Jiangsu became a province at the beginning of Qing Dynasty. The name “ JIANGSU ” is a combination of the first two characters of two prefectures of Jiangning and Suzhou , with “Su” for short. The region was a part of Jiangnan Province during the early Qing Dynasty. During the period of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom , it was divided into Jiangnan Province , Tianfu Province and Sufu Province successively. In the 17th year of the Republic of China (1928), Nanjing became a special municipality. After liberation, Sunan and Subei administrative prefectures were set up on this region and Nanjing became a municipality under the direct jurisdiction of the central government. In 1953, the two prefectures were combined into one and Jiangsu Province was set up with Nanjing as the provincial capital.

Jiangsu Province is situated in the eastern part of China by the Yellow Sea and the down stream areas of the Yangtze River . With Anhui Province to the west, Shanghai Municipality and Zhejiang Province to the south east, The Province covers an area of 102,600 square kilometers and 1.06% of the total area of the country.

Jiangsu Province has extensive fertile plains, and a crisscross net work of rivers and lakes. The Yangtze River flows from west to south through the Province. There are some low hills and hilly land dotting the southwest and northern borders, covering 14% of the province’s total area, and the area of plains covers 69% of the Province. The cultivated land of the Province is 4.6 million hectares. River and Lake Surfaces cover 17% of the Province, which represents the biggest proportion in the country. The Taihu Lake and Hongzehu Lane are the 3rd an 4th biggest fresh water lakes in the country. The coastal line extends nearly 1,000 km along the Yellow Sea in the east and the size of the seaside marshland is over 600,000 ha.

By the end of 2000, the total population of the Province was 74.38 million, leaving Jiangsu to be the most densely populated province in the country with average 724 persons per sq.km.

Jiangsu has always been known as “a land of fish and rice”. It has fairly rich mineral resources, nearly one hundred kinds of minerals have been discovered at over 800 spots, and there are reserves of some 320 minerals. The coal mines of Xuzhou and Feng-Pei have become the major coal production bases in the province. Oil and natural gas have been primarily developed in north Jiangsu Basin . The are serves of clay minerals holds a leading position in the country. Nonferrous metals, rare minerals, chemical and building materials are distributed widely in the province.

There are large deposit of kyanite, Sapphire, Ruby and other special non-metals. The production of crystal in the province ranks first in the country. There are also the phosphorous and extra large rock salt deposits. In recent years, the minerals of high-grade ilmenite, Ta and Nb and rutil have been discovered in Jiangsu province and the reserves top those elsewhere in the nation.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　[Origin:Jiangsu Government Website]