Jiangsu[a] is a coastalprovince inEast China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital inNanjing. Jiangsu is thethird smallest, but thefourth most populous, with a population of 84.75 million, and themost densely populated of the 22 provinces of the People's Republic of China. Jiangsu has the highest GDP per capita and second-highest GDP of Chinese provinces, afterGuangdong.[6] Jiangsu bordersShandong in the north,Anhui to the west, andZhejiang andShanghai to the south. Jiangsu has a coastline of over 1,000 kilometers (620 mi) along theYellow Sea, and theYangtze flows through the southern part of the province.
Since theSui andTang dynasties, Jiangsu has been a national economic and commercial center, partly due to the construction of theGrand Canal. Cities such asNanjing,Suzhou,Wuxi,Changzhou, andShanghai (separated from Jiangsu in 1927) are all major Chinese economic hubs. Since the initiation of economic reforms in 1990, Jiangsu has become a focal point for economic development. It is widely regarded as one of China's most developed provinces, when measured by itsHuman Development Index (HDI).[3] Its 2021nominal GDP per capita reached CN¥137,300 (US$21,287), becoming the first province in China to reach the $20,000 mark.
Jiangsu is home to many of the world's leading exporters of electronic equipment, chemicals and textiles.[7] It has also been China's largest recipient of foreign direct investment since 2006. In 2022, its GDP was more than CN¥12.29 trillion (US$1.83 trillion nominal), which is thesixth-highest of alladministrative divisions.[2] If it were a country, it would be thetwelfth-largest economy as of 2022 as well as the19th most populous.[8]
Jiangsu is also one of the leading provinces in research and education in China. As of 2022[update], Jiangsu hosts 168institutions of higher education, ranking first of all Chinese provinces.[9] Jiangsu has many highly ranked educational institutions,[10] with 16 number of universities listed in theDouble First-Class Construction, ranking second afterBeijing. As of 2023, four major cities in Jiangsu ranked in the world's top 200 (Nanjing 6th, Suzhou 40th, Zhenjiang 166th and Wuxi 188th)cities by scientific research output, as tracked by theNature Index.[11]
Jiangsu's name is a compound of the first elements of the names of the two cities of Jiangning (nowNanjing) andSuzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" (Sū), the second character of its name.[12]
During the earliest Chinese dynasties, the area that is now Jiangsu was far away from the center of Chinese civilization, which was in the northwestHenan; it was home of the Huai barbarians (淮夷), an ancient ethnic group. During theZhou dynasty more contact was made, and eventually thestate of Wu appeared in southern Jiangsu, one of the many hundreds of states that existed across northern and central China at that time. Near the end of theSpring and Autumn period, Wu became a great power underKing Helu of Wu, and defeated in 484 BC thestate of Qi, a major power in the north in modern-dayShandongprovince, and contest for the position of overlord over all states of China. The state of Wu was subjugated in 473 BC by thestate of Yue, another state that had emerged to the south in modern-dayZhejiang province. Yue was in turn subjugated by the powerfulstate of Chu from the west in 333 BC. Eventually thestate of Qin swept away all the other states, and unified China in 221 BC.[13]
Under the reign of theHan dynasty (206 BC to 220 AD), Jiangsu was removed from the centers of civilization in theNorth China Plain, and was administered under twozhou (provinces):Xu Province in the north, andYang Province in the south. During theThree Kingdoms period, southern Jiangsu became the base of theEastern Wu (222 to 280), whose capital,Jianye (later renamed to Jiankang), is modernNanjing. When nomadic invasions overran northern China in the 4th century, the imperial court of theJin dynasty moved to Jiankang. Cities in southern and central Jiangsu swelled with the influx of migrants from the north. Jiankang remained as the capital for four successiveSouthern dynasties and became the largest commercial and cultural center in China.[14]
After the Sui dynasty united the country in 581, the political center of the country shifted back to the north, but the Grand Canal was built through Jiangsu to link the Central Plains with the prosperous Yangtze Delta. TheTang dynasty (618–907) relied on southern Jiangsu for annual deliveries of grain. It was during theSong dynasty (960–1279), which saw the development of a wealthy mercantile class and emergentmarket economy in China, thatJiangnan (southern Jiangsu,Shanghai, and adjacent areas) emerged as a center oftrade. From then onwards, major cities likeSuzhou orYangzhou, would be synonymous with opulence and luxury in China. Today the region remains one of the richest parts of China.
