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Nanjing



 
 
' (Chinese
Chinese language

Chinese or the Sinitic language is a language family consisting of language mutually unintelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the two branches of Sino-Tibetan languages of languages....
: ??; Romanization
Romanization

In linguistics, romanization is the representation of a written word or spoken speech with the Latin alphabet, or a system for doing so, where the original word or language uses a different writing system ....
s: Nánjing (Pinyin
Pinyin

Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most commonly used Romanization system for Standard Mandarin. Hanyu is the Chinese Language, and pinyin means "phonetics", or more literally, "spelling sound" or "spelled sound"....
)
, Nan-ching (Wade-Giles
Wade-Giles

Wade-Giles , sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a Romanization system for the Mandarin Chinese language used in Beijing. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Francis Wade in the mid-19th century, and reached settled form with Herbert Giles' Chinese language-English language dictionary of 1892....
)
, Nanking (Postal map spelling)) is the capital
Capital City

Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....
 of China
China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
's Jiangsu
Jiangsu

is a Province of China of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou....
 Province, and a city with a prominent place in Chinese history and culture. Nanjing (literally: 'Southern capital') served as the capital of China during several historical periods and is listed as one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China
Historical capitals of China

The China phrase Four Great Ancient Capitals of China traditionally refers to Beijing, Nanjing, Luoyang, and Chang'an .After the 1930s as more discoveries were made, other historical capitals were added to the list....
. Nanjing was the capital of the Republic of China
Republic of China

The Republic of China , also known as Nationalist China is a country in East Asia that has evolved from a single-party state with full global recognition into a multi-party democratic state with Political status of Taiwan....
 (ROC) before the Chinese Civil War
Chinese Civil War

The Chinese Civil War or , which lasted from April 1927 to May 1950, was a civil war in China between the Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Party ....
.






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' (Chinese
Chinese language

Chinese or the Sinitic language is a language family consisting of language mutually unintelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the two branches of Sino-Tibetan languages of languages....
: ??; Romanization
Romanization

In linguistics, romanization is the representation of a written word or spoken speech with the Latin alphabet, or a system for doing so, where the original word or language uses a different writing system ....
s: Nánjing (Pinyin
Pinyin

Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most commonly used Romanization system for Standard Mandarin. Hanyu is the Chinese Language, and pinyin means "phonetics", or more literally, "spelling sound" or "spelled sound"....
)
, Nan-ching (Wade-Giles
Wade-Giles

Wade-Giles , sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a Romanization system for the Mandarin Chinese language used in Beijing. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Francis Wade in the mid-19th century, and reached settled form with Herbert Giles' Chinese language-English language dictionary of 1892....
)
, Nanking (Postal map spelling)) is the capital
Capital City

Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....
 of China
China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
's Jiangsu
Jiangsu

is a Province of China of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou....
 Province, and a city with a prominent place in Chinese history and culture. Nanjing (literally: 'Southern capital') served as the capital of China during several historical periods and is listed as one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China
Historical capitals of China

The China phrase Four Great Ancient Capitals of China traditionally refers to Beijing, Nanjing, Luoyang, and Chang'an .After the 1930s as more discoveries were made, other historical capitals were added to the list....
. Nanjing was the capital of the Republic of China
Republic of China

The Republic of China , also known as Nationalist China is a country in East Asia that has evolved from a single-party state with full global recognition into a multi-party democratic state with Political status of Taiwan....
 (ROC) before the Chinese Civil War
Chinese Civil War

The Chinese Civil War or , which lasted from April 1927 to May 1950, was a civil war in China between the Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Party ....
. Nanjing is also one of the fifteen sub-provincial cities
Sub-provincial city

A sub-provincial city in the People's Republic of China, is like a prefecture-level city that is ruled by a province of China, but is administered independently in regard to Economics and law....
 in the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the List of countries by population in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately a fifth of the world's population....
's administrative structure
Political divisions of China

Due to China's large population and area, the administrative divisions of China have consisted of several levels since History of the administrative divisions of China....
, enjoying jurisdictional and economic autonomy only slightly less than that of a province.

Located in the lower Yangtze River
Yangtze River

The Yangtze River, or Chang Jiang , is the longest river in China and Asia, and the List of rivers by length in the world, after the Nile in Africa and the Amazon River in South America....
 drainage basin and Yangtze River Delta
Yangtze River Delta

The Yangtze River Delta or Yangtze Delta, also called Yangzi, or Chang Jiang Delta, Rive Chang Delta Lake Tai or the Golden Triangle of the Yangtze , generally comprises the triangular-shaped territory of Wu Chinese-speaking Shanghai, southern Jiangsu province and northern Zhejiang province of China....
 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
Republic of China

The Republic of China , also known as Nationalist China is a country in East Asia that has evolved from a single-party state with full global recognition into a multi-party democratic state with Political status of Taiwan....
, 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, after Shanghai
Shanghai

Shanghai is the List of cities in the People's Republic of China by population in China and one of the List of metropolitan areas by population in the world, with over 20 million people....
.

Geography and climate

Nanjing, with a total land area of , is situated in one of the largest economic zones of China, the Yangtze River Delta, which is part of the downstream Yangtze River
Yangtze River

The Yangtze River, or Chang Jiang , is the longest river in China and Asia, and the List of rivers by length in the world, after the Nile in Africa and the Amazon River in South America....
 drainage basin
Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent of land where water from rain or snow melt drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean....
. 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 west of Shanghai
Shanghai

Shanghai is the List of cities in the People's Republic of China by population in China and one of the List of metropolitan areas by population in the world, with over 20 million people....
, south of Beijing
Beijing

is a metropolis in northern China and the Capital of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the four municipality of China, which are equivalent to province in China's Political divisions of China....
, and east of Chongqing
Chongqing

Chongqing is the largest and most populous of the People's Republic of China's four provinces of China-level municipality of China, and the only one in the less densely populated western region of China....
.

