Overview

"Suzhou and Hangzhou are paradises on earth" shows the great fame Jiangsu,the land of fish and rice,has been enjoying since ancient times. As one of the earliest and most important open coastal provinces of China,Jiangsu has developed its economy rapidly since reform and opening-up and occupied an imporant position in the country. In 2002,the provincial GDP exceeded USD 120 billion. Today,this land,which occupies 1% of the national land area and 6% of the national population,contributes to 10% of the national GDP.

GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION

Jiangsu,shortened as "Su",is situated in the Yangtse River Delta on China's eastern coast,E andN. It spans the lower reaches of Yangtse River,faces the Yellow Sea and has a 1000-km-long coastal line. It borders Anhui and Shandong on the west and north and Shanghai and Zhejiang on the east and south.

Jiangsu is located in the beautiful and affluent Yangtse River Delta. It is a plain area and has the Sunan Plain,the Jianghuai Plain,the Huanghuai Plain and the Coastal Plain. It also has two of China's 5 biggest fresh water lakes: the Tai Lake and the Hongze Lake. Jiangsu has advantageous natural conditions and economic bases.

AREA AND DEMOGRAPHICS

The province covers an area of 102,600 km2,about 1.06 % of the total area of the country. The province has a coastline of 1,000 km,a plain area of 70,600 km2,a water area of 17,300 km2,and a farm land area of 5,008,400 hectares. At the end of 2000,the population in the province totalled 74.38 million,making Jiangsu the most densely populated province in the country.

RIVERS AND LAKES

Jiangsu is crisscross with rivers and dotted with lakes. The Yangtse River runs across the province form west to east for 400 km. The Grand Canal flows north to south for over 690 km. The province has the Qinhuai River in the southwest,the Subei General Irrigating Ditch,the Xinshu River,and the Tongyang Canal in the north. The Tai Lake and the Hongze Lake,are among the 5 largest fresh water lakes in the whole country. They are like two bright mirrors embedded in the Sunan and Subei plains.

CLIMATE

Jiangsu has a typical monsoon climate. It is located between the subtropical and the warm temperate zones. It is divided by the Huai River and the General Irrigating Ditch,with a subtropical wet monsoon climate to the south and a warm temperate wet monsoon climate to the north. The province has a mild weather,four distinct seasons and appropriate amount of rainfall.

NATURAL RESOURCES

Jiangsu is known as "a land of fish and rice",and has high output of oil-bearing crops,cotton,silkworm cocoons,and aquatic products. In 2000,the provincial total outputs of grain,cotton,oil-bearing crops,aquatic products were 31,066,000 tons,315,000 tons,2,263,000 tons,and 3,080,000 tons respectively. Geese and pigs from the Tai Lake,ducks from Gaoyou,crabs from the Yangcheng Lake,Biluochun tea,gingko fruits from Taixing and loquat from Baisha are popular both at home and abroad.

Rich mineral resources in the province are coal,phosphate,common salt,silicon sand,marble,pottery clay,limestone,etc. Some of them are of high quality. The crystal produced in Jiangsu has a silicon content of over 99.9%,as good as the crystal in Brazil.

TOURISM RESOURCES

Jiangsu is a beautiful place with numerous scenic spots and historical sites. Its capital Nanjing is the economic,political and cultural centre of the whole province. It is also a famous historical and cultural city in China and has a World Cultural Heritage site the Xiaoling Tomb of Ming Dynasty. Suzhou,known as the oriental Venice,is famous for its small bridges,running water,traditional houses and classical gardens which are also among the World Cultural Heritage list. Yangzhou,Zhenjiang,Changshu,Xuzhou and Huaian are all famous historical and cultural city in China.

In 2002,Jiangsu received 2,226,000 overseas tourists/times,showing an increase of 21.2 % over 2001,while the number of domestic tourists visiting Jiangsu reached 100 million,increasing by 24.3% over the previous year.

CULTURE AND EDUCATION

Jiangsu is developed in science and education. It has 94 universities and colleges and over 2,800 scientific research and technology development institutes. It ranks first in China in terms of the number of universities and colleges. The 9-year compulsory education is well carried out in Jiangsu,forming the multilevel education system which includes preparatory education,fundamental education,polytechnic education,high education and adult education. The province now has 94 universities and colleges,over 500 different majors,and 220,600 students. It also has over 200 secondary vocational schools and over 6,000 ordinary secondary and technical schools. The number of youth and children studying at different levels of schools totals 11 million. There are also over 700,000 adults studying or training at different universities and schools. The rapid increase of the quality of people has laid a solid foundation for the development of social productive forces.