Nanjing

Nanjing
南京
—  Sub-provincial city  —
南京市
Clockwise from top: Qinhuai River, Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum, Nanjing Downtown, City Wall of Nanjing, Zifeng Tower
Nickname(s): 金陵 (Gold Mausoleum), 石城 or 石头城 (Stone City)
Nanjing's location within Jiangsu province
Nanjing is located in China
Nanjing
Location in China
Coordinates:
Country China
Province Jiangsu
County-level divisions 13
Township divisions 129
Settled 495 BC
Government
 - CPC Nanjing Zhu Shanlu
Committee Secretary
 - Mayor Ji Jianye
Area(ranked 29th)
 - Total 6,598 km2 (2,547.5 sq mi)
Elevation 15 m (50 ft)
Population (2009)
 - Total 7,713,100
 - Density 1,123.5/km2 (2,909.9/sq mi)
Time zone China Standard Time (UTC+8)
Postal code 210000 - 211300
Area code(s) 25
License plate prefixes 苏A
GDP (2009) ¥423 billion
GDP per capita ¥55,290
Website City of Nanjing
City trees
Deodar Cedar (Cedrus deodara)
City flowers
Méi (Prunus mume)
Nanjing
Chinese 南京
Literal meaning southern capital

Nanjing (Chinese: 南京; Romanizations: Nánjīng (Pinyin), Nan-ching (Wade-Giles), Nanking (Postal map spelling); Mandarin pronunciation: [nan˧˥ t͡ɕiŋ˥˥]) is the capital of Jiangsu Province, China and a city with a prominent place in Chinese history and culture. The different spellings 'Nanjing' or 'Nanking' bear the same Chinese name '南京' - meaning 'Southern capital' - Nanking was widely used until the Pinyin language reform after which Nanjing is the international standard spelling of the city's name.

Located in the lower Yangtze River drainage basin and Yangtze River Delta economic zone, Nanjing has always been one of China's most important cities. It served as the capital of China during several historical periods and is listed as one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China. Nanjing was the capital of the Republic of China before the Chinese Civil War in 1949. Nanjing is also one of the fifteen sub-provincial cities in the People's Republic of China's administrative structure, enjoying jurisdictional and economic autonomy only slightly less than that of a province. Apart from having been the capital of China for six dynasties and of the Republic of China, Nanjing has also served as a national hub of education, research, transportation and tourism throughout history. It will also host the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics.

With an urban population of over five million (2006), Nanjing is the second largest commercial center in the East China region, after Shanghai. It has been ranked fourth by Forbes magazine in its listing of "2008 Top 100 Business Cities in Mainland China", seventh in the evaluation of "Cities with Strongest Comprehensive Strength" issued by the National Statistics Bureau, and second in the evaluation of cities with most sustainable development potential in the Yangtze River Delta. It has also been awarded the title of 2008 Habitat Scroll of Honor of China, Special Award of UN Habitat Scroll of Honor and National Civilized City.[1]

Contents

History

Early history

A sculpture at Xiao Xiu's tomb, which was built in 518.

Nanjing was one of the earliest established cities in south China. Fu Chai, Lord of the State of Wu, founded a fort named Yecheng (冶城) in today's Nanjing area in 495 BCE according to the legend. Later in 473 BCE, the State of Yue conquered Wu and constructed the fort of Yuecheng (越城) on the outskirts of the present-day Zhonghua Gate. In 333 BCE, after eliminating the State of Yue, the State of Chu built Jinling Yi (金陵邑) in the western part of present-day Nanjing. Under the Qin and Han dynasties, it was called Moling (秣陵). Since then, the city has experienced destruction and renewal many times.

Capital of the Six Dynasties

Nanjing first became a capital in 229 CE, where Sun Quan of the Wu Kingdom during the Three Kingdoms Period relocated its capital to Jianye (建業), a city he extended on the basis of Jinling Yi in 211 CE. Although conquered by the West Jin Dynasty in 280, Nanjing and its neighboring areas had been well cultivated and developed into one of the commercial, cultural, and political centers of China during the rule of East Wu. This city would soon play a vital role in the following centuries.

