Nankin Township, Michigan

Nankin Township, Michigan, is a former township of Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan.

The township was first organized in 1827 as "Bucklin Township" and included what is now the cities of Westland, Livonia, Garden City, Inkster, Wayne, Dearborn, Dearborn Heights and Redford Township. In 1829, Bucklin Township was divided into Lima and Pekin Township. Due to a naming conflict under postal regulations at that time, Lima was soon renamed as "Nankin", after the Chinese city Nanking, in line with its neighbors Pekin, named after Peking, and Canton Township, named after Canton.

In 1835, Livonia Township (now the city of Livonia) was split off from Nankin. Redford and Dearborn were subsequently set off as separate townships. Garden City, Inkster, and Wayne then incorporated from land either partially or wholly within Nankin Township. The remainder of the township incorporated as the city of Westland, effective May 16, 1966. The city took its name from a mall and was the fourth largest city in Wayne County when it incorporated.