Location & Origin

　　Jiangsu province lies in the center of China's east coast with the total land coverage of 10.26 square kilometers occupying 1.06% of the whole country's territory, occupiing the southern part of the North China plains and the plains of the Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River. Its landform is mainly plain with lots of rivers and lakes among which there are the third biggest freshwater lake of China, Taihu Lake, and the fourth biggest, Hongze Lake. It has the coastal line of 1000 kilometers long. In its southwest and north edge, some low mountains and hills are distributed. Shanghai, the first biggest city of China, borders upon it. The name "Jiangsu" comes from the combination of the first Chinese character of "Jiang Ning" and "Su Zhou" (two prefectures in the Qing Dynasty); its short form is "Su". The provincial capital is Nanjing.

Population

　　With a population of about 74.38 million people and 725 residents per square kilometer in average, Jiangsu province takes the first place in China considering the populace density.

Climate

　　Jiangsu Province is situated in the temperate zone and subtropical zone, with a humid and semi-humid monsoon climate. The annual average temperature is 13℃-16℃, -2℃-4℃ in January, and 26℃-29℃ in July. Nanjing area is one of the three well-known "furnaces" in the Yangtze River basin in the summer season of China. The annual average precipitation is about 800-1200 millimeters. The recorded heaviest precipitation of a day is 314.3 millimeters (in Dongtai City on August 21,1965). There is more rain when plums are ripe at the time when spring is changing into summer. It rains for a short time, but frequently. It is a common phenomenon that it is raining while the sun is shining. Rains of this period are generally called "plum rains". But on the other hand, because of damp climate and appropriate temperature, mould grows quickly, so this period is also called "mould rains". Typhoons often hit this province at the end of summer and the beginning of autumn.

Natural Resources

　　Jiangsu also boasts for its fame as "the Place of Fish and Rice" owe to its fertile soil and rich products. Its farm produce of foodstuff, oil, cotton, silkworm cocoons, livestock, fowl and fish have always been ranking among the tops in the country.

　　The proportion of plains and water surfaces ranks Jiangsu the first in China in total size. The marine fisheries area totals 154,000 square km. It is abundant in marine life: yellow-fin tuna, hairtail, changfish, shrimp, algae and shellfish. Jiangsu also has various mineral resources include coal, phosphorous, china clay, sodium salt, silica, marble, argil, limestone and so on, among which clay, halite, ilmenite, tantalum and niobium, rutile and etc. are of high quality and the top reserves in the country. Its crystal mine contains over 99.9% of silicon, which can be compared beauty with the world famous Brazil crystal.

History

　　Jiangsu owns a long history, too. Human beings started to live in the area of Nanjing more than 100 thousand years ago. Primitive villages appeared in Nanjing and near Taihu Lake over 6000 years ago to begin primal agriculture production. The smelting and forging of bronze wares in Jiangsu 3000 years ago reached a quite high technological level. In the 3rd to the 6th centuries A.D., Nanjing became the economic and cultural center of south China. In the 7th to the 10th centuries, China's economic center moved southward generating the sayings like "the sustenance of the country depends on the southeast". Yangzhou turned the most prosperous city in China then. In the 14th to the mid of 17th centuries, Suzhou, Songjiang and Nanjing became the cradle of the capitalism in China. In the later 19th century, neoteric industries such as filature, textile, flour and coal excavation were developed successively in Wuxi, Nantong, Suzhou, Changzhou and Xuzhou. Thereafter, Jiangsu's economic and social development has always been keeping ahead in China.

Major cities

　　Jiangsu now has 13 municipalities directly under the province. They are Nanjing, Wuxi, Xuzhou, Changzhou, Suzhou, Nantong, Lianyungang, Huaian, Yancheng, Yangzhou, Zhenjiang, Taizhou and Suqian. Nanjing is the provincial capital of Jiangsu.

　　Nanjing, one of the four most famous Chinese ancient capitals, is an important central city in the region of the lower reaches of the Yangtse River. As the political, economic and cultural centers of Jiangsu province, it also takes the country's leading position on science and technology as well as education, has the complete sets of industries, and is the key transportation and communication hinge and a major tourist city of China.

