Nanjing

Nanjing is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. This city has played a very important role in Chinese history and culture. It has been the capital for many different governments and dynasties over the past 1,800 years, from the 3rd century until 1949. Because of this long history, Nanjing is sometimes called one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China.

Today, Nanjing is a busy and modern city. It has many universities, including Nanjing University, which is very well known around the world. The city also has many important research centers and is a leader in science, especially in areas like earth and environmental sciences, chemistry, and physical sciences.

Nanjing is also famous for its beautiful places, like the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum, and Purple Mountain. These sites attract many visitors each year who come to learn about the city’s rich past and enjoy its scenery.

Names

The name "Nanjing" means "Southern Capital." It started as an informal name in the 6th century during the Northern and Southern Dynasties era. Over time, different rulers gave the city other names. For example, during the Warring States Era, it was called Yuecheng or Jinling. In the Three Kingdoms Era, it was known as Jianye, and later as Jiankang.

When the Ming dynasty began, the city became an important capital. It was called Nanjing, meaning the southern capital, to differ from the northern capital in Beijing. Even today, Nanjing remains a key city in China, with many of its old names still remembered.

History

See also: Timeline of Nanjing

Prehistory

The discovery of "Nanjing Man" in Hulu Cave in Jiangning District showed that Homo erectus reached eastern China around 600,000 years ago. After Homo sapiens arrived and the end of the Last Glacial Period, the area had Neolithic settlements. Agriculture began in Qixia District by 5000 BC, and a local culture had special vessels by about 3000 BC.

Ancient history

In 571 BC, the state of Chu set up a place called Tangyi in Liuhe. Later, Wu built a town in Gaochun or Gucheng. The Wu king fortified a place in Nanjing in 495 BC. Wu was taken over by Yue in 473 BC, and the city was rebuilt. Yuecheng was built on the outskirts of today’s Zhonghua Gate. In 333 BC, Chu defeated Yue and built Jinlingyi in the western part of Nanjing. In 210 BC, the First Emperor of Qin visited and renamed the city Moling. The area was part of several prefectures under the Qin and Han dynasties.

Capital of the Six Dynasties

The Six Dynasties all had their capitals at Jiankang. They were the Eastern Wu (AD 222–280), the Eastern Jin (317–420), and four Southern Dynasties of the Liu Song, Southern Qi, Liang, and Chen (420–589).

At the end of the Eastern Han dynasty, the warlord Sun Quan moved his office to Moling in 211. He built the Stone City at the site of Jinlingyi and renamed Moling to Jianye. After Sun Quan became emperor in 229, Jianye was the capital of his Eastern Wu dynasty during the Three Kingdoms period. When Wu was taken over by the Western Jin dynasty in 280, Jianye had become a major center.

Jianye was renamed Jiankang in 313. It became a safe place during troubles in the north. In 318, Sima Rui made himself emperor and started the Eastern Jin dynasty. Jiankang was the center of administration in the south for over two and a half centuries. After the Eastern Jin fell in 420, it was the capital for the Southern dynasties of Liu Song, Southern Qi, Liang and Chen. During this time, Jiankang was a major international hub. Based on records, the city had 280,000 households. Assuming an average of about 5.1 people per household, the city had more than 1.4 million residents.

Destruction and revival

The period ended when the Sui dynasty reunified China and almost destroyed the city. It was renamed Shengzhou under the Tang dynasty and revived during the late Tang.

It was chosen as the capital and again called Jinling under the Southern Tang (937–976). It was renamed Jiangning in the Northern Song and again renamed Jiankang in the Southern Song. Jiankang’s textile industry grew a lot during the Song despite threats from the north by the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty. The court of Da Chu, a short-lived state set up by the Jurchens, and the Song court were once in the city. In 1129, Jiankang became the temporary capital of the Song.

The Southern Song were destroyed by the Mongols. During the Mongols' rule as the Yuan dynasty, the city’s status as a textile center grew. According to Odoric of Pordenone, the prefectural capital of Jinling ("Chilenfu") had 360 stone bridges, finer than anywhere else in the world. It was well populated and had a large craft industry. In 1239, Jiankang was renamed Jiqing (集庆).

Southern capital of the Ming dynasty

In 1365，Zhu Yuanzhang captured Ziqing Circuit and changed its name to Yingtian Prefecture. In 1364, he was enthroned as the King of Wu and established the capital at Yingtian. He rebuilt and expanded the city of Jiankang. In 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang overthrew the Yuan and renamed the city Nanjing, making it the southern capital in 1368. In 1379, Nanjing became the capital of the Ming dynasty, called Jingshi (京师 "The Capital").