Shortly after the reunity of China, West Jin collapsed in wars. It was at first rebels of eight Jin princes for the throne and later rebels and invasion from Xiongnu and other nomadic peoples that destroyed the rule of Jin in nothern China. In 317, remnants of the Jin court, as well as Chinese nobles and wealthy families, fled from the north to the south and reestablished the Jin court in Nanjing, which was then called Jiankang (建康).

Thereafter, Nanjing remained as the capital of southern China during the North-South Division period for more than two and a half centuries. Possibly the best preserved monument of that era is the ensemble of the Tomb of Xiao Xiu (475–518), a brother of Emperor Wu of Liang, located in today's Qixia District on the eastern outskirts of the modern Nanjing.[2][3] The period of division ended when the Sui Dynasty reunified China and destroyed almost the entire city, turning it into a small town.

Medieval period

The Śarīra pagoda in Qixia Temple. It was built in 601 and rebuilt in the 10th century.

The city of Nanjing was razed to ground after Sui took it. It was reconstructed during late Tang Dynasty. It was again named capital (then known as Jinling (金陵) during the short-lived Southern Tang (937–975), who succeeded the Wu.[4] Jiankang's textile industry burgeoned and thrived during Song Dynasty despite the constant threat from the northern foreign invasions. The Mongolians, the occupiers of China, further consolidated the city's status as a hub of the textile industry under the Yuan Dynasty.

Capital of Ming

Zhonghua Gate is the south gate of the walled city of Nanjing. The city wall was buit in the 14th century and is the longest in the world.
The Spirit Way of Ming Xiaoling complex, mausoleum of the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

The first emperor of the Ming Dynasty Zhu Yuanzhang (the Hongwu Emperor) who overthrew the Yuan Dynasty rebuilt this city and made it the capital of China in 1368. He constructed what was the longest city wall in the world at that time. It took 200,000 laborers 21 years to finish the project. The present-day city wall of Nanjing was mainly built during that time, and it is the longest surviving city wall in the world.

Nanjing remained the capital of the Ming Empire until 1421, when the third emperor of the dynasty, Zhu Di, relocated the capital to Beijing. It is believed that Nanjing was the largest city in the world from 1358 to 1425 with a population of 487,000 in 1400.[5]

Besides the city wall, other famous Ming-era structures in the city included the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum (still one of the most famous sites of the region) and the Porcelain Tower (destroyed by the Taipings in the 19th century).

As the center of the empire, early-Ming Nanjing had worldwide connections: it was home of admiral Zheng He, who went to sail the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and it was visited by foreign dignitaries, such as the sultan of Brunei Abdul Majid Hassan, 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.[6]

Qing period

Over two centuries after the removal of the capital to Beijing, Nanjing was destined to become the capital of a Ming emperor one more time. After the fall of Beijing to the Li Zicheng's rebels and then to Manchu Qing invaders, and the suicide of the last "real" Ming emperor Zhu Youjian (the Chongzhen Emperor) in the spring 1644, the Ming prince Zhu Yousong was enthroned in Nanjing in June 1644 as the Hongguang Emperor. His short reign was described by later historians as the first reign of the so-called Southern Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yousong, however, fared a lot worse than his ancestor Zhu Yuanzhang three centuries earlier. Beset by factional conflicts, his regime could not offer effective resistance to Manchu troops, when the Manchu army, led by Prince Dodo approached Jiangnan the next spring.[7] Days after Yangzhou fell to the Manchus in late May 1645, the Hongguang Emperor fled Nanjing, and the imperial palace was looted by local residents.[8] On June 6, Dodo's troops approached Nanjing, and the commander of the city's garrison, Zhao the Earl of Xincheng, promptly surrendered the city to them.[9] The Manchus soon ordered all male residents of the city to shave their heads in the Manchu way, requisitioned a large section of the city for the bannermen's cantonment, and destroyed the former imperial palace, but otherwise the city was spared the mass murders and destruction that befell Yangzhou.[10]

During the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911), the Nanjing area was known as Jiangning (江宁) and served as the seat of government for the Liangjiang Viceroy. It had been visited by the Kangxi and Qianlong Emperors a number of times on their tours of the southern provinces.

