NANJING (NANKING) IS ONE OF CHINA’S LARGER CITIES. IT IS SITUATED ON THE CHANG (YANGTZE) RIVER, SOME 260 KM (160 MILES) NORTHWEST
OF SHANGHAI. ALTHOUGH NO LONGER THE CAPITAL OF CHINA, ITS NAME MEANS “SOUTHERN CAPITAL”. IT IS THE CAPITAL OF JIANGSU (KIANGSU) PROVINCE. RAILWAYS LINK NANJING WITH BOTH SHANGHAI AND BEIJING.
REMAINS OF A WINDING 48 KM (30 MILE) LONG WALL ENCLOSE NANJING’S BUILT-UP SECTION. THE WALL EXTENDS TO NANJING’S RIVER PORT, WHERE THE CITY’S SHIPPING AND MUCH OF ITS COMMERCE IS CARRIED ON. IN THE CITY CENTRE ARE MODERN BUILDINGS AND WIDE BOULEVARDS.
NANJING IS SITUATED IN A LAKE AND HILL DISTRICT. MANY CHINESE SPEND THEIR HOLIDAYS IN THE NEARBY BEAUTY SPOTS. JUST OUTSIDE THE CITY’S WALLS ARE THE TOMBS OF THE EARLY MING EMPEROR’S AND THE SUN YAT-SEN MEMORIAL.
NANJING IS AN AGRICULTURAL AND INDUSTRIAL CENTRE. THE MAIN CROPS ARE RICE, WHEAT, BEANS, PEANUTS, FRUIT (WATERMELON, PEACHES, AND, PEARS), AND VEGETABLES. PIG FARMING IS ALSO IMPORTANT, AND DUCKS ARE BRED. THE MAJOR INDUSTRIES PRODUCE IRON AND STEEL, MOTOR VEHICLES, AND MACHINE TOOLS; LIGHT INDUSTRIES MANUFACTURE SILK GOODS, SATIN, AND COTTON CLOTH. THE CITY IS ALSO A HISTORIC CENTRE FOR PORCELAIN WARE. NANJING IS ONE OF THE MAIN LITERARY AND EDUCATIONAL CENTRES OF CHINA AND CONTAINS NANJING UNIVERSITY, NANJING INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, AND SEVERAL SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS.
THE HISTORY OF NANJING DATES BACK TO THE HAN DYNASTY IN THE 2ND CENTURY BC. FOR THE FIRST 1,500 YEARS A SUCCESSION OF SMALL TOWNS, EACH WITH A DIFFERENT NAME, OCCUPIED THE SITE WHERE NANJING NOW STANDS. FROM 1368 TO 1421 THE MING EMPERORS HAD THEIR CAPITAL AT NANJING. IN 1421 THEY TRANSFERRED THE CAPITAL TO PEKING (BEIJING).
DURING THE 19TH CENTURY CHINA WAS OPENED TO FOREIGN TRADE AND INFLUENCE. THE TREATY THAT ALLOWED THIS WAS SIGNED AT NANJING IN 1842. FOREIGN TRADE WAS NOT, HOWEVER, ADMITTED TO THE CITY ITSELF UNTIL 1899.
IN THE 20TH CENTURY THE CITY BECAME INVOLVED IN THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN SUN YAT-SEN’S REVOLUTIONARY (NATIONALIST) FORCES AND THE MANCHU EMPEROR (1911), AND LATER BETWEEN COMMUNISTS AND NATIONALISTS. IN 1937, THE JAPANESE INVADED CHINA AND TOOK CONTROL OF NANJING. THEY HELD IT UNTIL 1945. NANJING BECAME THE CAPITAL AGAIN, BUT IN 1949 WHEN THE COMMUNISTS TOOK POWER THEY MADE BEIJING THE CAPITAL. THE POPULATION OF NANJING IS ABOUT 2,100,000.