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Sun Yat-Sen Mausoleum
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The City of Nanjing
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General Information
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Nanjing or “Ning” in abbreviation, the capital of Jiangsu Province, is a city with a history of 2,500 year, tracing back to the Warring States Period in the Chinese history.
The name of Nanjing in Chinese language refers to "Southern Capital", in comparison with "Northern Capital" of Beijing, China's current national capital. The city has served as the capital of China for ten Chinese dynasties and the Republic of China, and is listed as one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals amid Chinese cities. The ten dynasties includes: Wu Kingdom, Song, Qi, Liang, Cheng, Southern Tang, Ming, Taiping Kingdom and Republic of China.
In 1937, the darkest history of Nanjing, the Japanese army invaded and occupied Nanjing and carried out the systematic and brutal Nanking Massacre. The total death toll could not be confirmed, since no official records were kept, but most estimates put the number of dead between 200,000 and 300,000. Today, the history still haunts the Sino-Japanese relation.
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 tourist in the East China region, preceded only by Shanghai.
The flower emblematic of the city is Asian plum or "mei hua" and the city tree is deodar cedar.
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Geography, Resources and Climate
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The Yangtze River flows past the west side of Nanjing City Proper, while the Ningzheng Ridge surrounds the north, east and south sides of the city. The average elevation is 15 m above the sea level.
Nanjing has a temperate climate and is under the influence of East Asia Monsoon. Seasons are distinct, with usually hot summers and plenty of precipitation throughout the year. The average annual temperature is 16°C with the highest recorded temperature being 43°C in 1934 and the lowest -16.9°C in 1955. Together with Wuhan and Chongqing, Nanjing is often referred to as one of the three "Furnace Cities" along the Yangtze River for the hot and humid weather in summers. There is a so-called Meiyu Season from the late of June to the middle of July, during which the city experiences a period of mild rain but dampness. |
Jurisdiction
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Nanjing is the capital city of Jiangsu and its jurisdiction includes 13 county-level divisions, of which eleven are districts and two are counties. The districts are the old urban areas of Nanjing while the two counties are recently designated as county-level districts being considered as suburbs and governed by the city administration.
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Baixia District
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Gulou District
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Jiangning District
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Jianye District
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Luhe District
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Pukou District
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Qinhuai District
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Qixia District
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Xiaguan District
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Xuanwu District
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Yuhutai District
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Gaochun County
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Lishui County
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Area and Population
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Nanjing, with a population of around 6.5 millions and a total area of 6,509 square kilometers, is 300 km from Shanghai and 1,200 km from Beijing. The predominant ethnic component is Han nationality occupying 98% of total population, with fifty other minority nationalities. |
Economy, Industry and Environment
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Since the Three Kingdoms period, Nanjing had recognized as an industrial center for textile and mint. In the Ming Dynasty, Nanjing was the capital city for the first 30 years (1368-1398 A.D.) of the empire. During the ruling of the its second king, Zhu Di, Nanjing was replaced by Beijing as the dynasty's capital as the king was more in favor of to Beijing. At the time Nanjing was the largest city in the world between 1358-1425 A.D. The city’s industry was greatly enhanced and was one of the most prosperous cities in China. Into the first half of the 20th century, Nanjing shifted from a production hub into a heavy consumption city, mainly as the rapid expansion of the wealthy population after the city regained the political spotlight of China. Later in 1950-1970, the city had built several new industrial sectors including automobile, petrochemicals, iron and steel, electronics and power.
Nanjing’s current economy primarily relies on the sectors of industry, education and tourism. The agriculture mainly involves the city’s suburb. In addition of old “Five Pillar Industries”, Nanjing has installed new industrial divisions including high-tech, IT, transportation, and more. Three state-owned corporations, Panda Electronics, Jincheng Motors and Nanjing Steel, regained prominence, counting for 44% 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 well-known multinational firms, such as Fiat, Iveco, A.O. Smith, Ericsson, Sharp, have established their lines there.
The municipal government is further improving the desirability of the city to investors by establishing new industrial parks, which now are included more than four including Gaoxin, Xingang, Huagong and Jiangning. Nanjing is ranked at the fifth in China's 50 Top Cities in a national competition. Despite these efforts, Nanjing is still falling behind other neighboring cities such as Wuxi, Suzhou and Hangzhou, which have an edge in attracting foreign investment and local innovation.
With its richness in culture and heritage, Nanjing is constantly evolving and now offers an open environment to all visitors and investors around the world. |
Transportation and Tourism
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As a transportation hub in eastern China, Nanjing has a convenient transportation constituting a three-dimensional transport system, including land, water and air. Public transportation is the dominant model of travel for majority of municipal commuters and travelers.