The JurchenJin dynastygained control ofNorth China in 1127 during theJin-Song wars, andHuai River, which used to cut through north Jiangsu to reach theYellow Sea, was the border between the north, under the Jin, and the south, under theSouthern Song dynasty. The Mongols took control of China in the thirteenth century. TheMing dynasty, which was established in 1368 after driving out theMongols who had occupied China, initially put its capital inNanjing. Regions surrounding Nanjing, corresponding to Jiangsu and Anhui today, were designated asNanzhili province (literally "southern directly governed"). Following a coup by Zhu Di (later, theYongle Emperor), however, the capital was moved toBeijing, far to the north, although Nanjing kept its status as the southern capital. In late Ming, Jiangnan continued to be an important center of trade in China; some historians see in the flourishingtextiles industry at the time incipientindustrialization andcapitalism, a trend that was however aborted.
TheQing dynasty converted Nanzhili to "Jiangnan province"; in 1666 Jiangsu and Anhui were split apart as separate provinces. Jiangsu's borders have been for the most part stable since then.
With the start of Western incursion into China in the 1840s, the rich and mercantileYangtze River Delta was increasingly exposed to Western influence.Shanghai, originally an unremarkable little town of Jiangsu, quickly developed into a metropolis of trade, banking, and cosmopolitanism, and was split out later as an independent municipality. Jiangnan also figures strongly in theTaiping Rebellion (1851 – 1864), a massive and deadly rebellion that attempted to set up aChristiantheocracy in China; it started far to the south, inGuangdong province, swept through much of South China, and by 1853, had established Nanjing as its capital, renamed as Tianjing (天京 "Heavenly Capital").
TheRepublic of China was established in 1912,[15] and China was soon torn apart by warlords. Jiangsu changed hands several times, but in April 1927,Chiang Kai-shek established a government atNanjing; he was soon able to bring most of China under his control. This was however interrupted by thesecond Sino-Japanese War, which began full-scale in 1937; on December 13, 1937, Nanjing fell, and the combined atrocities of the occupying Japanese for the next three months would come to be known as theRape of Nanjing, after which it became the seat of thecollaborationist government of East China underWang Jingwei, and most of Jiangsu remained under Japanese occupation until the end of the war in 1945.
After the war, Nanjing was once again the capital of the Republic of China, though now theChinese Civil War had broken out between theKuomintang government andCommunist forces, based further north, mostly inNortheast China. The decisiveHuaihai Campaign was fought in northern Jiangsu; it resulted in Kuomintang defeat, and the communists were soon able to cross theYangtze River and take Nanjing. The Kuomintang fled southward and eventually ended up inTaipei, from which the Republic of China government continues to administerTaiwan,Pescadores, and its neighboring islands, though it also continues to claim (technically, at least) Nanjing as its rightfulde jure capital.
After the communist takeover,Beijing (formerly Peiping) was made capital of the People's Republic, and Nanjing was demoted to be the provincial capital of Jiangsu. Theeconomic reforms ofDeng Xiaoping initially focused on the south coast of China, inGuangdong province, which soon left Jiangsu behind; starting from the 1990s they were applied more evenly to the rest of China.Suzhou andWuxi, two southern cities of Jiangsu in close proximity to neighboringShanghai, have since become particularly prosperous, being among the top 10 cities in China in terms ofgross domestic product and outstripping the provincial capital of Nanjing. The income disparity between northern and southern Jiangsu however remains large.
Population density and low elevation coastal zones in Jiangsu. Jiangsu is particularly vulnerable tosea level rise.Jiangsu in 1946Tourists cross a bridge in Chengxu temple, a Taoist temple which was built in 1086–1093 during the Song dynasty
Jiangsu is flat, with plains covering 68 percent of its total area (water covers another 18 percent). Most of the province stands not more than 50 meters (160 ft)above sea level. Jiangsu also has a well-developed irrigation system, which earned it (especially the southern half) the moniker oftraditional Chinese:水鄕;simplified Chinese:水乡 (shuǐxiāng "land of water"). The southern city ofSuzhou has so many canals that it has been dubbed "Venice of the East" or the "Venice of the Orient".[16][17] TheGrand Canal of China cuts through Jiangsu from north to south, crossing all the east–west river systems. Jiangsu also borders theYellow Sea. TheYangtze River, the longest river of China, cuts through the province in the south and reaches theEast China Sea, which divides the region into two parts: more urban, prosperous south and more poorer, rural north, and these two parts has a tense division.[18]Mount Huaguo, near the city ofLianyungang, is the highest point in Jiangsu, at an altitude of 625 meters (2,051 ft)above sea level. Large lakes in Jiangsu includeLake Tai (the largest),Lake Hongze,Lake Gaoyou,Lake Luoma, andLake Yangcheng.