The Hongwu Emperor built a 48 km (30 mi) long city wall around Nanjing, as well as a new Ming Palace complex, and government halls. It took 200,000 laborers 21 years to finish the wall, which was meant to defend the city. The present-day City Wall of Nanjing was mainly built during that time and remains in good condition. It is among the longest surviving city walls in China. It is believed that Nanjing was the largest city in the world from 1358 to 1425 with a population of 487,000 in 1400.

Having taken power from his nephew, the Yongle Emperor moved the capital in 1421 to Beiping, where he had long served as the regional governor. Because the new status of Yingtian was included in the Hongwu Emperor's "ancestral injunctions" for his dynasty, however, the Yongle Emperor was obliged to preserve its special status. The "northern capital" came to be known as Beijing and the 'southern capital' as Nanjing.

The Hongxi Emperor wanted to restore Nanjing as the sole imperial capital and took steps to do so. On February 24, 1425, he appointed Admiral Zheng He as the defender of Nanjing and ordered him to continue his command over the Ming treasure fleet for the city's defense. The emperor died on May 29, 1425, before this could have taken place.

The succeeding Xuande Emperor preferred to remain in Beijing, leaving it the primary capital and Nanjing as permanent secondary or reserve capital. Owing to the continuing importance of the ancestral injunctions, however, Nanjing was designated in official documents as the actual capital and Beijing as a temporary capital from 1425 to 1441. In 1441, the Yingzong Emperor ordered the "provisional" or "temporary" prefix removed from Beijing's government seals and further ordered that the southern imperial administration would henceforth be required to prefix "Nanjing" to their own seals to distinguish them.

Besides the city wall, other Ming-era structures in the city included the famous Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum and Porcelain Tower, although the latter was destroyed by the Taipings in the 19th century. A gigantic stele, cut on the orders of the Yongle Emperor, lies abandoned in the Yangshan Quarry some 15–20 km (9–12 mi) east of the walled city.

As the center of the empire, early-Ming Nanjing had worldwide connections. It was home of the admiral Zheng He, who sailed the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and it was visited by foreign dignitaries, such as a king from Borneo who died during his visit to China in 1408. The Tomb of the King of Boni, with a spirit way and a tortoise stele, was discovered south of the walled city in Yuhuatai District in 1958 and has been restored.

Nanjing briefly again became the capital of the Southern Ming emperor from 1644 to 1645. After the fall of Beijing to rebel forces and then to the Manchu-led Qing dynasty in the spring of 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.

Qing dynasty and Taiping Rebellion

"Tianjing" redirects here; not to be confused with Tianjin.

Under the Qing dynasty from 1645 to 1911, Nanjing returned to its previous name Jiangning although it continued to be referenced as Nanking in foreign sources. At first, it continued to administer the territory of Nanzhili under the name Jiangnan ("Area South of the Yangtze") but this administration was soon broken up into "Right" and "Left" governments based in Suzhou and Jiangning respectively. After a series of reorganizations, at some point under the Qianlong Emperor, Jiangnan was fully divided into the present provinces of Anhui and Jiangsu. Separately, however, these provinces were reunited under the supervision of a new Viceroy of Liangjiang after 1723, whose seat was based in Jiangning. It was the site of a Qing Army garrison. It had been visited by the Kangxi and Qianlong emperors a number of times on their tours of the southern provinces. The 1842 Treaty of Nanking, ending the First Opium War, was signed in the city harbor on Royal Navy warships.

The Taiping Rebellion secured the city in the mid-19th century, taking it as their capital under the name Tianjing. The rebellion destroyed most of the former Ming imperial buildings in the city, including the Porcelain Tower. When Qing forces led by Zeng Guofan retook the city in 1864, a massive loss of life occurred.

Capital of the Republic and Nanjing Massacre

See also: Battle of Nanking and Nanjing Massacre

The Xinhai Revolution led to the founding of the Republic of China in January 1912 with Sun Yat-sen as the first provisional president and Nanjing was selected as its new capital. However, the Qing Empire controlled large regions to the north, so the revolutionaries asked Yuan Shikai to replace Sun as president in exchange for the abdication of Puyi, the last emperor. Yuan demanded the capital be moved to Beijing (closer to his power base).

In March 1927, after the capture of Nanjing by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) in their Northern Expedition, foreign warships bombarded the city to defend foreign residents against rioting and looting.

The Kuomintang (KMT; Nationalist Party) 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. During this decade, Nanjing was of symbolic and strategic importance. The Ming dynasty had made Nanjing a capital, the republic had been established there in 1912, and Sun Yat-sen's provisional government had been there. Sun's body was brought and placed in a grand mausoleum to cement Chiang's legitimacy. Chiang was born in the neighboring province of Zhejiang and the general area had strong popular support for him.

