1644, the Ming prince Zhu Yousong was enthroned in Nanjing in June 1644 as the Hongguang Emperor. His short reign was described by later historians as the first reign of the so-called
Southern Ming dynasty The Southern Ming (), also known as the Later Ming (), officially the Great Ming (), was an imperial dynasty of China and a series of rump states of the Ming dynasty that came into existence following the Jiashen Incident of 1644. Shun forc ...
. Zhu Yousong, however, fared a lot worse than his ancestor Zhu Yuanzhang three centuries earlier. Beset by factional conflicts, his regime could not offer effective resistance to Qing forces, when the Qing army, led by the Manchu prince
Dodo The dodo (''Raphus cucullatus'') is an extinct flightless bird that was endemic to the island of Mauritius, which is east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. The dodo's closest genetic relative was the also-extinct Rodrigues solitaire. The ...
approached
Jiangnan Jiangnan or Jiang Nan (; formerly romanized Kiang-nan, literally "South of the River" meaning "South of the Yangtze") is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, incl ...
the next spring. Days after
Yangzhou Yangzhou, postal romanization Yangchow, is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province (Suzhong), East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Ya ...
fell to the Manchus in late May 1645, the Hongguang Emperor fled Nanjing, and the imperial Ming Palace was looted by local residents. On June 6, Dodo's troops approached Nanjing, and the commander of the city's garrison, Zhao the Earl of Xincheng, promptly surrendered the city to them. The Manchus soon ordered all male residents of the city to shave their heads in the Manchu queue way. They requisitioned a large section of the city for the bannermen's cantonment, and occupied the former imperial
Ming Palace The Ming Palace (), also known as the "Forbidden City of Nanjing", was the 14th-century imperial palace of the early Ming dynasty, when Nanjing was the capital of China. History 14th century Zhu Yuanzhang, who became the founder and first Empe ...
, but otherwise the city was spared the mass murders and destruction that befell Yangzhou. Despite capturing many counties in his initial attack due to surprise and having the initiative,
Koxinga Zheng Chenggong, Prince of Yanping (; 27 August 1624 – 23 June 1662), better known internationally as Koxinga (), was a Ming loyalist general who resisted the Qing conquest of China in the 17th century, fighting them on China's southeastern ...
announced the final battle in Nanjing in 1659 ahead of time giving plenty of time for the Qing to prepare because he wanted a decisive, single grand showdown as his father successfully did against the Dutch at the Battle of Liaoluo Bay, throwing away the surprise and initiative which led to its failure. Koxinga's attack on Qing held Nanjing which would interrupt the supply route of the Grand Canal leading to possible starvation in Beijing caused such fear that the Manchus (Tartares) considered returning to Manchuria (Tartary) and abandoning China according to a 1671 account by a French missionary. The commoners and officials in Beijing and Nanjing were waiting to support whichever side won. An official from Qing Beijing sent letters to family and another official in Nanjing, telling them all communication and news from Nanjing to Beijing had been cut off, that the Qing were considering abandoning Beijing and moving their capital far away to a remote location for safety since Koxinga's iron troops were rumored to be invincible. The letter said it reflected the grim situation being felt in Qing Beijing. The official told his children in Nanjing to prepare to defect to Koxinga which he himself was preparing to do. Koxinga's forces intercepted these letters and after reading them Koxinga may have started to regret his deliberate delays allowing the Qing to prepare for a final massive battle instead of swiftly attacking Nanjing. Koxinga's Ming loyalists fought against a majority Han Chinese Bannermen Qing army when attacking Nanjing. The siege lasted almost three weeks, beginning on August 24. Koxinga's forces were unable to maintain a complete encirclement, which enabled the city to obtain supplies and even reinforcements—though cavalry attacks by the city's forces were successful even before reinforcements arrived. Koxinga's forces were defeated and "slipped back" (Wakeman's phrase) to the ships which had brought them.


Qing dynasty and Taiping Rebellion

Under the
Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
(1644–1911), the Nanjing area was known as Jiangning and served as the seat of government for the
Viceroy of Liangjiang The Viceroy of Liangjiang or Viceroy of the Two Jiangs, fully referred to in Chinese as the Governor-General of the Two Yangtze Provinces and Surrounding Areas Overseeing Military Affairs, Provisions and Funds, Manager of Waterways, Director of ...
. It was the site of a
Qing Army The Qing dynasty (1636–1912) was established by conquest and maintained by armed force. The founding emperors personally organized and led the armies, and the continued cultural and political legitimacy of the dynasty depended on the ability to ...
garrison. It had been visited by the
Kangxi The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to 1 ...
and
Qianlong The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 t ...
emperors a number of times on their tours of the southern provinces. The 1842
Treaty of Nanking The Treaty of Nanjing was the peace treaty which ended the First Opium War (1839–1842) between Great Britain and the Qing dynasty of China on 29 August 1842. It was the first of what the Chinese later termed the Unequal Treaties. In the wa ...
, which put an end to the
First Opium War The First Opium War (), also known as the Opium War or the Anglo-Sino War was a series of military engagements fought between Britain and the Qing dynasty of China between 1839 and 1842. The immediate issue was the Chinese enforcement of the ...
, was signed in the city harbor on
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...
warships. As the capital of the brief-lived rebel
Taiping Heavenly Kingdom The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, later shortened to the Heavenly Kingdom or Heavenly Dynasty, was an unrecognised rebel kingdom in China and a Chinese Christian theocratic absolute monarchy from 1851 to 1864, supporting the overthrow of the Q ...
in the mid-19th century, Nanjing was known as Tianjing (). The
rebellion Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...
destroyed most of the former Ming imperial buildings in the city, including the Porcelain Tower of Nanjing. Both the Qing viceroy and the Taiping king resided in buildings that would later be known as the Presidential Palace. When Qing forces led by
Zeng Guofan Zeng Guofan, Marquis Yiyong (; 26 November 1811 – 12 March 1872), birth name Zeng Zicheng, courtesy name Bohan, was a Chinese statesman and military general of the late Qing dynasty. He is best known for raising and organizing the Xiang ...
retook the city in 1864, a massive slaughter occurred in the city with over 100,000 estimated to have committed suicide or fought to the death. Since the Taiping Rebellion began, Qing forces allowed no rebels speaking its dialect to surrender. This systematic mass murder of civilians occurred in Nanjing. The New York Methodist Mission Society's Superintendent, Virgil Hart arrived in Nanjing in 1881. After some time, he eventually thwarted its officials by buying a piece of property near the South Gate and Confucius Temple; to build the city's first Methodist Church, western hospital (Blackstone Methodist Hospital) and Boys' School. The hospital would later be unified with the Drum Tower Hospital and the Boys' School would be expanded by later Missionaries to become the
University of Nanking The University of Nanking, known in Chinese as Jinling University (金陵大学, Jinling being the ancient name of Nanking) was a private university in Nanjing, China sponsored by American churches. Founded in 1888, it effectively become defunct ...
and Medical School. The old Mission property would become the No. 13 Middle School, the city's oldest/continuous school grounds in the city.


Capital of the Republic and Nanking Massacre

The
Xinhai Revolution The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty, the Manchu people, Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of Chi ...
led to the founding of the
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northea ...
in January 1912 with
Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serve ...
as the first provisional president and Nanjing was selected as its new capital. However, the Qing Empire controlled large regions to the north, so revolutionaries asked
Yuan Shikai Yuan Shikai (; 16 September 1859 – 6 June 1916) was a Chinese military and government official who rose to power during the late Qing dynasty and eventually ended the Qing dynasty rule of China in 1912, later becoming the Emperor of China. ...
to replace Sun as president in exchange for the abdication of
Puyi Aisin-Gioro Puyi (; 7 February 1906 – 17 October 1967), courtesy name Yaozhi (曜之), was the last emperor of China as the eleventh and final Qing dynasty monarch. He became emperor at the age of two in 1908, but was forced to abdicate on 1 ...
, the last emperor. Yuan demanded the capital be Beijing (closer to his power base). In 1927, the
Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
(KMT; Nationalist Party) under Generalissimo
Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...
again established Nanjing as the capital of the Republic of China, and this became internationally recognized once KMT forces took Beijing in 1928. The following decade is known as the
Nanking decade The Nanjing decade (also Nanking decade, , or the Golden decade, ) is an informal name for the decade from 1927 (or 1928) to 1937 in the Republic of China. It began when Nationalist Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek took Nanjing from Zhili clique ...
. During this decade, Nanjing was of symbolic and strategic importance. The Ming dynasty had made Nanjing a capital, the republic had been established there in 1912, and
Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serve ...
's provisional government had been there. Sun's body was brought and placed in a grand mausoleum to cement Chiang's legitimacy. Chiang was born in the neighboring province of
Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by ...
and the general area had strong popular support for him. In 1927, the Nationalist government proposed a comprehensive planning proposal, the Capital Plan (), to reconstruct the war-torn city of Nanjing into a modern capital. It was a decade of extraordinary growth with an enormous amount of construction. A lot of government buildings, residential houses, and modern public infrastructures were built. During this boom, Nanjing reputedly became one of the most modern cities in China. In 1937, the
Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent for ...
started a full-scale invasion of China after invading Manchuria in 1931, beginning the
Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Thea ...
(often considered a theater of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
). Their troops occupied Nanjing in December and carried out the systematic and brutal
Nanking massacre The Nanjing Massacre (, ja, 南京大虐殺, Nankin Daigyakusatsu) or the Rape of Nanjing (formerly romanized as ''Nanking'') was the mass murder of Chinese civilians in Nanjing, the capital of the Republic of China, immediately after the B ...
(the "Rape of Nanking"). John E. Woods, '' The Good Man of Nanking, the Diaries of John Rabe'', 1998 P. 275-278 Even children, the elderly, and nuns are reported to have suffered at the hands of the
Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor ...
. The total death toll, including estimates made by the
International Military Tribunal for the Far East The International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE), also known as the Tokyo Trial or the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, was a military trial convened on April 29, 1946 to try leaders of the Empire of Japan for crimes against peace, conve ...
and the Nanjing War Crimes Tribunal after the atomic bombings, was between 300,000 and 350,000. The city itself was also severely damaged during the massacre. The
Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall The Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders is a museum to memorialize those that were killed in the Nanjing Massacre by the Imperial Japanese Army in and around the then-capital of China, Nanjing, after it fell on ...
was built in 1985 to commemorate this event. A few days before the fall of the city, the National Government of China was relocated to the southwestern city Chungking (Chongqing) and resumed Chinese resistance. In 1940, a Japanese-collaborationist government known as the " Nanjing Regime" or "Reorganized National Government of China" led by
Wang Jingwei Wang Jingwei (4 May 1883 – 10 November 1944), born as Wang Zhaoming and widely known by his pen name Jingwei, was a Chinese politician. He was initially a member of the left wing of the Kuomintang, leading a government in Wuhan in oppositi ...
was established in Nanjing as a rival to
Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...
's government in Chongqing. In 1946, after the Surrender of Japan, the KMT relocated its central government back to Nanjing.


Chinese Civil War and People's Republic

On 21 April 1949, Communist forces crossed the
Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flow ...
. On April 23, the Communist
People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
(PLA) captured Nanjing.Zhang, Chunhou. Vaughan, C. Edwin. 002(2002). Mao Zedong as Poet and Revolutionary Leader: Social and Historical Perspectives. Lexington books. . p 65, p 58 The KMT government retreated to Canton (
Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong ...
) until October 15,
Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a municipality in Southwest China. The official abbreviation of the city, "" (), was approved by the State Cou ...
until November 25, and then
Chengdu Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese provin ...
before retreating to the
island of Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is an island country located in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, formerly known in the Western political circles, press and literature as Formosa, makes up 99% of the land area of the territori ...
on December 10 where
Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...
was proclaimed the
temporary capital A temporary capital or a provisional capital is a city or town chosen by a government as an interim base of operations due to some difficulty in retaining or establishing control of a different metropolitan area. The most common circumstances leadin ...
of the Republic of China. By late 1949, the PLA was pursuing remnants of KMT forces southwards in southern China, and only
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
and
Hainan Island Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slight ...
were left. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China in October 1949, Nanjing was initially a
province-level municipality A direct-administrated municipality (), commonly known as municipality, is the highest level of classification for cities used by the People's Republic of China. These cities have the same rank as provinces and form part of the first tier of ad ...
, but it was soon merged into
Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its c ...
and again became the provincial capital by replacing
Zhenjiang Zhenjiang, alternately romanized as Chinkiang, is a prefecture-level city in Jiangsu Province, China. It lies on the southern bank of the Yangtze River near its intersection with the Grand Canal. It is opposite Yangzhou (to its north) and b ...
which was transferred in 1928, and retains that status to this day.