Before 1194 A.D., theHuai River cut through north Jiangsu to reach theYellow Sea. The Huai River is a major river in central China, and it was the traditional border betweenNorth China and South China. Since 1194 A.D., theYellow River further to the north changed its course several times, running into theHuai River in north Jiangsu each time instead of its other usual path northwards intoBohai Bay. The silting caused by theYellow River was so heavy that after its last episode of "hijacking" the Huai River ended in 1855: the Huai River was no longer able to go through its usual path into the sea. Instead it flooded, pooled up (thereby forming and enlargingLake Hongze andLake Gaoyou), and flowed southwards through theGrand Canal into theYangtze. The old path of theHuai River is now marked by a series ofirrigation channels, the most significant of which is theNorth Jiangsu Main Irrigation Canal (traditional Chinese:蘇北灌溉總渠;simplified Chinese:苏北灌溉总渠), which channels a small amount of the water of theHuai River alongside south of its old path into the sea.
Most of Jiangsu has ahumid subtropical climate (Cfa orCwa in theKöppen climate classification), beginning to transition into ahumid continental climate (KöppenDwa) in the far north. Seasonal changes are clear-cut, with temperatures at an average of −1 to 4 °C (30 to 39 °F) in January and 26 to 29 °C (79 to 84 °F) in July. Rain falls frequently between spring and summer (meiyu),typhoons withrainstorms occur in late summer and early autumn. As with the rest of the coast, tornados are possible. The annual average rainfall is 800 to 1,200 millimeters (31 to 47 in), concentrated mostly in summer during the southeastmonsoon.
Due to its flat terrain, low altitude, and dense population, Jiangsu is one of the most vulnerable regions in China toclimate change and its ensuingsea level rise.[19] According to the data collected by the Center of Climate Change in Jiangsu from 1961 to 2007, on average, the province experiences an temperature increase between 0.16 and 0.45 Celsius per 10 years and total precipitation change between -28.7 and 37.09 mm per 10 years.Extreme weather have become stronger and more common. Jiangsu'sagriculture,ecosystem,water resource, transportation, andcoastline are all negatively impacted. The speed of sea level rise exceeds the world's average by a large margin.[20]
In response to climate disturbance across the country, the fourteenthfive-year plan, endorsed by the National People's Congress in 2021, indicates the general direction and various steps towards a low-carbon transition.[22] On a provincial level, the Jiangsu government aims to achieve an 18% carbon dioxide decrease per unit GDP and accelerate the development of a green, low-carbon economy, as indicated in the 14th five-year development. The province also plans to recover the damaged coastal regions such asLianyugang andYancheng, and improve resilience against rising sea level by implementingseawalls and riverfloodgates.[23]
^abNew district established after 2010 census:Wujiang (Wujiang CLC). The new district not included in the urban area count of the pre-expanded city.
^abNew district established after 2010 census:Jintan (Jintan CLC). The new district not included in the urban area count of the pre-expanded city.
^New district established after 2010 census:Tongshan (Tongshan County). The new district not included in the urban area count of the pre-expanded city.
^abNew district established after 2020 census:Haimen (Haimen CLC). The new district not included in the urban area count of the pre-expanded city.
^abNew district established after 2010 census:Jiangdu (Jiangdu CLC). The new district not included in the urban area count of the pre-expanded city.
^abNew district established after 2010 census:Dafeng (Dafeng CLC). The new district not included in the urban area count of the pre-expanded city.
^New district established after 2010 census:Hongze (Hongze County). The new district not included in the urban area count of the pre-expanded city.
^New district established after 2010 census:Ganyu (Ganyu County). The new district not included in the urban area count of the pre-expanded city.
^abNew district established after 2010 census:Jiangyan (Jiangyan CLC). The new district not included in the urban area count of the pre-expanded city.
^Hai'an County is currently known as Hai'an CLC after 2010 census.