Nanjing was invaded by British troops during the First Opium War, which was ended by the Treaty of Nanking in 1842.

Nanjing was the capital of the Taiping Kingdom[11] in the mid-19th century, being renamed as Tianjing (天京) (lit. Heaven's Capital).

Both the Qing Viceroy and the Taiping king resided in buildings that would later be known as the Presidential Palace. As Qing general Zeng Guofan retook the city in 1864, massive slaughter occurred in the city with over 100,000 committing suicide or fighting to the death.

Capital of the Republic

The National Government of the Republic of China in Nanjing, 1927
In the harsh 1937-1938 winter, the Japanese Army occupied Nanjing and murdered tens of thousands of Chinese people. According to the Nanjing War Crimes Tribunal, 300,000 victims died.

The Xinhai Revolution led to the founding of the Republic of China in January 1912 with Dr. Sun Yat-sen as the first provisional president, and Nanjing was selected as its new capital. However, the Qing Dynasty still controlled the northern provinces, so revolutionaries asked Yuan Shikai to replace Sun as president in exchange for the emperor's abdication. Yuan demanded the capital be at Beijing (closer to his power base).

In 1927, the Kuomintang (KMT) under Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek again established Nanjing as the capital of the Republic of China, and this became internationally recognized once KMT forces took Beijing in 1928. The following decade is known as the Nanjing decade, as they used the Presidential Palace in Nanjing as their headquarters.

In 1937, Japan started the Second Sino-Japanese War. Their troops occupied Nanjing in December, and carried out the systematic and brutal Nanking massacre. The total death toll could not be confirmed, since no official records were kept. Though often contested, most estimates, including those made by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East and the Nanjing War Crimes Tribunal, put the number of dead between 200,000 and 350,000.[12] The Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall was built in 1985 to commemorate this event.

A few days before the fall of the city, the National Government of China was relocated to the southwestern city Chongqing and resumed Chinese resistance. In 1940，a Japanese-collaborationist government known as the "Nanjing Regime" or "Nanjing Nationalist Government" led by Wang Jingwei was established in Nanjing as a rival to Chiang Kai-Shek's government in Chongqing. In 1946, after the Surrender of Japan, the KMT relocated its central government back to Nanjing.

In People's Republic of China

Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge, built in 1968.

On April 23, 1949, The People's Liberation Army conquered Nanjing. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, Nanjing was initially a province-level municipality, but very soon became, and today remains, the provincial capital of Jiangsu.

The Ministry of Interior of the Republic of China, as well as textbooks published in Taiwan, refer to Nanjing as the official capital of the Republic of China, while Taipei is just its provisional capital.[13]

Geography and climate

Nanjing Area - Lower Yangtze Valley and Eastern China
Nanjing
Climate chart ()
J F M A M J J A S O N D
 
 
37
 
7
−1
 
 
47
 
9
1
 
 
82
 
13
5
 
 
73
 
20
11
 
 
102
 
26
16
 
 
193
 
29
21
 
 
186
 
32
25
 
 
129
 
32
24
 
 
72
 
27
19
 
 
65
 
22
13
 
 
51
 
16
6
 
 
24
 
10
0
average max. and min. temperatures in °C
precipitation totals in mm
source: CMA

Nanjing, with a total land area of 6,598 square kilometers (2,547.5 sq mi), is situated in one of the largest economic zones of China, the Yangtze River Delta, which is part of the downstream Yangtze River drainage basin. The Yangtze River flows past the west side of Nanjing City, while the Ningzheng Ridge surrounds the north, east and south side of the city. The city is 300 kilometers (186 mi) west-northwest of Shanghai, 1,200 kilometers (746 mi) south-southeast of Beijing, and 1,400 kilometers (870 mi) east-northeast of Chongqing.

Nanjing borders Yangzhou to the northeast, one town downstream when following the north bank of the Yangtze, Zhenjiang to the east, one town downstream when following the south bank of the Yangtze, and Changzhou to the southeast. On the west is Anhui Province, where Nanjing borders 5 prefecture-level cities.