Geography

Nanjing, with a total land area of , is situated in the heartland of the
drainage area A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, the ...
of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and in the Yangtze River Delta, one of the largest economic zones of China. The Yangtze River flows past the west side and then the north side of Nanjing City, while the Ningzheng Ridge surrounds the north, east and south sides of the city. The city is southeast of
Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...
, south-southeast of Beijing, west-northwest of Shanghai, and east-northeast of
Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a municipality in Southwest China. The official abbreviation of the city, "" (), was approved by the State Cou ...
. The Yangtze River flows downstream from
Jiujiang Jiujiang (), formerly transliterated Kiukiang or Kew Keang, is a prefecture-level city located on the southern shores of the Yangtze River in northwest Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China. It is the second-largest prefecture-level city ...
, Jiangxi, through
Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...
and Jiangsu to the East China Sea. The northern part of the lower Yangtze drainage basin is the
Huai River The Huai River (), formerly romanized as the Hwai, is a major river in China. It is located about midway between the Yellow River and Yangtze, the two longest rivers and largest drainage basins in China, and like them runs from west to east ...
basin and the southern part is the Zhe River basin; they are connected by the Grand Canal east of Nanjing. The area around Nanjing is called Xiajiang (, Downstream River) region, with Jianghuai dominant in the northern part and Jiangzhe dominant in the southern part. The region is also well known as Dongnan (, South East, the Southeast) and
Jiangnan Jiangnan or Jiang Nan (; formerly romanized Kiang-nan, literally "South of the River" meaning "South of the Yangtze") is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, incl ...
(, and River South, South of Yangtze). Nanjing borders
Yangzhou Yangzhou, postal romanization Yangchow, is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province (Suzhong), East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Ya ...
to the northeast (one town downstream when following the north bank of the Yangtze);
Zhenjiang Zhenjiang, alternately romanized as Chinkiang, is a prefecture-level city in Jiangsu Province, China. It lies on the southern bank of the Yangtze River near its intersection with the Grand Canal. It is opposite Yangzhou (to its north) and b ...
to the east (one town downstream when following the south bank of the Yangtze); and
Changzhou Changzhou ( Changzhounese: ''Zaon Tsei'', ) is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. It was previously known as Yanling, Lanling and Jinling. Located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, Changzhou borders the provin ...
to the southeast. On its western boundary is
Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...
, where Nanjing borders five prefecture-level cities:
Chuzhou Chuzhou () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Anhui Province, China. It borders the provincial capital of Hefei to the south and southwest, Huainan to the west, Bengbu to the northwest, and the province of Jiangsu to the east. According to t ...
to the northwest,
Wuhu Wuhu () is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Anhui province, China. Sitting on the southeast bank of the Yangtze River, Wuhu borders Xuancheng to the southeast, Chizhou and Tongling to the southwest, Hefei city to the northwest, Ma'ansh ...
, Chaohu and
Ma'anshan Ma'anshan (), also colloquially written as Maanshan, is a prefecture-level city in the eastern part of Anhui province in Eastern China. An industrial city stretching across the Yangtze River, Ma'anshan borders Hefei to the west, Wuhu to the sou ...
to the west and
Xuancheng Xuancheng () is a city in the southeast of Anhui province. Archeological digs suggest that the city has been settled for over 4,000 years, and has been under formal administration since the Qin dynasty. Located in the lower Yangtze River drainage ...
to the southwest. Nanjing is at the intersection of the Yangtze River, an east–west water transport artery, and the Nanjing–Beijing railway, a north–south land transport artery, hence the name “door of the east and west, throat of the south and north”. Furthermore, the west part of the Ningzhen range is in Nanjing; the Loong-like Zhong Mountain curls round the east side of the city, while the tiger-like Stone Mountain crouches in the west of the city, hence the name “the Zhong Mountain, a dragon curling, and the Stone Mountain, a tiger crouching”.


Climate and environment

Nanjing has a humid subtropical climate ( Köppen ''Cfa'') and is influenced by the East Asian
monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal osci ...
. The four seasons are distinct, with damp conditions seen throughout the year, very hot and muggy summers, cold, damp winters, and in between, spring and autumn are of reasonable length. Along with
Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a municipality in Southwest China. The official abbreviation of the city, "" (), was approved by the State Cou ...
and
Wuhan Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city a ...
, Nanjing is traditionally referred to as one of the " Three Furnaces" along the Yangtze River for the perennially high temperatures in the summertime. However, the time from mid-June to the end of July is the
plum blossom ''Prunus mume'' is an East Asian and Southeast Asian tree species classified in the ''Armeniaca'' section of the genus ''Prunus'' subgenus ''Prunus''. Its common names include Chinese plum, Japanese plum, and Japanese apricot. The flower, long ...
blooming season in which the ''
meiyu The East Asian rainy season (), also called the plum rain, is caused by precipitation along a persistent stationary front known as the Meiyu front for nearly two months during the late spring and early summer in East Asia between mainland Chin ...
'' (rainy season of East Asia; literally "plum rain") occurs, during which the city experiences a period of mild rain as well as dampness. Since the meteorological record was made in 1905, the temperature has experienced a change of first rising, then falling and rising. The northeast wind prevails in winter. The average temperature in January is , and the extreme daily minimum temperature is , which occurred on January 6, 1955. The southeast wind prevails in summer, with an average temperature of in July and an extreme daily maximum temperature of , which occurred on July 13, 1934. The number of precipitation days greater than 0.1 mm was 113.7 days, and the extreme maximum annual precipitation days were 160 days in 1957. The average annual precipitation was . Typhoons are uncommon but possible in the late stages of summer and early part of autumn. The annual mean temperature is around , with the monthly 24-hour average temperature ranging from in January to in July. Extremes since 1951 have ranged from on 6 January 1955 to on 22 August 1959. On average precipitation falls 115 days out of the year, and the average annual rainfall is . With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 37 percent in March to 52 percent in August, the city receives 1,926 hours of bright sunshine annually. Nanjing is endowed with rich natural resources, which include more than 40 kinds of minerals. Among them, iron and
sulfur Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formul ...
reserves make up 40 percent of those of Jiangsu province. Its reserves of
strontium Strontium is the chemical element with the symbol Sr and atomic number 38. An alkaline earth metal, strontium is a soft silver-white yellowish metallic element that is highly chemically reactive. The metal forms a dark oxide layer when it is ...
rank first in East Asia and the
South East Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
region. Nanjing also possesses abundant water resources, both from the Yangtze River and groundwater. In addition, it has several natural hot springs such as Tangshan Hot Spring in Jiangning and Tangquan Hot Spring in Pukou. Sun Yat-sen once summarized and lauded the feature of Nanjing in his book ''The International Development of China'' ():
Nanking was the old capital of China before Peking, and is situated in a fine locality which comprises high mountains, deep water and a vast level plain—a rare site to be found in any part of the world. It also lies at the center of a very rich country on both sides of the lower Yangtze. ()
To be more exact, surrounded by the Yangtze River and mountains, the urban area of the city enjoys its scenic natural environment. Xuanwu Lake and Mochou Lake are located in the center of the city and are easily accessible to the public, while Purple Mountain is covered with deciduous and coniferous forests preserving various historical and cultural sites. Meanwhile, a Yangtze River deep-water channel is under construction to enable Nanjing to handle the navigation of 50,000 DWT vessels from the East China Sea.


Cityscape


Environmental issues


Air pollution in 2013

A dense wave of smog began in the
central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...
and
east East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...
parts of China on 2 December 2013 across a distance of around , including Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Shanghai and Zhejiang. A lack of cold air flow, combined with slow-moving
air mass In meteorology, an air mass is a volume of air defined by its temperature and humidity. Air masses cover many hundreds or thousands of square miles, and adapt to the characteristics of the surface below them. They are classified according to ...
es carrying industrial emissions, collected
airborne pollutants Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different type ...
to form a thick layer of smog over the region. The heavy smog heavily polluted central and southern Jiangsu Province, especially in and around Nanjing, with its AQI pollution Index at "severely polluted" for five straight days and "heavily polluted" for nine. On 3 December 2013, levels of PM2.5 particulate matter average over 943 micrograms per cubic meter, falling to over 338 micrograms per cubic meter on 4 December 2013. Between 3:00 pm, 3 December and 2:00 pm, 4 December local time, several expressways from Nanjing to other Jiangsu cities were closed, stranding dozens of passenger buses in Zhongyangmen bus station. From 5 to 6 December, Nanjing issued a red alert for air pollution and closed down all kindergarten through middle schools. Children's Hospital outpatient services increased by 33 percent; general incidence of bronchitis, pneumonia, upper respiratory tract infections significantly increased. The smog dissipated 12 December. Officials blamed the dense pollution on lack of wind, automobile exhaust emissions under low air pressure, and coal-powered
district heating District heating (also known as heat networks or teleheating) is a system for distributing heat generated in a centralized location through a system of insulated pipes for residential and commercial heating requirements such as space heating ...
system in north China. Prevailing winds blew low-hanging air masses of factory emissions (mostly SO2) towards China's east coast.


Government

At present, the full name of the government of Nanjing is "People's Government of Nanjing City" and the city is under the one-party rule of the
CPC CPC may refer to: Organizations Companies * Canada Post Corporation, the primary postal operator in Canada * Caspian Pipeline Consortium, consortium and a pipeline to transport Caspian oil to Russia's Black Sea coast * Consolidated Pastoral Co ...
, with the CPC Nanjing Committee Secretary as the ''de facto'' governor of the city and the mayor as the executive head of the government working under the secretary.


Administrative divisions

The sub-provincial city of Nanjing is divided into 11
districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...
.


Demographics

At the time of the 2010 census, the total population of the City of Nanjing was 8.005 million. The
OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate ...
estimated the encompassing metropolitan area at the time as 11.7 million.Linked from the OEC
here
Official statistics in 2011 estimated the city's population to be 8.11 million. The
birth rate The birth rate for a given period is the total number of live human births per 1,000 population divided by the length of the period in years. The number of live births is normally taken from a universal registration system for births; populati ...
was 8.86 percent and the
death rate Mortality rate, or death rate, is a measure of the number of deaths (in general, or due to a specific cause) in a particular population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit of time. Mortality rate is typically expressed in units of de ...
was 6.88 percent. The urban area had a population of 6.47 million people. The
sex ratio The sex ratio (or gender ratio) is usually defined as the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. Many species de ...
of the city population was 107.31 males to 100 females. As in most of eastern China, the official ethnic makeup of Nanjing is predominantly Han nationality (98.56 percent), with 50 other official ethnic groups. In 1999, 77,394 residents belonged to officially defined minorities, among which the vast majority (64,832) were Hui, contributing 83.76 percent to the minority population. The second and third largest minority groups were
Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and Q ...
(2,311) and Zhuang (533). Most of the minority nationalities resided in Jianye District, comprising 9.13 percent of the district's population.


Economy


Earlier development

There was a massive cultivating in the area of Nanjing from the Three Kingdoms period to Southern dynasties. The sparse population led to land as royal rewards were granted for rules’ people. At first, the landless peasants benefited from it, then the senior officials and aristocratic families. Since large numbers of immigrants flooded into the area, reclamation was quite common in its remote parts, which promoted its agricultural development. The craft industries, by contrast, had a faster growth. Especially the textiles section, there were about 200,000 craftsmen by the late Qing. Several dynasties established their imperial textiles bureaus in Nanjing. The Nanjing Brocade () is their exquisite product as the cloth for the royal garments such as dragon robes. Meanwhile, the satins from Nanjing were called "tribute satins" (""), because they were usually paid as tribute to the monarchy. Besides, minting, papermaking, shipbuilding grew initially since the Three Kingdoms period. As Nanjing was the capital of the Ming dynasty, the industries further expanded, where both state-owned and numerous private businesses served the imperial court. Several place names in Nanjing remains witnessed them, such as Wangjinshi (, the market sells wangjin), Guyilang (, the corridor for garments bargain), Youfangqiao (, the bridge near an oil mill). Moreover, the trade in Nanjing was also flourishing. The Ming dynasty drawing ''Prosperous Nanjing'' () depicts a vivid market scene bustling with people and full of various sorts of shops. However, the economic developments were almost wiped out by the Taiping Rebellion's catastrophe.


Modern times

Into the first half of the twentieth century after the establishment of ROC, Nanjing gradually shifted from being a production hub towards being a heavy consumption city, mainly because of the rapid expansion of its wealthy population after Nanjing once again regained the political spotlight of China. A number of huge
department stores A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic appea ...
such as Zhongyang Shangchang sprouted up, attracting merchants from all over China to sell their products in Nanjing. In 1933, the revenue generated by the food and entertainment industry in the city exceeded the sum of the output of the manufacturing and agriculture industry. One third of the city population worked in the
service industry The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector ( raw materials) and the secon ...
, . In the 1950s after PRC was established by CPC, the government invested heavily in the city to build a series of state-owned
heavy industries Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); ...
, as part of the national plan of rapid industrialization, converting it into a heavy industry production center of east China. Overenthusiastic in building a “world-class” industrial city, the government also made many disastrous mistakes during development, such as spending hundreds of millions of yuan to mine for non-existent coal, resulting in negative economic growth in the late 1960s. From the 1960s to 1980s there were five pillar industries, namely, electronics, automobiles, petrochemical, iron and steel, and power, each with big state-owned firms. After the
Reform and Opening The Chinese economic reform or reform and opening-up (), known in the West as the opening of China, is the program of economic reforms termed "Socialism with Chinese characteristics" and " socialist market economy" in the People's Republic of C ...
recovering market economy, the
state-owned enterprises A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...
found themselves incapable of competing with efficient multinational firms and local private firms, hence were either mired in heavy debt or forced into bankruptcy or
privatization Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...
and this resulted in large numbers of laid-off workers who were technically not unemployed but effectively jobless.


