Nanjing

Nanjing, Wade-Giles romanization Nan-ching, conventional Nanking, city, capital of Jiangsu sheng (province), east-central China. It is a port on the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) and a major industrial and communications centre. Rich in history, it served seven times as the capital of regional empires, twice as the seat of revolutionary government, once (during the Sino-Japanese War of 1937–45) as the site of a puppet regime, and twice as the capital of a united China (the second time ending with the Japanese conquest of the city in 1937). The name Nanjing (“Southern Capital”) was introduced in 1403, during the Ming dynasty. Area mun., 2,547 square miles (6,598 square km). Pop. (2005 est.) urban districts, 2,363,844; urban and suburban districts, 5,133,771; mun., 5,957,992.