Jiangsu Province

江苏省 Name comes from Jiang, short for the city of Jiangning (now Nanjing), and Su, for the city of Suzhou. Literal meaning of Nanjing, its capital: South Capital.

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http://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/jiangsu/index.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiangsu

http://www.seu.edu.cn/EC/english/js.htm

http://english.people.com.cn/data/province/jiangsu.html

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http://www.orientaltravel.com/province/Jiangsu.htm

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Overview

__Geography__

Jiangsu Province is a province in eastern China that covers 102,600 km² with a 1000 km coastline along the yellow sea. Jiangsu borders Shandong in the north, Anhui to the west, and Zhejiang and Shanghai to the south. Most of the province is very flat and low-lying, with plains covering 68 percent of its total area (water covers another 18 percent), and most of the province not more than 50 m above sea level.

Natural Resources

Jiangsu Province is very rich in natural resources, which include: rice, wheat, corn, sorghum, cotton, soybeans, peanuts, rapeseed, sesame, ambary hemp, tea, pepperming, spearmint, bamboo, medicinal herbs, apples, pears, peaches, loquats, ginkgo, silk, fish, pigs, coal, petroleum, natural gas, halite, sulfur, phosphorus, marble, and salt. Jiangsu is also one of the most industrialized provinces in China, with many industries such as textiles, food, chemicals, electric, hydro, and nuclear power production, papermaking, cement, construction, machinery, electronics, and automobiles.

Demographics:

The majority of Jiangsu residents are ethnic Han Chinese. Other minorities include the Hui and the Manchus.

Demographic indicators in 2000:

Population: 74.058 million (urban: 34.637 million; rural: 39.421 million) (2003)

Birth rate: 9.04 per 1000 (2003)

Death rate: 7.03 per 1000 (2003)

Sex ratio: 102.55 males per 100 females

Average family size: 3.25

Han Chinese proportion: 99.64%

Illiteracy rate: 7.88%

Culture

There are wide disparities in culture in Jiangsu. North Jiangsu is closer to Shandong and Henan provinces in culture while south Jiangsu is more similar to Zhejiang and Shanghai.

Dialects of Mandarin are spoken over most of northern Jiangsu and central Jiangsu, while dialects of Wu are spoken in the southernmost parts of Jiangsu.

Jiangsu is rich in cultural traditions. Kunqu, originating in Kunshan, is one of the most renowned and prestigious forms of Chinese opera. Pingtan, a form of storytelling accompanied by music, is also popular. Xiju, a form of traditional Chinese opera, is popular in Wuxi, while Huaiju is popular further north, around Yancheng. Jiangsu cuisine is one of the eight great traditions of the cuisine of China. Suzhou is also famous for its silk, embroidery art, jasmine tea, stone bridges, pagodas, and its classical gardens. Nearby Yixing is famous for its teaware, and Yangzhou is famous for its lacquerware and jadeware. Nanjing's yunjin is a famous form of woven silk, while Wuxi is famous for its peaches. Jiangsu is rich in the arts, including poetry, music, and dance.

Tourism

Nanjing was the capital of several Chinese dynasties and contain a variety of historic sites, such as Purple Mountain, Purple Mountain Observatory, the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, Ming Dynasty city wall and gates, Ming Xiao Ling, Lake Xuanwu, Jiming Temple, the Nanjing Massacre Memorial, Nanjing Confucius Temple, Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge, and Nanjing Zoo, with circus. Suzhou is renowned for its classical gardens (designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site), as well as Hanshan Temple, and Huqiu Hill. Yangzhou is known for Thin West Lake.

Background

History

The province of modern Jiangsu was formed in the 17th century.

Under the reign of the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD), Jiangsu was one of the less modern states during the first Golden Age of China. Jiangsu was at that time administered under two Zhou provinces: Xuzhou Province in the north, and Yangzhou Province in the south. Although south Jiangsu was eventually the base for the kingdom of Wu (one of the Three Kingdoms from 222 to 280), it did not become significant role until the invasion of northern nomads during the Western Jin Dynasty, starting from the 4th century. As northern nomadic groups mostly from Mongolia established kingdoms across the north, ethnic Han Chinese aristocracy fled southwards and set up a refugee Eastern Jin Dynasty in 317, in Jiankang (modern day Nanjing). From then until 581 (a period known as the Southern and Northern Dynasties), Nanjing in south Jiangsu was the base of four more ethnic Han Chinese dynasties facing off with northern barbarian dynasties. In 581 unity was reestablished again, and under the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907) China once more went through a golden age, though Jiangsu was still quite backwards and insignificant. It was during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), which saw the development of a wealthy mercantile class and emergent market economy in China, with Souch Jiangsu flourishing as a center of trade. From then onwards, south Jiangsu, especially major cities like Suzhou or Yangzhou grew increasingly in wealth and prosperity.

The Mongols took control of China in the 13th century. The Ming Dynasty, which was established in 1368 after driving out the Mongols who had occupied China, initially put its capital in Nanjing and then moved to Beijing. Meanwhile, South Jiangsu continued to be an important center of trade in China.

It was during the Qing Dynasty that Jiangsu was given borders approximately the same as today. With the start of the Western incursion into China in the 1840s, the rich and mercantile south Jiangsu 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. South Jiangsu was also involved in the Taiping Rebellion (1851 – 1864), a massive and deadly rebellion that attempted to set up a Christian theocracy in China; it started far to the south in Guangdong province, consuming much of South China, and by 1853 had moved the capital to Tianjing.

The Republic of China was established in 1912, and China was soon torn apart by warlords. Jiangsu changed hands several times, but in April 1927 Chiang Kai-Shek established a government at Nanjing; he was soon able to bring most of China under his control. This was however interrupted by the second 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 3 months would come to be known as the Nanjing Massacre. Jiangsu remained under occupation until the end of the war in 1945.