Nanjing has a humid subtropical climate (Koppen Cfa) and is under the influence of the East Asia Monsoon. The four seasons are distinct here, with damp conditions seen throughout the year, very hot and muggy summers, cold winters, and brief spring and autumn in between. Alongside Wuhan and Chongqing, Nanjing is traditionally referred to as one of the "Three Furnacelike Cities" along the Yangtze River (长江流域三大火炉) for the perennially high temperatures in the summertime.[14] However, 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. Typhoons are uncommon but possible in the late stages of summer and early part of autumn. The annual mean temperature is around 16 °C (61 °F), with monthly mean values ranging from 2.4 to 27.8 °C (36.3 to 82 °F). The highest recorded temperature is 40.7 °C (105 °F) (Aug 22, 1959), and the lowest −14 °C (7 °F) (Jan 6, 1955). On average precipitation falls 115 days out of the year, and the average annual rainfall is 1,062 millimetres (41.8 in).

Nanjing is endowed with rich natural resources, which include more than 40 kinds of minerals. Among them, iron and sulfur reserves make up 40 percent of those of Jiangsu province. Its reserves of strontium rank first in East Asia and the South East Asia region. Nanjing also possesses abundant water resources, both from the Yangtze River and groundwater. In addition, it has several natural hot springs such as Tangshan Hot Spring in Jiangning and Tangquan Hot Spring in Pukou.

Nanjing is the intersection of Yangtze River—an east-west water transport artery and Nanjing-Beijing railway—a south-north land transport artery, hence the name “door of the east and west, throat of the south and north”. Furthermore, the west part of the Ningzhen range is in Nanjing; the Loong-like Zhong Mountain is curling in the east of the city; the tiger-like Stone Mountain is crouching in the west of the city, hence the name “the Zhong Mountain, a dragon curling, and the Stone Mountain, a tiger crouching”. Mr. Sun Yet-sen spoke highly of Nanjing in the “Constructive Scheme for Our Country”, “The position of Nanjing is wonderful since mountains, lakes and plains all integrated in it. It is hardly [sic] to find another city like this.”

Surrounded by the Yangtze River and mountains, Nanjing also enjoys beautiful natural scenery. Natural lakes such as Xuanwu Lake and Mochou Lake are located in the center of the city and are easily accessible to the public, while hills like Purple Mountain are covered with evergreens and oaks and host various historical and cultural sites. Sun Quan relocated his capital to Nanjing after Liu Bei's suggestion as Liu Bei was impressed by Nanjing's impeccable geographic position when negotiating an alliance with Sun Quan. Sun Quan then renamed the city from Moling (秣陵) to Jianye (建邺) shortly thereafter.[15]

Spring

Summer

Autumn

Winter
Climate data for Nanjing (1971–2000)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 7.0
(44.6)		 8.8
(47.8)		 13.4
(56.1)		 20.3
(68.5)		 25.6
(78.1)		 28.8
(83.8)		 31.9
(89.4)		 31.7
(89.1)		 27.3
(81.1)		 22.2
(72)		 15.9
(60.6)		 10.0
(50)		 20.2
(68.4)
Average low °C (°F) −1.1
(30)		 0.6
(33.1)		 4.8
(40.6)		 10.6
(51.1)		 15.9
(60.6)		 20.7
(69.3)		 24.6
(76.3)		 24.2
(75.6)		 19.2
(66.6)		 12.9
(55.2)		 6.1
(43)		 0.4
(32.7)		 11.6
(52.9)
Precipitation mm (inches) 37.4
(1.472)		 47.1
(1.854)		 81.8
(3.22)		 73.4
(2.89)		 102.1
(4.02)		 193.4
(7.614)		 185.5
(7.303)		 129.2
(5.087)		 72.1
(2.839)		 65.1
(2.563)		 50.8
(2)		 24.4
(0.961)		 1,062.3
(41.823)
% Humidity 76 74 74 73 74 78 81 81 79 77 76 74 76.4
Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 8.1 9.1 12.1 10.4 10.4 11.3 12.4 11.3 8.9 8.2 7.4 5.7 115.3
Sunshine hours 129.1 123.3 136.1 168.1 194.0 171.9 205.6 214.7 167.2 169.1 153.5 150.2 1,982.8
Source: China Meteorological Administration

Government

Nanjing Municipal Hall

The full name of the government of Nanjing is "People's Government of Nanjing City". The city is under the one-party rule of the CPC, with the CPC Nanjing Committee Secretary as the de facto governor of the city and the mayor as the executive head of the government working under the secretary.