The land transportation is comprised of more than 60 of municipal, provincial and national highways or expressways, connecting the city to all of cities or towns under its jurisdiction, its neighbor provinces. These road arteries include Hu-Ning (Shanghai-Nanjing) Expressway, Ning-He (Nanjing-Hefei) Expressway, and Ning-Hang (Nanjing-Hangzhou) Expressway. In addition, Nanjing is also a hub for the railway transportation and three trunk railways meet in the city, including the Tianjin-Pukou, Shanghai-Nanjing and Nanjing-Wuhu Trunk Railways. Shanghai-Nanjing high speed passenger rail line (bullet train), with a speed 300km/hour, cutting travel time from 120 min to 75 min, opened to public in June, 2011.
The city has its own airport, the Lukou International Airport, ranking 10th among the busiest civil airports and the 5th for cargo transportation in China. The airport is located in the southeast of Nanjing, 35 kilometers from the downtown of the city.
Nanjing has the largest inland port in China and the port, Port of Nanjing, is the largest container port along the Yangtze river. Two newly established container-capacity base, the Longtan Port and Xinshengwei Port, further consolidet the city as the leading port in the region. The city is filled with bodies of water, including canals, lakes and rivers, most of which link to Yangtze River, providing a convenient waterway passage and cargo transportation.
The city boasts an efficient network of municipal public transportation, which mainly consists of bus, taxi and subway system. The bus network, which is currently run by four companies (Nanjing Gongjiao, Zhongbei, Argos and Xincheng), provides more than 170 routes covering all parts of the city and suburban areas. The city's first subway line, the Metro Line No.1, started its operation on May 15, 2005, and the Metro Line No. 2 and more 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 subway network will greatly facilitate the intra-city transportation and reduce the currently heavy traffic congestion.
Nanjing is a popular tourist destination with a vast number of cultural sites and natural spots perfectly blending together. Many of these tourist attractions have been ranked high in the national or provincial contests. Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum is ranked at the highest 5-AAAAA category in 2007. Each year, millions of tourists travel in Nanjing and bring back with these memorable experiences. |
Education
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Nanjing is one of the top three cities in China that hosts the largest number of higher learning institutions. Other two are Beijing and Shanghai. There are 50 comprehensive universities, polytechnics and colleges in total in the city, with a total enrollment of close to 500 thousands in 2008. Most of these schools are state-run higher learning institutions. Many of them are on the top from any academic rankings in the national and provincial levels. Of them, Nanjing University is often ranked on the top third in many national surveys.
Over the past few decades, the number of universities or colleges funded by private sectors nationally or internationally are on the upswing to offer youth an alternative path in pursuing a higher education and preparing them for a better career. In 2007, the New York Institute of Technology opened an undergraduate campus in Nanjing, in collaboration with Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications.
Nanjing has well instituted compulsory primary education system, a high percent of school-age children is enrolled in schools. The secondary schools including high schools achieves significant graduate rate. |
Culture and Folklore
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Nanjing is a national cultural center in any sense of art, tradition, festival, tourism, entertainment, etc. Three traditional products are the most valuable products needed to mention for Nanjing: Nanjing Cloudy-patterned Brocade, Nanjing Yuhuashi Pebble and wooden carving.
International Plum Blossom Festival. This festival first started in 1994, held every year from February to March, in Plum Hill.
Linggu Temple Sweet Osmanthus Festival. This festival first started in 1999, held every year in September, in Linggu Temple, Zhongshan Scenic Region.
Jiangxinzhou Grape Festival. This festival first started in 2001, held from the last ten days of July to the end of August, in Jiangxinshou Ecological Agriculture-tourist Zone, Jianyi District.
Yuhuashi Pebble Art Festival. This festival started its first event in 1999, held every year in September, in Yuhuatai District. |
Notable Personage
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Notable natives, born, grown or lived in Nanjing, consist of many in the city’s ancient history and others in the contemporary societies, including statesmen, scientists, educators, painters, poets, celebrities, generals, calligraphers, and more as follow:
In history: calligraphers Wang Yizhi and Wang Xianzhi, father and son, in the East Jin Dynasty; painter king Gu Kaizhi, in the East Jin Dynasty; scientist Zu Chongzhi, in the South Dynasty; calligrapher Yan Zhenqin, poet Wang Changling, in Tang Dynasty; writer for A Dream of Red Mansion, Cao Xiuqin, Yuan Mo, thinker Wei Yuan, in Qing Dynasty; educator Tao Xingzhi, painter Xu Beihong, Fu Baoshi, Liu Haishu, Ling Shanzhi, and many more.
In contemporary history: 43 academicians in of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 28 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and more.
Nanjing Massacre was an infamous war crime incident committed by the Japanese military during the World War II. Iris Chang is one of the most prominent authors for her book, The Rape of Nanking: the Forgotten Holocaust of World War II. John Rabe, John Gillespie Magee, Wihelmian Vautrin, were among the most unforgettable names, who founded the Nanjing Safe Zone during the holocaust, rescuing hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians. |
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