Nanjing has a humid subtropical climate
Humid subtropical climate

Humid subtropical climate is a climate zone characterized by hot, humid summers and chilly to mild winters. This climate type covers a broad category of climates, and the term "subtropical" may be a misnomer for the winter climate....
 and is under the influence of the East Asia
East Asia

East Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either Geography or cultural terms. Geography and geopolitically, it covers about 12,000,000 km?, or about 28 percent of the Asian continent, about 15 percent bigger than the area of Europe, though some categorize Tibet, Xinjiang, and Mongolia as Central Asia....
 Monsoon
Monsoon

A monsoon is a seasonal prevailing wind that lasts for several months. The term was first used in English in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and neighboring countries to refer to the big seasonal winds blowing from the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea in the southwest bringing heavy rainfall to the region....
. 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 temperatures in the summertime. The average temperature during the year is . The average high temperature in January is while the average low is ; the average high in July is with an average low of . The highest recorded temperature is (July 13, 1934), and the lowest (Jan 6, 1955). On average it rains 117 days out of the year, and the average annual rainfall is . 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.

Nanjing is endowed with rich natural resources, which include more than 40 kinds of minerals. Among them, iron
Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. Iron is a Group 8 element and period 4 element. Iron is lustrous and silvery in color....
 and sulfur
Sulfur

Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element that has the atomic number 16. It is denoted with the symbol S. It is an abundant Valence non-metal....
 reserves make up 40 percent of those of Jiangsu province. Its reserves of strontium
Strontium

Strontium is a chemical element with the symbol Sr and the atomic number 38. An alkaline earth metal, strontium is a soft silver-white or yellowish metallic element that is highly reactive chemically....
 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
Jiangning

Jiangning may refer to:*Jiankang, ancient city in China, also named Jiangning*Jiangning District, district in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China...
 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
Purple Mountain

Purple Mountain or Zijin Mountain , also known as Bell Mountain , is located on the eastern side of Nanjing, Jiangsu, N32 5, E118 48, 447.1 m high, with the lowest point 30 m ....
 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 to Jianye shortly thereafter.

History


Ancient times through 1910

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
Yecheng

Yecheng, also known as Chokkuka. During the Han Dynasty it was known as ?? Xiye.Yecheng is the name of both the oasis and the town, and is situated on the southern rim of the Taklamakan desert is about halfway between Pishan and Yarkand on the southern route around the Tarim Basin....
in today's Nanjing area in 495 BC. Later in 473 BC, The State of Yue conquered Wu and constructed the city of Yuecheng 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 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
Sun Quan

Sun Quan , son of Sun Jian, courtesy name Zh?ngm?u , formally Emperor Da of Wu was the founder of Eastern Wu, during the Three Kingdoms period, in China....
 of the Wu Kingdom during the Three Kingdoms Period relocated its capital to Jianye, 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
Jiankang

Jiankang was the capital city of the Eastern Jin Dynasty . Its walls are extant ruins in the modern prefecture-level city of Nanjing....
. Thereafter, Jiankang remained as the capital of Southern China during the North-South Division
Southern and Northern Dynasties

The Southern and Northern Dynasties followed the Jin Dynasty and preceded Sui Dynasty in China. It was an age of civil war and political disunity....
 period, until Sui Dynasty
Sui Dynasty

The Sui Dynasty followed the Southern and Northern Dynasties and preceded the Tang Dynasty in China. It ended nearly four centuries of division between rival regimes....
 reunified China and destroyed almost the entire city, turning it into a small town.

The city was reconstructed during the late Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty

The Tang Dynasty was an Dynasties in Chinese history preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire....
. It was again named capital (then known as Jinling during the short-lived Southern Tang Kingdom (937–975) (who renamed it Xidu), who succeeded the Wu Kingdom
Wu (Ten Kingdoms)

Wu ? was one of the Ten Kingdoms in south-central China which was in existence between the years of 907 and 937. Its capital was Guangling ?? or Jiangdu ?? ....
. Jiankang's textile industry burgeoned and thrived during Song Dynasty
Song Dynasty

The Song Dynasty was a ruling Chinese dynasty in China between 960–1279 AD; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty....
 despite the constant threat from the northern foreign invasions. The Mongolians
Mongols

The name Mongol specifies one or several ethnic groups, now mainly located in Mongolia, China, and Russia....
, the occupiers of China, further consolidated the city's status as a hub of the textile industry under the Yuan Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty

The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was both the continuation of the Mongol Empire and the Mongol founded historical state in Mongolia and China, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368....
.

The first emperor of the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty

The Ming Dynasty , or Empire of the Great Ming , was the ruling Dynasties in Chinese history of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan 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
City Wall of Nanjing

The City Wall of Nanjing was designed by Hongwu Emperor after he founded the Ming Dynasty and established Nanjing as the capital 600 years ago....
 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.

As the center of the empire, early Ming Nanjing had worldwide connections: it was home of admiral Zheng He
Zheng He

Zheng He , was a Hui people China mariner, exploration, diplomat and fleet admiral, who made the voyages collectively referred to as the travels of "Eunuch Sanbao to the Western Ocean" or "Zheng He to the Western Ocean", from 1405 to 1433....
, who went to sail the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and it was visited by foreign dignitaries, such as the sultan of Brunei
Brunei

Brunei Darussalam, officially the State of Brunei, Abode of Peace , is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia....
 Abdul Majid Hassan
Abdul Majid Hassan

Sultan Abdul Majid Hasan ascended the Brunei throne in 1402. He was never mentioned in Salasilah Raja-Raja Brunei but recorded in Ming Dynasty historical record....
, who died during his visit to China in 1408. The sultan's grave, with a suitably royal bixi stone tortoise monument, was discovered in Yuhuatai District south of the city in 1958.

During the Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty , also known as the Manchu Dynasty, followed the Ming Dynasty in History of China, and was the last ruling Chinese Dynasties of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 ....
 (1644-1911), the Nanjing area was known as Jiangning and served as the seat of government for the Liangjiang Viceroy. Nanjing was the capital of the Taiping Kingdom
Taiping Rebellion

The Taiping Rebellion was a large-scale revolt in China from 1850 to 1864, during the Qing Dynasty, by an army led by Heterodoxy Christianity convert Hong Xiuquan....
 in the mid-19th century, being renamed as Tianjing (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
Zeng Guofan

Zeng Guofan was an eminent Han Chinese official, military general, and devout Confucian scholar of the late Qing Dynasty in China.Zeng raised the Xiang Army to fight effectively against the Taiping Rebellion and restored the stability of Qing Dynasty along with other prominent figures, including Zuo Zongtang and Li Hongzhang, setting the...
 retook the city in 1864, massive slaughtering occurred in the city with over 100,000 committing suicide or fighting to the death.