Most populous cities in Jiangsu
Source:China Urban Construction Statistical Yearbook 2018 Urban Population and Urban Temporary Population[31]
The politics of Jiangsu is structured in a one party (Communist) government system like all other governing institutions in mainland China.
TheGovernor of Jiangsu is the highest-ranking official in the People's Government of Jiangsu. However, in the province's dual party-government governing system, the Governor has less power than the JiangsuChinese Communist Party Provincial Committee Secretary, colloquially termed the "JiangsuCCP Party Chief".
An industrial landscape in Ganjiaxiang,Qixia District, Nanjing
As of 2022, Jiangsu had a gross domestic product (GDP) ofCNY¥12.29 trillion (US$1.83 trillion),[2] thesecond-highest in China after Guangdong. Its GDP is greater than those of Australia and South Korea, which are the world's 12th- and 13th-largest economies respectively.[33] In 2022, Jiangsu's GDP adjusted bypurchasing power parity was $3.04 trillion, making it the3rd-largest of any country subdivision globally, behind California and Guangdong.[34] Jiangsu's economy in PPP also was just behind that of Italy with a GDP PPP of $ $3.05 trillion, the12th largest in the world.[33]
Jiangsu is very wealthy among the provinces of China. Its 2022nominal GDP per capita reached ¥144,390 (US$21,467), becoming the first province in China to reach the $20,000 mark.[35][33] Cities like Nanjing,Suzhou, andWuxi have GDPs per capita around twice the provincial average, making south Jiangsu one of the most prosperous regions in China.
Jiangsu hascoal,petroleum, andnatural gas deposits, but its most significant mineral products are non-metal minerals such ashalite (rock salt),sulfur,phosphorus, andmarble. The city of Xuzhou is a coal hub of China. The salt mines ofHuaiyin have more than 0.4 trilliontonnes of deposits, one of the greatest collections of deposits in China.
Jiangsu is historically oriented toward light industries such astextiles andfood industry. Since 1949, Jiangsu has developed heavy industries such aschemical industry andconstruction materials. Jiangsu's important industries include machinery, electronic, chemicals, and automobile.[36][37] The government has worked hard to promote the solar industry and hoped by 2012 the solar industry would be worth 100 billion RMB.[38] Jiangsu's economy growth has directly benefited from the reform Chinese's policies, and its growth trajectory reflects that of many other coastal provinces, such as Zhejiang and Shandong.[39] Theeconomic reforms ofDeng Xiaoping have greatly benefited southern cities, especiallySuzhou andWuxi, which outstrip the provincial capital,Nanjing, in total output. In the eastern outskirts of Suzhou,Singapore has built theSuzhou Industrial Park, a flagship of Sino-Singaporean cooperation and the only industrial park in China that is in its entirety the investment of a single foreign country.
Jiangsu contains over 100 different economic and technological development zones devoted to different types of investments.[40]
Shanghai was part of Jiangsu Province until 1927. Nanjing part of Jiangsu Province until 1927; dissolved in 1952 and incorporated into Jiangsu Province.
The majority of Jiangsu residents are ethnicHan Chinese. Other minorities include theHui and theManchus. In 2021, 73.94 percent of the province lived in urban areas, while 26.06 lived in rural areas.[2]
Demographic indicators in 2021
Population: 85.05 million (urban: 62.89 million; rural: 39.421 million) Birth rate: 5.65 per 1000 Death rate: 6.77 per 1000 Sex ratio: 103.05 males per 100 females Literacy rate: 96.94%
The southern part of the province, namely the Shanghai-Nanjing corridor, has very high-frequency rail services. Jiangsu is on theJinghu railway fromBeijing toShanghai, as well as the high speed line between the two cities:Shanghai–Nanjing intercity railway andBeijing-Shanghai high-speed railway, completed in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Since the completion of the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed line, travel time between Beijing and Nanjing has been reduced to approximately four hours (from eleven hours previously); travel time between Nanjing and Shanghai on the fastest high-speed trains takes just over an hour.
Jiangsu's road network is one of the most developed in the country.[53] TheBeijing–Shanghai Expressway (G2) enters the province from the north and passes through Huai'an, Yangzhou, Taizhou, and Wuxi on the way to Shanghai; travelling from Shanghai westbound, the G2 forks atWuxi and continues onto Nanjing separately as G42, theShanghai–Nanjing Expressway, which serves the widely travelled southern corridor of the province. TheNingchang Expressway links Nanjing withChangzhou. TheSuzhou area is extensively networked with expressways, going in all directions. TheYanhai Expressway links the coastal regions of the province, passing throughNantong,Yancheng, andLianyungang.