Nanjing currently consists of thirteen county-level divisions, 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

The sub-provincial city of Nanjing has direct jurisdiction over 11 districts (区 qu) and 2 Counties (县 xian):

Map Subdivision Hanzi
Subdivisions of Nanjing-China.png
Nanjing City Proper
■ Xuanwu-qu 玄武区
■ Baixia-qu 白下区
■ Qinhuai-qu 秦淮区
■ Jianye-qu 建邺区
■ Xiaguan-qu 下关区
■ Gulou-qu 鼓楼区
■ Yuhuatai-qu 雨花台区
■ Qixia-qu 栖霞区
Nanjing Suburban and Rural
■ Jiangning-qu 江宁区
■ Pukou-qu 浦口区
■ Luhe-qu 六合区
■ Lishui-xian 溧水县
■ Gaochun-xian 高淳县

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

Population trend
Year Residents (in million) natural growth rate (%)
1949 2.5670 13.09
1950 2.5670 15.64
1955 2.8034 19.94
1960 3.2259 0.23
1965 3.4529 25.58
1970 3.6053 20.76
1975 3.9299 9.53
1978 4.1238 8.84
1980 4.3587 8.08
1985 4.6577 4.56
1990 5.0182 9.18
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, the total population of the City of Nanjing reached 6.24 million in 2000. The statistics in 2008 estimated the total population to be 7.7 million, while the registered population was 6.3 million. The birth rate was 8.86 percent and the death rate was 6.88 percent. The urban area had a population of 5.5 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 (2,311) and Zhuang (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 of the city population was 106.49 males to 100 females.

Economy

Earlier 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.

Into the first half of the twentieth century, Nanjing gradually shifted from a production hub into a heavy consumption city, mainly because of the rapid expansion of the wealthy population after Nanjing once again regained the political spotlight of China. A number of huge department stores such as Zhongyang Shangchang sprouted up, attracting merchants from all over China to sell their products in Nanjing. In 1933, the revenue generated by the food and entertainment industry in the city exceeded the sum of the output of the manufacturing and agriculture industry. One third of the city population worked in the service industry, while prostitution, drugs and gambling also thrived.

In the 1950s, the CPC invested heavily in Nanjing to build a series of state-owned heavy industries, as part of the national plan of rapid industrialization. Electrical, mechanical, chemical and steel factories were established successively, converting Nanjing into a heavy industry production center of East China. Overenthusiastic in building a “world-class” industrial city, leaders of Nanjing also made many disastrous mistakes during the development, such as spending hundreds of millions of yuan to mine for non-existent coal, resulting in the negative economic growth in the late 1960s.

Today

Nanjing downtown

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, such as Volkswagen Group, Iveco, A.O. Smith, and Sharp, have established their lines there. Since China's entry into the WTO, Nanjing has received increasing attention from foreign investors, and on average, two new foreign firms establish offices in the city every day.

The city government is further improving the desirability of the city to investors by building large industrial parks, which now total four: Gaoxin, Xingang, Huagong and Jiangning. Despite the effort, Nanjing's Gross Domestic Product is still falling behind that of other neighbouring cities such as Suzhou, Wuxi and Hangzhou, which have an edge in attracting foreign investment and local innovation. In addition, the traditional state-owned enterprises find themselves incapable of competing with efficient multinational firms, and hence are either mired in heavy debt or forced into bankruptcy or privatization. This has resulted in large numbers of layoff workers who are technically not unemployed but effectively jobless.

