Nanjing
Nanjing[b] is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, and a megacity. The city has 11 districts, an administrative area of 6,600 km2 (2,500 sq mi), and a population of 9,423,400 as of 2021.[6] Situated in the Yangtze River Delta region, Nanjing has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having served as the capital of various Chinese dynasties, kingdoms and republican governments dating from the 3rd century to 1949,[7] and has thus long been a major center of culture, education, research, politics, economy, transport networks and tourism, being the home to one of the world's largest inland ports. The city is also one of the fifteen sub-provincial cities in the People's Republic of China's administrative structure,[8] enjoying jurisdictional and economic autonomy only slightly less than that of a province.[9] Nanjing has been ranked 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 UN Habitat Scroll of Honor Award and National Civilized City.[10] Nanjing is also considered a Beta (global second-tier) city classification, together with Chongqing, Hangzhou and Tianjin by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network,[11] and ranked as one of the world's top 100 cities in the Global Financial Centres Index.[12]
For other uses, see Nanjing (disambiguation).
Nanjing
南京市Nanking, Nan-ching
China
11
129
unknown (Yecheng, 495 BCE. Jinling City, 333 BCE)
Long Xiang
Chen Zhichang
Liu Yi'an
6,587 km2 (2,543 sq mi)
1,398.69 km2 (540.04 sq mi)
20 m (50 ft)
9,314,685
1,400/km2 (3,700/sq mi)
9,314,685
9,648,136
Nankinese or Nanjinger[a]
CN¥ 175,587
US$ 27,223
0.859 (very high)
Nanking
"Southern Capital"
Nánjīng
Nánjīng
ㄋㄢˊ ㄐㄧㄥ
Nan2-ching1
Nánjing
noe平cin平
Nàahmgīng
naam4 ging1
By 2021, Nanjing has 68 institutions of higher learning,[13] including 13 double-first-class universities, ten 111-plan universities, eight 211 universities, and 97 academicians. Nanjing has many highly ranked educational institutions,[14] with the number of universities (13) listed in 147 Double First-Class Universities ranking third (after Beijing and Shanghai),[15][16] including Nanjing University, which has a long history and is among the world's top 20 universities ranked by Nature Index.[17] The ratio of college students to the total population ranks No.1 among large cities nationwide. Nanjing has the sixth-largest scientific research output of any city in the world.[18] As of 2023, it has been ranked as the world's top second scientific research center in earth & environmental sciences and the world's top third scientific research center in chemistry, according to the Nature Index.[19][20][21]
Nanjing, one of the nation's most important cities for over a thousand years, is recognized as one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China. It has been one of the world's largest cities, enjoying peace and prosperity despite wars and disasters.[22][23][24][25] Nanjing served as the capital of Eastern Wu (229–280), one of the three major states in the Three Kingdoms period; the Eastern Jin and each of the Southern dynasties (Liu Song, Southern Qi, Liang and Chen), which successively ruled southern China from 317 to 589; the Southern Tang (937–75), one of the Ten Kingdoms; the Ming dynasty when, for the first time, all of China was ruled from the city (1368–1421);[26] and the Republic of China under the nationalist Kuomintang (1927–37, 1946–49) before its flight to Taiwan by Chiang Kai-Shek during the Chinese Civil War.[27] The city also served as the seat of the rebel Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (1853–64) and the Japanese puppet regime of Wang Jingwei (1940–45) during the Second Sino-Japanese War. It suffered severe atrocities in both conflicts, most notably the Nanjing massacre of 1937.[28]
Nanjing has served as the capital city of Jiangsu province since the establishment of the People's Republic of China. It has many important heritage sites, including the Presidential Palace and Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum. Nanjing is famous for human historical landscapes, mountains and waters such as Fuzimiao, Ming Palace, Chaotian Palace, Porcelain Tower, Drum Tower, Stone City, City Wall, Qinhuai River, Xuanwu Lake and Purple Mountain. Key cultural facilities include Nanjing Library, Nanjing Museum and Jiangsu Art Museum.
Names[edit]
The city has a number of other names, and some historical names are now used as names of districts of the city.
The city was known as Yuecheng and Jinling or "Ginling" (金陵 from the Warring States Era. Jianye (建业; Chien-yeh), which means 'build an empire', was officially designated for the city during the Eastern Wu dynasty. The city first became a Chinese national capital as early as the Jin dynasty and was renamed Jiankang. Nanjing is also called Jincheng (金城, Golden City), derived from Jinling City.
The name Nanjing, which means "southern capital", was officially designated for the city during the Ming dynasty, about six hundred years later.[c] In English, the spelling Nanking was traditional until pinyin, developed in the 1950s and internationally adopted in the 1980s, standardized the spelling as "Nanjing".
During the Qing dynasty, the city was called Jiangning (江寧; Kiang-ning), whose first character jiang (Chinese: 江; pinyin: jiāng; lit. 'river', i.e. the Yangtze) is the former part of the name Jiangsu and second character ning (寧, simplified form 宁; 'peace') is the shortened name of Nanjing. When it was the capital of the Republic of China (1912–49), jing (京; 'capital') was adopted as the abbreviation of Nanjing.
Nanjing University, Xianlin campus
By 2021, Nanjing has 68 institutions of higher learning,[13] including 13 double-first-class universities, ten 111-plan universities, eight 211 universities, and 97 academicians. As the educational center of southern China for more than 1,700 years, Nanjing has many highly ranked educational institutions,[14] with the number of universities (13) listed in 147 Double First-Class Universities ranking third (after Beijing and Shanghai),[15] including Nanjing University, which has a long history and is among the world's top 20 universities ranked by Nature Index.[17] The ratio of college students to the total population ranks No.1 among large cities nationwide. Nanjing has the sixth-largest scientific research output of any city in the world.[18] As of 2023, it has been ranked as the world's top second scientific research center in earth & environmental sciences after Beijing and the world's top third scientific research center in chemistry after Beijing and Shanghai, according to the Nature Index.[19][20][21] Nanjing was ranked 80th globally by the QS Best Student City in 2017.[151]
Nanjing University is considered one of the top national universities nationwide, and it is ranked among the world's top 20 universities by Nature Index.[17] According to the World Reputation Rankings by the Times Higher Educations, Nanjing University is ranked among the top 100 universities with its best reputation in 2021.[152] Southeast University is also among the most famous universities in China and is considered one of the best universities for Architecture and Engineering in China. Many universities in Nanjing have satellite campuses or have moved their main campus to Xianlin University City in the eastern suburb. Some of the other most prominent national universities in Nanjing are:
Some of the other most prominent national universities in Nanjing are:
Private universities and colleges, such as Communication University of China, Nanjing and Hopkins-Nanjing Center are also located in the city.
Some notable high schools in Nanjing are: Jiangpu Senior High School, Jinling High School, Liuhe First School, Nanjing Foreign Language School, The Second Yuying Foreign Languages School of Nanjing, High School Affiliated to Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing No.1 High School, Nanjing Zhonghua High School, Caulfield Grammar School (Nanjing Campus), Nanjing No.29 High School, Yuhuatai Senior High School.