After 1911

The Xinhai Revolution
Xinhai Revolution

The Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution , also known as the 1911 Revolution or the Chinese Revolution, began with the Wuchang Uprising on October 10, 1911 and ended with the abdication of Emperor Puyi on February 12, 1912....
 led to the founding of the Republic of China
Republic of China

The Republic of China , also known as Nationalist China is a country in East Asia that has evolved from a single-party state with full global recognition into a multi-party democratic state with Political status of Taiwan....
 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
Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty , also known as the Manchu Dynasty, followed the Ming Dynasty in History of China, and was the last ruling Chinese Dynasties of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 ....
 still controlled the northern provinces, so revolutionaries asked Yuan Shikai
Yuan Shikai

Yuan Shikai was an important Chinese people general and politician famous for his influence during the Qing Dynasty#Rule of Empress Dowager Cixi, his role in the events leading up to the abdication of the Pu Yi of China, his autocratic rule as the second President of the Republic of China of the Republic of China, and his short-lived attem...
 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
Kuomintang

The Kuomintang of China , also often translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party, is the founding and the ruling party of the Republic of China ....
 (KMT) under Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang Kai-shek , Order of the Bath , served as Generalissimo of the Nationalist Government of the Republic of China from 1928 to 1948. He was sometimes referred to simply as "the Generalissimo"....
 again established Nanjing as the capital of the Republic of China
Republic of China

The Republic of China , also known as Nationalist China is a country in East Asia that has evolved from a single-party state with full global recognition into a multi-party democratic state with Political status of Taiwan....
, and this became internationally recognized once KMT
Kuomintang

The Kuomintang of China , also often translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party, is the founding and the ruling party of the Republic of China ....
 forces took Beijing in 1928. The following decade is known as the Nanjing decade
Nanjing decade

The Nanjing decade was the decade from 1927 to 1937 in the history of the Republic of China. It began when Kuomintang Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek took the city from Zhili clique warlord era Sun Chuanfang halfway through the Northern Expedition in 1927....
, as they used the Presidential Palace in Nanjing as their headquarters.

World War II

In 1937, the Japanese army invaded and occupied the Capital city of Republic of China
Republic of China

The Republic of China , also known as Nationalist China is a country in East Asia that has evolved from a single-party state with full global recognition into a multi-party democratic state with Political status of Taiwan....
 - Nanjing, and carried out the systematic and brutal Nanking massacre
Nanking Massacre

The Nanking Massacre, commonly known as the Rape of Nanking, was a Genocide war crime committed by the Military of Japan in Nanjing , the then capital of the Republic of China, after it fell to the Imperial Japanese Army on December 13, 1937....
. The total death toll could not be confirmed, since no official records were kept, and is often contested, but most estimates, including those made by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East
International Military Tribunal for the Far East

The International Military Tribunal for the Far East , also known as the Tokyo Trial, the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal or simply as the Tribunal, was convened to criminal procedure the leaders of the Empire of Japan for three types of crimes: "Class A" , "Class B" , and "Class C" , committed during World War II....
 and the Nanjing War Crimes Tribunal
Nanjing War Crimes Tribunal

The Nanjing War Crimes Tribunal was established in 1946 by the government of Chiang Kai-Shek to judge four Japanese Imperial Army officers accused of crimes committed during the Second Sino-Japanese War....
, put the number of dead between 200,000 and 350,000. The Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall
Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall

The Memorial for compatriots killed in the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Forces of Aggression is the Memorial Hall for the people killed in the Nanjing Massacre by the Japanese army in and around the then capital of China, Nanjing, after it fell to the Imperial Japanese Army on December 13 1937....
 was built in 1985 to commemorate the event.

After the conquest of the city, the Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army

The Imperial Japanese Army , or literally Army of Empire of Greater Japan was the official ground based armed force of Imperial Japan from 1867 to 1945....
 established the bacteriological research Unit 1644, a section of Unit 731
Unit 731

was a covert biological warfare and chemical warfare research and development unit of the Imperial Japanese Army that undertook lethal Japanese human experimentation on the Chinese during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II....
, where Japanese doctors experimented on humans.

A Japanese-collaborationist government known as the "Nanjing Regime
Wang Jingwei Government

The Wang Jingwei Government was a government under the leadership of Wang Jingwei in the Republic of China, set up by the Empire of Japan in March 1940....
" or "Nanjing Nationalist Government" led by Wang Jingwei
Wang Jingwei

Wang Jingwei , alternate name Wang Zhaoming , was a Chinese politician. He was initially known as a member of the left wing of the Kuomintang , but he was staunchly anti-Communist, and his politics veered sharply to the right later in his career....
 was established in Nanjing as a rival to Chiang Kai-Shek's government in Chongqing
Chongqing

Chongqing is the largest and most populous of the People's Republic of China's four provinces of China-level municipality of China, and the only one in the less densely populated western region of China....
, and after World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
, the KMT relocated its central government to Nanjing.

After 1949

On April 23, 1949, The People's Liberation Army
People's Liberation Army

The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 ? celebrated annually as "PLA Day" ? as the military arm of the Communist Party of China....
 conquered Nanjing, officially ending the Republic of China's rule on the mainland. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the List of countries by population in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately a fifth of the world's population....
, 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
Republic of China

The Republic of China , also known as Nationalist China is a country in East Asia that has evolved from a single-party state with full global recognition into a multi-party democratic state with Political status of Taiwan....
 (ROC), as well as textbooks published in Taiwan, referred to Nanjing as the official capital of the Republic of China, while Taipei
Taipei

Taipei has been the de facto capital of the Republic of China, commonly known as Taiwan, since the Chinese Civil War in 1949, and the capital of Taiwan since Japanese rule that began in 1895....
 is just its temporary capital.

It has long been rumored that Nanjing might be split from Jiangsu
Jiangsu

is a Province of China of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou....
 Province in future years and become its own municipality, but the rumour was never officially confirmed.

Government


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
Communist Party of China

The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and the ruling party of the People's Republic of China and the world's largest political party....
, 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 thirteen county-level divisions
Political divisions of China

Due to China's large population and area, the administrative divisions of China have consisted of several levels since History of the administrative divisions of China....
, of which eleven are districts, and two are counties. The districts are the urban areas of Nanjing while the counties are the rural areas governed by the city.