Xinjiekou commercial area

In recent years, Nanjing has been developing its economy, commerce, industry, as well as city construction. In 2009 the city's GDP was RMB 423 billion (3rd in Jiangsu), and GDP per capita was RMB 55,290, a 9.5 percent increase from 2008. The average urban resident's disposable income was RMB 25,504, while the average rural resident's net income was RMB 9,858. The registered urban unemployment rate was 3.02 percent, lower than the national average (4.3 percent). Nanjing's Gross Domestic Product ranked 17th in 2008 in China, and its overall competence ranked 9th.

Industrial zones

Nanjing Baixia Hi-Tech Industrial Zone is a national hi-tech industrial zone with 16.5 square kilometers planned area. The zone is only 13.5 km away from Nanjing downtown and 50 km away from Nanjing Lukou Airport. Several expressways pass through here. It is well equipped with comprehensive facilities, and it provides a good investment environment for high-tech industries. Electronic industry, automobile, chemical, machinery, instruments and building materials are the encouraged industries in the zone.[16]

Established in 1992, Nanjing Economic and Technological Development Zone is a national level zone surrounded by convenient transportation network. Nanjing is the capital of Jiangsu Province. Situated in the downstream of Yangtze River Drainage Basin and Yangtze River Delta economic zone, Nanjing has always been a national center of commerce, education, research, transportation and tourism in the East China region, preceded only by Shanghai. It is only 20 km away from Nanjing Port and 40 km away from Nanjing Lukou Airport. It is well equipped with basic facilities like electricity, water, communication, gas, steam and so on. It has formed four specialized industries, which are electronic information, bio-pharmaceutical, machinery and new materials industry.[17]

In March 10, 2003 the State Council approved the establishment of this Export Processing Zone (EPZ) in Nanjing's Southern District. This EPZ is free from import/export duty area and provides 24-hour customs-bonded conditions. It has a planned area of 3 square km. The Central Government has given the special economic region preferential policies to attract more enterprises engaged in processing trade investment in the region. It is only 20 km from Nanjing Port and several expressways pass through here.[18]

Nanjing New & High-Tech Industry Development Zone was jointly founded by Jiangsu Provincial People's Government and Nanjing Municipal People's Government, and started to break ground of construction on September 1, 1988. It was established as a national new and high-tech industry development zone by the State Council on March 6, 1991. The zone is next to National Highway 104 and 312. Its pillar industries include electronic information, bio-engineering and pharmaceutical industry.[19]

Cityscape

Day time

南京全景.jpg

Night time

Nanjing night view2.jpg

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.

Rail

Nanjing Railway Station

Nanjing is an important railway hub in eastern China. It serves as rail junction for the Beijing-Shanghai (Jinghu) (which is itself composed of the old Jinpu and Ninghu Railways, Nanjing-Wuhu (Ningwu), Nanjing-Qidong (Ningqi), Nanjing-Xian (Ningxi), Hefei-Nanjing (Hening) Railways. 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.

Road

As an important regional hub in the Yangtze River Delta, Nanjing is well-connected by over 60 state and provincial highways to all parts of China.

Express highways such as Hu-Ning, Ning-He, Ning-Hang enable commuters to travel to Shanghai, Hefei, Hangzhou, and other important cities quickly and conveniently. Inside the city of Nanjing, there are 230 kilometers (143 mi) of highways, with a highway coverage density of 3.38 kilometers per hundred square kilometers (2.10 mi/38.6 sq mi). The total road coverage density of the city is 112.56 kilometers per hundred square kilometers (69.94 mi/38.6 sq mi).

Nanjing Sample Technology Company Limited is a major provider of Intelligent traffic systems.