　　Suzhou, Wuxi and Changzhou are seated in the south of the Yangtse River Delta and are "the Golden Triangle" region in Jiangsu for their advanced economic and social development in China. Suzhou's GDP has kept ranking among the tops of China's cities for many years. Xishan and Jiangyin directly under Wuxi won the first and second places in the Top 100 Chinese Counties of Strong Comprehensive Strength successively for many years. Changzhou is a burgeoning quickly developing industrial city. Furthermore, Suzhou and Wuxi are key Chinese tourist cities due to the well-known Suzhou classical gardens and Taihu Lake scenery respectively.

　　Zhenjiang, Yangzhou and Taizhou are located by the two sides of the Yangtse River. Zhenjiang and Yangzhou, facing each other across the Yangtse River, lie at the join of the Yangtse River and the Jinghang (Beijing to Hangzhou) Canal. The two cities with beautiful scenery are both among the State's Famous Historical and Cultural Cities. In recent years, their economic and social development also steps into a stage of fairly fast speed. Taizhou has formed the pillar industries such as machine building, refrigeration and light industry.

　　Nantong and Lianyungang with their fine ports able to berth giant seacrafts are among China's first batch of opening coastal cities. Nantong, seeing Shanghai across the Yangtse River, boasts for its strength in port economy and cultivation of special economic crops. Its construction industry also enjoys a great reputation both home and abroad. Lianyungang is the east bridgehead of the railway across Asian and European Continent named the New Asian & European Continent Bridge. Its economic construction gains delightful achievement supported by the mainland in recent years.

　　Xuzhou, Huaiyin, Yancheng and Suqian are all positioned in the north of Jiangsu. Xuzhou, central city in Huaihai Economic Zone, is the important base of energy sources, raw materials and the transportation hinge of Jiangsu and East China. Huaiyin is the key trading grain producing base and key fishery base of Jiangsu as well as in the whole country and has China's biggest salt mine. It has taken its shape as a rising industrial city. Yancheng is the cotton-producing base of Jiangsu and an important producing area of sea salt and prawns. Suqian is situated in the cross-linked area of the coastal and riverside regions and Xulian Economic Zone. It is abundant in non-metal mine resources and is also the agriculture and fishery producing bases. It teems with famous Chinese alcohol such as "Yanghe" and "Shuanggou".

Development in Science, Technology and Education

　　Jiangsu has a tradition of attaching great importance to science and technololy and education. It boasts for the excellent learned people in its history such as Zu Chongzhi, great scientist in the Southern and Northern Dynasties (the 5th to 6th centuries A.D.), Huang Daopo, textile technology renovator in Yuan Dynasty (the 13th century), Xu Guangqi, scientist, and, Xu Xiake, geographer, in Ming Dynasty (the 14th to 17th centuries), and Hua Luogeng, mathematician, and Wu Jianxiong, Physicist, in modern time. In recent years, Jiangsu sticks to the principle as to make science and technology as precursor and to develop education preferentially; hence, it is a province at a relatively high level of science and education in China. " To Prosper Jiangsu with Science & Education" has been considered as one of the three main strategies on Jiangsu's economic and social development.

　　Following Beijing and Shanghai, Jiangsu takes the country's third place in scientific and technological power and scientific researching ability. It has 416 independent research and development institutes attached to the government, 383 subsidiary scientific research institutes of colleges and universities and 1600 scientific research institutes run by large-or-medium-scaled industrial enterprises. In Jiangsu, altogether 46 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 25 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and 205,000 of scientists and engineers form the rationally-schemed developing system combining elementary, application and development research to engineering designing, experimental demonstration and generalization. Jiangsu also pays much attention to the transformation of scientific researching fruits to practical productivity. The scientific contribution occupies a share of 51.8% and 36% in the province's development of agricultural and industrial economy respectively.

　　The educational base in Jiangsu is quite good. Governments at all levels place education at the prior position for development. By now Jiangsu has formed a multileveled and multi-typed educational system including pre-schooling, elementary, special, professional, high-leveled and adult education and an urban and rural educational network. It is the first to gain ground of the Nine-Year Compulsory Education among the country's provinces with the populace coverage of 100%. 98% of Jiangsu citizens in their prime of life are literate. Jiangsu has 127 special education schools so that over 60% of handicapped children of the right age can receive compulsory education. The adult education also develops further. Jiangsu now has 65 institutions of higher learning. The number of its at-school postgraduates, undergraduates and junior college students ranks the first in China. The number of its full-time college teachers ranks the second in the country. Nanjing University, Southeast University, Hohai University, Nanjing Aeronautical & Aerospace University, Nanjing Agriculture University and China's Mining University are all well-known both home and abroad.