Nanchang

Nanchang 南昌
—  Prefecture-level city  —
南昌市
Chinese transcription(s)
- Chinese	南昌市
- Pinyin	Nánchāng Shì
Nanchang
The location of Nanchang in Jiangxi
Nanchang Location in China
Coordinates: 28°41′N 115°53′E / 28.683°N 115.883°E / 28.683; 115.883
Country	China
Province	Jiangxi
Government
- Mayor	Hu Xian
Area
- Prefecture-level city	7,372 km2 (2,846.3 sq mi)
Population
- Prefecture-level city	3,790,000
- Density	514.1/km2 (1,331.5/sq mi)
- Metro	4,990,184
Time zone	China Standard (UTC+8)
City Flower	Chinese Rose
City Tree	Camphor Laurel
Website	http://www.nc.gov.cn/

Nanchang (Chinese: 南昌; pinyin: Nánchāng) is the capital of Jiangxi Province in southeastern China. Nanchang is famous for its scenic lakes, mountains, rich history and cultural sites.

Geography

Nanchang is located 60 km south of the Yangtze River and is situated on the right bank of the Gan River just below its confluence with the Jin River and some 40 km south of its discharge into Poyang Lake.

Nanchang has a humid subtropical climate with four distinct seasons. Winters are short and fairly mild (average high in January is 9 degrees C or 48F), but with occasional frosts and snow is not unheard of. Summer is long and humid, with amongst the highest temperatures in China (average 34C or 93F in July). Rain falls throughout the year, but is heavier in the summer months.

Demographics

Nanchang has a population of 3,934,445 people and a metropolitan area consisting of 4,990,184 people.

History

The city - called Gàn (赣) - was founded and first walled in 201 BC (during the early Han dynasty), when the county town was given the name Nanchang. It was also the administrative seat of a commandery, Yuzhang. In 589 (during the Sui dynasty) this commandery was changed into a prefecture named Hongzhou (洪州), and after 763 it became the provincial center of Jiangxi, which was then beginning the rapid growth that by the 12th century made it the most populous province in China.

In 653 AD, the Tengwang Pavilion was constructed. In 675 AD, Wang Bo (王勃) wrote the classic "Tengwang Ge Xu". The building as well as the city became celebrated for Wang's introduction article and the author is known to all Chinese-speaking population by this masterpiece. The Pavilion has been destroyed and rebuilt several times throughout China's history. In its present form, Tengwang Pavilion was reconstructed in the 1980s after being destroyed in 1929 during the Chinese Civil War.

In 959, under the Southern Tang regime, it became Nanchang superior prefecture and also the southern capital. After the conquest by the Song regime in 981 it reverted to the name Hongzhou. In 1164 it was renamed Longxing superior prefecture, which name it retained until 1368. At the end of the Yuan (Mongol) period (1279–1368), it became a battleground between Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), and the rival local warlord, Chen Youliang. At the beginning of the 16th century it was the power base from which Zhu Chenhao, the prince of Ning, launched a rebellion against the Ming regime.

In the 1850s it suffered considerably as a result of the Taiping Rebellion (1850–64), and its importance as a commercial center declined as the overland routes to Canton were replaced by coastal steamship services in the latter half of the 19th century. Nanchang has, however, remained the undisputed regional metropolis of Jiangxi.

On August 1, 1927, Nanchang was the site of one of a series of insurrections organized by the Chinese Communist Party. The Nanchang Uprising, led by pro-communist Kuomintang officers under Russian direction, succeeded in holding the city for only a few days, and provided a core of troops and a method of organization from which the People's Liberation Army (PLA) later developed.

In 1939, the Battle of Nanchang, a ferocious battle between the Chinese National Revolutionary Army and the Japanese Imperial Japanese Army in the Second Sino-Japanese War took place.

Satellite image of Nanchang City in JiangXi

In 1949 Nanchang was still essentially an old-style administrative and commercial city, with little industry apart from food processing; it had a population of about 275,000. Nanchang first acquired a rail connection in 1915, when the line to Jiujiang, a port on the Yangtze River, was opened. Several other rail links have since been opened. After World War II a line was completed to Linchuan and Gongqi in the Ru River Valley to the south-southeast.

Since 1949 Nanchang has been extensively industrialized. It is now a large-scale producer of cotton textiles and cotton yarn. Papermaking is also a large industry, as is food processing (especially rice milling). Heavy industry began to be important in the mid-1950s. A large thermal-power plant was installed and uses coal brought by rail from Fengcheng, to the south. A machinery industry also grew up, at first mainly concentrating on the production of agricultural equipment and diesel engines. Nanchang then became a center of the automotive industry, producing trucks and tractors and also such equipment as tires. An iron-smelting plant helping to supply local industry was installed in the later 1950s. There is also a large chemical industry, producing agricultural chemicals and insecticides as well as pharmaceuticals.

