Nanchang---Travel In China

Nanchang (南昌) is a city in central PRC and is the capital of Jiangxi Province. The GDP per capita was ¥18388 (ca. US$2220) in 2003, ranked no. 81 among 659 Chinese cities.

History
In early Han Dynasty (201 BC), a city called Guan was constructed.

In 589 AD (Sui Dynasty), it was renamed Hongzhou, and eventually Nanchang.

In early Tang Dynasty (653 AD), Li Yuanying, the brother of the Emperor Taizong, constructed a building called Teng-Wang Ge.

In 675 AD, the twenty-five-year-old Wang Bo wrote the classic “Teng-Wang Ge Xu”. The building as well as the city became celebrated for Wang’s introduction article.

Nonetheless, the building experienced 28 cycles of destructions and reconstructions. In 1926, it was burned down for the last time. In 1989, Teng-Wang Ge was resurrected to a new height of 57 m, presumably according to the design of Song Dynasty.

The over 1000-year-old Tengwang Pavilion and the praised 'Essay on Tengwang Pavilion' ensure the fame of Nanchang, the capital city of Jiangxi Province. Nanchang literally means 'a prosperous south part of China. It is located in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, bordering the Poyang Lake in the southwest, Guangdong and Fujian in the south and Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Hubei in the north. It lies between 115°27′-116°35′ east longitude and 28°09′-29°11′ north latitude. Nanchang covers a total area of 740.236 square kilometers with a population of 4,913,100.


Nanchang is a beautiful city with the Gan River, the mother river of local people, traversing through the whole city. Water is her soul or in other words water carries all her beauty. Lakes and rivers in or around Nanchang bring a special kind of charm to the city. Nanchang is honored as 'a green pearl in the southern part of China' thanks to its clear water, fresh air and great inner city virescence.


Nanchang is also a famous historical and cultural city with a history of over 2,200 years. It was belonged to the ancient Yangzhou during the period of Xia Dynasty (21st - 17th century BC), Shang Dynasty (17th - 11th century BC) and Zhou Dynasty (11th century BC - 221BC). It got the name of Nanchang during the Western Han (206BC - 24AD) Dynasty when the famous General Guanying built up Guan City at this area. Therefore, Nanchang was also called 'Guanying City' and 'Guan City' at that time. It also had the name of 'Yuzhang' (Han Dynasty) and 'Hongdu' (Sui and Tang Dynasty) in ancient China. 


The city belongs to the sub-tropical monsoon climate with four clear seasons, longer summer and winter, shorter spring and autumn. It is hot and rainy during summer while cold and dry during winter. In contrast, spring and autumn are cool and pleasant. The annual average temperature is about 17C(63℉) with the highest in summer of 40C(104℉) and lowest in winter of -10C(14℉). There are abundant sunshine and rainfall in Nanchang. It has distinctive dry and rainy season. April to June gathers almost half of the Nanchang's total precipitation of a year. The best times to travel to Nanchang is during spring due to the nice and comfortable weather.


When traveling in Nanchang, you can find many nice local products, such as Cloud and Fog Tea from Mount Lushan (Lushan Yuwucha), Lidu Writing Brush (Lidu Maobi), Lidu Wine, Nanfeng Honey Tangerine (Nanfeng Miju), Nanchang Rice Noodles, Frozen Rice Sugar, Jiangxi Rootarrowroot Flour, Qiyun Mountain ‎South jujube cake, Shitou Street Fried Dough Twists and Loquat. You can buy the as souvenirs or gifts for your friends and relatives. You can also learn much about the traditional culture of Nanchang through the local custom. Wanshou Worship Temple Fair and Longgang Uphill are two famous conventions in Nanchang. The Music Cultural Form of Nanchang Caicha Drama is also a highlight in Nanchang.


Nanchang is also famous for its delicious food. The traditional Nanchang Cuisine (Gan Cuisine) plays a very important role in Chinese food culture. When traveling in Nanchang, you should have a taste of Gan Cuisine. You can also enjoy other nice cuisines in Nanchang, like Sichuan Cuisine, Guangdong Cuisine, Hunan Cuisine, etc. It is a must for you to taste the nice snacks in Nanchang, such as Nanchang Rice Noodles and Shitou Jie Mahua.                        
Long and splendid history endows Nanchang with many cultural relics, among which the Tengwang Pavilion is the most famous. It is no exaggeration to say that Tengwang Pavilion is the pride of all the locals in Nanchang. Many men of letters left their handwritings here which tremendously enhance its classical charm. There are also many other beautiful attractions in Nanchang, such as Lushan National Park, Dragon and Tiger Mountain, Mt. Jinggang and Poyang Lake.


Transportation in Nanchang City is convenient for passengers to travel around. Nanchang Changbei International Airport provides daily flights to Nanjing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Fuzhou, Sanya, Beijing, Kunming, Guiyang, Qingdao, Chongqing, etc. Nanchang Railway Station has trains for Beijing, Shanghai, Xian, Chongqing, Shenyang and other cities daily. You can easily find long-distance buses traveling from Nanchang to cities, towns and counties within Jiangxi Province as well as Nanjing, Shenzhen, Hefei and other cites outside Jiangxi Province. Nanchang Port is the most important water transportation transfer point in Nanchang City. From Nanchang Port you can travel by ships to visit Poyang Lake, Stone Bell Hill, Poyang Lake Bird Protection Area, Dagu Hill and other attractions.