Administrative divisions


Nanjing is divided into different districts
District (China)

The term district, in the context of China, is used to refer to several unrelated political divisions in both Chinese history and China....
 and counties
County (China)

In the context of Political divisions of China, county is the standard English translation of ? . In the People's Republic of China, counties are found in the Political divisions of China#County level of the administrative hierarchy, a level that is known as "county-level" and also contains autonomous counties, county-level cities, Bann...
. The districts listed below are eleven urban districts and two counties:
Districts
RomanizationHanzi
Xuanwu District???
Baixia District???
Qinhuai District
Qinhuai District

Qinhuai District is one of the districts of Nanjing....
???
Jianye District???
Xiaguan District???
Gulou District???
Pukou District
Pukou District

Pukou , Jiangsu, China a city district of the City of Nanjing directly northwest across the Yangtze River from Nanjing.Formerly the city at the southern terminus of the Tianjin-Pukou Railway....
???
Luhe District???
Qixia District
Qixia District

Qixia District , Jiangsu, China a city district of the City of Nanjing directly northeast across the Yangtze River from Nanjing.It has an area of 80 sq.km and the population of 400,000....
???
Yuhuatai District????
Jiangning District
Jiangning District

Jiangning District is a district in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. Jiangning Development Zone is located in this district. It has a population of 210,000....
???


Counties
RomanizationHanzi
Lishui County???
Gaochun County
Gaochun County

Gaochun County is a county-level city administered by Nanjing in Jiangsu Province. Gaochun is located south of Nanjing's downtown. The total area of eight hundred and two square kilometers, with a total population of 430,000....
???


The current partition of districts of Nanjing might change in the future. There was a rumor that Lishui County would be designated as a new urban district in the near future.

Demographics


| valign="top" |
Year Residents (in million) natural growth rate (%)
1995 5.2172 2.62
1996 5.2543 2.63
1997 5.2982 2.16
1998 5.3231 1.00
1999 5.3744 2.01
2000 5.4489 2.48
2001 5.5304 1.60
2002 5.6328 0.70
2003 5.7223 1.50
2006 6.0700 6.11
|}

According to the Fifth China Census
Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population....
, the total population of the City of Nanjing reached 6.24 million in 2000. The statistics in 2007 estimated the total population to be 7.4 million, while the registered population was 6.172 million. The birth rate
Birth rate

Crude birth rate is the natality or childbirths per 1,000 people per year.It can be represented by number of childbirths in that year, and p is the current population....
 was 8.7 percent and the death rate was 6.22 percent. The urban area had a population of 5.344 million people.

As in most of eastern China the ethnic makeup of Nanjing is predominantly Han nationality (98.56 percent), with 50 other minority nationalities. In 1999, 77,394 residents belonged to minority nationalities, among which the vast majority (64,832) were Hui nationalities, contributing 83.76 percent to the minority population. The second and third largest minority groups were Manchu
Manchu

The Manchu people are a Tungusic peoples who originated in Manchuria . During their rise in the seventeenth century, with the help of Ming rebels , they conquered the Ming Dynasty and founded the Qing Dynasty, which ruled China until its abolition in 1911 after the Xinhai Revolution, which established Republic of China in its place....
 (2,311) and Zhuang
Zhuang

The Zhuang are an ethnic group of people who mostly live in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China. They form one of the Chinese nationalities officially recognized by the People's Republic of China....
 (533) nationalities. Most of the minority nationalities resided in Jianye District, comprising 9.13 percent of the district's population.

In 2003 the sex ratio
Sex ratio

Sex ratio is the ratio of males to females in a population. The primary sex ratio is the ratio at the time of conception, secondary sex ratio is the ratio at time of birth, and tertiary sex ratio is the ratio of mature organisms....
 of the city population was 106.49 males to 100 females.

Economy


Early Development

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
Far East

The Far East is a term current in English language to refer to the countries of East Asia. The term is often expanded to also include Southeast Asia and South Asia, for economic and cultural reasons, for example because Buddhism is common to East Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia....
.

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
Heavy industry

Heavy industry does not have a single fixed meaning as compared to light industry. It can mean production of products which are either heavy in weight or in the processes leading to their production....
, as part of the national plan of rapid industrialization
Industrialization

Industrialization is the process of social and economic change whereby a human group is transformed from a pre-industrial society into an industry one....
. 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.

Today

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, accounting for 44 percent 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
Multinational corporation

A multinational corporation or transnational corporation is a corporation or enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country....
, such as Volkswagen
Volkswagen

Volkswagen Passenger Cars, also known as VW, is an automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Germany and is the original as well as the largest brand by sales volume within the Volkswagen Group....
, Iveco
Iveco

Iveco is an Italy truck, bus, and diesel engine manufacturer, based in Turin, Italy. It is a subsidiary of the Fiat Group, and produces around 200,000 commercial vehicles and 460,000 diesel engines annually, and for the year ended 2007 the company had Euro11,196 million in sales ....
, A.O. Smith, and Sharp
Sharp Corporation

is a Japanese electronics manufacturer, founded in 1912.It takes its name from one of its founder's first inventions, the Ever-Sharp mechanical pencil, which was invented by Tokuji Hayakawa in 1915....
, 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 park
Industrial park

An industrial park or industrial estate is an area of real property set aside for industry Urban planning. Industrial parks are usually located close to transport facilities, especially where intermodal freight transport coincide: highways, railroads, airports, and navigation rivers....
s, which now total four: Gaoxin, Xingang, Huagong and Jiangning. Despite the effort, Nanjing's Gross Domestic Production is still falling behind that of other neighboring cities such as Suzhou
Suzhou

Suzhou is a city on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and on the shores of Lake Taihu in the province of Jiangsu, China. The city is renowned for its beautiful stone bridges, pagodas, and meticulously designed Chinese garden which have contributed to its status as a great tourist attraction....
, Wuxi
Wuxi

Wuxi is an old city in Jiangsu, People's Republic of China. Split into halves by Lake Tai, Wuxi borders Changzhou to the west and Suzhou to the east....
 and Hangzhou
Hangzhou

is a sub-provincial city located in the Yangtze River Delta in the People's Republic of China, and the capital of Zhejiang Provinces of China....
, 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
Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organization to pay its creditors. Creditors may file a bankruptcy petition against a debtor in an effort to recoup a portion of what they are owed or initiate a restructuring....
 or privatization
Privatization

Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of business from the public sector to the private sector . In a broader sense, privatization refers to transfer of any government function to the private sector including governmental functions like revenue collection and law enforcement....
. This has resulted in large numbers of layoff workers
Layoff

Layoff is the temporary suspension or permanent termination of employment of an employee or a group of employees for business reasons, such as the decision that certain positions are no longer necessary or a business slow-down or interruption in work....
 who are technically not unemployed but effectively jobless. In recent years, Nanjing has been developing its economy, commerce, industry, as well as city construction. In 2008 the city's GDP was RMB 377.5 billion (3rd in Jiangsu), and GDP per capita was RMB 50,944, a 12.1 percent increase from 2007. The average urban resident's disposable income
Disposable income

Disposable income is gross income minus income tax on that income.Discretionary income is income after subtracting taxes and normal expenses to maintain a certain standard of living....
 was RMB 20,317, while the average rural resident's net income is RMB 8,020. The urban unemployment rate was 3.26 percent, lower than the national average (4.0 percent). Nanjing's Gross Domestic Production ranked 17th in 2008 in China, and its overall competence ranked 9th.

