Nanjing 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. 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,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,enjoying jurisdictional and economic autonomy only slightly less than that of a province. 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. Nanjing is also considered a Beta city classification,together with Chongqing,Hangzhou and Tianjin by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network,and ranked as one of the world's top 100 cities in the Global Financial Centres Index.
The Grand Canal is the longest canal or artificial river in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its main artery,known to the Chinese as the Jing–Hang or Beijing–Hangzhou Grand Canal,is reckoned to extend for 1,776 km (1,104 mi) and is divided into 6 main sections. The Jiangnan Canal runs from the Qiantang River at Hangzhou to the Yangtze River at Zhenjiang;the Inner Canal from the Yangtze at Yangzhou to the Huai River at Huai'an,which for centuries was also its junction with the former course of the Yellow River;the Middle Canal from Huai'an to the Nansi Lakes;the Lu Canal from the lakes past Jining and the present course of the Yellow River to the Wei River at Linqing;the Southern Canal from Linqing to the Hai River at Tianjin;and the Northern Canal from Tianjin to Tongzhou on the outskirts of Beijing. As such,it passes through the provinces and municipalities of Zhejiang,Jiangsu,Shandong,Hebei,Tianjin,and Beijing. In 2014,the Chinese government and UNESCO recognized the Eastern Zhejiang Canal from Hangzhou to Ningbo along the former Tongji and Yongji Canals as official components of the Grand Canal.
Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou,and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiangsu and Shanghai to the north,Anhui to the northwest,Jiangxi to the west and Fujian to the south. To the east is the East China Sea,beyond which lies the Ryukyu Islands. The population of Zhejiang stands at 64.6 million,the 8th largest in China. It has been called "the backbone of China" because it is a major driving force in the Chinese economy and being the birthplace of several notable people,including the Chinese Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek and entrepreneur Jack Ma. Zhejiang consists of 90 counties.
Jiangsu is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance,education,technology,and tourism,with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the third smallest,but the fifth most populous and the most densely populated of the 23 provinces of the People's Republic of China. Jiangsu has the highest GDP per capita and second-highest GDP of Chinese provinces,after Guangdong. Jiangsu borders Shandong in the north,Anhui to the west,and Zhejiang and Shanghai to the south. Jiangsu has a coastline of over 1,000 kilometers (620 mi) along the Yellow Sea,and the Yangtze River passes through the southern part of the province.
Suzhou is a city in southern Jiangsu of eastern China.
Zhili,alternately romanized as Chihli,was a northern administrative region of China since the 14th-century that lasted through the Ming dynasty and Qing dynasty until 1911,when the region was dissolved,converted to a province,and renamed Hebei in 1928.
Wu is a major group of Sinitic languages spoken primarily in Shanghai,Zhejiang Province,and the part of Jiangsu Province south of the Yangtze River,which makes up the cultural region of Wu. Speakers of various Wu languages sometimes labelled their mother tongue as Shanghainese when introduced to foreigners. The Suzhou dialect was the prestige dialect of Wu as of the 19th century,but had been replaced in status by Shanghainese by the turn of the 20th century. The languages of Northern Wu are mutually intelligible with each other,while those of Southern Wu are not.
Wu refers to a region in China centered on Lake Tai in Jiangnan. The Wu region was historically part of the ancient Yang Province in southeastern China. The name "Wu" came from the names of several historical kingdoms based in that area.
Yangzhou is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province,East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze,it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest,Huai'an to the north,Yancheng to the northeast,Taizhou to the east,and Zhenjiang across the river to the south. Its population was 4,559,797 at the 2020 census and its urban area is home to 2,635,435 inhabitants,including three urban districts,currently in the agglomeration.
The Yangtze Delta or Yangtze River Delta,previously known as the Shanghai Economic Zone,is a triangle-shaped megalopolis generally comprising the Wu-speaking areas of Shanghai,southern Jiangsu,northern Zhejiang,southern Anhui. The area lies in the heart of the Jiangnan region,where the Yangtze drains into the East China Sea. Historically the fertile delta fed much of China’s population,and cities and commerce flourished. Today,it is one of China’s most important metropolitan area and is home to China’s financial center,tourist destination and hub for manufacture ranging from textile to car-making. In 2021,the Yangtze Delta had a GDP of approximately US$4.3 trillion,about the same size as Japan.
