Jiangsu , or Chiang-su conventional Kiangsu, Province, eastern China. Area: 39,600 sq mi (102,600 sq km). Population: (2020) 84,748,016. Capital: Nanjing (Nanking). It lies on the Yellow Sea and is also bordered by Shandong, Anhui, and Zhejiang provinces and Shanghai municipality. Jiangsu is one of the smallest and most densely populated provinces of China, and it is also one of the wealthiest. It occupies a wide alluvial plain that is divided into two sections by the estuary of the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang). Once a part of the ancient state of Wu, the region was part of the Nanjing province under the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). It became a separate province in 1667 and served as the headquarters (1853–64) for the Taiping Rebellion. It was an important base for China’s Nationalist Party, which made Nanjing the nation’s capital from 1928 to 1937 and again from 1946 to 1949. The province was occupied by Japan during the Sino-Japanese War (1937–45) and came under communist control in 1949. It produces steel, electronics, and agricultural products.
