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A city of east-central China on the Chang Jiang (Yangtze River) northwest of Shanghai. The capital of China from the third to the sixth century A.D. and again from 1368 to 1421, it was opened to foreign trade by the Treaty of Nanking in 1842. It was Sun Yat-sen's capital from 1912 to 1927 and Chiang Kai-shek's capital from 1928 to 1937, when it was captured by the Japanese. Reclaimed by Chinese forces in 1946, it is now the capital of Jiangsu province. Population: 2,820,000.
See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.
For more information on Nanjing, visit Britannica.com.
Bibliography
See I. Chang, The Rape of Nanking (1997).
City in eastern China on the Yangtze River, northeast of Shanghai; an industrial and transportation center.
| Nánjīng
Shì 南京市 |
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| Coordinates: | |
|---|---|
| Country | People's Republic of China |
| County-level divisions | 13 |
| Township divisions | 129 |
| Settled | 495 BC |
| Government | |
| - CPC Nanjing | Luo Zhijun Committee Secretary |
| - Mayor | Jiang Hongkun |
| Area (ranked 29th) | |
| - S.P.-City | km² ( sq mi) |
| Elevation | m ( ft) |
| Population (2006) | |
| - S.P.-City | |
| - Density | /km² (/sq mi) |
| - Residents | |
| Time zone | China Standard Time ([[UTC+8]]) |
| Postal code | 210000 - 211300 |
| Area code(s) | 25 |
| License plate prefixes | 苏A |
| Website: City of Nanjing | |
Nanjing? (Chinese: 南京; Romanizations: Nánjīng (Pinyin), Nan-ching (Wade-Giles), Nanking
(Postal map spelling)) is the capital of China's Jiangsu Province and a city with a prominent place in Chinese history
and culture. Nanjing served as the capital of China during several historical periods,
and is listed as one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China. Nanjing
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. In addition, the Republic of China claims it as
its de jure capital.
Located in the downstream Yangtze River drainage basin and Yangtze River Delta economic zone, Nanjing has always been one of China's most important cities. Apart from having been the capital of China for six dynasties and of the Republic of China, Nanjing has also served as a national hub of education, research, transportation and tourism throughout history. With an urban population of over five million, it is also the second largest commercial center in the East China region, behind only Shanghai.
Nanjing, with a total land area of square kilometers ( sq mi), is situated in one of the largest economic zones of China, the Yangtze River Delta, which is part of the downstream Yangtze River drainage basin. The Yangtze River flows past the west side of Nanjing City, while the Ningzheng Ridge surrounds the north, east and south side of the city. The city is kilometers ( mi) west of Shanghai, kilometers ( mi) south of Beijing, and kilometers ( mi) east of Chongqing.
Nanjing has a temperate climate, and is under the influence of the East Asia Monsoon. Seasons are distinct in Nanjing, with usually hot summers and plenty of rainfall throughout the year. Along with Wuhan and Chongqing, Nanjing is often referred to as one of the "Three Furnacelike Cities" along the Yangtze River for the perennially high temperature in summer. The average temperature during the year is °C ( °F), with the highest recorded temperature being °C ( °F) (July 13, 1934) and the lowest °C ( °F) (Jan 6, 1955). On average it rains 117 days out of the year and the average annual rainfall is millimetres ( in). The time from mid-June to the end of July is the plum blossom Meiyu season, during which the city experiences a period of mild rain as well as dampness. According to the city government's website, the best time of year in Nanjing is from September to December.
Nanjing is endowed with rich natural resources, which include more than 40 kinds of minerals. Among them, iron and sulfur reserves make up 40% of those of Jiangsu province; its reserves of strontium rank first in East Asia and the South East Asia 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.
Surrounded by the Yangtze river and mountains, Nanjing also enjoys beautiful natural scenery. Natural lakes such as Xuanwu Lake and Mochou Lake are located in the center of the city and are easily accessible to the public, while hills like Purple Mountain are covered with evergreens and oaks and host various historical and cultural sites. Sun Quan relocated its capital to Nanjing after Liu Bei's suggestion as Liu Bei was impressed by Nanjing's impeccable geographic position when negotiating an alliance with Sun Quan. Sun Quan then renamed the city from Moling (秣陵) to Jianye (建邺) shortly thereafter. [1]
Nanjing was one of the earliest established cities in the southern China area. According to the legend, Fu Chai, the Lord of the State of Wu, founded the first city, Yecheng (冶城) in today's Nanjing area in 495 BC. Later in 473 BC, The State of Yue conquered Wu and constructed the city of Yuecheng (越城) on the outskirts of the present-day Zhonghua Gate. In 333 BC, after eliminating the State of Yue, the State of Chu built Jinling Yi (金陵邑) in the northwestern part of present-day Nanjing. Since then, the city has experienced numerous destructions and reconstructions.