In 1927, the Nationalist government proposed a comprehensive proposal, the Capital Plan (首都計劃), to reconstruct the war-torn city of Nanjing into a modern capital. It was a decade of extraordinary growth with an enormous amount of construction. A lot of government buildings, residential houses, and modern public infrastructures were built. During this boom, Nanjing reputedly became one of the most modern cities in China.

In 1937, the Empire of Japan started a full-scale invasion of China after invading Manchuria in 1931, beginning the Second Sino-Japanese War (often considered a theater of World War II). Their troops occupied Nanjing in December and carried out the systematic and brutal Nanjing Massacre. The total death toll, including estimates made by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East and the Nanjing War Crimes Tribunal after the atomic bombings, was between 300,000 and 350,000. The city itself was also severely damaged during the massacre. 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 "Reorganized National Government of China" 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.

People's Republic

See also: Yangtze River Crossing campaign

In April 1949, Communist forces crossed the Yangtze River and the Communist People's Liberation Army (PLA) captured Nanjing. The KMT government retreated to Canton (Guangzhou) until October 15, Chongqing until November 25, and then Chengdu before retreating to the island of Taiwan on December 10 where Taipei was proclaimed the temporary capital of the Republic of China. By late 1949, the PLA was pursuing remnants of KMT forces southwards in southern China, and only Tibet and Hainan Island were left.

After the establishment of the People's Republic of China in October 1949, Nanjing was initially a province-level municipality, but it was soon merged into Jiangsu and again became the provincial capital by replacing Zhenjiang which was transferred in 1928, and retains that status to this day.

Geography

Nanjing is the capital of Jiangsu, located in East China. It covers an area of 6,600 square kilometres and had a population of over 9 million in 2021. The city lies in the Yangtze River Delta, one of China's biggest economic areas. The Yangtze River flows past Nanjing, shaping the city's landscape and providing important water routes.

Nanjing experiences four distinct seasons. Summers are hot and humid, while winters can be cold. The city receives plenty of rain, especially during the rainy season. Nanjing is also known for its natural beauty, with parks, lakes, and historic sites like Purple Mountain. The city has many bridges and tunnels crossing the Yangtze River, connecting different parts of Nanjing.

Government

Nanjing is governed by the Nanjing Municipal People's Government. The city is led by the Chinese Communist Party, with the Party Secretary serving as the main leader and the mayor handling day-to-day operations.

The city of Nanjing is divided into 11 different areas called districts, which help organize its local government and services.

Demographics

See also: Population of Nanjing in December of 1937

At the time of the 2010 census, Nanjing had a total population of 8.005 million people. The surrounding area was estimated to have 11.7 million people. By 2011, the city's population had grown to about 8.11 million. The city had slightly more boys than girls.

Most people in Nanjing are from the Han nationality, which makes up over 98 percent of the population. Small groups of other nationalities also live there, mainly in one part of the city.

Languages

Most people in Nanjing speak Nanjing Mandarin, but some areas speak Wu Chinese. In 2017, about 73 percent of people in the city used Mandarin regularly.

Religion

Nanjing is home to many religions, including Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, and Islam. The city has many important temples and is a center for Buddhist culture. Catholicism began in Nanjing over 400 years ago, and the city has important Christian institutions. Nanjing also plays a big role in Chinese Islamic culture.

Economy

Nanjing's economy is mainly based on services, which make up about 60 percent of the city's total wealth. Important areas include finance, culture, and tourism. The city is also strong in technology, energy saving, and making smart equipment and tools.

Nanjing is home to many big companies, both from China and other countries. It is a key place for research and development, especially in electronics, computers, and medicine. The city has grown a lot in recent years, with its total wealth increasing steadily. It is also a major center for farming, especially for rice and fish, thanks to the rich soil near the Yangtze River.

Suburbanization

Since the 1990s, Nanjing has grown quickly, with areas outside the city center turning into suburbs. This growth happened because of changes in housing rules and many new people moving in. As more people lived in the suburbs, the city center became less crowded, and the way land was used changed.

Universities helped this growth a lot. Places like Xianlin University Town, with many schools and research centers, brought more homes, shops, and better transportation to the area. New planned places such as Hexi New Town and Jiangning also became important spots for living and business, helping Nanjing grow in many directions.

Transport

Nanjing is an important transportation center in eastern China, with a variety of travel options including roads, water routes, and air travel. The city has many bridges and tunnels over the Yangtze River, connecting different parts of the city.

Nanjing is a key railway hub, with several major train stations such as Nanjing Station and Nanjing South Station. The city is linked to other cities by high-speed rail, making travel fast and convenient. The city's airport, Lukou International Airport, offers both national and international flights. Nanjing is also a major port on the Yangtze River, handling lots of cargo and ships. The city has many highways and expressways, as well as an extensive bus and metro system, making it easy to get around.

