Nanjing, Jiangsu Province

Nanjing, or "Ning" for short, is the capital of Jiangsu Province, a vice provincial city, a mega city, and the core city of Nanjing metropolitan area. It is an important central city in eastern China, an important national research and education base, and a comprehensive transportation hub approved by the State Council. As of 2019, the city has 11 districts with a total area of 6587 square kilometers, built-up area of 823 square kilometers, permanent resident population of 8.5 million, urban population of 7.072 million, and urbanization rate of 83.2%.

Nanjing is located in the east of China, the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the coastal waters near the river. It is the headquarters of the East China war zone, with the geographical coordinates of 31 ° 14 ″ n to 32 ° 37 ″ and 118 ° 22 ″ e to 119 ° 14 ″. It is an important gateway city of the Yangtze River Delta, which is planned and positioned by the State Council to drive the development of the central and western regions. It is also an important node city of the strategic intersection of the eastern coastal economic belt and the Yangtze River economic belt.

Nanjing is located in the hilly area of Ningzhen, with low mountains and gentle hills. It has a humid climate in the north subtropical zone, with water area of more than 11%. It is one of the first batch of national historical and cultural cities, an important birthplace of Chinese civilization, and has long been the political, economic and cultural center of southern China. There were ancient human activities in Nanjing as early as 1-1.2 million years ago, and Nanjing ape man lived in Tangshan 350000-600000 years ago, with a history of more than 7000 years of civilization, nearly 2600 years of city building and nearly 500 years of capital building.

Nanjing is an important center of science and education in China. Since ancient times, it has been a city of culture and education. It is known as the "cultural hub of the world" and "the first school in Southeast China". More than half of the top scholars in Ming and Qing Dynasties came from Nanjing Jiangnan Academy. By 2020, there are 68 colleges and universities in Nanjing, including 10 colleges and Universities under the 111 plan, 8 colleges and Universities under the 211 plan, 12 double first-class colleges and universities, and 81 academicians of the two academies, all of which are second only to Beijing and Shanghai; Nanjing ranks eighth in the world and third in China among the top 20 scientific research cities in the world.

In August 2020, UN Habitat released the list of top 100 city in Asia. Nanjing ranked eleventh in Asia and fifth in Chinese mainland.

In history, Nanjing not only benefited but also suffered from its unique geographical location and extraordinary Fengshui scenery. In the past, it suffered many wars, but also recovered its prosperity from the debris. When the Central Plains was occupied by other nationalities and the Han nationality was about to be destroyed, the Han nationality usually chose Nanjing to recuperate, determined to make the Northern Expedition and restore China. The two northern expeditions in the Ming Dynasty and the Republic of China were successful; the three northern expeditions in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Liu Song Dynasty and Xiao Liang Dynasty were on the verge of success. At the beginning of the Southern Song Dynasty, all the officials agreed to take Jiankang as the capital to show the plan of restoring the Central Plains. However, Gaozong of the Song Dynasty decided to go to Lin'an because he had no intention of the northern expedition, but he still decided to take Jinling as the capital because of the public opinion. Nanjing was the capital of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and the elimination of alien rule was one of its mobilization bases and legitimacy. Therefore, Nanjing is regarded as a place of rejuvenation of the Han nationality, which has a special status and value in Chinese history. Therefore, after comparing the four ancient capitals of Chang'an, Luoyang, Jinling and Yanjing, Mr. Zhu said that "among these four capitals, the prosperity of literature, the beauty of characters, the beauty of mountains and rivers, the grandeur of weather, and the close relationship with the nation's suffering, especially Jinling."

According to historical records, there were ancient human activities in Nanjing 1-1.2 million years ago. More than 600000 years ago, ancient ape man lived in Nanjing. The Nanjing Ape Man fossil unearthed from Tangshan Paleolithic cultural site is a significant discovery of world significance in the study of early human evolution in East Asia and paleolithic archaeology. It proves once again that Nanjing is one of the birthplaces of Chinese civilization. Two human species were found in the same fossil site, and there is only one in Nanjing in the world. The Nanjing ape man cave provides a strong basis for the theory that human beings originated in many places - the Chinese did not originate in Africa.

Seven thousand years ago, agricultural civilization had been produced in Qixia area of Nanjing. 6000 years ago, the Neolithic primitive villages represented by the northern yinyangying culture appeared. More than 200 Neolithic sites were found in Nanjing and its surrounding areas. Four thousand years ago, dense primitive settlements, known as Hushu culture, appeared in the Qinhuai River Basin. On the basis of these settlements, the earliest cities in Nanjing were formed.

3100 years ago, Nanjing was the fiefdom of Zhouzhang in the Western Zhou Dynasty. In 571 B.C., the state of Chu set up Tangyi in Liuhe, and set up Tangyi doctor, which is the earliest place in Nanjing with historical records. It is also the beginning of the construction of Nanjing. It has been 2591 years until 2020. In 541 BC, the state of Wu built LaiZhu town in Gaochun, also known as Gucheng because of its strong city. Around 495 BC, the state of Wu built Yecheng in the area of Chaotiangong. In 473 BC, Yue destroyed Wu and built Yue city in changganli outside Zhonghua Gate. In 333 B.C., when Chu destroyed Yue, King Wei of Chu wanted to use the Yangtze River moat in Nanjing as a barrier to plot for the world, and built Jinling City in stone city. The name of Jinling originated from this.

