Geographic location
  Jiangsu, situated at the center of the eastern coast, is between 116018' and 121057' east longitude and between 30045' and 35020' north latitude. It stretches on both banks of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and boards the Yellow Sea in the east. Its coastline extends some 1,000 km. The province links Anhui and Shandong provinces in the northwest and borders with Shanghai and Zhejiang Province in the southeast. It covers a total area of 102,600 square km, making up 1.06 percent of China's total territory

Topography

The province is located in the fertile land of the Yangtze River delta. Most of its land is flat, dotted with the Taihu and Hongze Lake; two of the five largest freshwater lakes in China. On its southwestern and northern borders are hilly lands.

Land

Of the province's territory, the plains cover a total area of 70,600 square km; water covers a total of 17,300 square km; cultivated land amounts to some 5 million hectares.

Climate

Located in a transit belt from the subtropics to a warm temperate zone, Jiangsu features a distinctive monsoon climate. Generally speaking, the area south of the Huaihe River and the Northern Jiangsu General Irrigation Canal enjoys a subtropical humid monsoon climate while the area northward enjoys a warm temperate humid monsoon climate. It is warm with moderate rainfalls and clear-cut seasons in the province. The annual average temperature is between 13-16 centigrade. The annual rainfall is between 724-1,210 mm. The rainfall in summer accounts for 50 percent of the annual rainfall.

Water resources

Jiangsu boasts a network of rivers and lakes. The Yangtze River runs over 400 km through the province from west to east while the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal runs 690 km from north to south. There is the Qinhuai River in its southwest; Northern Jiangsu General Irrigation Canal, Xinmu River and Nantong-Yanzhou Canal in the northern part. The province also boasts more than 290 lakes including the Taihu Lake and Hongze Lake.

Jiangsu has abundant aquatic resources. The area of fish farms in the east coast reaches 154,000 square km. The noted four farms including Lusi and Haizhou Bay teem with yellow croaker, cutlass fish, butterfish, shrimps, crabs, shellfish and algae. The province is also the major producer of freshwater crabs and eel fry. The inland waters within the province cover a total area of 1.73 million hectares. The aquatic farms cover a total area of some 533,333 hectares, cultivating 140 types of fish.

Mineral resources

Jiangsu has a wide distribution of mineral resources with a rich variety. The mineral products discovered so far total 120. Major energy resources include coal, petroleum and natural gas. Non-metallic resources include sulphur, phosphorus, sodium salt, crystal, cyanite, sapphire, diamond, kaolin, limestone, quartz sand, marble and pottery clay. The metallic resources include copper, lead, zinc, silver, gold, strontium and manganese. The province is particularly rich in clay, building materials, chemical raw materials, metallurgic auxiliary materials, minerals for special uses and non-ferrous metals.

Tourism resources:

Jiangsu has a long history of a relatively developed economy and culture. Rich in landscape gardens, scenic attractions and historical sites, it is noted for having the largest number of historical cities in the country. Such cities include Nanjing, Suzhou, Yangzhou, Zhenjiang, Changshu, Xuzhou and Huai'an. There are 20 scenic spots, 23 forest parks, 6 holiday resorts and 416 cultural heritage sites under the state and provincial-level protection. Nine classical gardens in Suzhou were put on the world cultural heritage site list by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Environment and current issues

By the end of 2002, environmental monitoring stations at various levels totaled 111. There were 23 nature reserves, covering a total area of 669,000 hectares. A sum of 1.1 billion yuan had been invested in 850 projects tackling pollution. Suzhou and 6 other cities won the honorary title of "National Model Environment Protection City". All cities and counties are piloting the construction of ecological zones at a national level.

The province has generally fulfilled the state requirement of controlling pollutant discharge from 12 outlets. Nanjing, Lianyungang, Suzhou and Nantong have reached the state standards for surface water quality and air quality. Improvements have been achieved in the water quality of Taihu Lake and Huaihe River, with the water now being mid-level eutrophic from heavy eutrophic a few years ago.
Total population: 73.81 million (2002)

Population growth rate: 2.18‰ in 2002, down 0.23‰ from the previous year.

Ethnicity

In addition to the ethnic Han group, Jiangsu is also home to 55 minority ethnic groups with a total population of 210,000, accounting for 0.29 percent of the provincial total.

Rate of unemployment

By the end of 2002, the registered rate of unemployment in cities was 4.2.

Literacy

A multi-level educational system involving pre-school education, elementary education, education for the disabled, vocational education, higher education and adult education is now in place in Jiangsu. There are 94 full-time higher learning institutions with 700,200 students. Technical secondary schools have a total number of 451,400 students.

The province also has 460,340 middle school students and 635,230 elementary school students. About 99.58 percent of the children at school age can receive primary schooling.

GDP: 1.06 trillion yuan in 2002

GDP growth rate: 11.6 percent

Average GDP per capita: 14,397 yuan

GDP ratio (1st, 2nd, and tertiary industry): 10.6: 52.1: 37.3

Revenue: 148.37 billion yuan (US$12.86 billion) in 2002, up 39.3 percent from the previous year.

