.
Yangtze River
The Yangtze is China's longest river; it flows
5526 km (3434 mi) from its source in the Kunlun Mountains to its mouth
at
the East China Sea. The river is navigable
by oceangoing vessels for about 1000 km (about 600 mi) and steamers can
travel as far as Yichang, 1600 km (1000 mi)
from the sea. In addition to its importance as a transportation network,
the
Yangtze irrigates one of China's chief rice-growing
areas.
Located at the eastern part of China, Nanjing
is the capital of Jiangsu Province which is developed in economy in China
and an important central city on the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtse
River. Nanjing is situated on the vast plain of the lower reaches of the
Yangtse River, It belongs to the northern subtropical monsoon climate zone
where the four seasons are clearly demarcated, the annual mean temperature
is 16¡æ, the annual even precipitation is 1,106 mm and the
frost-free period is 237 days. At present, Nanjing has jurisdiction over
10 districts and 5 counties,covering an area of 6,516 square kilometres.
Nowadays, Nanjing has developed into a multiple-producing
industrial base in eastern China, an important hub
of transportation and communication center,
one of China's four major scientific
research and educational central cities. The gross national products
of the whole city in 1995 amounted to 58 billion
yuan, a 12% increase over the previous year.
Nanjing is an important industrial base of China
where a multi-producing industrial system taking electronics,
automobiles, chemicals and a number of special products as the leading
factors and having 36 industrial trades, over
200 industrial branches and more than 2,000 categories of products have
been established. The industrial output value
of the whole city in 1995 amounted to 81,800 million yuan, a 24.4%
increase over the previous year, and the ratio of
output to sales reached 96.4% which took the lead throughout the province.
Nanjing is a major international commercial port
in the Yangtse delta region, second only to Shanghai. The total
turn over of retail sales of the social consumer goods in 1995 amounted
to 24 billion yuan, a 27% growth over the
previous year, ranking among ten major cities of the country. The monetary
market plays an important controlling role
in the economic operation of the city.
.
.The Nanjing Yantse River Bridge
Five means of transportation such as railway,
waterway, air transport and piping constitute a three-dimensional
and mass transport volume traffic network in an all-round way. Nanjing
Port is a port for foreign trade leading to
the ocean. The port area is 98 kilometres in full length and has 64 berths
including 16 berths for ships with a tonnage
of more than 10,000. Within the boundary of Nanjing, there are over 60
highway long-distance passenger traffic lines leading
to all parts of the province; the Tianjin-Pukou, Shanghai-Nanjing
and Nanjing-Wuhu Trunk Railways meet in Nanjing which has become an important
hub of railways linking north China, east
China with central China. After extension, the Nanjing Airport has
more than 20 air lines leading to all major cities
in the country. With the start of construction of the new airport,Nanjing
will have an international modernized airport. Being one of six major telecommunication
hubs in the country, Nanjing has a telecommunication
network which is composed of multiple modes and linking
with all parts of the country and all countries in the world.
Nanjing is well known at home and abroad. Now
it has entered into amical relations with Nagoya of Japan, Florence
of Italy, Saint Louis of the United States, Eindhoven of the Netherlands,
Leipzig of Germany, Mecicali of Mexico, Limassol
of Cyprus and Daijun of the Republic of Korea to make an extensive
exchange and cooperation in the fields of economy,
trade, science and technology and culture, and joined the
Transpacific Technical cooperation Network as one of two member cities
from China. Foreign Economic Relations and
Trade The total purchasing value of commodity
for foreign trade in 1995 amounted to 6.718
billion yuan, a 41.5% growth over the previous
year; the delivery value of export commodity for
foreign trade amounted to 8.4 billion yuan, up
40%; the actual export amounted to 0.808 billion
US dollars, up 46.4%. By the end of 1995, 4119
foreign-invested enterprises in tatal have been approved by the government
of Nanjing City, including 663 enterprises newly-approved in 1995 and the
foreign investors in Nanjing came from 50 countries and regions. The contracts
for construction projects abroad and cooperation
of labour service in 1995 amounted to 64.84 million US dollars,up 43.6%.
68 non-trading units have been established
abroad. In Nanjing there are over 460 natural
science research institutions with more than 320,000 technical personnel
of different specialities and over 40 social science research institutions
with more than 50,000 researchers. The scientific
and technological strength thereof ranks third in the country. 291 major
achievements have been made in the fields of science
and technology throughout the city in 1995, of which 6%
are up to the international standard and 42% are up to the domestic advanced
standard.
Places that we Visited
Sun-Yat-Sen Mausoleum: On October 20th, we visited the Sun-Yat-Sen Mausoleum.
Mr. Sun-Yat-Sen was the founding father of modern China. He led eleven
revolutions against the imperial Chinese government during the late Ching
dynasty. His vision moved China from a feudal society to a republic form
of government in the early 1900s. He believed that a government should
be"given birth by the common people, rule by the people and its voice is
that of the common people." The mausoleum is located on the side of a mountain
and shaped like a bell (from the aerial view). There are 392 steps leading
to the mausoleum and the view is wonderful from the top looking down toward
the entrance gateway. We took lots
of pictures and video footage.
.
The Mausoleum of Sun Yat-sen
.
.
The Mausoleum of Sun Yat-sen, is set on
the southern slope of the Zhongshan Mountain.
The mausoleum is composed of a bronze statue of Dr.Sun Yat-sen, a semicircle
square, a triple-arch portal, a path, a mausoleum
gate, a tablet pavilion, a memorial hall and a coffin chamber. The
700-meter -long path with 392 granite steps leads
to the coffin chamber, 158 meters above sea level. Started in 1926, less
than a year after his death, Dr. Sun Yat Sen is recognized by most Chinese
people as the father of Modern China. The stairway begins under a marble
gateway with a roof of blue-glazed tiles. The colors of blue and white
on the mausoleum were meant to symbolizethe white sun on the blue background
of the Kuomingtang flag. At the rear of the memorial chamber at the
top of the stairs lies his crypt. The tablet that hangs across the threshold
is inscribed with the "Three Principles of the People" as formulated by
Dr. Sun: nationalism, democracy and people's livelihood. Also inside the
memorial hall is a seated statue of Doctor Sun and the complete text of
the "Outline of Principles for the Establishment of the Nation" as put
forward by the Nationalist government.A prostrate marble statue of Sun
seals his coffin, although it has been rumored that his body was carted
off to Taiwan by the Kuomingtang and remains there.
. .The Sacred Path to Xiaoling Mausoleum
.
Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum
.
.In the afternoon,
we walked along the Sacred Path to Xioaling Mausoleum. It is a lined on
either side with 12 pairs of stone lions, xiechai ( a fabulous unicorn-like
beast), camels, elephant, and horses and four pairs of military and civils
officers. Set on the southern slope of the Zhongshan Mountain, the mausoleum
of the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Zhu Yuanzhang, and
the empress, is the largest among the mausoleums of the emperors of the
MingDynasty . Although most of the ground buildings were destroyed during
wars, the former splendor can still be seen from the existing wide approach,
800-meter-long, that leads to the mausoleum, flanked on both sides by giant
stone statues of warriors and animals.Leaving the mausoleum, you will travel
through the Sacred Way of the Ming Tomb with its carved stone figures,
en route to a visit at the Nanjing Museum. The museum houses an extensive
collection of art and relics dating from Neolithic times to the Communist
period. The collection also includes an incredible jade suit made of over
2,600 small pieces of jade linked together by 800 grams of silver thread.
©
Jean-Francois Anfossi, March 5th , 1999. 