Economy

Nanchang is a regional hub for agricultural production in Jiangxi province. The yield of grain was 16.146 million tons in 2000. Products such as rice and oranges are economic staples. The Ford Motor Company has a plant in Nanchang, assembling the Ford Transit van as part of the Jiangling Motor joint venture. Many of its industry revolves around aircraft manufacturing, automobile manufacturing, metallurgy, electro-mechanics, textile, chemical engineering, traditional Chinese medicine, pharmaceuticals and others.The GDP of Nanchang in 2008 was 166 billion Yuan (24.3 billion USD). The GDP per capita was 36,105 Yuan (5,285 USD). The total value of imports and exports was 3.4 billion US dollars. The total financial revenue was 23 billion Yuan.Industrial zonesNational level development zonesNanchang Export Processing ZoneNanchang National Export Expressing Zone is located in Nanchang Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone, it was approved by the State Council on May 8, 2006, and passed the national acceptance inspection on Sep 7th, 2007. It has a planning area of 1 km2 and now has built 0.31 km2. It enjoys simple and convenient customs clearances, and special preferential policies both for Nanchang National Export Expressing Zone and NCHDZ.Nanchang National High-tech Industrial Development ZoneNanchang National High-tech Industrial Development Zone (NCHDZ for short hereafter) is the only national grade high-tech zoned in Jiangxi, it was established in Mar. 1991. The zone covers an area of 231 km2 (89 sq mi), in which 32 km2 (12 sq mi) have been completed. NCHDZ possesses unique nature condition and sound industry foundation of accepting electronics industry. NCHDZ has brought 25 percent industrial added value and 50 percent industrial benefit and tax to Nanchang city by using only 0.4 percent land area.Nanchang Economic and Technological Development ZoneProvincial level development zonesJiangxi Sanghai Economic and Technological Development ZoneNanchang Yingxiong Economic and Technological Development ZoneSpecial economic districtHonggutan New District

Demographics

As of 2010 (Census), Nanchang has a population of 5,042,565, of which about 2.3 million live in built-up (urbanized) area consists of five urban districts. 37 ethnic groups were counted amongst its prefecture divisions.

History

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)Nanchang is a city of long history. As early as 50,000 years ago, clans inhibited the Anyi region of the Nanchang city. About three thousand years ago, to the north Aixi Lake, south of Qingyun Pu, the arc of the formation of ancient Nanchang gathering area residents.Han Emperor five years (202 BC), Han Guan Ying the local garrison, located Yu Zhang County, next year the construction of the city, site in this city about 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) southeast of Nanchang Railway Station Huang Temple City, the city perimeter miles eighty-four step, called "Guan Ying City", it was built to create a history of Nanchang city. First built "Nanchang County," Yu Zhang county of Gunji, take "grand southern" and "Southern prosperity," meaning, named "Nanchang." The territories encompassing modern-day Jiangxi Province—including Nanchang—was first incorporated into China during the Qin dynasty, when it was conquered from the Baiyue peoples and organized as Jiujiang Commandery (Chinese: 九江郡). In 201 BC, during the Han dynasty, the city was given the Chinese name Nanchang and became the administrative seat of Yuzhang Commandery (Chinese: 豫章郡), and was governed by Guan Ying (Chinese: 灌嬰), one of Emperor Gaozu of Han's generals. The name Nanchang means "southern flourishing", derived from a motto of developing what is now southern China that is traditionally attributed to Emperor Gaozu himself.In AD 589, during the Sui dynasty, this commandery was changed into a prefecture named Hongzhou (Chinese: 洪州), and after 763 it became the provincial center of Jiangxi, which was then beginning the rapid growth that by the 12th century made it the most populous province in China.In 653 the Tengwang Pavilion was constructed, and in 675 Wang Bo wrote the classic "Tengwang Ge Xu", a poetic introductory masterpiece celebrating the building, making the building, the city, and the author himself known to literate Chinese-speaking population ever since. The Pavilion has been destroyed and rebuilt several times throughout history. Its present form was reconstructed in the 1980s after being destroyed in 1929 during the Chinese Civil War.In 959, under the Southern Tang regime, Nanchang was made superior prefecture and the southern capital. After the conquest by the Song regime in 981 it was reverted to the name Hongzhou. In 1164 it was renamed Longxing prefecture, which name it retained until 1368. At the end of the Yuan (Mongol) period (1279–1368), it became a battleground between Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), and the rival local warlord, Chen Youliang. At the beginning of the 16th century it was the power base from which Zhu Chenhao, the Prince of Ning, launched a rebellion against the emperor.During the reign of the Wanli Emperor of the Ming dynasty, it housed relatives of the emperor who had been exiled because they were potential claimants of the imperial throne, members of the imperial family constituting about one quarter of the city's population; as a result of this, Matteo Ricci came here when trying to gain entry to Beijing.In the 1850s it suffered considerably as a result of the Taiping Rebellion (1850–64), and its importance as a commercial centre declined as the overland routes to Canton were replaced by coastal steamship services in the latter half of the 19th century. Nanchang has, however, remained the undisputed regional metropolis of Jiangxi.On August 1, 1927, Nanchang was the site of one of a series of insurrections organized by the communists. The Nanchang Uprising, led by pro-communist Kuomintang officers under Russian direction, succeeded in holding the city for only a few days, and provided a core of troops and a method of organization from which the People's Liberation Army (PLA) later developed.In 1939, the Battle of Nanchang, a ferocious battle between the Chinese National Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Japan Army in the Second Sino-Japanese War took place.By 1949 Nanchang was still essentially an old-style administrative and commercial city, with little industry apart from food processing; it had a population of about 275,000. Nanchang first acquired a rail connection in 1915, only connecting to the port city of Jiujiang by the Yangtze. Several other rail links have since been opened. After World War II a line was completed to Linchuan and Gongqi in the Ru River Valley to the south-southeast.Since 1949 Nanchang has been extensively industrialized. It is now a large-scale producer of cotton textiles and cotton yarn. Paper making is also a major industry, as is food processing (especially rice milling). Heavy industry began to gain prominence in the mid-1950s. A large thermal-power plant was installed and uses coal brought by rail from Fengcheng to the south. A machinery industry also grew up, at first mainly concentrating on the production of agricultural equipment and diesel engines. Nanchang then became a minor centre of the automotive industry in China, producing trucks and tractors and also accessories such as tires. An iron-smelting plant helping to supply local industry was installed in the later 1950s. There is also a large chemical industry, producing agricultural chemicals and insecticides as well as pharmaceuticals.