Culture and art

Being one of the four ancient capitals of China, Nanjing has always been a cultural center attracting people who love learning from all over the country. In the Tang and Song dynasties, Nanjing was a place where poets gathered and wrote poems about its rich history; during the Ming and Qing dynasties, the city was the official test center for the Jiangnan region, bringing together many different ideas and thoughts.

Today, with a long cultural history and support from local schools, Nanjing is commonly seen as a "city of culture" and one of the more pleasant cities to live in China.

Some of the leading art groups of China are based in Nanjing; they include the Qianxian Dance Company, Nanjing Dance Company, Nanjing Little Red Flower Art Troupe, Jiangsu Peking Opera Institute and Nanjing Xiaohonghua Art Company among others. Jiangsu Art Gallery is the largest gallery in Jiangsu Province, showing some of the best traditional and modern art pieces of China. Many other smaller galleries also have their own special exhibitions. As of 2019, Nanjing has 14 cultural centers, 100 cultural stations, 15 public libraries, 132 movie theaters, and 2 large convention and exhibition centers, as well as 87 museums.

Nanjing is an important city for Chinese painting and writing. Many famous painting and writing masters lived and worked here. The city has many museums, including Nanjing Museum, which has a huge collection of important items from the Ming and Qing dynasties. Other museums in Nanjing include the City Museum of Nanjing, the Oriental Metropolitan Museum, and the China Modern History Museum.

Jiangsu Province Kun Opera is one of the best theaters for Kunqu, China’s oldest stage art. Nanjing also has professional opera groups for many kinds of Chinese opera, as well as spoken theater and puppet theater. The city has many theaters used for different kinds of shows.

Traditional folk dances in Nanjing include many different styles, such as Luoshan Dragon and Dongba Dama Lantern. The Nanjing Art Primary School, also called Nanjing Xiaohonghua Art Troupe, is the first professional children’s art school in the country that brings together learning, art, and performances.

Education

Nanjing is a very important city for learning and science. By 2021, it had 68 places where students can study, including ten special universities, eight important universities, and 97 very smart teachers and scientists. The city has been a center for learning for over 1,700 years and has many top schools. Nanjing has more college students than any other big city in the country.

The city is also very strong in science. It has the fifth-largest amount of scientific work in the world. Nanjing does very well compared to other places, especially in areas like earth and environmental sciences, chemistry, physical sciences, and natural sciences. Some of the most famous universities in Nanjing include Nanjing University, which is one of the best in China, and Southeast University, which is great for studying buildings and engineering. There are also many good high schools in Nanjing.

Sister cities and twin towns

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in China

Nanjing is twinned with several cities around the world. However, its relationship with Nagoya, Japan, was paused in 2012 after the mayor made comments that upset many people. Friendly connections between the two cities have since been rebuilt through other groups.

Notable people

Nanjing has been home to many famous people throughout history.

• Tao Hongjing (456–536) was a Taoist scholar, alchemist, and pharmacist during the Qi and Liang dynasties.
• Xueqin Cao (1715 or 1724 - 1763 or 1764) was a famous writer and author of Dream of the Red Chamber.
• Fu Shanxiang (born 1833) was the only female champion in Chinese history.
• Yu Guangzhong (born 1928) was a well-known writer, poet, scholar, and translator.
• Anhua Gao (born 1949) is a Chinese-British author.
• Zhang Guiping (born 1951) became Chairman of Suning Global Group.
• Hsiao Sa (born 1953) is a Taiwanese author.
• Gang Tian (born 1958) is a mathematician and professor at Princeton University.
• Luan Jujie (born 1958) is a Chinese fencer and won a gold medal at the 1984 Olympics.
• Wang Shuo (born 1958) is a Chinese writer and screenwriter.
• Zhang Xu (born 1961) is a Chinese neuroscientist.
• Wu Jianmin (born 1962) is a Chinese democracy activist.
• Pan Deng (born 1964) is an artist and painter.
• Deng Zhonghan (born 1968) is a Chinese electrical engineer and entrepreneur.
• Lu Kang (born 1968) served as China's ambassador to Indonesia.
• Pu Shu (born 1973) is a Chinese singer-songwriter.
• Mei Ting (born 1975) is a Chinese actress.
• Hai Qing (born 1978) is a Chinese actress.
• Ni Ni (born 1988) is a Chinese actress.
• Shiran Wang (born 1989) is a Chinese pianist.
• Wu Lei (born 1991) is a Chinese footballer.
• Xu Anqi (born 1992) is a Chinese fencer.
• Zhang Zetian (born 1993) became the youngest Chinese female billionaire.
• Lu Keran (born 1995) is a Chinese singer and dancer.
• Cenyu Han (born 2004) is a racing driver.