Communist Conquests and Reforms

After the war, Nanjing was reestablished as the capital of China, though now the Chinese Civil War had broken out between the Kuomintang government and Communist forces, based further north, mostly in Manchuria. The communists forced the Koumintang all the way to Taipei, and in 1949 Mao marched into Beijing and declared China a communist regiment. After communist takeover, Beijing reestablished as national capital while Nanjing was made the provincial capital. The north and south Jiangsu were made more equal, but as the south was previously much wealthier, there is still a long way to go.

__Current Situations__

Economy

"Jiangsu is very wealthy among the provinces of China, with the second highest total GDP (after Guangdong Province). Its GDP per capita was 14,500 yuan in 2002, but geographical disparity is great, and southern cities like Suzhou and Wuxi have GDP per capita around twice the provincial average, making south Jiangsu one of the most prosperous regions in China.

In 2004, Jiangsu's nominal GDP was 1.54 trillion yuan (US$191.42 billion), making it the third largest GDP of all the provinces and an annual growth rate of 13.5%. Its per capita GDP was 16,796 yuan (US$2,029)." (Wikipedia)

Political Stance

Like nearly all other provinces in China, Jiangsu is a loyal communist province. Nanjing is still the provincial capital with a few offices in the other large cities in the province.

Social Conditions

As it was for many centuries, Jiangsu Province is still one of the best places to live in China. Besides being wealthy and prosperous compared to most other provinces, Jiangsu is both rich in traditional cultures and plentiful in modern ideas.

Questions

1. What is the only province with a higher GDP than Jiangsu?

A: Anhui

B: Guangdong

C: Hebei

D: Fujian

2. True/False: Over 95% of Jiangsu Province is Literate.

3. True/Falso: Overall, southern Jiangsu is still wealthier than Northern Jiangsu.

4. What province did the Taiping Rebellion start in?

A: Anhui

B: Guangdong

C: Hebei

D: Fujian

5. Which city did the Koumintang flee to after the communist victories?

A: Nanjing

B: Beijing

C: Taipei

D: Hong Kong

6. Which dynasty rule China in 0 A.D.?

A: Zhou

B: Han

C: Qin

D: Jin

7. True/False: Mandarin and Wu are the 2 main dialects in Jiangsu

8. Xiji is:

A: Chinese opera

B: A Chinese food

C: A Holiday

D: A type of art

9. Which city was China's capital during the Taipei Rebellion?

A: Tianjing

B: Beijing

C: Nanjing

D: None of the above

10. True/False

Jiangsu Province is expected to become even more modern and industrialized in the future.

Summary

Jiangsu is one of the best places in China in nearly every single way. The province has a rich history dating back to before the birth of Christ and a way of life like no other. The standard of living is much higher here than in most other provinces, and the economy is flourishing. Jiangsu is near the heart of the economical boom in China, and it will only get better. Jiangsu province is the place to be.

上有天堂，下有蘇杭 (above there is heaven; below there is Suzhou and Hangzhou)

腰纏十萬貫，騎鶴下揚州 (with a hundred thousand strings of coins wrapped around the waist, riding a crane down to Yangzhou).

现在， 江苏是一个很好住的地方. 江苏的历史很有意思， 而且江苏很有钱。 没有别的地方象江苏。

TOURISM EDIT: Danny Guo

Script

你 好。我是郭世诚。这是我的 州, 叫 Jian Su. Jiang Su 有很多有名的东西。

我知道你应该听到过这些很有名的地方， shuo yi 我都不shu 要gao shu你真么去这些地方。我zhi会教你真么去你一ban 不会听到的地方。

Xiang 很多中国德州，Jiang Su 有很好的吃的东西。你zhou 到哪儿就会看到很多小吃店在路旁边。有很多不一样的小吃店，但是每一个店zhi 卖一个两个不同的东西。Ying wei 每个店zhi卖很少ping zhong 的东西，他们可以买很便宜，也很好吃。You 小吃店卖 bao zhi, you 的 卖 dou fu jiang, you 的卖 tang bao, you 的卖小 wan mian. 小吃店很便宜，也很好吃。

Ling wai 一个很有名的吃得fang fa 是火锅。Ca bu duo 每个火锅在 Jiang Shu 有两个weidao: la 和不 la. 一半 guo 是 la 的, 一半 是不 la 的. 中国的火锅有很多pingzhong. Long xia, shuan yang rou, shuan neou rou, shuan xia he yu. Ye 有 cai he mian bao。 中国的火锅很好吃。

中国的zhao fan 比美国的好吃多了, 也比美国的jian kang 多了。中国的zhao fan 有很多ping zhong. 美国的zhao fan zhi 有 zhu rou, ji dan, cereal, mian bao. 中国的 zhao fan 有 tang bao, jiao zhi, bao zhi, you tiao, dou fu jiang, mian bao, rou, he hen duo bie de dong xi. 中国的zhao fan 真好！

Jiang Su 也有很多很好玩儿的东西。在 lu pang bian 有 地方 zhi rang zhi xing che zou. 就xiang 美国的路旁便有人xing dao, 中国有 zhi xing che dao.

Jiang Su 的 moped 比车跟多。很多人喜欢坐 moped ying wei moped 不用很多you, gen 小, er che gen 便宜。Moped 也很好玩儿，不想车呢么fu zha. Moped 都可以用电开的。

中国的火车也很好玩儿。中国的火车很shu fu, 也有很多好吃的东西。美国人fei ji 很多，中国人坐火车很多。

Jiang Su 有很多便宜的东西。来这儿，不要用很多钱，玩儿很多！