In 229, Emperor Wu Sun Quan established the capital here, and Nanjing rose from then on, which made China's political center out of the pattern of the Yellow River Cultural plate and led the development of the Yangtze River Basin and the whole southern China. Since then, song, Qi, Liang and Chen of the Eastern Jin and Southern Dynasties successively established their capitals here, so Nanjing is known as "the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties", and its cultural radiation reaches the whole East Asia. Jiankang city in the Six Dynasties played an important role in the history of capital development in China. It was the first case of axial symmetry layout, which formed the unique layout and style of East Asian capital with the central axis as the benchmark and the left and right symmetry of main buildings. It became the model of capital construction in later generations. Jiankang palace, the imperial palace of the Six Dynasties, was the largest and most magnificent palace in China at that time. It has existed for 360 years. According to historical records, "it is extremely magnificent, and it is the most magnificent palace in ancient and modern times.". Its plane layout and architectural form not only directly affected the capital cities of the Northern Dynasties and Sui and Tang Dynasties, but also affected the capital cities of Kyoto, Nara and Baiji on the Korean Peninsula, and had a profound impact on the form of palace construction of later generations. The site of jiankangcheng remains under the Nanjing Library and the Museum of the Six Dynasties.

Jiankang city in the Six Dynasties period was the largest city in the world at that time, with a population of more than one million. It was the first city in the world with a population of more than one million. The southward migration of clothes and crowns made the Han nationality preserve the beginning of Chinese culture in Nanjing. Jiankang city in the Six Dynasties and ancient Rome city are known as "the two centers of world classical civilization". The culture of the Southern Dynasties, represented by Jiankang, had a profound impact on human history. During the Six Dynasties, the "maritime Silk Road East China Sea Route" with Nanjing as the center was officially opened. As an international wharf connecting the river and the sea, Nanjing "shitoujin" was berthed by tens of thousands of Chinese and foreign ships. There was a prosperous scene of "Four Seas Circulation, international trade fair" and "ships follow the road, and merchants and envoys" and Nanjing became an important central city of China's Maritime Silk Road.

In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Nanjing was deliberately belittled by the northern court, but its geographical advantages made its economy and culture develop rapidly. Li Bai, Liu Yuxi, Du Mu, Li Shangyin and other poets have lived and visited here. After the death of the Tang Dynasty, Jinling was the capital of the Southern Tang Dynasty, and the city was expanded. There are many wars in the north, but since the beginning of Yang Wu, there has been no big war in the territory for more than 70 years. Markets are gathered on both sides of the Qinhuai River. With the development of economy and culture, poetry, calligraphy and painting have developed for a generation.

Nanjing in the Song Dynasty was the political, economic and cultural center of southern China. Jiangning Prefecture was the only government level institution in southern China during the Northern Song Dynasty and the highest level administrative organ in Jiangnan and Southeast China. Wang Anshi, a statesman of the Northern Song Dynasty, once served as the magistrate of Jiangning three times as the prime minister, and settled here. At the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, the disaster of Jingkang led to the third southward migration of the population. Nanjing became the economic center again and one of the world's metropolises at that time. In 1129, it was renamed Jiankang Prefecture and designated as the capital of the industry. In 1138, Jiankang was changed to Liudu, and there were still imperial palaces here, which became an important military, political and economic center of the Southern Song Dynasty. Yue Fei, a famous general of the Southern Song Dynasty, once defeated the Jin soldiers in NIUSHOUSHAN area of Nanjing, and there are remains of the old base against Jin.

In the Yuan Dynasty, Nanjing was the site of Jiangnan imperial censor station, which supervised the southeast provinces and led the southeast roads. It was in charge of the supervision affairs of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Huguang provinces. As the center of China's textile industry, there are more than 6000 professional craftsmen in the city. Nanjing Yunjin is a royal product.

In 1356, Zhu Yuanzhang captured Nanjing and renamed it yingtianfu. The Ming Dynasty was founded in 1368, with Nanjing as the capital. Nanjing once again became the political, economic and cultural center of China. In the early Ming Dynasty, the capital had a population of more than 700000. It was the largest city in China and the world at that time. The Ming city wall of Nanjing, which took 27 years to build, was the largest city wall in the world. The imperial palace of Nanjing, which was built according to the astronomical phenomena and ritual system, was the largest palace complex in the world in the middle ages. The architectural form and layout became the design of the central capital of Ming Dynasty, Beijing city and the palace of Ming Dynasty The blueprint.

In 1402, Zhu Di launched the battle of Jingnan to seize the throne of Jianwen emperor and became emperor in Nanjing. In 1405, as the decision-making place, shipbuilding base and departure port of Zheng He's seven voyages to the west, Zheng He set sail from Nanjing longjiangguan (now Xiaguan) and began his first long voyage. In 1421, Zhu Di moved his capital to Beijing, changed Nanjing into the capital, set up six ministries and other institutions in Nanjing, and carried out the double capital system. Yingtianfu (Nanjing) and shuntianfu (Beijing) were collectively called erjingfu.

In the middle of Ming Dynasty, Nanjing was still the largest city in the world with a population of 1.2 million. During the Wanli period, Matteo Ricci, a western missionary, traveled to China. In his commentary on Matteo Ricci, he wrote: "it's dazzling to see Nanjing Nanjing City in Ming Dynasty is extremely magnificent, which can be compared with any of the largest capitals in Europe in the 16th century. Hong Wu, the founding emperor of our Dynasty, made it a miracle. Nothing can be seen in the East

Chinese PinYin : Jiang Su Sheng Nan Jing Shi