Nanjing, an ancient metropolis of six different dynasties, is a city of mountains, waters and green trees. Called Ning for short and Jinling in ancient times, Nanjing is the capital of Jiangsu Province, situated in the western part. It is a central city in western part of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River Delta and has beautiful sceneries. With a downtown area of 860 square kilometers and a population of more than 3 million people, Nanjing spans the southern and northern sides of the Yangtze River.
Nanjing took shape at the confluence of the Yangtze and Qinhuaihe rivers. Goujian, King of Yue State, had a city built by the Qinhuaihe and named it Yuecheng 2,500 years ago. Later the Chu State had a city called Jinling erected at the foot of Qingliangshan Hill. Yuecheng and Jinling were the embryonic forms of Nanjing. Later, it successively became the capital of the Eastern Wu State during the Three Kingdoms Period (220-280), the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420), and the states of Song, Qi, Liang and Chen during the Southern Dynasty (420-589). In addition, the Southern Tang and Ming dynasties, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and even the Kuomingdang kaiserdom all set their capitals here.
The Six Dynasties (from the beginning of the 3rd century to the end of the 6th century) were the prime period of Nanjing. After the downfall of Western Jin, North China was controlled by chieftains of some nomads. Many aristocrats, men of letters, craftsmen thronged to the south, promoting the development of culture, economy, and crafts and technology. And Nanjing, the biggest city of the time, became a new cultural center in ancient China.
The modern new Nanjing is not only the political, economic and cultural center in Jiangsu Province, but also the most important transportation and communications hub in East China. Besides, it is an international commercial center of the Yangtze River Delta, next to Shanghai.
(Source: chinaculture.org)
