Nanjing is one of China's four famous ancient capitals and the historical and cultural cities.
For thousands of years, the cascading Yangtze River has not only bred civilization, but also sped up the development of Nanjing. Nanjing, traversed by the Yangtze River, is endowed with beautiful landscape and heritage, decorated by the Purple Mountain.
History
“A beautiful place in the region south of the Yangtze River, Jinling (ancient name for Nanjing) is a seat of emperors.”Nanjing is a famous historical and cultural city, and one of the top four ancient capitals of China.
The excavation of apeman skull fossil in Tangshan area of Nanjing proves Nanjing was a human habitat 500,000 years ago. Nanjing has a city history of nearly 2,500 years. Starting in the 3rd century, 10 dynasties and administrative powers, namely
Wu Kingdom (222-280),
Eastern Jin (317-420),
Song Dynasty (420-479),
Qi Dynasty (479-502),
Liang Dynasty (502-557)
and Chen Dynasty (557-589) of the Southern Dynasties period,
Southern Tang (937-975),
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644),
Heavenly Kiangdom of Great Peace (1851-1864)
and the Republic of China (1911-1949),
all set up capitals in Nanjing, leaving the city with the title of “ancient capital of six dynasties” and “capital of 10 dynasties.”
Social and Natural Conditions
Lying at 32°03 'N and 118°47'E, Nanjing is the capital of Jiangsu Province and shortened into the name of Ning. Situated in the Yangtze River Delta, Nanjing is 380 kilometers away from the estuary of East China Sea. At the intersection of the artery in east-west water transport by bordering the Yangtze River and the artery in south-north land transport with the Beijing-Shanghai Railway running through, the city has long enjoyed a reputation of “east-west gateway and south-north strategic point”.
Nanjing is one of the key cities in terms of economic, cultural, financial, and commercial and trade importance in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. It is also a riverside city radiating with mountains, rivers, forests and modern buildings, and blends?
Nanjing belongs to the northern subtropical monsoon climate zone, where the four seasons are clearly demarcated, with sufficient sunshine and abundant rainfall. The climate is moderate and moist, and spring and autumn are short while winter and summer are long. The annual average temperature is 17.8? while the duration of sunshine can reach 1,686.5 hours yearly. The annual precipitation is 1,034mm.
Nanjing is surrounded by mountains and snuggles up to lakes and rivers. It has favorable natural conditions and abundant products, owning more than 40 types of minerals and rich water resources. Its reserve of strontium ranks the first is Southeast Asia and its iron the sulfur reserves account for some 40% of the total amount is Jiangsu Province.
Comprehensive Strength
Nanjing is considered by the international community to be one of the most promising cities in the Pacific-Rim region in the 21st century.
It has been ranked fouth by Forbes magazine in its listing of "2008 Top 100 Business Cities in Mainland China", seventh in the evaluation of "Cities with Strongest Comprehensive Strength" issued by the National Statistics Bureau, and second in the evaluation of cities with most sustainable development potential in the Yangtze River Delta.
It has also been awarded the title of 2008 Habitat Scroll of Honor of China, Special Award of UN Habitat Scroll of Honor and National Civilized City.
We are fotunate to have obtained some exclusive photos of Nanjing. A special Gallery has been created by volunteers working in the tournament and can be seen here: Nanjing Pictorial and Nanjing's photographic amateur