Historically, the province was divided by the Yangtze River into northern and southern regions. The first bridge across the river in Jiangsu, theNanjing Yangtze River Bridge, was completed in 1968 during theCultural Revolution. The second bridge crossing,Jiangyin Bridge, opened 30 years later atJiangyin. As of October 2014, there were 11cross-Yangtze bridges in the province, including the five in Nanjing, which also has two cross-river tunnels. The Jiangyin Bridge (1,385 m (4,544 ft)),Runyang Bridge (opened in 2005, connecting Yangzhou and Zhenjiang, 1,490 m (4,890 ft)), andFourth Nanjing Bridge (opened in 2012; 1,418 m (4,652 ft)) all rank among the tenlongest suspension bridges in the world. TheSutong Bridge, opened in 2008, connecting Nantong and Changshu, has one of thelongestcable-stayed bridge spans in the world, at 1,088 m (3,570 ft).
As of December 2022, Jiangsu has six cities that have operational subway systems, together with an extra city (Huai'an) currently under construction. These six cities areNanjing,Suzhou,Wuxi,Changzhou,Xuzhou andNantong.
TheWuxi Metro was opened in July 2014. The system is currently composed of four operational lines by 2022:Line 1,Line 2,Line 3 andLine 4. It also has two other lines under construction:Line S1 and an extension ofLine 4.
TheChangzhou Metro was opened in September 2019. The system currently only has two lines operational,Line 1 andLine 2.
TheXuzhou Metro was opened in September 2019, a few days after theChangzhou Metro started operations. The system currently only has three lines operational,Line 1,Line 2 andLine 3.
TheNantong Metro was opened in November 2022. It has one operating line:Line 1 and another line under construction:Line 2.[54]
TheHuai'an Metro, also known as the Huai'an Rail System, began construction in November 2018. There are seven lines planned: Line 1, Line 2, Line 3, Line 4, Line 5, Line S1, and Line S2. It is expected to start operations before 2025.
The four mass migrations in the 4th, 8th, 12th and 14th centuries had been influential in shaping the regional culture of Jiangsu. According to dialects and the other factors, the province can be roughly segmented four major cultural subdivisions:Wu (吴), Jinling (金陵),Huaiyang (淮扬) andXuhuai (徐淮), from southeast to northwest.[citation needed] The belts of transition blurred the boundaries.[55][56][57]
Group
Wuyue
Lower Yangtze
Central Plains
Designation
Wu
Jinling
Huaiyang
Xuhuai
Major dialect
Wu Chinese
Lower Yangtze Mandarin
Lower Yangtze Mandarin
Central Plains Mandarin
Core
Suzhou
Nanjing
Yangzhou
Xuzhou
The Humble Administrator's Garden, one of the classical gardens ofSuzhou.
Since ancient times, south Jiangsu has been famed for its prosperity and opulence, and simply inserting south Jiangsu place names (Suzhou, Yangzhou, etc.) into poetry gave an effect of dreaminess,[citation needed] as was indeed done by many famous poets. In particular, the fame of Suzhou (as well asHangzhou in neighbouringZhejiang) has led to the popular saying:上有天堂，下有蘇杭 ("above there is heaven; below there are Suzhou andHangzhou"), a saying that continues to be a source of pride for the people of these two still prosperous cities. Similarly, the prosperity of Yangzhou has led poets to dream of:腰纏十萬貫，騎鶴下揚州 ("with a hundred thousandstrings of coins wrapped around its waist, acrane landed in Yangzhou").
And people not bounded to, nor practicing any, institutional or diffuse religion.
^The data was collected by the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) of 2009 and by the Chinese Spiritual Life Survey (CSLS) of 2007, reported and assembled by Xiuhua Wang (2015)[51] in order to confront the proportion of people identifying with two similar social structures: ① Christian churches, and ② the traditional Chinese religion of the lineage (i. e. people believing and worshipping ancestral deities often organized intolineage "churches" andancestral shrines). Data for other religions with a significant presence in China (deity cults, Buddhism, Taoism, folk religious sects, Islam, et al.) was not reported by Wang.
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