Industrial added value and growth rate: 482.01 billion yuan (US$46.48 billion) in 2002, up 14 percent from the previous year.

Agricultural production

In 2002, the total grain production of the province was 29.07 million tons; cotton, 363,000 tons; oilseed, 2.17 million tons; and aquatic products 3.34 million tons.

Foreign trade

The total value of imports and exports in 2002 was US$70.3 billion yuan, up 36.9 percent.

Foreign investment

In 2002, a total US$10.83 billion foreign investment was used in the province, up 76.3 percent from the previous year.

Friendship cities

Jiangsu and the cities directly under the provincial government and cities at the county level have established friendly relations with 139 provinces, states and cities of 31 countries.

Pillar industries

Machinery, electronics, petroleum chemical industry and automobile.

Railway

Jiangsu is linked to more than 40 large and medium-sized cities in China through the railway network. The new Asia-Europe Continental Bridge which starts in Lianyungang in the east and ends at Rotterdam, Netherlands in the west, has undertaken 95 percent of the transit transportation business since it opened to traffic at the end of 1992.

Highway

The highways in the province, totaling 60,141 km, include express highways and first-class and second-class highways. A total of 1,702 km express highways have opened to traffic. Nanjing is the largest highway hub with lines radiating province wide and linking over 100 cities and counties in neighboring provinces. Fourteen national roads run through the province, including two north-south trunk roads: one from Tongjiang in northeast China to Sanya in Hainan, and the other from Beijing to Fuzhou; and two east-west trunk roads, one from Lianyungang to Huoerguosi in Xinjiang, and the other from Shanghai to Chengdu in Sichuan.

Airway

Seven cities in the province have airports which provide services to 67 domestic and international air routes




Nanjing
Nanjing, the capital city of Jiangsu Province, is an old and beautiful city. It is located as a plain within the middle lower reaches of the Yangtze River, facing the Ocean in the east, and not far from Anhui Province and Zhejiang Province in the south, near the Hubei Province and Henan Province in the west and Shandong Province in the north. As a city close to rivers and lakes, Nanjing is proud of its well-situated geographical conditions and abundant natural resources. Also, Nanjing is a well-known ancient cultural city. Since the 3rd century AD, it has been the capitals of 10 dynasties or regimes, i.e., the Eastern Wu, Eastern Jin, Song, Qi, Liang, Chen, Southern Tang, Early Ming, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and the Republic of China. As one of the "six ancient cities" in China, Nanjing has had been the center of economy, politics and culture of middle lower reaches of Yangtze River in ancient and modern times, and that has been leaving behind effulgent traditional culture. Today, as one of four core cities in the Yangtze Delta, Nanjing is increasingly playing a great role in the economic zone of the national macro productivity layout. Nanjing is a comprehensive industrial base region, an important communication & transportation centers and one of the four scientific research & education centers in East of China. It is also the second largest business center next to Shanghai in the east of China.

Nanjing occupies a ground space of 6597.6 square kilometers, and it has the population of 5530400. The Yangzi River flows though Nanjing City, about 95 kilometer's long, and this part of the River is quite wide and deep. Thus the river way is navigable for the large steamers of ten thousand tons all the year.

Since the funding of P.R.China, and after the economic reforms especially, Nanjing is presenting its four advantages. The first is its well-located region. Nanjing is at the cross-region between the areas of China's developed southeast coast and Yangtze Delta, and closed to Shanghai, China's biggest center of economy and banking business. Therefore, Nanjing has become one of the key cities among the China's economy development core area, and laid a solid foundation for its speeding up of globalization.

As secondary advantage of its communication & transportation, Nanjing has become an important center of communication & transportation in East China. Its all-ready five transportation modes including railway, highway, civil-aviation, and water carriage and pipeline transit have featured a great network of the transportation. Its communication networks formed by program-control telephone, mobile communication, data communication, microwave, satellites and optical fiber have been become modern communicating modes as well.

The third is its scientific research & education. As one of the four scientific research & education centers in East China, Nanjing is a metropolis with a galaxy of talent among 48 universities, colleges and about 500 research institutes. According to the calculation before the end of 1997, the number of academicians of China Science Academy working in Nanjing was 45 and that of 18 from China Engineering Academy. The number of professional engineers, technicians and research workers of all kinds was up to 330,000, among which advanced professionals were 9.7% intermediate 31.3%



Suzhou
Suzhou is a very famous cultural and historical city on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and on the shores of Lake Taihu, the one of the four largest fresh lakes in China. The city is renowned for its beautiful stone bridges, pagodas, and meticulously designed gardens and traditional waterside architectures. Suzhou is also popularly known as the 'Venice of the East' due to its network of ancient bridges and canals