Industrial zones
  • Nanjing Economic and Technological Development Zone
  • Nanjing New and High Develoment Industry Zone
  • Nanjing Jiangning Development Zone

Transportation

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.

Land

As an important regional hub in the Yangtze River Delta
Yangtze River Delta

The Yangtze River Delta or Yangtze Delta, also called Yangzi, or Chang Jiang Delta, Rive Chang Delta Lake Tai or the Golden Triangle of the Yangtze , generally comprises the triangular-shaped territory of Wu Chinese-speaking Shanghai, southern Jiangsu province and northern Zhejiang province of China....
, Nanjing is well-connected by over 60 state and provincial highway
Highway

A highway is a main road intended for travel by the public between important destinations, such as city and towns. Highway designs vary widely and can range from a two-lane road without margins to a multi-lane, grade separated freeway....
s to all parts of China. Express highways such as Hu-Ning, Ning-He, Ning-Hang enable commuters to travel to Shanghai, Hefei
Hefei

Hefei is a prefecture-level city and the capital of Anhui province of China, People's Republic of China. Located in central Anhui, it borders Huainan to the north, Chuzhou to the northeast, Chaohu to the southeast and Lu'an to the west....
, Hangzhou, 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 (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. Since 2008, A new Nanjing South Railway Station has started construction. This will officially be claimed the largest railway station in Asia after it is finished.

Public Transportation
The city also boasts an efficient network of public transportation, which mainly consists of bus, taxi and metro systems. The bus network, which is currently run by four companies (Nanjing Gongjiao, Zhongbei, Argos
Argos

Argos is a city in Greece in the Peloponnese near Nafplion, which was its historic harbour, named for Nauplius ....
 and Xincheng
Xincheng

Xincheng is an industrial Town in the Tanggu District of Tianjin, PRC.External links...
), provides more than 170 routes covering all parts of the city and suburban areas. Nanjing Metro
Nanjing Metro

The Nanjing Metro is a rapid transit system serving the city of Nanjing, China.The construction of Line 1 began in 2000 and was inaugurated on September 3rd, 2005., it's 21.72 km long with 16 stations....
 Line 1, started service on May 15, 2005, and Line 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 intracity transportation and reduce the currently heavy traffic congestion.

Air

Nanjing's airport, Lukou International Airport, serves both national and international flights. In 2008, the airport handled 8.8813 million passengers. It was ranked 13th 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
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
, Korea
Korea

Korea is a geographic area composed of two sovereign countries, a civilization, and a former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia....
, Thailand
Thailand

The Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Laos and Myanmar, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Myanmar....
, Malaysia
Malaysia

Malaysia is a federation that consists of States of Malaysia in Southeast Asia with a total landmass of . The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government....
, Singapore
Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country microstate located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. It lies 137 kilometres north of the equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands....
 and Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
. The airport is connected by a 29-kilometer (18 mi) highway directly to the city center, and is also linked to various intercity highways, making it accessible to the passengers from the surrounding cities.

Water

Port of Nanjing is the largest inland port in China, yearly throughput
Throughput

In communication networks, such as Ethernet or packet radio, throughput is the average rate of successful message delivery over a communication channel....
 reaching 108.59 million ton
Ton

Units of massThere are several similar units of mass or volume called the ton:Others*The long ton is used for petroleum products such as aviation fuel....
s in 2007. 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. In the 1960s the first Yangtze river bridge was completed, becoming almost the only solid connection between North and South in eastern China at that time. The bridge became 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 4,600 metres on the upper deck, with approximately 1,580 metres spanning the river itself.

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
Tang Dynasty

The Tang Dynasty was an Dynasties in Chinese history preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire....
 and Song
Song Dynasty

The Song Dynasty was a ruling Chinese dynasty in China between 960–1279 AD; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty....
 dynasties, Nanjing was a place where poets gathered and composed poems reminiscent of its luxurious past; during the Ming
Ming Dynasty

The Ming Dynasty , or Empire of the Great Ming , was the ruling Dynasties in Chinese history of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty....
 and Qing
Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty , also known as the Manchu Dynasty, followed the Ming Dynasty in History of China, and was the last ruling Chinese Dynasties of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 ....
 Dynasties, the city was the official imperial examination
Imperial examination

The Imperial examinations in Imperial China determined who among the population would be permitted to enter the state's bureaucracy. The Imperial Examination System in China lasted for 1300 years, from its founding during the Sui Dynasty in 605 to its abolition near the end of the Qing Dynasty in 1905....
 center for the Jiangnan
Jiangnan

Jiangnan or Jiang Nan is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, including the southern part of the Yangtze River Delta....
 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: Qianxian Dance Company, Nanjing Dance Company, Jiangsu Peking Opera Institute, Nanjing Xiaohonghua Art Company are just a few to list.

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.

Festivals

Nanjing Ming Wall
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, are 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.

Libraries

Nanjing Library
Nanjing Library

Nanjing Library is the third largest library in China with over 7 million items. It houses important science, culture and arts literature relating to Jiangsu province and other national historical records such as ancient Chinese and foreign publications....
, founded in 1907, houses more than 7 million volumes of printed materials and is the third largest library in China, after the National Library
National Library of China

The National Library of China or NLC in Beijing is the largest library in Asia, and the fifth largest in the world with a collection of over 23 million volumes....
 in Beijing and Shanghai Library
Shanghai Library

Shanghai Library is the second largest library in China after the National Library of China in Beijing. It is located in Shanghai, China. At 24 stories and 348 feet tall, it is the List of tallest buildings and structures in the world....
. 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
Nanjing University

Nanjing University is a national comprehensive university located in Nanjing, an ancient capital of China. It is regarded as one of the best and most selective universities in China....
, with a collection of 4.2 million volumes, is also one of the leading university libraries .

