Nanjing is called Ning for short. It is situated in the lower reach of the Yangtze River which faces the dangerous section of the Yangtze River to the west and is surrounded by the Ningzhen mountain range to the south-east, strategically important like a coiling dragon and crouching tiger. Since the ancient time it has been described as a city with "Bell Mountain of coiling dragon and stone rampart of crouching tiger". In the history of China, there were ten dynasties which established capital here, thus the name of "Capital of Ten Dynasties".
The history of human activities in Nanjing can be traced 6000 years approximately from now. The villages of primitive race appeared here. About more than 2400 years ago it began to build city. From the third to the early period of the fifth century there were six dynasties of Dongwu, Dongjin, Song, Qi, Liang and Chen which established capital here early or later and the Nantang and the beginning of the Ming Dynasties later set capital here too. In 1368 Zu Yuanzhang changed the name to Nanjing after becoming emperor. That was the first time when Nanjing became the political center of the whole country. The Nanjing city of the Ming Dynasty could be called the world first big city in ancient time.
In 1853 when the revolutionary army of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom occupied Nanjing, they set up capital here and renamed Heavenly Capital for nearly 11 years.
On January 1, 1912, Sun Yat-sen was declared the temporary Grand President here. He changed Jiangning Prefecture into Nanjing Prefecture and made Nanjing the capital, thus ending the rule of feudal dynasty of more than 2000 years. In 1927, the Kuomintang made Nanjing the capital of the Republic of China. When Sun Yat-sen died in 1925, he was buried in the Purple Mountain of Nanjing.
Nanjing is the famous historical and cultural city in China, and one of the six ancient cities of China.
Nanjing
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