The Han Chinese people can be defined into subgroups based on linguistic,cultural,ethnic,genetic,and regional features. The terminology used in Mandarin to describe the groups is:"minxi",used in mainland China or "zuqun",used in Taiwan. No Han subgroup is recognized as one of People's Republic of China's 56 official ethnic groups,in Taiwan only three subgroups,Hoklo,Hakka and Waishengren are recognized.
The Wu Chinese people,also known as Wuyue people,Jiang-Zhe people (江浙民系) or San Kiang (三江),are a major subgroup of the Han Chinese. They are a Wu Chinese-speaking people who hail from southern Jiangsu Province,the entirety of the city of Shanghai and all of Zhejiang Province,as well as smaller populations in Xuancheng prefecture-level city in southern Anhui Province,Shangrao,Guangfeng and Yushan counties of northeastern Jiangxi Province and some parts of Pucheng County in northern Fujian Province.
Taihu Wu (吳語太湖片) or Northern Wu (北部吳語) is a Wu Chinese language spoken in much of the southern part of the province of Jiangsu,including Suzhou,Wuxi,Changzhou,the southern part of Nantong,Jingjiang and Danyang;the municipality of Shanghai;and the northern part of Zhejiang province,including Hangzhou,Shaoxing,Ningbo,Huzhou,and Jiaxing. A notable exception is the dialect of the town of Jinxiang,which is a linguistic exclave of Taihu Wu in Zhenan Min-speaking Cangnan county of Wenzhou prefecture in Zhejiang province. Speakers in regions around Taihu Lake and Hangzhou Bay,are the largest population among all Wu speakers. Taihu Wu dialects such as Shanghainese,Shaoxing and Ningbo are mutually intelligible even for L2 Taihu speakers.
The South Society was the largest literature and poetry organization during the late Qing dynasty China and the early period of Republican China.
Lower Yangtze Mandarin is one of the most divergent and least mutually-intelligible of the Mandarin languages,as it neighbours the Wu,Hui,and Gan groups of Sinitic languages. It is also known as Jiang–Huai Mandarin,named after the Yangtze (Jiang) and Huai Rivers. Lower Yangtze is distinguished from most other Mandarin varieties by the retention of a final glottal stop in words that ended in a stop consonant in Middle Chinese.
Yangzhou,Yangchow or Yang Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China mentioned in historical texts such as the Tribute of Yu,Erya and Rites of Zhou.
Kuaiji Commandery,formerly romanized as K'uai-chi Commandery,was a former commandery of China in the area of Hangzhou Bay. When first established,its capital was at Wu,which became known as "Kuaiji" from this role. The initial territory ran from the south bank of the Yangtze through most of modern Zhejiang to an indeterminate border among the free people of Minyue. Wu and Wuxing commanderies were later formed between the Yangtze and the north shore of Hangzhou Bay;the administration of the remainder of Kuaiji Commandery was then removed to the site of the former Yue capital in modern Shaoxing's Yuecheng District,which also became known as Kuaiji from this role. By the Tang,Hangzhou was also separated and Kuaiji ran from a little north of the Zhe River in the west to Ningbo in the east.
Jiangnan,formerly romanized as Kiangnan,was a historical province of the early Qing dynasty of China. Its capital was Jiangning,from which it is sometimes known as Nanjing or Nanking Province. Established in 1645 during the Qing conquest of Ming,it administered the area of the earlier Ming province of Nanzhili,reaching from north of the Huai River—at the time the course of the Yellow River—to south of the Yangtze River in East China. Its territory was later divided into the separate provinces of Jiangsu and Anhui during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor (1736–1795),although the exact timing is disputed. Under the Republic and People's Republic of China,an area of Jiangsu also became the provincial-level municipality of Shanghai.
The Eastern Expedition encompassed the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's efforts to capture the Yangtze River Delta,the provinces of Jiangsu,Anhui,and Zhejiang. Most of the areas would eventually be occupied by the Taipings,but they were notably repulsed at several locations,especially the city of Shanghai. Following the Jintian uprising in the southern province Guangxi and the beginning of open hostilities,Taiping forces attacked and captured Nanjing in central China by 1853. The Western Expedition captured cities along the Yangtze River like Zhenjiang,Anqing were captured later the same year.
Jiangzhe province (江浙行省) or Chiangche was a province of the Yuan dynasty established in 1276. It included the southern portion of Jiangsu south of the Yangtze River,Zhejiang,Fujian,and part of northern Guangdong. With capital was initially at Yangzhou,but in 1297 it was moved to Hangzhou Lu.
