Nanjing is the capital of Jiangsu province in China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of 6,600 square kilometres (2,500 sq mi), and as of 2021 a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yangtze River Delta, 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 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. 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 (global second-tier) 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.
As of 2021, Nanjing has 68 institutions of higher learning, including 13 double-first-class universities, ten 111-plan universities, eight 211 universities, and 97 academies. Nanjing University, which has a long history, is among the world's top 10 universities ranked by the Nature Index. The ratio of college students to the total population ranks No.1 among large cities nationwide. Nanjing has the fifth-largest scientific research output of any city in the world. As of 2024, it has been ranked as the world's second most prolific scientific research center in earth and environmental sciences and the world's third most prolific scientific research center in chemistry and physical sciences, according to the Nature Index.
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 various wars and disasters. 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 (937–975), one of the Ten Kingdoms; the Ming dynasty (1368–1421); and the Republic of China (1927–1937, 1946–1949), serving as the internationally recognized capital of China and the seat of the central government of China under the Kuomintang, until the government's relocation to Taipei at the conclusion of the Chinese Civil War. The city also served as the seat of the rebel Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (1853–1864) and the Japanese-installed collaborationist regime of Wang Jingwei (1940–1945) during the Second Sino-Japanese War. It suffered devastating atrocities in both conflicts, most notably the Nanjing Massacre of 1937–1938.
Nanjing became the capital city of Jiangsu province in 1952, after serving as a Direct-administered Municipality from 1949 to 1952 following the establishment of the People's Republic of China. It has many important heritage sites, including the Presidential Palace, Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, and Ming Xiaoling 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
Nanjing
The name "Nanjing" (literally "Southern Capital") was formally established to designate the modern-day city in 1368, the first year of the Ming dynasty. Upon establishing his capital there, the Hongwu Emperor officially named it "Southern Capital" to distinguish it from the "Northern Capital" at Kaifeng. The name later served as a counterpart to the Northern Capital, Beijing.
Nanjing, formerly romanized as Nanqim, Nankin, and Nanking, was also transcribed in the Wade–Giles system as Nan-ching.
Jinling
There was a yi (settlement) known as Jinling (Chinese: 金陵; pinyin: Jīnlíng; lit. 'Ridge with the Gold') around the 4th century BCE in the area—mentioning the specific metal that later lore insisted must have been buried by the Chu monarch, before it was renamed Moling (Chinese: 秣陵; pinyin: Mòlíng; lit. 'Haltered Ridge') after Qin's unification. Between 624 and 626, the name "Jinling" was briefly restored as a county designation. By the early 10th century, the Yang Wu regime once again designated this area as Jinling. In the early Republican era, Jinling Circuit was established to administer Nanjing and its surrounding counties.
Jiangning and Shangyuan
At the turn of the 4th century, Jiangning (Chinese: 江寧; pinyin: Jiāngníng; lit. 'Tranquil Jiang[nan]') county was established to the southwest of the former Eastern Wu capital, with its seat located in what is now Jiangning Subdistrict. Following the Sui dynasty's destruction of Jiankang, several counties within the former metropolitan area were annexed into Jiangning, and this remained the primary designation for the county until the mid-Tang period.
In 761, Emperor Suzong of Tang renamed the area Shangyuan (Chinese: 上元; pinyin: Shàngyuán; lit. 'Upper Prime'), after his regnal era. In 917, Jiangning county was partitioned from the southern territories; since then, both county seats came to be located within the same walled city. Subsequently, during the periods of 937–975, 1018–1129, and 1645–1911, the Nanjing region was designated as Jiangning Prefecture, with Shangyuan long serving as the prefectural seat.
History
Pre-imperial and early imperial eras
Human habitation in the Nanjing region dates to the Neolithic period. Sites near the modern urban core, including the type-site of the Beiyinyangying (北阴阳营) culture, contain a cemetery with 225 burials and grave goods like polished stone tools, jade, and agate, indicating connections with the Lake Tai region. Incised pictorial marks on zun pottery vessels have also been recovered from Beiyinyangying and related late Dawenkou-period deposits.
The lower strata of the Dianjiangtai (点将台) site in Pukou are contemporaneous with the Erlitou period and predate the Bronze Age Hushu (湖熟) culture, which characterized the Ning–Zhen (Nanjing–Zhenjiang) area during the second millennium BCE.