Suzhou is usually related with Hangzhou, another scenic city in China. These two cities are described as the Paradise on Earth owing to their impressive scenery. Compared with the city of Hangzhou, Suzhou has won higher reputation for its classical gardens. As a saying goes - 'Gardens to the south of Yangtze River are the best in the world, and Suzhou gardens are the best among them'. These gardens attain their high reputation not only for their vast numbers, but also for their charming natural beauty and harmonious construction. At present more than 60 gardens are kept intact in Suzhou, and a series of them have been listed in the World Heritage List, including the Humble Administrator's Garden, the Lingering Garden, the Garden of Master of Nets and the Mountain Villa with Embracing Beauty

Today Suzhou is an important center for China's silk industry, and one of the most prosperous cities for its other modern industries such as papermaking, iron and steel, chemicals, cotton textiles, electronic goods, and telecommunications equipment



Yangzhou

Yangzhou, a city famous for its history and culture, is located in the central part of Jiangsu with the lower reaches of Yangtze River in south and Jianghuai plain in north. It borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yancheng to the northeast, Taizhou to the east, and Zhenjiang across the river to the south. With nearly 2500 years of history in urban area, Yangzhou has 3 districts (Guangling, Weiyang and Hanjiang), 3 county-level cities (Jiangdu, Gaoyou and Yizheng) and Baoying County. There are 87 villages and towns and 11 sub-district offices in the whole city with total area of 6634 square kilometers (urban area 988.81 sq.kms.) and total population of 4.5361 million (urban population 1.1252 million).
There are 49 ethnic groups in Yangzhou and the Han nationality accounts for 99.57% of the total population. The Hui nationality, the most populated minority, accounts for 65% of the minority population. Gaoyou Lingtang Hui nationality village is the only minority village in Jiangsu province.?

Yangzhou is not only a scenic city with beautiful landscape, but also a culture city with a galaxy of celebrities and a city with centuries old sites. There is the oldest canal in China, mausoleums of Han and Sui emperors, historical sites of ancient city in Tang and Song Dynasty and private gardens in Ming and Qing Dynasty. With numerous human landscapes, beautiful natural scene and rich tourist resources, it attracts numerous Chinese and foreign tourists.

In 1998, Yangzhou was awarded the title of Excellent Tourist City in China. Shouxihu, the best known lake with garden, and ancient Daming temple are both the scenic spots with 4As level in China. He garden, Ge garden, historical city in Tang Dynasty, Gaoyou Mengchengyi, Puhading tomb and dwelling place in Longqiuzhuang are all historical and cultural relics under state protection. Qianlong water tourism route in famous Shouxihu is the national level tourism route recommended by China Tourism Administration to the tourists both at home and abroad. The tourism products for Muslim are increasingly becoming an important component part of Muslim tourism route in China.
Yangzhou, one of the first 24 historical and cultural cities approved by State Department in 1982, has abundant human landscapes and historical sites. Classical gardens have the artistic styles with both the elegancy in southern area and the majesty in the northern area. There are 50 travel agencies of all kinds and 36 restaurants with Star level. From the Year 2000, Yangzhou periodically held the Flowery March Tourist Festival and Moon Culture Festival with the aim to promote the development of tourism. In 2007, Yangzhou received 15.56 million domestic and foreign tourists trips, tourism total revenue realized 15.58 billion yuan, 2.4 times in 2002 and three times.




Wuxi

Wuxi is an industrial city on the Yangtse River half way between the cities of Shanghai and Nanjing, with Shanghai 128 km to its east and Nanjing 183 km to its west. In its south is Lake Taihu and to its north is Yangtse River. The city is under direct jurisdiction of the province and governs three cities and six districts. It has a population of 4.32 million and covers an area of 4,650 km2.

Belonging to one of the eight primitive cultural districts in China, Wuxi is a famous cultural city with a history of over 3,000 years. The establishment of the city can be traced back to the end of the Shang Dynasty. Wuxi is endowed with rich natural and human resources with a galaxy of gifted persons and developed economy. As one of the birthplaces of Chinas national industry and commerce, Wuxi is one of the fifteen economic centers in China. With convenient transportation network, Wuxi is a hub of transportation which connects Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces. Nine highways join Wuxi with important cities like Shanghai, Nanjing and Hangzhou. Shanghai-Nanjing railway and Shanghai-Nanjing expressway pass through the city. It takes about 3 hours by car to get from Wuxi to Pudong International Airport. There are seven water routes to various places in the country along Yangtse River, the Grand Canal and Lake Taihu. With developed post and telecommunications system, direct calls can be made to 156 countries or regions in the world. The express mail services are established between Wuxi and 27 countries and regions in the world

With rich natural and cultural heritage, Wuxi is one of the top ten tourist cities in China. The typical features of the area are that of the regions of rivers and lakes. Wuxi occupies the most scenic part of Lake Taihu and enjoys the beautiful scenery. Theme parks like the Tang City, the Three Kingdoms City, and the Water Margin City, which feature daily live shows, are new tourist attractions. The 88-meter tall bronze Buddha statue (Linshan Dafuo) and the holiday resorts add more appeal to the visitors