Today

The current economy of the city is basically newly developed based on the past. Service industries are dominating, accounting for about 60 percent of the GDP of the city, and financial industry, culture industry and tourism industry are top 3 of them. Industries of information technology, energy saving and environmental protection, new energy, smart power grid and intelligent equipment manufacturing have become pillar industries. Big civilian-run enterprise include Suning Commerce,
Yurun Yurun Group Limited () is the largest meat supplier in Mainland China. It is headquartered in Nanjing, Jiangsu. It operates in two food sectors, chilled meat and frozen meat, and processed meat products, which are marketed under its brand names ...
, Sanpower, Fuzhong, Hiteker, 5stars,
Jinpu Jinpu () is a town in southeastern Henan province, China. It is under the administration of Yucheng County Yucheng County () is a county located in the east of Henan province, People's Republic of China, affiliated to Shangqiu City, it is 47. ...
,
Tiandi Chinese theology, which comes in different interpretations according to the classic texts and the common religion, and specifically Confucian, Taoist and other philosophical formulations, is fundamentally monistic, that is to say it sees t ...
, CTTQ Pharmaceutical,
Nanjing Iron and Steel Company Nanjing Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. (abb. NISCO) is a publicly traded steel maker based in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China. The parent company of NISCO is Nanjing Nangang Iron and Steel United Co., Ltd. (), a joint venture of Hong Kong listed compa ...
and
Simcere Pharmaceutical Simcere Pharmaceutical Group or Simcere Pharmaceutical (, ) is an innovation and R&D-driven pharmaceutical company with a mission of “providing today’s patients with medicines of the future.” It has established a National Key Laboratory of ...
. Big state-owned firms include Panda Electronics,
Yangzi Petrochemical The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...
,
Jinling Petrochemical Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
,
Nanjing Chemical Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
, Jincheng Motors,
Jinling Pharmaceutical Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
, Chenguang and
NARI Nari may refer to: People Given name: *Nari (Korean name), including a list of people with the name *Nari Contractor (born 1934), Indian cricketer *Nari Gandhi (1934–1993), Indian architect * Nari Hira, Indian film producer *Nari Kusakawa, Japane ...
. The city has also attracted foreign investment, multinational firms such as Siemens,
Ericsson (lit. "Telephone Stock Company of LM Ericsson"), commonly known as Ericsson, is a Sweden, Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company headquartered in Stockholm. The company sells infrastructure, software, and services in ...
,
Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a global brand post ...
,
Iveco IVECO, an acronym for Industrial Vehicles Corporation, is an Italian multinational transport vehicle manufacturing company. It designs and builds light, medium, and heavy commercial vehicles. The name IVECO first appeared in 1975 after a merger ...
,
A.O. Smith A. O. Smith Corporation is an American manufacturer of both residential and commercial water heaters and boilers and the largest manufacturer and marketer of water heaters in North America. It also supplies water treatment products in the Asian ...
, and Sharp have established their lines, and a number of multinationals such as Ford, IBM,
Lucent Lucent Technologies, Inc. was an American Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications equipment company headquartered in Murray Hill, New Jersey, Murray Hill, New Jersey. It was established on September 30, 1996, through the dives ...
,
Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
and
SAP Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separ ...
established research center there. Many China-based leading firms such as
Huawei Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. ( ; ) is a Chinese multinational technology corporation headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. It designs, develops, produces and sells telecommunications equipment, consumer electronics and various smart ...
, ZTE and
Lenovo Lenovo Group Limited, often shortened to Lenovo ( , ), is a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in designing, manufacturing, and marketing consumer electronics, personal computers, software, business solutions, and related se ...
have key R&D institutes in the city. Nanjing is an industrial technology research and development hub, hosting many R&D centers and institutions, especially in areas of electronics technology, information technology, computer software, biotechnology and pharmaceutical technology and new material technology. In recent years, Nanjing has been developing its economy, commerce, industry, as well as city construction. In 2013 the city's GDP was RMB 801 billion (3rd in Jiangsu), and GDP per capita (current price) was RMB 98,174(US$16041), an 11 percent increase from 2012. The average urban resident's
disposable income Disposable income is total personal income minus current income taxes. In national accounts definitions, personal income minus personal current taxes equals disposable personal income. Subtracting personal outlays (which includes the major ...
was RMB 36,200, while the average rural resident's net income was RMB 14,513. The registered urban
unemployment rate Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refer ...
was 3.02 percent, lower than the national average (4.3 percent). Nanjing's Gross Domestic Product ranked 12th in 2013 in China, and its overall competence ranked 6th in mainland and 8th including Taiwan and Hong Kong in 2009. ;Industrial zones There are a number of industrial zones in Nanjing.
Nanjing New and High-Tech Industry Development Zone

Nanjing Baixia Hi-Tech Industrial Zone

Nanjing Economic and Technological Development Zone


Transport

Nanjing is the transport hub in eastern China and the downstream Yangtze River area. Different means of transport constitute a three-dimensional transport system that includes land, water and air. As in most other Chinese cities, public transport is the dominant mode of travel for the majority of citizens. As from October 2014, Nanjing had four bridges and two tunnels over the
Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flow ...
, linking districts north of the river with the city center on the south bank.


Rail

Nanjing is an important railway hub in eastern China. It serves as rail junction for the Beijing-Shanghai (Jinghu) (which is itself composed of the old
Jinpu Jinpu () is a town in southeastern Henan province, China. It is under the administration of Yucheng County Yucheng County () is a county located in the east of Henan province, People's Republic of China, affiliated to Shangqiu City, it is 47. ...
and
Huning Railway Huning or Huening is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Franz Huning (1827–1905), German-American pioneer and merchant *Mathias Huning (born 1969), German tennis player Modern Notable People include: *Huening Kai (born 2002), A ...
s),
Nanjing–Tongling Railway Nanjing–Tongling railway or Ningtong railway (), is a single-track railroad in eastern China between Nanjing in Jiangsu Province and Tongling in Anhui Province. The line is long. Major towns along route include Nanjing, Maanshan, Wuhu and Ton ...
(Ningtong), Nanjing–Qidong (Ningqi), and the Nanjing-Xi'an (Ningxi) which encompasses the Hefei–Nanjing Railway. Nanjing is connected to the national high-speed railway network by
Beijing–Shanghai High-Speed Railway The Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway (or Jinghu high-speed railway, from its name in Mandarin) is a high-speed railway that connects two major economic zones in the People's Republic of China: the Bohai Economic Rim and the Yangtze Riv ...
and Shanghai–Wuhan–Chengdu Passenger Dedicated Line, with several more high-speed rail lines under construction. The main stations in Nanjing are Nanjing Station, Nanjing South Station, Jiangning Station, Lishui Station, Xianlin Station, Jiangning West Station, Nanjing East Station, Nanjing Passenger and Technical Station, as well as the new Nanjing North Station and Lukou Air-Rail Intermodal Transport Hub Station planning in. Among them, Nanjing Railway Station is the national railway hub station and China's top ten railway hubs, Nanjing South Railway Station is the national railway hub station and Asia's largest high-speed railway station, and Nanjing East Railway Station is the largest marshalling station in East China and the country's 15th largest railway network marshalling station. Nanjing Passenger Technology Station is a train technology station Among all 17 railway stations in Nanjing, passenger rail service is mainly provided by Nanjing Railway Station and Nanjing South Railway Station, while other stations like Nanjing West Railway Station, Zhonghuamen Railway Station and Xianlin Railway Station serve minor roles. Nanjing Railway Station was first built in 1968. On November 12, 1999, the station was burnt in a serious fire. Reconstruction of the station was finished on September 1, 2005. Nanjing South Railway Station, which is one of the 5 hub stations on Beijing–Shanghai High-Speed Railway, has officially been claimed as the largest railway station in Asia and the second largest in the world in terms of GFA (Gross Floor Area). Construction of Nanjing South Station began on 10 January 2008. The station was opened for public service in 2011.


Aviation

Nanjing is one of the earliest cities in China to establish civil aviation, and has built 13 airports. The first airport was the Xiaoying Airport built by the Nationalist Government in 1912. In 1927, the Ming Palace Airport was built on the Ming Palace site as a military-civilian airport. The Daxiaochang Airport was completed in 1929. As a training site for the Chinese Air Force, it established the country's largest shooting range at the time. It was one of the largest aviation bases in China's history. It was also the airport with the best facilities at the time. It was designated as the highest level of aviation in China before the Anti-Japanese War Terminus. The Central Aviation School, founded in April 1931 in the University Field, is known as the cradle of the Chinese Air Force. In 1934, Dajiaochang Airport was officially opened as a military airport, and Ming Palace Airport was a civilian airport. In July 1956, Nanjing Civil Aviation moved to Dajiaochang Airport, and Dajiaochang was used by both military and civilian use. In July 1997,
Nanjing Lukou International Airport Nanjing Lukou International Airport is the main airport serving Nanjing (the capital of Jiangsu Province) and a major airport serving the Yangtze River Delta area. As of 2020, it is the 12th busiest civil airport in China, Dropping one plac ...
was opened, civil aviation moved to Lukou Airport, and Dajiaochang Airport was retained as a military airport. Nanjing Ma'an International Airport was opened in July 2015, and the entire Daxiaochang Airport was relocated here. and Dajiaochang Airport was retained as a military airport. Nanjing Ma'an International Airport was opened in July 2015, and the entire Daxiaochang Airport was relocated here. and Dajiaochang Airport was retained as a military airport. Nanjing Ma'an International Airport was opened in July 2015, and the entire Daxiaochang Airport was relocated here.
Nanjing Lukou International Airport Nanjing Lukou International Airport is the main airport serving Nanjing (the capital of Jiangsu Province) and a major airport serving the Yangtze River Delta area. As of 2020, it is the 12th busiest civil airport in China, Dropping one plac ...
is the gateway airport of Jiangsu Province and Nanjing City. It is a major national trunk airport, a first-class aviation port, and a major cargo airport in East China. It is an alternate airport with Shanghai Hongqiao Airport and Pudong Airport. 10,000-class large-scale airport ranks as a large national hub airport, China's air cargo center, express mail distribution center, and a national regional transportation hub. It has established a route network radiating Asia, connecting Europe and America, and reaching Australia. In addition, Nanjing also has Nanjing Ma'an International Airport (for military and civilian use), Tushan Airport (for military use), and Ruohang Nanjing Laoshan Airport (China's first private heliport).


Shipping

Nanjing is an important shipping center in China. Dong Wu (Eastern Wu) of the Three Kingdoms owns military ports and commercial ports and sails overseas. During the Eastern Jin and Southern Dynasties, it was "a river that stretched across the five continents". In the Yuan Dynasty, Nanjing was one of the shipping ports for the transportation of grain from the south to the north. In the Ming Dynasty, Nanjing Port became the base port and departure port for Zheng He's voyages. Contemporary Nanjing Port is an important hub port in China and a first-class port open to the outside world. It is a multifunctional river-sea port in East China and the Yangtze River Basin for reloading, land and water transfer, cargo distribution and opening to the outside world. It is the only container railway and waterway in the Yangtze River Delta. A seamless port. The completion of the 12.5-meter deep-water channel project below the Yangtze River in Nanjing has made Nanjing Port the deepest inland international deep-water seaport, and it is also a comprehensive hub for China's global river-to-sea transshipment.