At the Xijie (西街) site on the south bank of the Qinhuai River, archaeological excavations have identified a fortified settlement with concentric ditches and wall foundations dating to the Shang–Zhou transition. While its precise relationship to later historical cities is undetermined, the site indicates organized settlement in the Qinhuai area prior to the urban foundations documented in transmitted texts.
Historical records attribute early named urban foundations in the area to the 5th century BCE: Yuecheng, reportedly built by Fan Li of Yue, and Yecheng, associated in later accounts with metallurgical activity and attributed to King Fuchai of Wu. However, their exact locations and chronologies remain subjects of academic debate. Under Chu rule, the area was known as Jinling, before being renamed Moling following the Qin unification.
Six Dynasties period
Throughout the Six Dynasties period, successive regimes in the southeast maintained their administrative center at Jiankang (originally Jianye), except for brief intervals in 221–229, 265–267, and 552–554, when the seat of government relocated to the middle Yangtze.
In 211, Sun Quan moved his headquarters to Moling. The following year, he fortified Shitou Hill to build the Stone City and renamed the region Jianye (建業). After proclaiming himself emperor in 229, Sun Quan established his capital here and built the Taichu (太初) Palace, followed by the larger Zhaoming (昭明) Palace in 267. These structures were largely destroyed during the Western Jin conquest and subsequent early 4th-century conflicts.
In 305, the local warlord Chen Min seized Jianye and repaired the Taichu ruins, but was ousted two years later by Sima Rui, the Prince of Langye. To avoid a naming taboo for Emperor Min of Jin, the city was renamed Jiankang in 313. Following the fall of Northern China, Sima Rui established Jiankang as his capital in 317, founding the Eastern Jin dynasty in the next year.
The Su Jun Rebellion (327–329) destroyed the imperial palaces, prompting a comprehensive reconstruction between 330 and 332 that defined Jiankang's layout for the Southern Dynasties. The city initially lacked brick walls, using natural topography and bamboo stockades instead; formal brick walls appeared around 480.
While residential areas historically concentrated south of the Qinhuai River, the expansion of the city gates facilitated development in other directions. The addition of eastern gates encouraged the growth of eastern suburbs housing aristocratic estates. Meanwhile, the central parklands were repurposed as the primary imperial residence, known as Taicheng (臺城, "Terrace City").
In the late 4th century, the prince Sima Daozi's grand residence, Dongfu (東府, "Eastern Mansion"), and the administrative seat Xizhoucheng (西州城, "Western Province City") emerged as secondary political centers. The Dongfu was formally fortified in 414. During subsequent dynasties, Dongfu typically housed chancellors and governors, while Xizhou served as residences for imperial princes.
From the 450s, Emperor Xiaowu undertook ritual reforms to legitimize Jiankang as a permanent capital, including relocating nanjiao (南郊, "the Southern Suburbs [imperial altar]") to align with the city's central axis according to cosmological principles.
Canals connected Jiankang to regional centers, making it a trade hub. Only imperial palaces were fully walled; aristocratic mansions, temples, markets, and dwellings spread across surrounding areas, with commerce centered on four large walled markets plus smaller specialized markets.
Jiankang became a major cultural center. The region's vernacular lyrics were codified into the Yuefu (Music Bureau) corpus as "Songs of Wu." By the late 5th century, sites like Wuyi Lane (烏衣巷, "Black Robe Lane") and Xiao Ziliang's Western Residence (西邸, Xidi) hosted prominent literary circles, including the "Eight Friends of Jingling." (竟陵八友).
The city emerged as a major center of East Asian Buddhism; by the Liang dynasty, the city housed over 500 monasteries. These included the Tongtai Temple (同泰寺), built in 527 near the palace (site of the modern Jiming Temple). Emperor Wu opened the Datong (大通) Gate in the palace wall for direct access to the temple, which hosted major state-sponsored Buddhist assemblies where the emperor participated as a lay devotee.
In the first half of the 6th century, Jiankang's population likely exceeded 300,000. However, the Hou Jing Disturbance in 548 ended this period. Hou Jing, a former frontier commander, besieged Taicheng for five months. In 552, loyalist forces defeated Hou Jing and subsequently looted the city. Chen Baxian, one of the victorious generals, eventually launched a coup and ascended the throne there.