Nanjing first became a capital in AD 229, where Sun Quan of the Wu Kingdom during the Three Kingdoms Period relocated its capital to Jianye (建邺), a city he extended on the basis of Jinling Yi in AD 211. After the invasion of the Five Hu, the nobles and wealthy families of the Jin Dynasty escaped across the Yangtze River and established Nanjing as the capital, which was then called Jiankang (建康). Thereafter, Jiankang remained as the capital of Southern China during the North-South Division period, until Sui Dynasty reunified China and destroyed almost the entire city, turning it into a small town.
The city was reconstructed during the late Tang Dynasty. It was again named capital (then known as Jinling (金陵)) during the short-lived Southern Tang Kingdom (937 – 975) (who renamed it Xidu), who succeeded the Wu Kingdom. [2]Jiankang's textile industry burgeoned and thrived during Song Dynasty despite the constant threat from the northern foreign invasions. The Mongolians, the occupiers of China, further consolidated the city's status as a hub of the textile industry.
The first emperor of the Ming Dynasty Zhu Yuanzhang who overthrew the Yuan Dynasty rebuilt this city and made it the capital of China in 1368. He constructed what was the longest city wall in the world at that time. It took 200,000 laborers 21 years to finish the project. The present-day city wall of Nanjing was mainly built during that time, and it is the longest surviving city wall in the world.
It is believed that Nanjing was the largest city in the world from 1358 to 1425 with a population of 487,000 in 1400. [3]
During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the Nanjing area was known as Jiangning (江宁) and served as the seat of government for the Liangjiang Viceroy. Nanjing was the capital of the Taiping Kingdom in the mid-19th century, being renamed as Tianjing (天京) (lit. Heaven's Capital). Both the Viceroy and the Taiping king resided in buildings that would later be known as the Presidential Palace. As Qing general Zeng Guofan retook the city in 1864, massive slaughtering occurred in the city with over 100,000 committing suicide or fighting to the death.
The Xinhai Revolution led to the founding of the Republic of China in January 1912 with Dr. Sun Yat-sen as the first provisional president, and Nanjing was selected as its new capital. However, the Qing Dynasty still controlled the northern provinces, so revolutionaries asked Yuan Shikai to replace Sun as president in exchange for the emperor's abdication. Yuan demanded the capital be at Beijing (closer to his power base).
In 1927, the Kuomintang (KMT) under Chiang Kai-Shek again established Nanjing as the capital of the Republic of China, and this became internationally recognized once KMT forces took Beijing in 1928. They used the Presidential Palace in Nanjing as their headquarters.
In 1937, the Japanese army invaded and occupied Nanjing, then the capital of China, and carried out the systematic and brutal Nanking massacre. The total death toll could not be confirmed, since no official records were kept, and is often contested, but most estimates put the number of dead between 200,000 and 350,000. The Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall was built in 1985 to commemorate the event.
After the conquest of the city, the Imperial Japanese Army established the bacteriological research Unit 1644, a section of Unit 731, where Japanese doctors experimented on humans.
A Japanese-collaborationist government known as the "Nanjing Regime" or "Nanjing Nationalist Government" led by Wang Jingwei was established in Nanjing as a rival to Chiang Kai-Shek's government in Chongqing, and after World War II, the KMT relocated its central government to Nanjing. On April 23, 1949, The People's Liberation Army conquered Nanjing, officially ending the Republic of China's rule on the mainland. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, Nanjing was initially a province-level municipality, but very soon became, and today remains, the provincial capital of Jiangsu.
Until 2002, the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of China (Taiwan), as well as textbooks published in Taiwan, referred to Nanjing as the capital of the Republic of China.
The full name of the government of Nanjing is "People's Government of Nanjing City". The city is under the one-party rule of the CPC, 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.
Nanjing currently consists of 13 county-level divisions, of which 11 are districts and 2 are counties. The districts are the urban area of Nanjing while the counties are the rural area governed by the city.
Nanjing is divided in to different districts and counties. The districts listed below are 11 urban districts and 2 counties:
Districts:
Counties:
The current partition of districts of Nanjing might be changing in the future. There was a rumour that Lishui County would be designated as a new urban district in the near future.