Road

As an important regional hub in the
Yangtze River Delta The Yangtze Delta or Yangtze River Delta (YRD, or simply ) is a triangle-shaped megalopolis generally comprising the Wu Chinese-speaking areas of Shanghai, southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang. The area lies in the heart of the Jiangnan reg ...
, Nanjing is well-connected by over 60 state and provincial highways to all parts of China. Motorways such as Hu–Ning, Ning–He, Ning–Hang enable commuters to travel to Shanghai,
Hefei Hefei (; ) is the capital and largest city of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, and cultural center of Anhui. Its population was 9,369,881 as of the 2020 census and its built-up ( ...
,
Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, wh ...
, and other important cities quickly and conveniently. Inside the city of Nanjing, there are of highways, with a highway coverage density of 3.38 kilometers per hundred square kilometers (5.44 mi/100 sq mi). The total road coverage density of the city is 112.56 kilometers per hundred square kilometers (181.15 mi/100 sq mi). The two artery roads in Nanjing are Zhongshan Road and Hanzhong. The two roads cross in the city center, Xinjiekou. Expressways : * G25 Changchun–Shenzhen Expressway *
G36 Nanjing–Luoyang Expressway The Nanjing–Luoyang Expressway (), designated as G36 and commonly referred to as the Ningluo Expressway () is an expressway that connects the cities of Nanjing, Jiangsu, China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is ...
* G40 Shanghai–Xi'an Expressway * G42 Shanghai–Chengdu Expressway *
G4211 Nanjing–Wuhu Expressway The Nanjing–Wuhu Expressway (), commonly referred to as the ''Ningwu Expressway'' () is a north-south bound expressway that connects Nanjing, the capital city of Jiangsu and Wuhu, Anhui. It is an auxiliary route of G42 Shanghai–Chengdu Expressw ...
, a spur of G42 that extends west to
Wuhu Wuhu () is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Anhui province, China. Sitting on the southeast bank of the Yangtze River, Wuhu borders Xuancheng to the southeast, Chizhou and Tongling to the southwest, Hefei city to the northwest, Ma'ansh ...
, Anhui *
S55 Nanjing–Gaochun(Xuancheng) Expressway S55 may refer to: Aircraft * Savoia-Marchetti S.55, an Italian flying boat * Sikorsky S-55, an American helicopter * Sukhoi S-55, a proposed Russian fighter aircraft Automobiles * BMW S55, an automobile engine * Mercedes-Benz S 55 AMG, a luxury ...
() * S38 Yanjiang Expressway () *
G2503 Nanjing Ring Expressway The Nanjing Ring Expressway (), designated as G2503, is ring expressway in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a populat ...
() * S001 Nanjing Ring Highway () National Highway Nanjing is a national comprehensive transportation hub, and its highway network density ranks among the top central cities in the country. As of 2019, the total mileage of Nanjing highways opened to traffic has reached 630 kilometers, and the highway network density has reached 9.56 kilometers per 100 square kilometers, ranking first in the country. With Nanjing as the center, Ninghu, Ninggao, Ningzhen, Ningyang, Ningchu, Ninglian, Ningtong, Ningchao, Ninghe, Ningluo, Ningma, Ningxuan, Ningyan, Ninghuai, Ningmu, Ningchang, Ninghang and other high-grade highways lead to Jiang surrounding provinces and cities in a radial pattern. Among them, national expressways include G25 Changshen Expressway (Ninghang Expressway), G36 Ningluo Expressway, G40 Shanghai-Shaanxi Expressway (Ninghe Expressway), G42 Shanghai-Rongming Expressway (Shanghai-Nanjing Expressway), G4211 Ningwu Expressway (Ningma Expressway) And G2501 Nanjing Ring Expressway, the national roads include 104 national highway, 205 national highway, 312 national highway, and 328 national highway. Main long-distance bus terminals: Nanjing Bus Station, Nanjing South Bus Station, Nanjing North Bus Station, Nanjing East Bus Station, Jiangning Bus Station, Lishui Bus Station, Gaochun Bus Station, Nanjing Getang Bus Station. : *
China National Highway 104 China National Highway 104 (G104) runs from Beijing to Pingtan via Jinan, Xuzhou, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Taizhou and Fuzhou. It runs to approximately 2606 km, and, on a map, runs southeast towards Nanjing and Hangzhou before turning south-sou ...
—motorists can either drive northwest to Beijing or south to Fuzhou, Fujian. *
China National Highway 205 China National Highway 205 (G205) runs from Shanhaiguan, Hebei Province to Shenzhen, Guangdong. It is 3,160 kilometres in length and runs south from Shanhaiguan towards Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian, and ends in Gu ...
—motorists can either drive north to Shanhaiguan, Hebei or south to
Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major Sub-provincial division, sub-provincial city and one of the Special economic zones of China, special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pea ...
, Guangdong. *
China National Highway 312 China National Highway 312 (312国道), also referred to as Route 312 or The Mother Road, is a key east-west route beginning in Shanghai and ending at Khorgas, Xinjiang in the Ili River valley, on the border with Kazakhstan. In total it spans , p ...
—motorists can either drive east to Shanghai or west to
Khorgas Khorgas, officially known as KorgasThe official spelling according to , (Beijing, ''SinoMaps Press'' 1997); ( zh, s=霍尔果斯, t=霍爾果斯, p=Huò'ěrguǒsī; kk, قورعاس, Qorǵas), also known as ''Chorgos'', ''Gorgos'', ''Horgos' ...
, Xinjiang on the Kazakh border *
China National Highway 328 China National Highway 328 (G328) runs from Nanjing to Hai'an in Jiangsu. It is in length and runs east from Nanjing, going through Liuhe Town and Yangzhou. Route and distance See also *China National Highways {{China National Highways T ...
—Nanjing is the western terminus of G328, which motorists can follow to
Hai'an County Hai'an () is a county-level city under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Nantong, in eastern Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern Chi ...
in eastern Jiangsu


Public transport

The city also boasts an efficient public transport network, which mainly consists of bus, taxi and metro systems. The bus network, which is currently run by three companies since 2011, provides more than 370 routes covering all parts of the city and suburban areas. At present, the
Nanjing Metro The Nanjing Metro is a rapid transit system serving the urban and suburban districts of Nanjing, the capital city of Jiangsu Province in the People's Republic of China. Proposals for a metro system serving Nanjing first began in 1984, with appr ...
system has a grand total of of route and 173 stations across 10 lines. They are Line 1, Line 2, Line 3, Line 4, Line 10, Line S1, Line S3, Line S7, Line S8 and Line S9. The city is planning to complete a 17-line Metro and light-rail system by 2030. The expansion of the Metro network will greatly facilitate intracity transport and reduce the currently heavy traffic congestion.


Metro

Nanjing's first subway officially opened on September 3, 2005. It is the sixth city in mainland China to open a subway. As of 2019, Nanjing subway has 10 lines and 174 stations, with a total length of 378 kilometers and an average daily passenger flow. With more than 3.4 million passengers, the length of subway lines ranks fourth in China (after Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou) and fifth in the world. At present, Nanjing Metro has 13 transfer stations and 36 transfer routes, among which Nanjing South Railway Station can be changed to Line 1, Line 3, Line S1, and Line S3.


Bus

As of the end of 2018, Nanjing had 6,909 buses, operating 468 bus lines, with a total length of , an average daily mileage of , and an average daily passenger volume of 2,182 million. At present, Nanjing has eliminated buses below the National III standard and non-air-conditioned buses, and the number of pure electric buses ranks second in the world.


Taxi

As of the end of 2019, there were more than 12,000 real-name certified taxis in Nanjing. The appearance of the taxis was mostly uniform yellow and black, and the royal blue luxury taxis were a minority. At present, there are four types of taxi tariff standards in Nanjing: ordinary car 11 yuan / 3 kilometers, base price 2.4 yuan / km for car kilometers; mid-range car 11 yuan / 2.5 kilometers, 2.9 yuan / km; high-end cars 11 Yuan / 2 km, 2.9 Yuan / km; pure electric vehicles 11 Yuan / 2.5 km, 2.9 yuan / km.


Online car-hailing

As of July 2019, there are 6 online ride-hailing platforms in Nanjing, namely Meituan Taxi, Didi Chuxing, First Taxi-hailing, Cao Cao Special Car, Shenzhou Special Car, T3 Travel, and the current car qualification rate of each platform is 70% the above. At present, there are about 13,000 online car-hailing vehicles legally applying for "''car permits''" in Nanjing.


Tram

As of 2019, there are 2 lines of Nanjing trams. Nanjing Hexi Tram was officially put into operation on August 1, 2014. It is the world's first inter-area contactless tram, and China's first tram to be charged at a station. The line is about 7.76 kilometers long and has 13 stations., Including 4 subway transfer stations. The Nanjing Kylin Tram was officially put into operation on October 31, 2017. The line is about 8.95 kilometers long and has 15 stations, including 1 subway transfer station.


Air

Nanjing's airport,
Lukou International Airport Nanjing Lukou International Airport is the main airport serving Nanjing (the capital of Jiangsu Province) and a major airport serving the Yangtze River Delta area. As of 2020, it is the 12th busiest civil airport in China, Dropping one pl ...
NKG, serves both national and international flights. In 2013, Nanjing airport handled 15,011,792 passengers and 255,788.6 tonnes of freight. The airport currently has 85 routes to national and international destinations, which include Japan,
Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republi ...
,
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
,
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
, Singapore, United States and Germany. The airport is connected by a highway directly to the city center, and is also linked to various intercity highways, making it accessible to the passengers from the surrounding cities. A railway Ninggao Intercity Line has been built to link the airport with Nanjing South Railway Station. Lukou Airport was opened on 28 June 1997, replacing Nanjing Dajiaochang Airport as the main airport serving Nanjing. Dajiaochang Airport is still used as a military air base. Nanjing has another airport – Nanjing Ma'an International Airport which temporarily serves as a dual-use military and civil airport.


Soil

There are mainly two types of soil in Nanjing: zonal soil and cultivated soil. The zonal soil is yellow-brown soil in the northern and central areas of Nanjing, and red soil in the southern part of the border with Anhui. The cultivated soil formed by man-made farming is mainly paddy soil, and there are some yellow Gang soil and vegetable garden soil. The distribution of soil presents a certain law with the undulation of topography and hydrological conditions, which can be divided into three categories: low mountain and hilly area, hilly area and plain area. According to the second national soil survey from 1980 to 1987, the soil in Nanjing is divided into 7 soil types, 13 subtypes, 30 soil genera and 66 soil species, with a total area of 416,300 hectares.


Water

Nanjing is located at the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The Yangtze River runs diagonally across the city from southwest to northeast. It is about 93 kilometers long and more than 300 kilometers away from the sea entrance. The Qinhuai River rushes from south to north, passes through the main urban area, and joins the Yangtze River. It is known as the mother river of Nanjing. Xuanwu Lake and Mochou Lake are like two pearls embedded in the main city. The water area of the city now accounts for about 11%. The river and lake water system mainly belongs to the Yangtze River system, and only the rivers that flow into Gaoyou Lake and Baoying Lake in the northern part of Liuhe District belong to the Huai River system. The Yangtze River system includes the Qinhuai River system in the south of the Yangtze River, the Chuhe River system in the north of the Yangtze River, the riverside system formed by small rivers that flow into the river on both sides of the river, the two lakes system composed of Shijiu Lake and Gucheng Lake, and the West Taihu Lake system in the east of Gaochun. The groundwater resources are abundant and the water quality is excellent, and the Pukou Pearl Spring is particularly famous. Jiangning Tangshan and Pukou Tangquan are hot spring areas with a long history. The Port of Nanjing is the largest inland port in China, with annual cargo tonnage reached 191,970,000 t in 2012. The port area is in length and has 64 berths including 16 berths for ships with a tonnage of more than 10,000. Nanjing is also the biggest container port along the Yangtze River; in March 2004, the one million container-capacity base, Longtan Containers Port Area opened, further consolidating Nanjing as the leading port in the region. , it operated six public ports and three industrial ports. The Yangtze River's 12.5-meter-deep waterway enables 50,000-ton-class ocean ships directly arrive at the Nanjing Port, and the ocean ships with the capacities of 100,000 tons or above can also reach the port after load reduction in the Yangtze River's high-tide period. CSC Jinling has a large shipyard.


Animal and plant resources

Nanjing is one of the regions with abundant plant resources and a wide variety of plants in China. The vegetation types are complex, including 7 types of natural vegetation including coniferous forest, deciduous broad-leaved forest, mixed deciduous and evergreen broad-leaved forest, bamboo forest, shrub, grass and aquatic vegetation. Cultivated vegetation includes field crops, vegetable crops, and economic forests, orchards and green belts. Plant species, there are 1061 species of vascular plants, accounting for 64.7% of the total in Jiangsu Province. Seven species such as Sphaerocarpus sinensis, Chinese Allium chinense, Ming Codonopsis, and Pterocarpus sinensis are national key protected rare and endangered plants. The city's forest coverage rate is 27.1%. Among wild animals, there are 795 species of insects belonging to 125 families of 11 orders. There are 99 species of fish belonging to 22 families and 12 orders. There are 327 species of terrestrial wild vertebrates, belonging to 29 orders and 90 families. 243 species of birds belong to 56 families of 17 orders. 47 species of mammals belong to 8 orders and 22 families. Among all animal species, 9 species of wild animals under national first-level protection, such as the Oriental White Crane and White Shoulder Eagle, 65 species of wild animals under the second-level protection, such as the little swan, Chinese tiger and swallowtail, and finless porpoise, and 125 key protected animals in Jiangsu Province Species, 35 species of endangered animals.


Yangtze River crossings

In the 1960s, the first Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge was completed, and served as the only bridge crossing over the Lower Yangtze in eastern China at that time. The bridge was a source of pride and an important symbol of modern China, having been built and designed by the Chinese themselves following failed surveys by other nations and the reliance on and then rejection of Soviet expertise. Begun in 1960 and opened to traffic in 1968, the bridge is a two-tiered road and rail design spanning on the upper deck, with approximately spanning the river itself. Since then four more bridges and two tunnels have been built. Going in the downstream direction, the Yangtze crossings in Nanjing are: Dashengguan Bridge, Line 10 Metro Tunnel,
Third Bridge The Deputy Darcy Castelo de Mendonça Bridge, colloquially known as the Third Bridge (Portuguese: Terceira Ponte), is the second tallest bridge in Brazil, connecting the cities of Vila Velha and Vitória in the state of Espirito Santo. Spannin ...
, Nanjing Yangtze River Tunnel (), First Bridge, Second Bridge and Fourth Bridge,Nanjing Yangtze Tunnel (). In the near future, Such Yangtze Crossings will be added as follow :Jianning West Rd. Tunnel, Xianxin Rd. Tunnel, Heyan Rd. Tunnel, Fifth Nanjing Yangtze Bridge.


Mineral resources

Nanjing is rich in mineral resources. The discovered minerals mainly include 41 types of iron, copper, lead, zinc, strontium, ferrosulfide, dolomite, limestone, gypsum, and clay, among which 23 are of proven reserves and 20 are of industrial mining value. There are more than 10 kinds being mined. The quality and reserves of strontium ore (celestite) rank first in the country. The reserves of copper and lead-zinc ore account for more than 90% of the province, iron ore accounts for 89% of the province, and limestone, dolomite, and attapulgite clay mines are in the whole province. Province occupies an important position. Nanjing's minerals are mainly concentrated in 4 metallogenic belts, namely Jiangpu-Liuhe iron and copper metallogenic belt, Ningzhen iron, copper, and sulfur polymetallic metallogenic belt, Ningwu iron, copper.


