Nanjing (Chinese: 南京; Romanizations: Nánjīng (Pinyin), Nan-ching (Wade-Giles), Nanking (Postal map spelling)) is the capital of Jiangsu province, China, and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture. The city's name (南京) means "Southern Capital", and was widely romanised as 'Nanking' until the Pinyin language reform, after which 'Nanjing' became the international standard spelling of the city's name.
Located in the lower Yangtze River drainage basin and Yangtze River Delta economic zone, Nanjing has always been one of China's most important cities. It served as the capital of China during several historical periods and is recognised as one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China.
With an urban population of over five million (2006), Nanjing is the second largest commercial center in the East China region, after Shanghai. It has been ranked fourth 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.
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Nanjing, with a total land area of 6,598 square kilometers (2,547.5 sq mi), is situated in one of the largest economic zones of China, the Yangtze River Delta, which is part of the downstream Yangtze River drainage basin. The Yangtze River flows past the west side of Nanjing City, while the Ningzheng Ridge surrounds the north, east and south side of the city. The city is 300 kilometers (186 mi) west-northwest of Shanghai, 1,200 kilometers (746 mi) south-southeast of Beijing, and 1,400 kilometers (870 mi) east-northeast of Chongqing.
Nanjing borders Yangzhou to the northeast, one town downstream when following the north bank of the Yangtze, Zhenjiang to the east, one town downstream when following the south bank of the Yangtze, and Changzhou to the southeast. On its western boundary is Anhui Province, where Nanjing borders 5 prefecture-level cities.
Nanjing has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) and is under the influence of the East Asia Monsoon. The four seasons are distinct here, with damp conditions seen throughout the year, very hot and muggy summers, cold, damp winters, and in between, spring and autumn are of reasonable length. Along with Wuhan and Chongqing, Nanjing is traditionally referred to as one of the "Three Furnacelike Cities" along the Yangtze River (长江流域三大火炉) for the perennially high temperatures in the summertime.[16] However, the time from mid-June to the end of July is the plum blossom Meiyu season, during which the city experiences a period of mild rain as well as dampness. Typhoons are uncommon but possible in the late stages of summer and early part of autumn. The annual mean temperature is around 15.5 °C (59.9 °F), with monthly mean values ranging from 2.4 to 27.8 °C (36.3 to 82 °F). The highest recorded temperature is 43.0 °C (109 °F) , and the lowest −16.9 °C (2 °F).[17] On average precipitation falls 115 days out of the year, and the average annual rainfall is 1,062 millimetres (42 in).
Nanjing is endowed with rich natural resources, which include more than 40 kinds of minerals. Among them, iron and sulfur reserves make up 40 percent of those of Jiangsu province. Its reserves of strontium rank first in East Asia and the South East Asia region. Nanjing also possesses abundant water resources, both from the Yangtze River and groundwater. In addition, it has several natural hot springs such as Tangshan Hot Spring in Jiangning and Tangquan Hot Spring in Pukou.
Nanjing is the intersection of Yangtze River—an east-west water transport artery and Nanjing-Beijing railway—a south-north land transport artery, hence the name “door of the east and west, throat of the south and north”. Furthermore, the west part of the Ningzhen range is in Nanjing; the Loong-like Zhong Mountain is curling in the east of the city; the tiger-like Stone Mountain is crouching in the west of the city, hence the name “the Zhong Mountain, a dragon curling, and the Stone Mountain, a tiger crouching”. Mr. Sun Yet-sen spoke highly of Nanjing in the “Constructive Scheme for Our Country”, “The position of Nanjing is wonderful since mountains, lakes and plains all integrated in it. It is hardly to find another city like this.”
Surrounded by the Yangtze River and mountains, Nanjing also enjoys beautiful natural scenery. Natural lakes such as Xuanwu Lake and Mochou Lake are located in the center of the city and are easily accessible to the public, while hills like Purple Mountain are covered with evergreens and oaks and host various historical and cultural sites. Sun Quan relocated his capital to Nanjing after Liu Bei's suggestion as Liu Bei was impressed by Nanjing's impeccable geographic position when negotiating an alliance with Sun Quan. Sun Quan then renamed the city from Moling (秣陵) to Jianye (建邺) shortly thereafter.[18]
Nanjing University is one of the oldest and most prestigious institutions of higher learning in China. It is a member of the C9 League. It was established as a modern new school with extended core dedications to the learning of modern science and technology in 1902 in the end years of Qing Dynasty, and became a university in the early 1920s, the early years of Republic of China, and is the first Chinese modern university with the combination of education and research[3]. Before the eve of establishment of People's Republic of China in 1949, the name was changed from National Central University to Nanking University. As the cradle of modern science in China, and a centre of humanism and also a centre of the modern renaissance of Confucian thought and Chinese culture, advocating and engaging in communicating common human thought and developing rational academic science for world peace and prosperity, Nanjing University is a prestigious university with great contributions and influences in education, academia and culture.