Nanjing Travel Guide
Nanjing, literally "the southern capital", was an ancient metropolis of six different dynasties in China. The first dynasty to choose Nanjing as its capital was Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period and named the city "Jian'ye". In the latter years of the Western Jin Dynasty, Nanjing was called "Jian'kang" and it was a name used from beginning of the 3rd century to the end of the 6th century. The city was formally called Nanjing for the first time in the early Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1644 AD).
"The city is in a perfect location with majestic scenes of high hills, deep rivers and a big plain. These are the works of the Nature. There is no other city in the world has such a beautiful landscape Nanjing has unlimited development potentials." said Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the founding father of modern China. Nowadays, because of the eagerness for urbanization has negatively affected Nanjing's natural scenery and its valuable heritage.
Nanjing is also a heroic city with a sad history. On December 13, 1937, the Japanese army occupied Nanjing and during the following six weeks they exerted a bloody massacre. Some 300,000 Chinese people and soldiers were killed by these utmost barbaric forces. Nanjing people are still commemorating this day of tragedy and humiliation. No one will forget the incident here and it is a heroic symbol for not only the Chinese but all people in the world : pursuing peace and be unite together against brutality. If a taxi driver knows that you are a person from outside the city, he may recommend you to visit the Memorial Hall to the Victims in the Nanjing Massacre.
Historically, Nanjing was a great place for men of letter. Inheriting such a tradition, modern Nanjing has some 40 universities and colleges as well as more than 300 scientific research institutes, several art troupes and a theatre for Kunqu opera, from which about 100 kinds of modern opera in China derived. Nanjing Library is the third biggest library in China in terms of its collection. The Nanjing Museum boasts a rich collection of arts and crafts.
Nowadays Nanjing is the provincial capital of Jiangsu and it is one of the economic and cultural centers in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. It has started its voyage to the outside world.
People
"Big Parsnip" is a strange nickname referred to Nanjing people by the Shanghainese. This is to describe locals' enthusiastic attitude towards visitors come from large cities, because Shanghai people are regarding themselves as urban inhabitants but Nanjing people not. This thought means Nanjing is city very different from Shanghai. Indeed, Shanghai is a cosmopolitan akin to the Big Apple in the US, while Nanjing is a very place for nostalgic, even rustic or old-fashioned sometimes, literati. 99 percent of the 6.7 million people in Nanjing are Han Chinese and the ethnic minorities are migrants from outside the city or their descendents. Affected by the city's ancient atmosphere, the clothing of its people is not belonged to urban style.
Transportation
Nanjing is one of the traffic hubs in eastern China. Nanjing Lukou International Airport is 35 km from the downtown, offering 85 air routes to 50 cities around the world. There are frequent buses linking some big hotels to the airport.
Train transportation is very convenient in Nanjing where it is located on various essential rail lines of the country. There are direct trains to Shanghai, Hangzhou, Beijing, Tianjin, Harbin, Changchun, Shenyang and Xian.
Zhongyangmen Distance Passenger Station at No. 1, Jianning Road is the main long distance bus station in Nanjing, the Shanghai-Nanjing Express via Suzhou, Wuxi, 
Changzhou and Zhenjiang. It leaves at 20 or 30 minutes interval.
Water traffic. Cruises are available to Chongqing via Jiujiang and Wuhan, and to Shanghai via Zhenjiang and Nantong. Urban traffic. The metro, bus and taxi are the best way to travel the city. Metro and bus routes can take travelers to various tourist attractions in the city. The starting fare for per taxi trip is 8 RMB Yuan in the first 3 km and 2.4 Yuan per km afterwards.
Geography
Most of the 976 sq. km area of Nanjing is mountainous. Zijinshan, Mufu and Xixia Mountains made up the western Ningzhen Ranges. The Yangtze River flows its way east with many notable sandbanks in the Nanjing section of it into Zhenjiang. The Qinhuaihe River is the most famous waters in Nanjing, with which and the Yangtze, the city has taken it shape at the confluence of these two rivers.
Climate
Nanjing is in the subtropical monsoon climate zone with long summer and winter. As one of the "four furnaces" in China (the other three are Chongqing, Wuhan and Nanchang), the daytime high temperature may reach to 40 degrees Celsius when the light southwesterly wind is blowing and the sky is clear. Most of the city's rainfall is in June and July. The winter temperature often down to below zero but the air is drier compared to summer.