Scenic spots

Nanjing is located in the Yang hilly area of Ningzhen Town, with low hills and gentle hills, dragons and tigers, thousands of miles of Yangtze River passing through the city, Qixia Mountain, Mufu Mountain, Lion Mountain, Qingliang Mountain, Jilong Mountain, Niushou Mountain, and other surrounding urban areas, Qinhuai Rivers, Xuanwu Lake, Huashen Lake and Mochou Lake are dotted around, creating a wonderful landscape with mountains, water, city, and forests as the big pattern. As an ancient capital with splendid cultural traditions and rich historical heritage, it has nurtured numerous cultural landscapes. The Ming people have the chant of "Jinling Forty Scenery", the Qing people have the saying of "Jinling Forty-Eight Scenery", spring outing "Niu Shou Yan Lan", summer "Zhong Fu Qingyun", autumn "Qixia Holy Land" As of the end of 2019, Nanjing had 1 World Cultural Heritage, 2 World Cultural Heritage Preliminary List, 516 cultural relics protection units at the city level and above, including 112 national key cultural relics protection units, 114 provincial cultural relics protection units 126 points, 353 municipal-level cultural relics protection units, 347 sites, 2 national-level historical and cultural blocks, 11 provincial-level historical and cultural blocks, 3 national-level historical and cultural towns (villages), 51 national-level tourist attractions, including 4A-level There are 26 scenic spots above, including 2 five-A-level scenic spots and 24 four-A-level scenic spots. One world cultural heritage is Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum, two national historical and cultural blocks are Nanjing MeiyuanXincun block and Yihe Road block, and three national historical and cultural towns (villages) are Chunxi Town, Gaochun District, Nanjing City. Qiqiao Village, Qiqiao Town, Gaochun District, Yangliu Village, Hushu Street, Jiangning District. The two five-A-level scenic spots are Confucius Temple-Qinhuai Scenic Belt Scenic Area and Zhongshan Scenic Area. 24 four-A-level scenic spots include Yuhuatai Scenic Area, Presidential Palace Scenic Area, Yuejiang Tower Scenic Area, Xuanwu Lake Scenic Area, Chaotian Palace Scenic Area, etc.


Economic industry


Overview

In 1981, Nanjing was listed as one of the 15 economic center cities by the country. In 2004, Nanjing ranked sixth in China's economic center positioning index, second only to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Tianjin. In 2008, the headquarters economy development capacity ranked fifth in China, behind Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. In 2014 China's regional central cities (excluding Beijing and Shanghai) competitiveness evaluation, Nanjing was second only to Shenzhen and Guangzhou. In 2015, Nanjing ranked fifth in China's investment attractive cities, closely following Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. In August 2020, Nanjing ranked among China's top ten GDP in the first half of the year. In 2019, Nanjing's GDP was 1403,015 billion yuan, ranking 11th in the country, an increase of 7.8% over the previous year. The per capita GDP is 152,886 yuan, ranking second in China's municipalities, sub-provincial cities and provincial capitals, second only to Shenzhen, and the provincial capital ranking first.In 2021, nanjing's GDP reached 1,6355.32 billion yuan.


Primary industry

Nanjing is one of China's important agricultural and commercial grain bases. The main cash crops are rice, cotton, silkworm cocoons, hemp, tea, bamboo, fruits, medicinal materials, etc. Due to the fertile water quality on both sides of the Yangtze River, it is also one of China's important freshwater fishery bases. In 2019, the total output value of Nanjing's agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery was 47.250 billion yuan, an increase of 4.8% over the previous year. Among them, the agricultural output value was 24.077 billion yuan, the forestry output value was 2.017 billion yuan, the animal husbandry output value was 2.435 billion yuan, the fishery output value was 15.389 billion yuan, and the agricultural, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery service industry output value was 3.333 billion yuan.


Secondary industry

Nanjing is the cradle of modern Chinese industry. As the starting place of the Westernization Movement in the late Qing Dynasty and the capital of the Republic of China, Nanjing has played a pivotal role in the Chinese industrial system since the middle of the 19th century, and is a model of modern Chinese urban industrialization and modernization transformation. The birth of Jinling Manufacturing Bureau in 1865 marked the beginning of Nanjing's modern industry. A number of well-known enterprises such as Hutchison International, Jinpu Railway South Section Machine Factory (predecessor of Nanjing Puzhen Rolling Stock Factory), Yongli Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. (predecessor of Nanjing Chemical Industry Company), and China Cement Plant have been completed and put into operation successively, forming Nanjing The embryonic form of modern industry. Since the reform and opening up, Nanjing has become an important national comprehensive industrial production base, modern service center, and advanced manufacturing base, as well as a national pilot zone for the integration of informatization and industrialization. In 2019, Nanjing's total industrial added value was 421.577 billion yuan, an increase of 6.9%. The added value of industrial enterprises above the designated size was 309.226 billion yuan, an increase of 7.0%. Among the industries above designated size, the added value of state-owned and state-holding enterprises fell by 0.2%, private enterprises increased by 20.3%, and foreign companies, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan enterprises increased by 7.0%. Large and medium-sized enterprises increased by 3.9%, and small and micro enterprises increased by 18.2%. Among the 37 major industries in the system, 22 industries have achieved growth in added value. Among the top ten industries ranked by cumulative value-added, six industries including electronics, electrical machinery, steel, medicine, general equipment, and non-metal products increased by 20.2%,


Tertiary industry

Nanjing is an important regional financial and business center positioned by the National Development and Reform Commission. The financial industry is an important strategic pillar industry in Nanjing. The total financial volume and financial resources account for 25% of Jiangsu Province, and the financial center index ranks sixth in the country. In the 2018 China Financial Center Index evaluation, Nanjing's financial industry performance ranked fourth in China, second only to Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. In 2018, Nanjing's financial industry achieved an added value of 147.332 billion yuan, and the balance of domestic and foreign currency deposits in financial institutions was 3452.486 billion yuan. Nanjing is China's service outsourcing base and national software export innovation base. It is China's only pilot city for comprehensive reform of the national science and technology system. The software industry is the number one leading industry and pillar industry that Nanjing strives to cultivate. At the end of 2019, Nanjing achieved a total execution value of 17.33 billion US dollars in service outsourcing, ranking first among Chinese cities. In 2018, the software and information service industry had a revenue of 450 billion yuan, ranking fourth in China and first in Jiangsu after Beijing, Shenzhen, and Shanghai, accounting for 7.1% of the country's total and 50.8% of Jiangsu's. There are 12 unicorn companies in Nanjing in 2019, ranking seventh in global cities and fifth in China. The convention and exhibition industry is an important industry in Nanjing. In the "World 2013 City Conference Industry Development Ranking" issued by the International Conference and Convention Association (ICCA), Nanjing has become the city with the most international conferences in China after Beijing and Shanghai. In 2019, Beichen Convention and Exhibition Research Institute released the "China Exhibition Index Report 2019", and Nanjing ranked seventh in China in the comprehensive index of domestic urban exhibition industry development. According to the "2017 China Exhibition Statistics Report" released in 2018, Nanjing ranked third in the number of exhibitions held in all cities in China, and ranked fifth in the exhibition area in all cities in China.


Culture and art

Being one of the four ancient capitals of China, Nanjing has always been a cultural center attracting intellectuals from all over the country. In the Tang and
Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetiti ...
dynasties, Nanjing was a place where poets gathered and composed poems reminiscent of its luxurious past; during the
Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peop ...
and
Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
dynasties, the city was the official
imperial examination The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to a civil-service examination system in Imperial China, administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by ...
center ( Jiangnan Examination Hall) for the
Jiangnan Jiangnan or Jiang Nan (; formerly romanized Kiang-nan, literally "South of the River" meaning "South of the Yangtze") is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, incl ...
region, again acting as a hub where different thoughts and opinions converged and thrived. Today, with a long cultural tradition and strong support from local educational institutions, Nanjing is commonly viewed as a "city of culture" and one of the more pleasant cities to live in China.


Art

Some of the leading art groups of China are based in Nanjing; they include the
Qianxian Dance Company Qian County () or Qianxian is a county under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Xianyang, in the central part of Shaanxi province, China. Administrative divisions Qian County is divided into 1 subdistrict and 15 towns, which are ...
, Nanjing Dance Company, Nanjing Little Red Flower Art Troupe, Jiangsu Peking Opera Institute and Nanjing Xiaohonghua Art Company among others.
Jiangsu Province Kun Opera The Jiangsu Performing Arts Group (), or JPAG, is a theater company established in 2001 and based in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. It is one of the largest performing arts groups in China and has won eighteen Plum Blossom Prizes and twenty-one Wen Hua A ...
is one of the best theaters for Kunqu, China's oldest stage art. It is considered a conservative and traditional troupe. Nanjing also has professional opera troupes for the Yang, Yue (shaoxing), Xi and Jing (Chinese opera varieties) as well as Suzhou pingtan, spoken theater and puppet theater.
Jiangsu Art Gallery Jiangsu Art Gallery, usually known as Jiangsu Provincial Art Museum (), is a museum in Nanjing, in Jiangsu province in China. It was founded in 1936, during the Nanjing decade, as China's first state level museum. In 1960, it was formally renamed ...
is the largest gallery in Jiangsu Province, presenting some of the best traditional and contemporary art pieces of China like the historical Master Ho-Kan; many other smaller-scale galleries, such as Red Chamber Art Garden and Jinling Stone Gallery, also have their own special exhibitions. As of 2019, Nanjing has 14 cultural centers, 100 cultural stations, 15 public libraries (excluding libraries for education systems and enterprises and institutions), 132 movie theaters, and 2 large-scale convention and exhibition centers. They are Nanjing International Exhibition Center and Nanjing International Expo Center, 87 various museums, including 77 state-owned museums and 10 non-state-owned museums. As of the end of August 2020, there are 137 calligraphy and painting academies, art museums, and art galleries in Nanjing. Nanjing is an important town of Chinese painting and calligraphy. In the Six Dynasties, there were painting and calligraphy masters such as Wang Xizhi, Wang Xianzhi, Zhang Sengyou, Lu Tanwei, and Gu Kaizhi. The earliest extant painting theory work "Paintings" has a profound impact on later generations. The Nantang Art Academy brought together outstanding calligraphy and painting masters at a time. Dongyuan and Juran pioneered the Southern School of Landscape and became a generation of masters. Xu Xi's flower and bird paintings, Zhou Wenju, and Gu Hongzhong's figure paintings continue to pass. "Han Xizai's Night Banquet" is a masterpiece of ancient Chinese meticulous brushwork. The system of Nantang Painting Academy was also inherited by later generations. The Painting Book of Ten Bamboo Studios in the Ming Dynasty reproduced the paintings with the pinnacle of three-dimensional color printing techniques. The Painting Book of Mustard Seed Garden in the early Qing Dynasty was regarded as a must-read for learning Chinese painting. The "Eight Masters of Nanjing" headed by Gong Xian were active in Nanjing in the early Qing Dynasty and created the Jinling School of Painting. In the 1930s, celebrities in painting circles such as Lv Fengzi, Xu Beihong, Zhang Daqian, Yan Wenliang, Lu Sibai, Chen Zhifo, Gao Jianfu, Pan Yuliang, and Pang Xunqin gathered in Nanjing. Among them, Xu Beihong, Zhang Shuqi, and Liu Zigu were hailed as the "Three Masters of Jinling". Contemporary "New Jinling Painting School" represented by Fu Baoshi, Qian Songyan, Song Wenzhi, Wei Zixi, Yaming,


Festivals

Many traditional festivals and customs were observed in the old times, which included climbing the City Wall on January 16, bathing in Qing Xi on March 3, hill hiking on September 9 and others (the dates are in
Chinese lunar calendar The traditional Chinese calendar (also known as the Agricultural Calendar 曆; 农历; ''Nónglì''; 'farming calendar' Former Calendar 曆; 旧历; ''Jiùlì'' Traditional Calendar 曆; 老历; ''Lǎolì'', is a lunisolar calendar ...
). Almost none of them, however, are still celebrated by modern Nanjingese. Instead, Nanjing, as a tourist destination, hosts a series of government-organized events throughout the year. The annual
International Plum Blossom Festival International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...
held in Plum Blossom Hill, the largest plum collection in China, attracts thousands of tourists both domestically and internationally. Other events include Nanjing Baima Peach Blossom and Kite Festival, Jiangxin Zhou Fruit Festival and Linggu Temple Sweet Osmanthus Festival.


Libraries

Nanjing Library, founded in 1907, houses more than 10 million volumes of printed materials and is the third largest library in China, after the National Library of China, National Library in Beijing and Shanghai Library. Other libraries, such as city-owned Jinling Library and various district libraries, also provide considerable amount of information to citizens. Nanjing University Library is the second largest university libraries in China after Peking University Library, and the fifth largest nationwide, especially in the number of precious collections.


Museums

Nanjing has some of the oldest and finest museums in China.
Nanjing Museum The Nanjing Museum () is located in Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu Province in East China. With an area of , it is one of the largest museums in China. The museum has over 400,000 items in its permanent collection, making it one of the largest ...
, formerly known as National Central Museum during ROC period, is the first modern museum and remains as one of the leading museums in China having 400,000 items in its permanent collection. The museum is notable for enormous collections of Ming and Qing imperial porcelain, which is among the largest in the world. Other museums include the City Museum of Nanjing in the Chaotian Palace, the Oriental Metropolitan Museum, the China Modern History Museum in the Presidential Palace, the
Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall The Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders is a museum to memorialize those that were killed in the Nanjing Massacre by the Imperial Japanese Army in and around the then-capital of China, Nanjing, after it fell on ...
, the Taiping Kingdom History Museum, Jiangning Imperial Silk Manufacturing Museum, Nanjing Yunjin Museum, Nanjing City Wall Cultural Museum, Nanjing Customs Museum in Ganxi House, Nanjing Astronomical History Museum, Nanjing Paleontological Museum, Nanjing Geological Museum, Nanjing Riverstones Museum, and other museums and memorials such
Zheng He Zheng He (; 1371–1433 or 1435) was a Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat, fleet admiral, and court eunuch during China's early Ming dynasty. He was originally born as Ma He in a Muslim family and later adopted the surname Zheng conferre ...
Memorial Jinling Four Modern Calligraphers Memorial.