Museums

Nanjing Museum1
Nanjing has some of the oldest and finest museums in China. Nanjing Museum
Nanjing Museum

Nanjing Museum is located in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China, on East Zhongshan Road, about 3km from the Xinjiekou traffic circle to the east, just inside Zhongshan Gate....
, 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
Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall

The Memorial for compatriots killed in the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Forces of Aggression is the Memorial Hall for the people killed in the Nanjing Massacre by the Japanese army in and around the then capital of China, Nanjing, after it fell to the Imperial Japanese Army on December 13 1937....
, the City Museum of Nanjing, the Taiping Kingdom History Museum
Taiping Kingdom History Museum

The Taiping Kingdom History Museum The building was originally a palace of the first ruler of the Ming Dynasty, Hongwu emperor . In 1853, it became the residence of Yang Xiuqing, a military leader in the Taiping Rebellion....
, the Nanjing Customs Museum, the Nanjing City Wall Cultural Museum, and a small museum and tomb honoring the 15th century seafaring admiral Zheng He
Zheng He

Zheng He , was a Hui people China mariner, exploration, diplomat and fleet admiral, who made the voyages collectively referred to as the travels of "Eunuch Sanbao to the Western Ocean" or "Zheng He to the Western Ocean", from 1405 to 1433....
.

Theatre


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.

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. After that, Nanjing had more modern cinemas in both Xinjiekou and the Confucious Temple, such as the Xinjiekou International Cinema Complex located on the seventh floor of Deji Plaza and Hengdian International Cinema in Aqua City on Jiankang Road.

Stadium

There are two major sports centers in Nanjing, Wutaishan Sports Center and Nanjing Olympic Sports Center
Nanjing Olympic Sports Center

File:Nanjing_Olympic_Center_Stadium_in_the_night.jpgNanjing Olympic Sports Center is a multi-use stadium in Nanjing, China. It is currently used mostly for football matches and Athletics events....
. 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
People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the List of countries by population in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately a fifth of the world's population....
.

Night life

Traditionally Nanjing's nightlife was mostly centered around Fu Zi 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
Central business district

A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In Australia, China , Republic of Ireland, Kenya, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore and South Africa, the phrase is commonly used, and is often colloquially abbreviated to "CBD"....
 and Hunan Road. The well-established "Nanjing 1912" district hosts a wide variety of pastime facilities ranging from traditional restaurants and western pubs to dance clubs.

In 2005, in order to host The 10th National Game of People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the List of countries by population in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately a fifth of the world's population....
, there was a new stadium, Nanjing Olympic Sports Center, constructed in Nanjing. Compared to Wutaishan Sports Center, whose major stadium's capacity is 18,600, the stadium in Nanjing Olympic Sports Center is more advanced and has a bigger capacity. Nanjing Olympic Sports Center
Nanjing Olympic Sports Center

File:Nanjing_Olympic_Center_Stadium_in_the_night.jpgNanjing Olympic Sports Center is a multi-use stadium in Nanjing, China. It is currently used mostly for football matches and Athletics events....
 has a stadium of capacity 60,000. Its gymnasium has capacity of 13,000, and natatorium of capacity 3,000.

Tourism

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.

Buildings and monuments


Ancient period
  • Bei Ji Ge
  • Zhonghua City Gate Soldiers Hidding Cache
  • Chaotian Palace (museum and Kunqu opera
    Kunqu

    Kunqu , also known as Kunju, Kun opera or Kunqu Opera, is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera. It evolved from the Kunshan melody, and dominated Chinese theatre from the 16th to the 18th centuries....
     house)
  • Fuzi Miao (Temple of Confucius) and Qinhuai River
  • Gu Lou
  • Jiangnan Gongyuan
  • Jiming Temple
  • Jinghai Temple
  • Linggu Temple
    Linggu Temple

    Linggu Temple is an archaized structure in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, China.The temple was first built in 515 under the reign of the Liang Dynasty ....
  • Ming Dynasty Palace Site
  • Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum
    Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum

    The Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum is the tomb of the Hongwu Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. It lies at the northern foot of Purple Mountain in Nanjing, China....
     and its surrounding complex
  • City Wall of Nanjing
    City Wall of Nanjing

    The City Wall of Nanjing was designed by Hongwu Emperor after he founded the Ming Dynasty and established Nanjing as the capital 600 years ago....
     and Zhonghua Gate
    Gate of China, Nanjing

    The Gate of China in Nanjing , was a ceremonial gateway in Nanjing, China. It was the southern gate of Nanjing city. It is a widely known ancient city gate in China and the city gate with the most complex structure in the world....
  • Qixia Temple
    Qixia Temple

    Qixia Temple is a Buddhist temple located in Qixia Hill, 22 kilometers northeast of Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China.The temple was built in Yongming 7th year in South Qi Dynasty....
  • South Tang Mausoleums
  • Stone City
    Stone City

    The Stone City is the popular name of an ancient fortified city within the current city of Nanjing. Almost all of the original city is gone; all that remains are portions of the massive city wall....
  • The Porcelain Pagoda of Nanjing
  • The Presidential palace
  • Yuejiang Lou
  • Xu Garden
    Xu Garden

    Xu Garden , also called '"Xi Hua Yuan"', or literally, "West Flower Garden", is a famed classical garden in South China. Together with "Zhan Yuan", they are called two prominent gardens in Jinling ....
  • Zhan Garden


Republic of China period (1912-1949)
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.

