History of Nanjing

Nanjing, an ancient capital of China, enjoys a worldwide reputation for its history and culture. Archaeological findings show that human ancestors lived in Nanjing area around 300,000 years ago, and primitive villages took shape 6.000 years ago. These inhabitants were the original local people. From then on, people lived and multiplied in this area generation after generation.

In 472 B. C., under Goujian (King of State Yue)'s order, a city historically called "Yue City" was built on the site of Rain Flower Terrace. That is the earliest record of city construction in Nanjing area, and by now it has a history of 2,470 years. During the Three Kingdoms Period, Eastern Wu moved its capital to Nanjing - called "Jianye" then, in 229 A.D., making Nanjing to be a capital for the first time in its history. In the last years of Western Jin, the name was changed to Jianlang. Afterwards, Eastern Jin, Song, Qi, Liang, Chen all set up their capitals here. Historically, they are called Six Dynasties. It was called Shen Zhou (meaning prefecture) in the Tang Dynasty, and renamed Jiangning in the Song Dynasty. Only until the beginning of Ming Dynasty was it officially called Nanjing. Taiping Heavenly capital Kingdom and Republic of China also established their capital here. In the past 1,700 years, Nanjing has achieved its fame as "an ancient capital of ten dynasties." Dynasties waxed and waned, thus left rich legacy of ancient times. Abundant historic relics date back to many stirring stories and epic legends of the past.

Over the long period of history, it had other names like Moling, Stone City, Jianye, Jiankang, Baixia, Shangyuan, Shenzhou, Jiangning, Jiqing, Yingtian and Tianjing. Its name might be different, yet the city itself kept being outstanding for its ancient history, brilliant culture, beautiful scenery and great achievements - therefore, it holds an important place in Chinese history. At present, Nanjing has jurisdiction over 10 districts and 5 counties, covering an area of 6,516 square kilometers and having a population of about 5,200,000.

Nanjing is very rich in natural and artificial landscapes and one of the first 24 well-known historic and cultural cities announced by the state. Dr.Sun Yat-Sen's Mausoleum, the Ming Tomb, the King Palace of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the ancient city wall of Nanjing, the stone carvings of Southern Tang Dynasty, Pagoda for Buddhist Relics, the Tombs of Southern Tang Emperors, the Rain Flower Terrace, the Mural Painting in Tangzi Street and other places are the main scenic spots and historic sites. The Eastern Suburbs Scenic Area, the Qixia Mountain, the Xuanwu Lake, the Mochou Lake, the Qinhuai River Scenic Belt and other scenic areas are well-known far and near. Among them, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen's Mausoleum and the Qinhuai River Scenic Belt are among 40 best tourist scenic spots in China. There were over 220,000 tourists from abroad in 1995. This ancient capital of the Six Dynasty, is now inviting Chinese and foreign tourists with its magnificent and elegant beauty, plentiful tourism items, scenic spots and historical sites.

Nowadays, Nanjing has developed into a multiple-producing industrial base in eastern China, an important hub of transportation and communication center, a major international commercial port in the Yangtse delta region, second only to Shanghai, one of China's four major scientific research and educational central cities. It ranks among ten major cities of the country.