Theater

Most of Nanjing's major theaters are multi-purpose, used as convention halls, cinemas, musical halls and theaters on different occasions. The major theaters include the Nanjing People's Convention Hall, People's Convention Hall and the Nanjing Arts and Culture Center. The Capital Theater well known in the past is now a museum in theater/film.


Night life

Traditionally Nanjing's nightlife was mostly centered around Nanjing Fuzimiao (Confucius Temple) area along the Qinhuai River, where night markets, restaurants and pubs thrived. Boating at night in the river was a main attraction of the city. Thus, one can see the statues of the famous teachers and educators of the past not too far from those of the courtesans who educated the young men in the other arts. In the past 20 years, several commercial streets have been developed, hence the nightlife has become more diverse: there are shopping malls opening late in the Xinjiekou, Nanjing, Xinjiekou CBD, as well as in and around major residential areas throughout the city. The well-established "Nanjing 1912" district hosts a wide variety of recreational facilities ranging from traditional restaurants and western pubs to dance clubs, in both its downtown location and beside Baijia Lake in
Jiangning District Jiangning District () is one of 11 districts of Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu province, China. The District has a population of 1,025,000 and an area of 1600 square kilometers. It includes southern and south-eastern suburbs of Nanjing. Jiangnin ...
. In recent years, many night-life options have opened up in Catherine Park as well as in shopping malls such as IST in Xinjiekou, Nanjing, Xinjiekou and Kingmo near Baijiahu station, Baijai Lake metro station. Other, more student-oriented places are to be found near to
Nanjing University Nanjing University (NJU; ) is a national public research university in Nanjing, Jiangsu. It is a member of C9 League and a Class A Double First Class University designated by the Chinese central government. NJU has two main campuses: the Xianli ...
and Nanjing Normal University.


Food and symbolism

The local cuisine in Nanjing is called Jinling cuisine () or Jingsu cuisine (京苏菜); it is part of Jiangsu province's cuisine. Jinling cuisine is famous for its meticulous process, emphasizing no added preservatives and its seasonality. Its duck and goose dishes are well known among Chinese for centuries. It also employs many different style of cooking methods, such as slow cooking, Chinese oven cooking, etc. Its dishes tend to be light and fresh, suitable for all. The restaurant specializing in Jinling cuisine is Ma Xiang Xing (马祥兴菜馆). Many of the city's local favorite dishes are based on ducks, including Nanjing salted duck, duck blood and vermicelli soup, and duck oil pancake. The radish is also a typical food representing people of Nanjing, which has been spread through word of mouth as an interesting fact for many years in China. According to Nanjing.GOV.cn, "There is a long history of growing radish in Nanjing especially the southern suburb. In the spring, the radish tastes very juicy and sweet. It is well-known that people in Nanjing like eating radish. And the people are even addressed as 'Nanjing big radish', which means they are unsophisticated, passionate and conservative. From health perspective, eating radish can help to offset the stodgy food that people take during the Spring Festival".


Sports and stadiums

Nanjing is the birthplace of modern Chinese sports. In 1910, the first National Games in Chinese history was held. In 1924, the predecessor of the Chinese Olympic Committee (All-China Sports Association) was established in Nanjing. China's first Olympic delegation trained, assembled, and set off in Nanjing. Nanjing is the birthplace of China's Olympic dream and one of the cities that contributed the most to China's participation in the Olympics. Nanjing has an irreplaceable position in the history of the Chinese Olympics. Nanjing's planned 20,000 seat Youth Olympic Sports Park Gymnasium will be one of the venues for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup. As a major Chinese city, Nanjing is home to many professional sports teams. 2020 Chinese Super League champions Jiangsu Football Club, owned by Suning Appliance Group, was a tenant of Nanjing Olympic Sports Center from 2007 until the club's dissolution in 2021. Jiangsu Dragons, Jiangsu Nangang Basketball Club is a competitive team which has long been one of the major clubs fighting for the title in China top-level league, Chinese Basketball Association, CBA. Jiangsu Volleyball men and women teams are also traditionally considered as at top level in China volleyball league. There are two major sports centers in Nanjing, Wutaishan Sports Center and Nanjing Olympic Sports Center. Both of these two are comprehensive sports centers, including stadium, gymnasium, natatorium, tennis court, etc. Wutaishan Sports Center was established in 1952 and it was one of the oldest and most advanced stadiums in early time of People's Republic of China. Nanjing hosted the 10th National Games of PRC in 2005 and hosted the 2nd 2014 Summer Youth Olympics, summer Youth Olympic Games in 2014. In 2005, to host The 10th National Game of People's Republic of China, there was a new stadium, Nanjing Olympic Sports Center, constructed in Nanjing. Compared to Wutaishan Sports Center, which the major stadium's capacity is 18,500, Nanjing Olympic Sports Center has a more advanced stadium which is big enough to seat 60,000 spectators. Its gymnasium has capacity of 13,000, and natatorium of capacity 3,000. On 10 February 2010, the 122nd IOC session at Vancouver announced Nanjing as the host city for the 2nd Summer Youth Olympic Games. The slogan of the 2014 Youth Olympic Games was "Share the Games, Share our Dreams". The Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games featured all 28 sports on the Olympic program and were held from 16 to 28 August. The 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games is another major Olympic event hosted by China after the Beijing Olympics. It is the first time that China has hosted the Youth Olympic Games and the second time that China has hosted an Olympic event. The hosting of the Youth Olympic Games makes Nanjing the second city in the Greater China region after Beijing that has hosted athletes from more than 200 countries and regions. In the ranking of the most dynamic cities in China in 2015, Nanjing ranked third, second only to Beijing and Shanghai. According to the ranking of the top 100 global sports influences published by SPORTCAL, an authoritative sports market intelligence research and service organization in the United Kingdom, Nanjing ranks 10th in the world and 2nd in China, second only to Beijing. The Nanjing Youth Olympic Games Organizing Committee (NYOGOC) worked together with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to attract the best young athletes from around the world to compete at the highest level. Off the competition fields, an integrated culture and education program focused on discussions about education, Olympic values, social challenges, and cultural diversity. The YOG aims to spread the Olympic spirit and encourage sports participation. Main venues: Nanjing Olympic Sports Center, Wutaishan Sports Center, Youth Olympic Sports Park, Nanjing Institute of Physical Education (Central Stadium), Nanjing Longjiang Stadium, Nanjing National Fitness Center, Jiangning Sports Center, Lishui Sports Center, Gaochun Sports Center, etc. Main teams: Jiangsu Football Club (dissolved), Nanjing Monkey Kings, Jiangsu Dragons (a.k.a. Jiangsu Nangang), etc.


Architecture

The city is renowned for its wide variety of architectures which mainly contain buildings from multiple dynasties, the Republic of China, and the present.


Imperial period


Inside the walled city

* City Wall of Nanjing () *Gate of China, Nanjing, Gate of China (Zhonghuamen; ) * Fuzimiao (Confucius Temple) and Qinhuai River () * Jiangnan Examination Hall () *Zhan Garden (Nanjing), Zhanyuan Garden () *Old Gate East (Laomendong) () *Taoye Ferry () *Ming Palace, Nanjing, Ming Palace Site () *Xu Garden () *Jiming Temple () *Beiji Ge () *Drum Tower of Nanjing () * Chaotian Palace () *
Stone City The Stone City () is the site of an ancient fortified city within Nanjing, Jiangsu province, China. Almost all of the original city is gone; all that remains are portions of the massive city wall. History The original town was built during the ...
() *Yuejiang Tower () *Jinghai Temple () File:YiJiangGate.jpg, City Wall of Nanjing and Yijiangmen Gate File:Nanjing-Zhonghua-Gate-3091.jpg, East Gate of China, Nanjing, Gate of China File:Riverside near Fuzi Miao.jpg, Qinhuai River File:Jiming Temple, Nanjing 20101125.jpg, Jiming Temple File:Jinghai Si - grounds - P1070462.JPG, Jinghai Temple and Yuejiang Tower


Outside the walled city

* Purple Mountain Scenic Area () *
Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum The Ming Xiaoling () is the mausoleum of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dynasty. It lies at the southern foot of Purple Mountain, located east of the historical centre of Nanjing. Legend says that in order to prevent robbery of the to ...
and its surrounding complex () *Linggu Temple () * Xuanwu Lake () *Qixia Temple () *Porcelain Tower of Nanjing, The Porcelain Pagoda of Nanjing (restored) () *Mochou Lake and Park () *
Yangshan Quarry The Yangshan Quarry () is an ancient stone quarry near Nanjing, China. Used during many centuries as a source of stone for buildings and monuments of Nanjing, it is preserved as a historic site. The quarry is famous for the gigantic unfinished ste ...
() *Southern Tang Mausoleums () File:2014年1月6日——南京天际线 - panoramio.jpg, Xuanwu Lake File:Porcelain Tower of Nanjing - Night View.jpg, Porcelain Tower of Nanjing, The Porcelain Pagoda of Nanjing File:BaoyueTingfeng Mochou Lake.jpg, Classical buildings in the Mochou Lake File:Ming_Xiaoling_Mausoleum_Spirit_Way.jpg, Spirit Way of
Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum The Ming Xiaoling () is the mausoleum of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dynasty. It lies at the southern foot of Purple Mountain, located east of the historical centre of Nanjing. Legend says that in order to prevent robbery of the to ...
File:Linggusu in Nanjing.JPG, Tower of Linggu Temple File:Qixiasi00.jpg, Qixia Temple


City symbol

City Tree: Cedar City Flower: Plum Tourist city symbol: Long Pan Tiger Standing


Languages

Nanjing dialect, Nanjing Mandarin is spoken in most parts of Nanjing, while Wu Chinese is spoken in most of the Gaochun District and the southern part of Lishui District. Nanjing dialect has been the official language of China for a long time in history. Jinling Yayan was established as the standard pronunciation of Chinese as an orthodox traditional Chinese dialect in the ancient Central Plains. It has a profound influence on the Chinese language form to this day, and the Han culture since the Six Dynasties. For the superior consciousness of the above, the official Chinese standard language of the dynasties before the middle of the Qing Dynasty was based on Nanjing Mandarin. The Chinese language taught and used in neighboring countries such as Japan, North Korea, and Vietnam is also Nanjing Mandarin. Western missionaries who came to China during the Ming and Qing dynasties used Nanjing Mandarin as the standard Chinese dialect. The "Chinese Zhengyin Conference" hosted by Western missionaries in the early years of the Republic of China also adopted the Nanjing accent as the standard. For a long time, the Nanjing dialect has been admired for its elegant, smooth, accent, and unique status. In July 2017, the Ministry of Education and the National Language Commission held a press conference, and the penetration rate of Mandarin has reached 73%. The protection of the Nanjing dialect should start from the baby. Nanjing has initiated the Nanjing dialect to campus plan, and will take the lead in adding the content of "Old Nanjing dialect" to the extracurricular activities of elementary schools; at the same time, the Nanjing dialect speaker Chen Zongxia established the "Talk to Nanjing" studio. So far, 6 sessions of children's dialect training courses have been held, and they have been invited to the middle class of Nanjing No. 1 Experimental Kindergarten, where more than 200 children were trained in Nanjing dialects, old children's songs, and old games; Nanjing Local History Museum invited Chen Zongxia to write articles for them and put some videos on the Internet for dissemination, which related to Nanjing yelling, like Baiju; in terms of new media, the "hard leg" studio familiar to young people has been recording videos and dubbing in Nanjing dialect, set off the trend of “Nanjing-style humor” by tapping local cultural resources.


Religion

Nanjing has four major religions: Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, and Islam. Nanjing is one of the earliest areas in China to spread Buddhist culture. The "480 Temples in the Southern Dynasties" has become the center of Chinese Buddhist culture and the ancestral home of the Sanlunzong, Niutouzong, Fayanzong, and other Buddhist sects. Nanjing is also the place for the revival of modern Chinese Buddhist culture. The Jinling Carved Scriptures integrates Buddhist publishing, dissemination, and research. It is still the world's unparalleled Chinese Buddhist scripture publishing and circulation center. The engraving and printing skills are included in the world's intangible cultural heritage of humanity. Ancient famous temples such as Jianchu Temple, Qixia Temple, Waguan Temple, Qingliang Temple, Jiming Temple, Dabaoen Temple, etc. were revived. Nanjing Taoism has a long history and occupies an important position in the history of Chinese Taoism. The history of the spread of Catholicism in Nanjing began more than 400 years ago by the scientist and missionary Matteo Ricci. The Shigu Road Catholic Church is the cathedral of the Catholic Diocese of Nanjing. The Nanjing Diocese with Nanjing as its center has a vast area. As one of the national centers of Christianity in China, Nanjing has two seminaries, Jinling Theological Seminary and Jiangsu Theological Seminary. The Christian social service organization Amity Foundation and the world's largest Bible printing company Amity Printing Company are both in Nanjing. Nanjing is the birthplace of the Islamic "Renaissance" and has an important influence on the development of Chinese Islamic culture.


Folklore

The main folklore activities in Nanjing include Chinese New Year greetings for the Spring Festival, hanging Spring Festival couplets at the city gate, eating rice cakes, welcoming the God of Wealth on the fifth day of the first lunar month, climbing the city on the 16th day of the first lunar month, sweeping the tomb on Qingming Festival, dragon boat races on the Dragon Boat Festival, eating rice dumplings, and begging for gifts on Qixi Festival, Liqiu gnawing autumn, Mid-Autumn reunion, eating moon cakes, enjoy the moon and go to the melon rack in the field and pick melon beans under the bean shed, Chongyang ascends, Chongyang cake inserted Chongyang flag, Laba food porridge, sent stove on the 24th lunar month, New Year's Eve reunion and ancestor worship.


