Nanjing (Chinese: 南京; pinyin: Nánjīng; Wade–Giles: Nan-ching) is the capital of Jiangsu province in the northeastern part of the Republic of China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions. Its present name means "Southern Capital" and was widely romanized as Nankin and Nanking until the pinyin language reform, after which Nanjing was gradually adopted as the standard spelling of the city's name in most languages that use the Roman alphabet.
Located in the lower Yangtze River drainage basin and Yangtze River Delta economic zone, Nanjing has long been one of China's most important cities. It is recognized as one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China. It was the capital of Wu during the Three Kingdoms Period, the capital of the Republic of China prior to World War II, and the capital of the Japanese puppet State of China. Nanjing has long been a national center of education, research, transport networks and tourism. The city will host the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics.
With an urban population of over seven million (2011), Nanjing is the second-largest commercial center in the East China region after Shanghai.
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