  • Central Hotel (237 E. Zhongshan Road)
  • Central Stadium (present day Nanjing Physical Education Institute)
  • China Bank of Communications Nanjing Branch (1 E. Zhongshan Road)
  • Dahua Theatre (67 S. Zhongshan Road)
  • Former Central Government Building Group along N. Zhongshan Road
  • Former Foreign Embassies in Gu Lou Area
  • Huiwen Institute Bell Tower (196 Zhongshan Road)
  • Jiangsu Art Gallery (Former National Art Gallery)
  • Lizhi She (307 E. Zhongshan Road)
  • Macklin Hospital (321 Zhongshan Road, present day Gu Lou Hospital)
  • Nanjing Museum Complex
  • Officials Residence Cluster along Yihe Road
  • Presidential Palace, Nanjing
    Presidential Palace (Nanjing)

    The Presidential Palace in Nanjing, China, housed the Office of the President of the Republic of China before the republic relocated to Taiwan in 1949....
  • Purple Mountain Observatory
    Purple Mountain Observatory

    Purple Mountain Observatory , also known as Zijinshan Astronomical Observatory, is an astronomical observatory located on the Purple Mountain in Nanjing, China....
  • St. Paul's Church (396 S. Taiping Road)
  • The Complex of Former Academia Sinica
    Academia Sinica

    The Academia Sinica , headquartered in the Nangang District of Taipei, is the national academy of the Republic of China . It supports research activities in a wide variety of disciplines, ranging from mathematical and physical sciences, to life sciences, and to humanities and social sciences....
     (39 E. Beijing Road)
  • The Complex of Former Central University
    National Central University

    The National Central University, often called ?? or NCU, is a national public university and key magnet school in Taiwan....
  • The Complex of Former Jinling University
  • Yangzi Hotel (2 Baoshan Road)
  • Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum
    Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum

    The Mausoleum of Dr. Sun Yat-sen is situated at the foot of the second peak of Mount Zijin in Nanjing, China. Construction of the tomb started in January of 1926 and was finished in spring of 1929....
     and its surrounding area


Contemporary
  • Jinling Hotel
    Jinling Hotel

    Jinling Hotel is a hotel in Nanjing, China, located near the city's Xinjiekou district. "Jinling" is an old name for Nanjing which is often used to refer to the city in a poetic context....
     On Zhongshan (19th) Avenue
  • Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge
    Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge

    The Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge is the first bridge to be built across the Yangtze River in Nanjing, China. It was completed in 1968 and is the first double-decker, double-track highway and railway bridge designed and constructed by the Chinese without outside engineering assistance....
  • River-crossing Victory Monument
  • Nanjing Harbor on Latitude 8th Street


Parks and gardens

  • Purple Mountain
    Purple Mountain

    Purple Mountain or Zijin Mountain , also known as Bell Mountain , is located on the eastern side of Nanjing, Jiangsu, N32 5, E118 48, 447.1 m high, with the lowest point 30 m ....
     Scenic Area
  • Zhongshan Botanical Garden
    Nanjing Botanical Garden, Mem. Sun Yat-Sen

    The Nanjing Botanical Garden Mem. Sun Yat-Sen is the first national botanical garden established in 1929 in China. The original name was 'Botanical Garden Memorial Sun Yat-Sen', which was dedicated to the memory of Dr....


Other places of interests

  • Tangshan Hot Spring
  • Jiangxin Islet
  • Yangshan Tomb Stone
  • Yangtze River Crossing Nanjing, tallest electricity pylon
    Electricity pylon

    An electricity pylon or transmission tower is a tall, usually steel lattice structure used to support overhead electricity conductors for electric power transmission....
    s built of concrete.


Education

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:

National Universities

  • Nanjing University
    Nanjing University

    Nanjing University is a national comprehensive university located in Nanjing, an ancient capital of China. It is regarded as one of the best and most selective universities in China....
    (Part of National Central University ??????, founded in 1902,Part of Private University of Nanking ??????,founded in 1888)
  • Southeast University
    Southeast University

    |name = Southeast University|image_name = Southeast University.jpg|established = June 6, 1902|motto = Rich in Knowledge and Tenacious of Purpose;Inquiring with Earnestness and Reflecting with Self-practice ????...
    (Part of National Central University ??????, founded in 1902,Part of Private University of Nanking ??????,founded in 1888)
  • Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (????????, founded in 1952)
  • Nanjing University of Science & Technology
  • Hohai University
    Hohai University

    Hohai University is a research university in Nanjing, China under the direct jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education of China. It was formerly administered by the Ministry of Water Resources, from 1958 to 2000....
    (Part of National Central University ??????, founded in 1915)
  • Nanjing Agricultural University
    Nanjing Agricultural University

    Nanjing Agricultural University is a public university located in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, PRC. It offers courses in agricultural and sciences....
    (Part of National Central University ??????, founded in 1902,Part of Private University of Nanking ??????,founded in 1888)
  • China Pharmaceutical University
    China Pharmaceutical University

    China Pharmaceutical University is a university in Nanjing, China that specializes in the pharmaceutical sciences....
     (??????,founded in 1936)
Nanjing Agricultural University ??????

Provincial Universities

  • Nanjing Normal University
    Nanjing Normal University

    Nanjing Normal University is a normal university located in Nanjing, Jiangsu, PRC....
    (Part of National Central University ??????, founded in 1902,Part of Private University of Nanking ??????,founded in 1888,Part of Ginling Women University????????,founded in 1913)
  • Nanjing University of Technology
    Nanjing University of Technology

    Nanjing University of Technology , colloquially known as Gong Da , is a university located in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China. The university specializes in engineering, however, like many other Chinese universities, English language courses are compulsory....
    (Part of National Central University ??????, founded in 1902,Part of Private University of Nanking ??????,founded in 1888)
  • Nanjing Forestry University
    Nanjing Forestry University

    Nanjing Forestry University is an institution of higher learning in Nanjing, China. It is jointly run and administered by central government of Jiangsu Provincial Government....
    (Part of National Central University ??????, founded in 1902,Part of Private University of Nanking ??????,founded in 1888)
  • Nanjing Medical University
    Nanjing Medical University

    Nanjing Medical University is a university located in the city of Nanjing in the Jiangsu Province of China. It was first established in 1934 in Zhenjiang city, but it was relocated to Nanjing in 1957....
  • Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine(???????)
  • Nanjing University of Finance & Economics
    Nanjing University of Finance & Economics

    Nanjing University of Finance & Economics , colloquially or is located in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. The university specializes in financial and economic disciplines but also focuses on engineering, law, liberal arts, and science....
  • Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications
    Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications

    Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications is a public university in Nanjing province, China.External links...
  • Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology (????????,founded in 1960)
  • Nanjing Institute of Physical Education(??????)
  • Nanjing Arts Institute
  • Nanjing Audit University
    Nanjing Audit University

    Nanjing Audit University is an accounting-focused university with its campus at Jianye, a district of Nanjing, China.The university was founded in 1983 and has emphasis on Economics and Management, with Law, Language and Literature, Science and Engineering....
  • Nanjing Xiaozhuang College
  • Jinling Institute of Technology


Private Colleges

  • Sanjiang College
    Sanjiang College

    Sanjiang University is a university located in the countryside of Nanjing city, which is the capital city of China's Jiangsu province of China....
  • Hopkins-Nanjing Center
    Hopkins-Nanjing Center

    The Hopkins-Nanjing Center is a joint educational venture between Nanjing University and Johns Hopkins University that opened in Nanjing, China in 1986....