Diet

Nanjing's food culture has a long history. During the pre-Qin period, it was distinguished from the Central Plains culture with "fandao soup fish". Nanjing people like to eat wild vegetables during the Qingming Festival, and they named the eight most eaten spring vegetables and wild vegetables as the "Eight Dry Seasons". There is also the saying "Eight fresh sweet-scented osmanthus fragrance", referring to 8 kinds of aquatic fruits and vegetables during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Nanjing people like to eat ducks. Nanjing salted duck, roast duck, and dried duck have won the reputation of "Duck Capital" and "Finest duck under Heaven". The flavor snacks of Jinling Tea House have become an indispensable part of Qinhuai culture. In addition, Jiangning, Liuhe and Gaochun each have their own local flavors. "Suiyuan Food List", "Baimen Recipe", "Yecheng Vegetable Book" are the crystallization of Nanjing food culture. Jinling Hotel, Jiangsu Restaurant, Ma Xiangxing, Lvliuju, etc. are all committed to the inheritance of Nanjing's dining culture and create Jinling dishes with their own characteristics and meet contemporary needs.


Literature

The first "Literature Museum" in Chinese history, the first literary theory and criticism monograph "Wen Xin Diao Long", the earliest existing collection of poetry and essays "Selected Works of Zhaoming", China's first poetic theory and criticism monograph "Shi Pin" ", the first collection of zhiren novel," Shi Shuo Xin Yu, "and the first children's enlightenment book "Thousand Characters "were all born in Nanjing. Masterpieces such as "A Dream of Red Mansions" and "The Scholars" are inseparable from Nanjing. Modern literary giants such as Lu Xun, Ba Jin, Zhu Ziqing, Yu Pingbo, Zhang Henshui, Zhang Ailing have inextricably linked with Nanjing, and the masterpiece "The Earth" by the American writer Pearl Buck who won the Nobel Prize for Literature was created in Nanjing. Famous contemporary literary writers in Nanjing include Su Tong, Bi Feiyu and Ye Zhaoyan. Among them, Su Tong, who grew up in Nanjing, is a representative contemporary avant-garde literature writer. His work "The Yellow Bird" won the Mao Dun Literature Award in 2015; Bi Feiyu, who graduated from Nanjing University, is a representative writer of China's "new generation", and his "Tuina" won The 8th Mao Dun Literary Award; Ye Zhaoyan, born in Nanjing, is a representative writer of "New Realism" in China. He won the National Excellent Novella Award from 1987 to 1988 and the first Jiangsu Literature and Art Award. His representative works include "Nanjing Biography" "Flower Shadow" "Mooring on River Qinhuai at night" and so on. Nanjing has always been an important hub for Sino-foreign literary exchanges, and also a bridgehead for traditional Chinese literary masterpieces to the world stage.


Film and television

Nanjing, as the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties and a famous scenic spot, has become the "best location" favored by directors. Among them, the 93 edition of "Legend of the New White Lady" was shot at Jiming Temple in Nanjing; "Deep Love and Rain" shot at Nanjing Pukou Railway Station; "The Founding of the People's Republic" shot at Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, Meiling Palace, Southeast University Auditorium, etc. .; and more movies and TV series "Jinling Thirteen Hairpins", "To Our Dying Youth", "Tuina", etc. were all shot in Nanjing.


Music and dance

Jinling Qin School is an important genre of Chinese Guqin art that originated in Nanjing. It has a great influence on many later generations of Qin Schools. It originated from the Royal Music Officials of the Ming Dynasty and has been listed as a World Intangible Cultural Heritage Project. The folk song "Jasmine Flower" originated from the "Flower Tune" sung by Liuhe folks for a century, and is world-famous. Xishanqiao folk song performances have repeatedly appeared on CCTV. In addition, there are Gaochun folk songs "Caihongling", "Planting Seedlings in May", Liuhe folk songs "Flower Tune", "Liuzuo Blow Music" etc. In addition to classical music, contemporary Nanjing also has many famous songs. For example, Li Shutong's "Farewell": outside the long pavilion, along the ancient road, green grass and green sky; Li Zhi's "Summer on Shanyin Road": Do you still remember my room on the eighth floor of Shanyin Road, the day and night singing in the room; About Nanjing University's song "University of Nanjing": Today I'm going to say goodbye to Nanjing. The wind that separates us is light but firm. Goodbye Nanjing; the unique Nanjing rap "Drink Wontons": Do you want spicy oil? Do you want spicy oil ?; and the exclusive Nanjing Radio "Nanjing2014" of Nanjing; "Mo Chou ah Mo Chou" that I bleed as a child, etc. In 2016, the Nanjing Forest Music Carnival, sponsored by the Propaganda Department of the Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee and the Nanjing Municipal People's Government, has been held 5 times. Since 2014, Jiangsu Music Broadcasting will hold the Midou Music Festival in Nanjing every year. The 7th Midou Music Festival; and the popular Nanjing University Student Music Festival in recent years. Traditional folk dances in Nanjing include Luoshan Dragon, Dongba Dama Lantern, Sparrow Jump, Jiangpu Hand Lion, Gaochun Dance Wuban, Wanbei Xiaoma Lantern Dance, Qixia Dragon Dance, Changlu Carrying Dragon, Tongshan Gaotai Lion Dance, Dongba Peiqiao stilts, Longyin Che, Zhetang Shahuo, Dangdang, Luohan, Zhuzhen stilts are all intangible cultural heritages. In recent years, Nanjing dancers have been close to life, close to reality, and close to the masses, creating a large number of outstanding dance works. Created by the Nanjing Dancers Association, the original local drama "The Place Closest to Dream", with students from the Department of Music of the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics as the performance team, shows youthful demeanor with the theme of youth entrepreneurship; performed by Nanjing folk performing artists "Drum and Dragon Celebrating the New Year" is a classic of Nanjing folk dance in recent years; the "Nanjing City Intangible Cultural Heritage Scene Demonstration" Jinling Season "hosted by Nanjing Cultural Bureau and undertaken by Nanjing Art Museum is a work of high artistic level. In Nanjing, we have the first professional children's art school in the country that integrates cultural education, art education and stage performances, Nanjing Art Primary School, referred to as Nanjing Xiaohonghua Art Troupe. The school implements small-class education in an all-round way, and promotes both culture and art. It has been rated as a meritorious unit in Nanjing many times, and twice was awarded the honorary title of "National Children's Cultural Work Advanced Group" by the Central Ministry of Culture.


Drama, Quyi

Drama includes opera and modern drama. Xiqu is a traditional Chinese drama. After a long period of development and evolution, it has gradually formed the Chinese Opera Garden with the five major Chinese opera types of "Peking Opera, Yue Opera, Huangmei Opera, Ping Opera, and Henan Opera" as the core. Peking opera has a long history in Nanjing: the famous Peking opera master Mei Baojiu has a deep connection with Nanjing. As the honorary president of the "Nanjing Meilanfang Jingkun Art Research Association", Master Mei Jiubao made a special trip to Nanjing as the "Research Association" "Unveiled, and led his disciples to perform the Meipai famous play" The Return of the Phoenix " Zheng Ziru, the famous Peking opera artist, performed "The Flower Spear" in Nanjing. Kunqu Opera is one of the oldest operas in traditional Chinese opera, and it is also a treasure of traditional Chinese culture and art, especially opera art. It is called an "orchid" in the Hundred Gardens. In Nanjing, famous professional Kunban classes such as "Xinghua Ministry", "Hualin Ministry", "Li Yujia Ban", and "Cao Yinjia Ban" appeared in Nanjing, and the style of singing songs by the voiceless section and literati also continued. Drama is a form of Western drama introduced in the 20th century. In recent years, Nanjing's annual drama box office has continued to rise. The drama "Mrs of the Sea" staged in Nanjing in 2017, "Broken Gold", "Treasure Island Village" in 2018, and "Hamlet" in 2019 have the highest box office in the country. All fell in Nanjing. Not only that, the box office and attendance rate of some plays such as "White Deer Plain" in Nanjing are also far ahead in the Yangtze River Delta region. Quyi is the collective name of the various "rap art" of the Chinese nation. It is a unique art form formed by the long-term development and evolution of folk oral literature and singing art. The local folk arts in Nanjing include Southern Crosstalk, Nanjing Baiju, Nanjing Vernacular, Nanjing Pinghua, Gaochun Yangqiang Mulian Opera, Liuhe Hongshan Opera, etc.


Photography

Nanjing has many excellent photography works, as well as large-scale photography exhibitions, photography conferences, etc. Zhao Ran's "Quadette of Enchanting Hair", Ben Daochun's "Tianjiang Cruise", Tian Ming's "Shanghai White-collar Early Class Subway Life", Yu Xianyun's "In the Name of the Country" won 21st, 22nd, 23rd, The 25th National Photographic Art Exhibition Gold Award; Liu Jun's "Fisher Songs and Moon" won the 21st Austria Trembler Super Photo Tour Competition Gold Award; Sun Chonglin's "Little Wangmu" Gold Award in the second PSAChina International Photography Competition. The Nanjing Photographic Association successfully held the third city photography conference in Nanjing; held photography exhibitions such as "World Historical and Cultural Cities", "Hong Kong in the Eyes of Nanjing People", "Nanjing in the Eyes of College Students"; in Italy, Japan, Singapore, and other countries held "Splendid Nanjing" and "Ancient Capital Nanjing" photography exhibitions in Italy, Japan, Singapore, and other countries; held "Harmonious Nanjing", "I Love Nanjing", "Nanjing City Walls", "Four Seasons Jinling" and other photography competitions; edited and published "Nanjing New Look", "Nanjing", "Splendid Nanjing" "Brilliant Nanjing", "Nanjing City Wall" and other large-scale picture albums,


Folk crafts

There are many kinds of folk crafts in Nanjing, including brocade, paper-cutting, lantern color, gold leaf, folding fan, velvet flower, carved velvet, wood carving, bamboo carving, etc. As of 2019, Nanjing has 4 world human intangible cultural heritage projects (guqin art, Nanjing cloud brocade weaving, Chinese engraving, and printing techniques, Chinese paper-cutting), 11 national intangible cultural heritage projects, 64 Jiangsu Province and 70 Nanjing City intangible cultural heritage project.


Honorary title

In terms of food, Nanjing has salted duck, duck blood noodles, wonton, fried dumplings, and local specialties of pot stickers; in terms of entertainment, Nanjing has Qixia Mountain, Jiming Temple, Zijin Mountain, and other famous locations; in terms of life, subway transportation bicycles Direct access to almost all areas of Nanjing. Therefore, on November 18, 2020, in the "2020 China's Happiest Cities" survey, Nanjing was awarded one of the happiest cities in China. Throughout the ages, countless great poets have left in Nanjing the most popular poems, such as Li Bai's "Deng Jinling Phoenix Terrace", Liu Yuxi's "Jinling Five Questions · Stone Man", Du Mu's "Bo Qinhuai", etc., "A Dream of Red Mansions" and "The Scholars Outside History" is inseparable from Nanjing, and there are literary treasures such as the famous novels ''Homesickness'' and ''Paddling Sound in the Qinhuai River'' in modern times. On October 31, 2019, the official Weibo of the UNESCO Creative City Network announced that Nanjing was listed as the World Literary Capital; City of Literature. In the Nanjing Massacre that occurred 80 years ago, the Japanese invaders massacred more than 300,000 Chinese soldiers and civilians who had laid down their weapons, and more than 20,000 women were raped. Over the years, Nanjing has adhered to the concept of peace and has done a lot of work to remember history and cherish peace. Therefore, on September 4, the "International Peace City Association" announced to the world through a video that Nanjing became the 169th international peaceful city, and it is also the first and only city in China to join the organization.