National Highway:

Public Transportation

Xinjiekou Station of Line 2, Nanjing Metro

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 five companies (Nanjing Gongjiao, Zhongbei, Argos, Xincheng and Xinningpu), provides more than 370 routes covering all parts of the city and suburban areas. Nanjing Metro Line 1, started service on May 15, 2005. Line 2 and the extension of Line 1 officially opened to passenger service on May 28, 2010. The city is planning to complete a 655-kilometer (409 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, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Germany. 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 reaching 108.59 million tons in 2007. The port area is 98 kilometers (61 mi) in length and has 64 berths including 16 berths for ships with a tonnage of more than 10,000. Nanjing is also the biggest container port along the Yangtze River; in March 2004, the one million container-capacity base, Longtan Containers Port Area opened, further consolidating Nanjing as the leading port in the region. In the 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

Nanjing Library

Being one of the four ancient capitals of China, Nanjing has always been a cultural center attracting intellectuals from all over the country. In the Tang and Song dynasties, Nanjing was a place where poets gathered and composed poems reminiscent of its luxurious past; during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the city was the official imperial examination center for the Jiangnan region, again acting as a hub where different thoughts and opinions converged and thrived.

Today, with a long cultural tradition and strong support from local educational institutions, Nanjing is commonly viewed as a “city of culture” and one of the more pleasant cities to live in 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

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, founded in 1907, houses more than 7 million volumes of printed materials and is the third largest library in China, after the National Library in Beijing and Shanghai Library. Other libraries, such as city-owned Jinling Library and various district libraries, also provide considerable amount of information to citizens. Nanjing University Library, owned by Nanjing University, with a collection of 4.2 million volumes, is also one of the leading university libraries . More than 100 multimedia networked-computers are available to readers.

Museums

Nanjing Museum

Nanjing has some of the oldest and finest museums in China. Nanjing Museum, formerly known as National Central Museum under KMT rule, is the first modern museum and remains as one of the leading museums in China. Other museums include the China Modern History Museum in the Presidential Palace, the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall, the City Museum of Nanjing, the Taiping Kingdom History Museum, the Nanjing Customs Museum, the Nanjing City Wall Cultural Museum, and a small museum and tomb honoring the 15th century seafaring admiral Zheng He.

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 Confucius 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.

Night life

Qinhuai River
Pubs in Nanjing 1912 block

Traditionally Nanjing's nightlife was mostly centered around Confucius Temple area along the Qinhuai River, where night markets, restaurants and pubs thrived. Boating at night in the river was a main attraction of the city. The area was also famous for the concentration of upper-class prostitutes, many of them patronized by wealthy students of the medieval predecessor of the Nanjing University established in the neighborhood of the temple by emperor Yong'an in 258 CE. Thus, one can see the statues of the famous teachers and educators of the past not too far from those of the courtesans who educated the young men in the other arts. Prostitution is currently not prominent in the area, having been banned under PRC laws.

In the past 20 years, several commercial streets have been developed, hence the nightlife has become more diverse: there are shopping malls opening late in the Xinjiekou 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. There are two major areas where bars are densely located; one is in 1912 block; the other is along Shanghai road and its neighborhood. Both are popular with international residents of the city.

Local people still very much enjoy street food, such as Kababu. As elsewhere in Asia, Karaoke is popular with both young and old crowd.

Sports and stadiums

Nanjing Olympic Sports Center

As one of the majors cities, Nanjing is the ground of many professional sports teams. Jiangsu Sainty, the football club currently staying in China Super League, is a long-term tenant of Nanjing Olympic Sports Center. Another football club that plays in secondary China professional level, China Jia League is Nanjing Yo Yo who hosts Wutaishan Sports Center as their home stadium. Jiangsu Nangang Basketball Club is a competitive team which has long been one of the major clubs fighingt for the title in China top level league, CBA. Jiangsu Volleyball men and women teams are also traditionally considered as at top level in China volleyball league.

There are two major sports centers in Nanjing, Wutaishan Sports Center and Nanjing Olympic Sports Center. Both of these two are comprehensive sports centers, including stadium, gymnasium, natatorium, tennis court, etc.. Wutaishan Sports Center was established in 1952 and it was one of the oldest and most advanced stadiums in early time of People's Republic of China. Nanjing hosted the 10th National Games of P.R.C. in 2005 and will host the 2nd summer Youth Olympic Games, in 2014.

In 2005, in order to host The 10th National Game of People's Republic of China, there was a new stadium, Nanjing Olympic Sports Center, constructed in Nanjing. Compared to Wutaishan Sports Center, 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 has a stadium of capacity 60,000. Its gymnasium has capacity of 13,000, and natatorium of capacity 3,000.