Notable Public Schools

  • High School Affiliated to Nanjing Normal University (??????????)
  • Jinling High School
    Jinling High School

    zh:????Jinling High School is a high school located in Nanjing, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China.The school has a central location in the Municipality, with a campus of 50,000 square meters....
  • Nanjing No.1 High School
    Nanjing No.1 High School

    Nanjing No. 1 High School is a high school in Nanjing, Jiangsu, PRC, located on the bank of the Qinhuai River....
  • Nanjing Foreign Language School
    Nanjing Foreign Language School

    Nanjing Foreign Language School, is a high school located in Nanjing, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China. Founded by PRC's first premier Mr. Zhou Enlai in 1963....
     (???????)
  • Nanjing Zhonghua High School


Sister cities

Nanjing currently has 18 sister cities (areas), namely: Alsace
Alsace

Alsace is the fourth-smallest of the 26 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the sixth-most densely populated region in France , with 222 inhabitants per km? ....
, France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
Barranquilla
Barranquilla

Barranquilla, an industrial, portuary, and special district, is a city and municipality located in northern Colombia by the Caribbean sea. The capital of the Atl?ntico Department, it is the largest industrial city and port in the Caribbean Region , and the fourth largest city in Colombia....
, Colombia
Colombia

Colombia , officially the Republic of Colombia , is a country in north-western South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the north west by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean....
Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein

Bloemfontein The city is situated on dry grassland at , at an altitude of 1,395 metres above sea level. The city is home to 369,568 residents, while the Mangaung Local Municipality has a population of 645,455....
, South Africa
South Africa

The Republic of South Africa, also known by Official names of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa....
Eindhoven
Eindhoven

Eindhoven is a municipality and a city located in the province of North Brabant in the south of the Netherlands, originally at the confluence of the Dommel and Gender streams....
, Netherlands
Netherlands

The Netherlands is a country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands is located in North-West Europe, and bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east....
Florence
Florence

Florence is the Capital city of the Italy Regions of Italy of Tuscany and of the provinces of Italy Province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany and has a population of 364,779 ....
, Italy
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
Hauts-de-Seine
Hauts-de-Seine

Hauts-de-Seine is a Departments of France in France. It is part of the ?le-de-France region, and forms part of the western suburbs of Paris....
, France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
Houston
Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States of America and the largest city within the state of Texas. As of the 2007 U.S. Census estimate, the city has a population of 2.2 million within an area of 600 square miles ....
, Texas
Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
, United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
Leipzig
Leipzig

Leipzig is, with a population of over 511,252, the largest city in the States of Germany of Saxony, Germany....
, Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
Limassol
Limassol

Limassol or Lemesos is the second-largest city on Cyprus, with a population of 176,900 , the largest city in geographical size, and the biggest municipality on the island....
, Cyprus
Cyprus

Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is an island country situated in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, east of Greece, west of Lebanon, Syria, and Israel, south of Turkey and north of Egypt....
London, Ontario
London, Ontario

London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada along the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor with a metropolitan area population of 457,720; the city proper had a population of 352,395 in the Canada 2006 Census....
, Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
Malacca Town
Malacca Town

Malacca Town is the List of capitals in Malaysia of the Malaysian state of Melaka . The Seri Negeri, the State Administrative and Development Centre which houses the Chief Minister's Office, the State Secretary's Office and the Legislative Assembly Hall are located in Malacca Town....
, Malaysia
Malaysia

Malaysia is a federation that consists of States of Malaysia in Southeast Asia with a total landmass of . The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government....
 (2001) Mexicali
Mexicali

Mexicali is the capital of the States of Mexico of Baja California. Mexicali is also the seat of the Mexicali . Founded on March 14, 1903, Mexicali is situated on the U.S.-Mexico border adjacent to Calexico, California and is the northernmost city in Latin America, located at ....
, Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
Nagoya, Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
Perth
Perth, Western Australia

Perth is the List of Australian capital cities and largest city of the Australian States and territories of Australia of Western Australia. With a population of 1,554,769 , Perth ranks fourth amongst the nation's cities, with a growth rate consistently above the national average....
, Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri, located near the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Missouri River. St....
, Missouri
Missouri

Missouri is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska....
, United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 (Nov 02, 1978, The 1st pair of Twin Cities between America and People's Republic of China) Daejeon
Daejeon

Daejeon is the capital city of Chungcheongnamdo Province, located in the center of South Korea. It is the fifth largest city in South Korea, with a population of 1,442,856 at the end of 2005....
, South Korea
South Korea

South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea , ), often referred to as Korea and the "names of Korea#Revival of the names", is a Semi-presidential system republic in East Asia, located in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula....
Birmingham
Birmingham

Birmingham is a city status in the United Kingdom and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. Birmingham is the most populous of England's English Core Cities Group, and is the List of United Kingdom cities by population British city after London, with a population of 1,010,200 ....
, England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte

Belo Horizonte The first Human settlement in the region occurred in the early 1700s, but the city as it is known today was planned and constructed in the 1890s, in order to replace Ouro Preto as the capital of Minas Gerais....
, Brazil
Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the List of countries by population country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world....


See also

  • Treaty of Nanjing
  • Nanjing Massacre
  • The Rape of Nanking (book)
    The Rape of Nanking (book)

    The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II is a Bestseller 1997 non-fiction book written by Iris Chang about the 1937?1938 Nanking Massacre, the massacre and atrocities committed by the Imperial Japanese Army after it captured Nanjing, then capital of Republic of China, during the Second Sino-Japanese War....
  • Jiangnan
    Jiangnan

    Jiangnan or Jiang Nan is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, including the southern part of the Yangtze River Delta....
  • List of cities in the People's Republic of China by population
    List of cities in the People's Republic of China by population

    This list ranks cities in the People's Republic of China by population.According to the administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China, there are three level of cities, namely municipality of China, prefecture-level city , and county-level cities....


External links



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