Republic of China period

Because it was designated as the national capital, many structures were built around that time. Here is a short list:


Inside the walled city

*Former Presidential Palace of the
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northea ...
() *Former Nanjing Great Hall of the People, National Assembly Building of the Republic of China () *Nationalist government#Former Sites, Former Central Government of ROC Building Group along N. Zhongshan Road () *Former Central Committee of KMT Buildings () *Former Foreign Embassies in Gulou Area () *Nanking Officials Residence Cluster along Yihe Road () *Former Nanjing Museum, National Central Museum () *Former Jiangsu Art Gallery, National Art Gallery Building () *Former Central Radio of KMT Building () *Dahua Theater () *Former Academia Sinica Buildings () *Former Southeast University, National Central University Buildings at Sipailou () *Former
University of Nanking The University of Nanking, known in Chinese as Jinling University (金陵大学, Jinling being the ancient name of Nanking) was a private university in Nanjing, China sponsored by American churches. Founded in 1888, it effectively become defunct ...
Buildings () *Former
Ginling College Ginling College (), also known by its pinyin romanization as Jinling College or Jinling Women's College, is a women's college of Nanjing Normal University in Nanjing, China. It offers both bachelor's and master's degrees. It offers six underg ...
Buildings () *Former Republic of China Military Academy Buildings () *Former Bank of China Nanking Branch Building () *Former Bank of Communications Nanking Branch Building () *Former Central Bank of ROC Nanking Branch Building () *Former Macklin Hospital Buildings (Gulou Hospital) () *Former Central Hospital Buildings () *St. Paul's Church, Nanjing, St. Paul's Church () *Central Hotel () *Former Capital Hotel (Huajiang Hotel) () *Yangtse Hotel () *Lizhishe Buildings () File:Entrance to the Former ROC Presidents Residence(5811380323).jpg, Former Presidential Palace File:Nanjing Great Hall of the People front.JPG, Former Nanjing Great Hall of the People, National Assembly Building File:Yihe Road Nanjing.jpg, Yihe Road File:201308 Standing Committee of Jiangsu People's Congress Building.jpg, Former Ministry of Foreign Affairs Buildings File:Former Capital Hotel of Nanjing 2011-10.JPG, Former Capital Hotel File:Academia Sinica site nanjing.JPG, Former Academia Sinica Buildings


Outside the walled city

*
Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum () is situated at the foot of the second peak of Purple Mountain in Nanjing, China. Construction of the tomb started in January 1926, and was finished in spring of 1929. The architect was Lü Yanzhi, who died shortl ...
and its surrounding area () *National Revolutionary Army Memorial Cemetery () *Aviation Martyrs of WWII Memorial Cemetery () *Purple Mountain Observatory, National Purple Mountain Observatory () *Former Nanjing Sport Institute, Central Stadium () *Nanjing Botanical Garden, Memorial Sun Yat-Sen () File:Hall of Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum.jpg, Hall of
Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum () is situated at the foot of the second peak of Purple Mountain in Nanjing, China. Construction of the tomb started in January 1926, and was finished in spring of 1929. The architect was Lü Yanzhi, who died shortl ...
File:Gate of Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum.jpg, Gate of
Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum () is situated at the foot of the second peak of Purple Mountain in Nanjing, China. Construction of the tomb started in January 1926, and was finished in spring of 1929. The architect was Lü Yanzhi, who died shortl ...
File:Xuanwu, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China - panoramio (1).jpg, National Revolutionary Army Memorial Cemetery File:Chairman's Residence Gate of Nationalist Government, Nanking.jpg, Gate of Presidential Residence at Purple Mountain File:天文台 - panoramio - zhanyoun.jpg, Purple Mountain Observatory, National Purple Mountain Observatory File:Former Central Stadium in Nanjing 2011-12.JPG, Nanjing Sport Institute, Central Stadium


People's Republic of China period

*Yuhuatai Memorial Park of Revolutionary Martyrs () * Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge () *Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders () *Jinling Hotel () *Zifeng Tower () File:Nanjing_Yangtze_River_Bridge02.jpg, Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge File:Martyrs monument at Yuhuatai(flickr 5811400521).jpg, Yuhuatai Memorial Park of Revolutionary Martyrs File:Nanjing massacre memorial.jpg, Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders File:南京新街口2018 03.jpg, Jinling Hotel File:Youth Olympics Towers, Nanjing (Aug 2014).png, Nanjing Youth Olympic Towers


Education


Ancient education

Nanjing has been a city that values culture and education since ancient times. As early as the Han Dynasty, Jiangdong private schools were relatively developed. The government-run higher education in Nanjing began in Dong Wu (Eastern Wu). In 258, Emperor Wu Jing ordered doctors of the Five Classics to establish Chinese Studies. In 317, at the beginning of the founding of the Emperor Yuan of Jin, he established Taixue in Jiankang (the highest institution in the country). There are five science museums of literature, history, Confucianism, Xuan, and Yin and Yang in the Southern Song Taixue. It is the first university in the world that integrates education and research. The Southern Tang Dynasty established Taixue, developed imperial examinations, built academies and painting academies, and prospered in writing style. Maoshan Academy of Jiangning Mansion in Song Dynasty was one of the six major academies at that time. In the early Ming Dynasty, Nanjing Guozijian was the largest and highest institution in the world at that time, with nearly 10,000 students, as well as foreign students from Japan, North Korea, Annan, Ryukyu, and other countries studying here. After the capital moved to Yongle, the Nanjing Imperial College was retained, and it was called the Nanjing in history. It not only nurtured students, but also printed books. Chongzheng Academy was well known in the mid-Ming Dynasty. In the Qing Dynasty, Jiang Ningfu School was built, and there were Zhongshan Academy and Xiyin Academy, both of which were taught by famous scholars. In the late Qing Dynasty, Xinxue was promoted, and the Qing court successively opened Jiangnan Industrial School, Jiangnan Wubei School, Jiangnan Lushi School, Jiangnan Navy School, Jinling University of Technology, and other new schools in Nanjing. The American Presbyterian Church opened Mingde College in Nanjing in 1884, and Jinling University Hall was built in 1888. The Sanjiang Normal School, which was organized in 1902 and officially opened in 1904, was the largest and the latest designed after the implementation of the new education in the late Qing Dynasty. It was also one of the earliest normal schools established in modern China. In 1906, it was renamed Liangjiang Normal School (the predecessor of Southeast University, Nanjing University, Nanjing Normal University and other universities). The American Presbyterian Church opened Mingde College in Nanjing in 1884, and Jinling University Hall was built in 1888. The Sanjiang Normal School, which was organized in 1902 and officially opened in 1904, was the largest and the latest designed after the implementation of the new education in the late Qing Dynasty. It was also one of the earliest normal schools established in modern China. In 1906, it was renamed Liangjiang Normal School (the predecessor of Southeast University, Nanjing University, Nanjing Normal University and other universities). The American Presbyterian Church opened Mingde College in Nanjing in 1884, and Jinling University Hall was built in 1888. The Sanjiang Normal School, which was organized in 1902 and officially opened in 1904, was the largest and the latest designed after the implementation of the new education in the late Qing Dynasty. It was also one of the earliest normal schools established in modern China. In 1906, it was renamed Liangjiang Normal School (the predecessor of Southeast University, Nanjing University, Nanjing Normal University and other universities). As the educational center of southern China for more than 1,700 years, Nanjing has many Rankings of universities in China, highly-ranked educational institutions, with the List of universities and colleges in Jiangsu, number of universities listed in Double First Class University Plan, 147 National Key Universities ranking third (after
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
and
Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
). The ratio of college students to the total population ranks No.1 among large cities nationwide. Nanjing has the eighth-largest scientific research output of any city in the world and has been regarded as one of the List of cities by scientific output, world's top three scientific research centers in chemistry (behind Beijing and Shanghai), according to the
Nature Index The Nature Index is a database that tracks institutions and countries and their scientific output since its introduction in November, 2014. Each year, Nature Index ranks the leading institutions (which can be companies, universities, government agen ...
. Nanjing was ranked 80th globally by the QS Best Student City in 2017.


Universities

Nanjing University Nanjing University (NJU; ) is a national public research university in Nanjing, Jiangsu. It is a member of C9 League and a Class A Double First Class University designated by the Chinese central government. NJU has two main campuses: the Xianli ...
is considered one of the top national universities nationwide, and it is ranked among the world's top 20 universities by
Nature Index The Nature Index is a database that tracks institutions and countries and their scientific output since its introduction in November, 2014. Each year, Nature Index ranks the leading institutions (which can be companies, universities, government agen ...
. According to the World Reputation Rankings by the Times Higher Education, Times Higher Educations, Nanjing University is ranked among the top 100 universities with its best reputation in 2021. Southeast University is also among the most famous universities in China and is considered one of the best universities for Architecture and Engineering in China. Many universities in Nanjing have satellite campuses or have moved their main campus to Xianlin University City in the eastern suburb. Some of the other most prominent national universities in Nanjing are: Some of the other most prominent national universities in Nanjing are: *
Nanjing University Nanjing University (NJU; ) is a national public research university in Nanjing, Jiangsu. It is a member of C9 League and a Class A Double First Class University designated by the Chinese central government. NJU has two main campuses: the Xianli ...
*Southeast University *Hohai University *Nanjing Normal University *Nanjing Xiaozhuang University *Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics *Nanjing University of Science and Technology *Nanjing Tech University *Nanjing Institute of Technology *Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology *Nanjing Audit University *Nanjing University of Finance and Economics *Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications *Nanjing Agricultural University *Nanjing Forestry University *China Pharmaceutical University *Nanjing Medical University *Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine *Nanjing Sport Institute *Nanjing Arts Institute *Jiangsu Second Normal University Private universities and colleges, such as Communication University of China, Nanjing and Hopkins-Nanjing Center are also located in the city. File:Nanjing University 南京大学 (5811383105).jpg,
Nanjing University Nanjing University (NJU; ) is a national public research university in Nanjing, Jiangsu. It is a member of C9 League and a Class A Double First Class University designated by the Chinese central government. NJU has two main campuses: the Xianli ...
, Gulou campus File:南京大學學生活動中心 仙林校區.jpg, Nanjing University, Xianlin campus File:Auditorium of Southeast University in winter.jpg, Southeast University, Sipailou campus File:Building 100, Nanjing Normal University.jpg, Nanjing Normal University, Suiyuan campus


High schools

Some notable high schools in Nanjing are: Jinling High School, Liuhe First School, Nanjing Foreign Language School, The Second Yuying Foreign Languages School of Nanjing, High School Affiliated to Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing No.1 High School, Nanjing Zhonghua High School, Caulfield Grammar School#Nanjing Campus, Caulfield Grammar School (Nanjing Campus), Nanjing No.29 High School, Yuhuatai Senior High School.


Twin towns – sister cities

Nanjing is Sister city, twinned with: * Acre, Israel, Akko, Israel * Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei * Barranquilla, Colombia * Biên Hòa, Vietnam * Bloemfontein, South Africa * Concepción, Chile * Daejeon, South Korea * Eindhoven, Netherlands * Florence, Italy * Katmandu, Nepal * Leipzig, Germany * Limassol, Cyprus * London, Ontario, London, Canada * Malacca City, Malaysia * Mexicali Municipality, Mexicali, Mexico * Mogilev, Belarus * Nagoya, Japan * City of Perth, Perth, Australia * Semarang, Indonesia * Shiraz, Iran * Siem Reap, Cambodia * St. Louis, United States * Windhoek, Namibia The sister city relationship with Nagoya in Japan was suspended on February 21, 2012, following public comments by Nagoya mayor Takashi Kawamura denying the Nanking Massacre. The relationship has been subsequently restored.


Notable people

*Anhua Gao (b. 1949), Chinese-British author *Lei Wu (b. 1991), Footballer *Xueqin Cao (1715 or 1724 - 1763 or 1764), Writer; Author of ''Dream of the Red Chamber'' *Gang Tian (b. 1958), Mathematician; Professor at Princeton University *Hsiao Sa (b. 1953), Taiwanese people, Taiwanese author *Zhang Xu (neuroscientist), Zhang Xu, (b. 1961), Chinese neuroscientist *Deng Zhonghan (b. 1968), Chinese electrical engineer and entrepreneur *Ni Ni (b. 1988), Chinese actress *Mei Ting (b. 1975), Chinese actress *Hai Qing (b. 1978), Chinese actress *Pu Shu (b. 1973), Chinese singer-songwriter *Shiran Wang (b. 1989), Chinese pianist *Xu Anqi (b. 1992), Chinese fencer *Zhang Zetian (b. 1993), youngest Chinese female billionaire *Lu Keran (b. 1995), Chinese singer-dancer *Lu Kang (diplomat), Lu Kang, Chinese ambassador to Indonesia *Wu Jianmin (democracy activist), Wu Jianmin (b. 1962), Chinese democracy activist *Cenyu Han (b.2004), racing driver


Filmed in Nanjing

* Film ''Jasmine Women''《茉莉花开》 * Film ''Spring Fever (2009 film), Spring Fever''《春风沉醉的夜晚》 * Film ''City of Life and Death''《南京南京》 * Film ''The Flowers of War''《金陵十三钗》 * Film The Founding of a Republic, ''The Founding of a Republic''《建国大业》 * Film Blind Massage《推拿》 * Film ''Love is the Last Word''《庐山恋2010》 * Film Dying to Survive, ''Dying to Survive''《我不是药神》 * Film The Ark of Mr. Chow, ''The Ark of Mr.Chow''《少年班》 * Film ''Wolf Warrior, Wolf Warriors''《战狼1》 * Film So Young (film), ''So Young''《致我们终将逝去的青春》 * Film ''Around the City''《环城七十里》 * Film Soul Mate (2016 film), ''Soul Mate''《七月与安生》 * Film ''Baby''《宝贝儿》 * Film ''The Empire Symbol''《帝国秘符》 * Television The Legend of the White Snake (TV series), ''The Legend of White Snake''《新白娘子传奇》 * Television《风中百合》 * Television ''Romance in the Rain''《情深深雨蒙蒙》 * Television The Story of a Noble Family, ''The Story of a Noble Family''《金粉世家》 * Television Sound of Colors (TV series), ''Sound of Colors''《地下铁》 * Television War and Destiny, ''War and Destiny''《乱世佳人》(TVB版) * Television ''Memory Lost''《美人为馅》 * Television ''Boyhood''《我们的少年时代》 * Television ''Like a Flowing River''《大江大河》


See also


Notes


References


Citations


Sources

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External links

*
Nanjing Government websiteNanjing English guide with open directory

The Nanjinger: Nanjing's largest English news network with city guideHistoric US Army map of Nanjing, 1945"Nanking Illustrated"
from 1624 , - {{Authority control Nanjing, Cities in Jiangsu Provincial capitals in China Sub-provincial cities in the People's Republic of China Yangtze River Delta Port cities and towns in China National Forest Cities in China Jiangnan Populated places established in the 1st millennium BC