Middle Imperial period (589–1368)
Emperor Wen of Sui ordered the demolition of Jiankang after controlled the city in 589; its walls, palaces, and residences were leveled, and the land was reclaimed for agriculture. The Chen ruler, royal family, and high officials were deported to the Sui capital. In 624, the Tang army suppressed a short-lived regime established in Jiankang by the rebel leader Fu Gongshi. For the next three centuries, the settlement was demoted and for much of the period until 887, subordinated to Runzhou, serving briefly as the seat of the Zhexi (Western Zhejiang) Military Governor from 759 to 761.
Due to the city's fluctuating status around the Six Dynasties, Jiankang's ruins became a frequent topos in classical poetry. Initially laudatory or descriptive, these works evolved by the late Tang into a distinct nostalgic tradition termed "Meditation on the Past at Jinling" (金陵懷古).
By the early tenth century, the city—then known as Shengzhou—regained geopolitical importance. The warlord Xu Wen utilized it as a power base to oppose the Yang Wu regime in Guangling. His adopted son Xu Zhigao (the future Li Bian) expanded the city as prefect. In 932, Xu Zhigao established the Institute for the Veneration of Worthies (Chongxian Yuan) as a scholarly and archival center, and in 936, set up the Office of the Grand Marshal. He ultimately compelled the Yang Wu monarch to abdicate, ascending the throne as emperor of the Southern Tang on November 11 937.
Re-established as the Southern Tang capital of Jiangning (Jinling), the city became a premier center of elite culture and court patronage, particularly renowned for the development of Southern-style landscape (shanshui). Facing pressure from the Later Zhou, the Southern Tang submitted as a vassal; in 959, Li Jing resolved to transfer the capital to Hongzhou (Nanchang), leaving the crown prince Li Yu in charge of Jinling. In early 975, Northern Song forces besieged Jinling, joined by Wuyue troops later that year. On January 4 976, the city fell. Although the Song commander Cao Bin attempted to restrain his troops, Jinling was plundered following Li Yu's surrender.
In 1127, Zhang Bangchang, the ruler of the short-lived puppet state of Da Chu established by the Jin dynasty, briefly designated Jiangning as his capital. Following the establishment of the Southern Song, the city served as a provisional capital for the fleeing court from May 1129 and was renamed Jiankang. During his stay, Emperor Gaozong established a "temporary palace" within the city. Three months later, he relocated the court south to Lin'an. In late 1129, Jurchen forces under the Jin general Wanyan Wushu crossed the Yangtze River and captured Jiankang briefly.
Throughout the 1130s, although many court officials advocated for making Jiankang the permanent capital, Gaozong preferred Lin'an, officially designating it as the temporary capital in 1138. Despite this, Jiankang retained its prestige as a secondary capital and frontline headquarters until it fell to the Mongol forces in 1275.
Under the Yuan dynasty, estates in Jiankang were allotted to Tuqtuqa and his Qipchaq troops, whose clan held hereditary command of the Qipchak Imperial Guard. During his residence in Jiankang, Prince Tugh Temür engaged with local literati and Buddhist clergy. Following his accession in 1329, Jiankang was renamed Jiqing (集慶, "Assembled Felicitations"), to mark the site of his former manor, which he ordered converted into the Longxiang Jiqing Temple (龍翔集慶寺).
Late Imperial period (1368–1911)
Early Ming
In 1356, Zhu Yuanzhang captured Jiqing Circuit and reorganized it as Yingtian (應天, lit. "Responding to Heaven") Prefecture, though the city still nominally served as the Jiangnan provincial capital under Han Lin'er. In 1368, he ascended the throne there as the Hongwu Emperor, establishing the Ming dynasty.
Planning for the capital's layout had begun as early as 1366. By the late 14th century, the city's physical form was established in four nested zones: the Forbidden City, the Imperial City, the Capital City, and the Outer Enclosure. The Capital City wall exceeded 30 kilometers, while the Outer Enclosure—a series of earthworks and gates protecting the suburbs—covered approximately 230 km2 (89 sq mi).