Jiangxi Province, praised for “a land endowed with rich natural resources and outstanding intelligent people”, lies on the southern bank of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Ganjiang River, the largest and longest river in the province, flows through the whole area from south to north, so Jiangxi is abbreviated to “Gan”.
Jiangxi was subordinate to Wu and Chu. After unified China by Qin Dynasty, most parts of Jiangxi are divided into Jiujiang prefecture, Han Dynasty established Yuzhang Commandery. In the Three Kingdoms Period, most areas belonged to Yangzhou. In the Han Dynasty, it was governed by Jiangzhou. During the Tang Dynasty, Jiangxi was under chiang-nan west way's territory. It has been called “Jiangxi” from then on. In the Northern Song and Southern Song Dynasties, most areas belonged to Chiang-nan west way. In the Yuan Dynasty, cabinet of Ministers was set up, including large parts of Jiangxi and Guangdong Provinces. Ming Dynasty existed provincial Treasurer, of which areas amounted to that of today's Jiangxi Province. Qing Dynasty established Jiangxi Province formally, which has been carrying on until now. Nowadays the total area of the province is 166,900 square kilometers.
Jiangxi is surrounded by mountains in the east, west and south; hills ups and downs in the middle. There is the first largest fresh water lake of China in the north——Poyang Lake and plain area of it.
Jiangxi is a place with gorgeous ancient civilization and glorious revolutionary tradition, and it's also the cradle of the Chinese Revolution. Mao Zedong and Liu Shaoqi had ever organized and mobilized workers' movements in Anyuan and Pingxiang city, which is the earliest worker's movement of China. Zhou Enlai, Zhu De and other older generation of revolutionaries led the August First Uprising in Nanchang, which astonished all the nation. Mao Zedong set up the rural revolutionary base in Mountain Jinggang, and Ruijin is the locus of central worker and peasant democratic government during the second Revolutionary Civil War time. It's famous as “The Red City”. The Long March (25,000li), shaking the world, stepped out the first step from this great place.
With a long history, it enjoys prosperous economy and culture, and is regarded as “a place abundant in resources and talents”. There are numerous scenic areas typical of verdant mountains, clear waters and cultural heritages in the province. Nanchang City, Jingdezhen, and Ganzhou have been listed among famous historic and cultural cities in China. Mountain Lushan, as beautiful as picture, was lauded in the verse “the torrential waterfall rushes down from the height of three thousand feet, just like the Milky Way dropping from the sky”. Mountain Sanqing and Mountain Longhu are famous national scenic areas. Jingdezhen's porcelain is famous all over the world, characterized by “being white as jade, thin as paper, bright as mirror, and sweet-sounding as a musical stone”. It is also reputed as “the porcelain capital in China”. Mountain Jinggang, Nanchang and Ruijin not only possess beautiful scenery, but also are revolutionary bases. |