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According to the Fifth China Census, the total population of the City of Nanjing reached 6.24 million in 2000. The statistics in 2004 estimated the total population to be 6.40 million, while the number of city residents is 5.836 million. The birth rate is 7.73‰ and the death rate is 5.44‰. 47,429 couples married in 2004, while 7036 pairs divorced. Among the newlywed, 10,473 people are remarried. Urban areas include 1.65 million people. (2004 estimate)
As in most of eastern China the ethnic makeup of Nanjing is predominantly Han nationality (98.56%), with 50 other minority nationalities. In 1999, 77,394 residents belonged to minority nationalities, among which the vast majority (64,832) are Hui nationalities, contributing 83.76% to the minority population. The second and third largest minority groups are Manchu (2311) and Zhuang (533) nationalities. Most of the minority nationalities reside in Jianye District, comprising 9.13% of the district's population.
In 2003 the sex ratio of the city population is 106.49 males to 100 females.
In 2004 the city's GDP was RMB 191 million (3rd in Jiangsu), and GDP per capita was RMB 33,050, a 15% increase from 2003. The average urban resident's disposable income was RMB 11,601; while the average rural resident's net income is RMB 5,333. The urban unemployment rate was 4.03%, lower than the national average (4.2%).
Since the Three Kingdoms period, Nanjing has become an industrial center for textile and mint owing to its strategic geographical location and convenient transportation. During the Ming Dynasty Nanjing's industry was further expanded, and the city became one of the most prosperous cities in China and even the world. It led in textile, mint, printing, shipbuilding and many other industries, and was the busiest business center in the Far East.
Into the first half of the twentieth century, Nanjing gradually shifted from a production hub into a heavy consumption city, mainly because of the rapid expansion of the wealthy population after Nanjing once again regained the political spotlight of China. A number of huge department stores 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, while prostitution, drugs and gambling also thrived.
In the 1950s, the CPC invested heavily in Nanjing to build a series of state-owned heavy industries, as part of the national plan of rapid industrialization. Electrical, mechanical, chemical and steel factories were established successively, converting Nanjing into a heavy industry production center of East China. Overenthusiastic in building a “world-class” industrial city, leaders of Nanjing also made many disastrous mistakes during the development, such as spending hundreds of millions of yuan to mine for non-existent coal, resulting in the negative economic growth in the late 1960s.
The current industry of the city basically inherited the characteristics of the 1960s, with electronics, cars, petrochemical, iron and steel, and power as the "Five Pillar Industries". Some representative big state-owned firms are Panda Electronics, Jincheng Motors and Nanjing Steel. The tertiary industry also regained prominence, counting for 44% of the GDP of the city. The city is also vying for foreign investment against neighboring cities in the Yangtze River Delta, and so far a number of famous multinational firms, such as Fiat, Iveco, A.O. Smith and Sharp, have established their lines there. Since China's entry into the WTO, Nanjing has received increasing attention from foreign investors, and on average, two new foreign firms establish offices in the city every day.
The city government is further improving the desirability of the city to investors by building large industrial parks, which now total four: Gaoxin, Xingang, Huagong and Jiangning. Despite the effort, Nanjing is still falling behind other neighboring cities such as Wuxi, Suzhou and Hangzhou, which have an edge in attracting foreign investment and local innovation. In addition, the traditional state-owned enterprises find themselves incapable of competing with efficient multinational firms, and hence are either mired in heavy debt or forced into bankruptcy or privatization. This has resulted in large number of layoff workers who are technically not unemployed but effectively jobless.
Nanjing is the transportation hub in eastern China and the downstream Yangtze River area. Different means of transportation constitute a three-dimensional transport system that includes land, water and air. As in most other Chinese cities, public transportation is the dominant mode of travel of the majority of the citizens. Therefore see also Transport in Nanjing.
As a regional hub, Nanjing is well-connected by over 60 state and provincial highways to all parts of China. Express highways such as Hu-Ning, Ning-He, Ning-Hang enable commuters to travel to Shanghai, Hefei, Hangzhou, and other important cities fast and conveniently. Inside the city of Nanjing, there are kilometers ( mi) of highways, with a highway coverage density of 3.38 kilometers per hundred square kilometers (2.10 mi/38.6 sq mi); the total road coverage density of the city is 112.56 kilometers per hundred square kilometers (69.94 mi/38.6 sq mi). As for the railway system, the Tianjin-Pukou, Shanghai-Nanjing and Nanjing-Wuhu Trunk Railways meet in Nanjing, which has become an important hub of railways linking north, east and central China. Passenger rail service in Nanjing is provided mainly by Nanjing Railway Station, while both Nanjing West Railway Station and Nanjing South Railway Station serve minor roles.
