Brief Introduction to Jiujiang

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Jiujiang is located in the north of Jiangxi Province, on the southern bank of the juncture of the lower and middle reaches of the Yangtze River. It is situated at the joint of Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan and Anhui Provinces, and in the middle of the Beijing-Kowloon Railway. Jiujiang is one of the ten biggest port cities along the Yangtze River-China’s golden watercourse.

It is the second largest city in Jiangxi Province, next only to the capital Nanchang. It covers an area of 18,823 square kilometers, and occupies 11.3% of the total of the Jiangxi Province. There are 9 counties,1 municipality,2 districts and the Mount Lu Scenic Administration Bureau, Jiujiang Economic and Technological Development Zone, Gongqing High Technology Development Zone. It has a population of 4,570,000 while 560,000 in the urban district.

The city has a long history dating back more than 2000 years. Jiujiang’s name originated from the records of “Shangshu· Yugong”(an ancient Chinese book), thought to be compiled by Confucius. It was named Jiujiang, which means Nine Rivers, because nine rivers converged here in ancient times. However, over the centuries, it was called successively Jiujiang, Chaisang, Xunyang, Jiangzhou, Runan, Pengcheng and Dehua, etc. Among those Jiujiang, Xunyang, Chaisang and Jiangzhou are the best known.

Jiujiang was located in the east territory of Wu Kingdom and the west of Chu Kingdom during the Spring and Autumn Period, so it was called”the head of Wu Kingdom and the tail of Chu Kingdom”. Jiujiang first came into being as an administrative division during the Qin Dynasty. Jiujiang prefecture was established when Emperor Qin Shi Huang unified China in 221B.C. It was named Chaisang during the Western Han Dynasty. The current Jiujiang City was constructed byGuanying,a big Cheqi General, in the sixth year of Han Gao Emperor (201B.C.) and it was called Pengcheng at that time. Later it was called Jiangzhou, Xunyang and Dehua, and it got the name of Jiujiang during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Jiujiang is rich in natural resources.Here one can enjoy the special charm of a land covered with green fields of paddy rice crisscrossed by numerous rivers and lakes which abound with fish and other aquatic products.All around them are heavily forested mountains.There is also in Jiujiang a treasure trove of historical and cultural relics for those interested in exploring.

Jiujiang was a key military town in the ancient times due to its location locking and controlling Poyang Lake and the Yangtze River.General Zhou Yu trained his water forces here during the period of the Three Kingdoms.Chen Youliang made it the capital when he became an emperor at the end of the Yuan Dynasty.

As a trading port，Jiujiang had contacts with seven provinces and became a major crossroad for merchants and businessmen as early as the Jin Dynasty.It was a big commercial port during the Tang Dynasty and developed into one of the three largest tea markets and one of the four largest rice markets during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.Jiujiang was opened as a foreign trade port after the Opium War.

The city has undergone great changes since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 when the people became masters of the country.In 1992，Jiujiang was approved as one of the first batch of Open Cities by the State Council.This marked a significant new stage in Jiujiang’s development.The people of Jiujiangare taking full advantage of this opportunity to improve its investment environment，promote its industrial reform，develop its tourist industry and speed up other economic constructions.

“Jiujiang was called Xunyang County；its outline was as beautiful as a picture”.

As the top national class tourism city，Jiujiang is the biggest scenic spot alongBeijing-Kowloon Railway with the center Mount Lushan.The rich cultural resources and superior geographical location of Jiujiang have laid a solid foundation for its economic development.Just as Jiang Zemin，pre-general secretary of the Communist Party of China，pointed out after an inspection tour of the city，“Jiujiang has a great future.”