Administration

Subdivisions of Nanchang

Nanchang Buildings

• Donghu District (东湖区)
• Xihu District (西湖区)
• Qingyunpu District (青云谱区)
• Wanli District (湾里区)
• Qingshanhu District (青山湖区)
• Nanchang County (南昌县)
• Xinjian County (新建县)
• Anyi County (安义县)
• Jinxian County (进贤县)

Economy

Nanchang is a regional hub for agricultural production in Jiangxi Province. The yield of grain was 16.146 million tons in 2000. Products such as rice and oranges are economic staples. The Ford Motor Company has a plant in Nanchang, assembling the Ford Transit van as part of the Jiangling Motor joint venture.^[1] Nanchang also is a center of production for traditional Chinese medicine and pharmaceuticals.

The GDP of Nanchang in 2008 was 166 billion Yuan (24.3 billion USD). The GDP per capita was 36,105 Yuan (5,285 USD). The total value of imports and exports was 3.4 billion US dollars. The total financial revenue was 23 billion Yuan.^[2]

Transportation

Nanchang International Airport

Nanchang Railway Station

Rail

Nanchang has extensive railway infrastructure which connects to many important cities in other provinces. The Beijing-Jiulong Railway and Shanghai-Kunming Railway (formerly Zhe-Gan Railway, literally Zhejiang-Jiangxi Railway) both meet at Nanchang making Nanchang one of the most important transport hubs in Southern China. It is also the home to the Nanchang Bureau of Railways, which operates the majority of the railway network in the provinces of Jiangxi and Fujian.

From 2007, Nanchang is also connected with neighboring cities Hangzhou, Changsha and Shanghai with CRH (China Railway High-speed).

• Nanchang Changbei International Airport (南昌昌北国际机场)
• Beijing-Jiulong Railway (京九铁路)
• Shanghai-Kunming Railway (沪昆铁路)

Air

Nanchang Changbei International Airport (KHN) built in 1996 is the main international airport. It is situated in Lehua Town, 26 kilometres north of the CDB area. Changbei International Airport is the only one in Jiangxi Province which has an international air route. The airport is connected to major mainland cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Haikou.^[3]

Road

The road transport infrastructure in Nanchang is extensive. A number of national highways cross through the city. They are the National roads No.105 from Beijing to Zhuhai, No.320 from Shanghai to Kunming, and No.316 from Fuzhou to Lanzhou. The major transport companies that operate in Nanchang are the Chang'an Transport Company Limited, the Nanchang Long-distance Bus Station, and the Xufang Bus Station.

The Nanchang Long-distance Bus Station serves long distance routes to Nanjing, Shenzhen, Hefei and other cites outside Jiangxi Province. The Xufang Bus Station operates routes to cities, towns and counties within Jiangxi Province. ^[3]

Water

Nanchang is situated on the Gan River, the Fu River, Elephant Lake, Qingshan Lake, and Aixi Lake. Hence the water routes for Nanchang critically important for the economy, trade and shipping. Nanchang Port is the biggest port on the Gan River. Passengers can take Nanchang Port and travel by boat to the Jinggang Shan and Tengwang Pavilion. There are passenger ships that also visit Poyang Lake, Stone Bell Hill, Poyang Lake Bird Protection Area, Dagu Hill and other attractions.

Landmarks

The Pavilion of Prince Teng is a building in the north west of the city of Nanchang, in Jiangxi province, China

The Star of Nanchang Ferris Wheel

Nanchang is known for: The Tengwang Pavilion, a towering pavilion dating to 653,on the east bank of the Gan River and is one of "the Four Great Towers of China"

Poyang Lake, the largest fresh water lake in China, it is also called "the Migrator Birds Paradise".

It is also home to the Star of Nanchang, which was the world's tallest Ferris wheel from 2006-2008.^[4]

The Jiangxi Provincial Museum and Bada Shanren Exhibition Hall.

Colleges and universities

• Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics (江西财经大学) (founded 1923)
• Nanchang University (南昌大学)
• Jiangxi Normal University (江西师范大学)
• Jiangxi University of Science and Technology (江西理工大学)
• Jiangxi Agricultural University (江西农业大学)
• East China Jiaotong University (华东交通大学)
• Nanchang Aeronautical University (南昌航空工业学院)
• Jiangxi Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine (江西中医学院)
• Nanchang Institute of Technology (南昌工程学院)
• Jiangxi Science & Technology Teachers' College (江西科技师范学院)

Note: Institutions without full-time bachelor programs are not listed.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Nanchang is twinned with:

• Skopje, Macedonia^[5]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nanchang

• Nanchang Government website

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