The city also boasts an efficient network of public transportation, which mainly consists of bus, taxi and metro system. The bus network, which is currently run by four companies (Nanjing Gongjiao, Zhongbei, Argos and Xincheng), provides more than 170 routes covering all parts of the city and suburban areas. The city's first mass transit line, Metro Line No.1, started service on May 15, 2005, and Metro Line No. 2 began construction in November 2005. The city is planning to complete a 433-kilometer (269 mi)-long Metro and light-rail system by 2050. The expansion of the Metro network will greatly facilitate the intra-city transportation and reduce the currently heavy traffic congestion.
Nanjing's airport, Lukou International Airport, serves both national and international flights. The airport is ranked 15th among 126 civil airports in China in terms of yearly passenger transport, and 10th for yearly cargo transport. The airport currently has 85 routes to national and international destinations, which include Japan, Korea, Thailand and Singapore. The airport is connected by a 29-kilometer (18 mi) highway directly to the city center, and is also linked to various inter-city highways, making it accessible to the passengers from the surrounding cities.
Port of Nanjing is the largest inland port in China, yearly throughput reaching 66 million tons in 2003. The port area is kilometers ( mi) 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. In the 1960's Nanjing built its first Yangzte river bridge, which was almost the only way connecting Northern China and Southern China in eastern China at that time.
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 dynasties, Nanjing was a place where poets gathered and composed poems reminiscent of its luxurious past; during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the city was the official imperial examination center for the Jiangnan 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 in China.
Some of the leading art groups of China are based in Nanjing; they include: Qianxian Dance Company, Nanjing Dance Company, Jiangsu Peking Opera Institute, Nanjing Xiaohonghua Art Company and so on.
Jiangsu Province Kun Opera is one of the best theatres 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 theatre, and puppet theatre.
Jiangsu Art Gallery is the largest gallery in Jiangsu Province, presenting some of the best traditional and contemporary art pieces of China; many other smaller-scale galleries, such as Red Chamber Art Garden and Jinling Stone Gallery, also have their own special exhibitions.
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). Almost none of them, however, is still celebrated by modern Nanjingese.
Instead, Nanjing, as a popular tourist destination, hosts a series of government-organised events throughout the year. The annual International Plum Blossom Festival held in Plum 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.
Nanjing Library, founded in 1907, houses more than 7 million volumes of printed materials and is the third largest library in China, after the 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, owned by Nanjing University, with a collection of 4.2 million volumes, is also one of the leading university libraries in China.
Nanjing has some of the oldest and finest museums in China. Nanjing Museum, formerly known as National Central Museum under KMT rule, is the first modern museum and remains as one of the leading museums in China. Other museums include the China Modern History Museum in the Presidential Palace, the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall, the City Museum of Nanjing, the Taiping Kingdom History Museum, the Nanjing Customs Museum, the Nanjing City Wall Cultural Museum, and a small museum and tomb honoring the 15th century seafaring admiral Zheng He.
Traditionally Nanjing's nightlife was mostly centered around Fuzi Miao 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. The area was also famous for the concentration of upper-class prostitutes, many of them patronized by high-ranking government officials and wealthy businessmen. Prostitution was banned after the CCP took over Nanjing.
In recent years, several commercial streets have been developed, hence the nightlife has become more diverse: there are shopping malls opening late in the Xinjiekou CBD and Hunan Road. The newly opened "Nanjing 1912" district hosts a wide variety of pastime facilities ranging from traditional restaurants to western pubs.
Most of Nanjing's major theatres are multi-purpose, used as convention halls, cinemas, musical halls and theatres on different occasions. The major theatres include the People's Convention Hall and the Nanjing Arts and Culture Center.
Most of the city's cinemas are not well maintained owing to lack of revenue and rampant movie piracy[citation needed]. Yet a new cinema, Nanjing Shangying-Warner Cinema Complex, was opened in 2004, as the first modern cinema complex in Nanjing.It has become a must-visit for movie enthusiasts.
As a popular tourist destination, Nanjing is often cited as having a unique charm: with a vast number of cultural sites and pleasant natural surroundings perfectly blending together, the ancient city enchants millions of tourists with a memorable experience.
Because it was designated as the national capital, many structures were built around that time. Even today, some of them still remain which are open to tourists.
See Culture and Art above.
Nanjing has been the educational center in southern China for more than 1700 years. Currently, it boasts of some of the most prominent educational institutions in the region, which are listed as follows:
Nanjing currently has 18 sister cities (areas), namely:
Alsace, France
Bloemfontein, South Africa
Eindhoven, 