Tourism

Linggu Temple
Classical buildings in the Mochou Lake
Xuanwu Lake
Zhonghua Gate
Hall of Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum.jpg

Buildings and monuments

Ancient period

Republic of China in mainland period

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.

Contemporary

Parks and gardens

Other places of interests

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 and Colleges

Operated by Ministry of Education

Operated by Ministry of Industry and Information Technology

Operated by the joint Commission of the State Forest Administration and Public Order Ministry

Operated by the general sport Administration

National Military Universities and Colleges

Provincial Universities and Colleges

Private Colleges

Notable High Schools

International relations

Sister cities and friendly cities

Nanjing is twinned with: Nanjing currently has 18 sister cities (areas):

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ http://nanjing2009.fide.com/
  2. ↑ Albert E. Dien, «Six Dynasties Civilization». Yale University Press, 2007 ISBN 0300074042. Partial text on Google Books. P. 190. A reconstruction of the original form of the ensemble is shown in Fig. 5.19.
  3. ↑ 梁安成康王萧秀墓石刻 (Sculptures at the Tomb of Xiao Xiu) (Chinese) (description and modern photos)
  4. ↑ Mote, F.W. (1999). Imperial China (900-1800). Harvard University Press. 
  5. ↑ Largest Cities Through History
  6. ↑ Rozan Yunos, "The Brunei Sultan who died in China" The Brunei Times, 9.11.2008
  7. ↑ Struve (1993), p.55-56
  8. ↑ Struve (1993), pp. 60-61
  9. ↑ Struve (1993), pp. 62-63
  10. ↑ Struve (1993), pp. 64-65, 72
  11. ↑ Eduardo Real: ‘’The Taiping Rebellion’’
  12. ↑ In a document sent by former Japanese foreign minister Hirota Koki to the Japanese Embassy in Washington in January 17, 1938, he stated "based upon investigation, over 300,000,000,000 Chinese killed". (ref. National Archives, Washington, D.C., Released in Sept. 1994) The verdict of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East reads in part: "Approximately 20,000 cases occurred within the city during the first month of the occupation ... The total number of civilians and prisoners of war murdered in Nanking during the six weeks was over 200,000. ... These figures do not take into account those persons whose bodies were destroyed by burning or by throwing into the Yangtze River or otherwise disposed by Japanese." The 200,000 number was mostly based on the records of several humanitarian and charity organizations who buried the remaining bodies a week to four months after the massacres began. Six charity groups buried total of 195,240 bodies from 1937.12--1938.10. Detailed bury records are available. From the verdict, the 200,000 number did not include victims whose bodies were disposed by Japanese (as common in the early stages of the massacre) or by individuals Chinese other than the charities groups, nor did it include those who were massacred after the first six weeks. Therefore, the 200,000 number is the most conservative number. Adding the people murdered in smaller scale killings and whose bodies had been buried by other people, over 300,000 Chinese were massacred in Nanking.
  13. ↑ "南京市" (in Traditional Chinese). 重編囯語辭典修訂本. Ministry of Education, ROC. http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-bin/newDict/dict.sh?cond=%ABn%A8%CA%A5%AB&pieceLen=50&fld=1&cat=&serial=1&recNo=0&op=&imgFont=1. "民國十六年，國民政府宣言定為首都，今以臺北市為我國中央政府所在地。(In the 16th Year of the Republic of China, the National Government established Nanking as the capital. At present Taipei is the seat of the central government.)" 
  14. ↑ "三大火炉完全名不副实 三城市拒绝再称"火炉"". Xinhua Net. 2005-06-25. http://www.cq.xinhuanet.com/2005-06/25/content_4510554.htm. Retrieved 2010-08-30. 
  15. ↑ Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 66, 94.
  16. ↑ RightSite.asia | Nanjing Baixia Hi-Tech Industrial Zone
  17. ↑ RightSite.asia | Nanjing Economic and Technological Development Zone
  18. ↑ RightSite.asia | Nanjing Export Processing Zone
  19. ↑ RightSite.asia | Nanjing New & High-Tech Industry Development Zone

References

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