Nanjing

American  

[nahn-jing] / ˈnɑnˈdʒɪŋ /

(Older Spelling) Nanking or Nanching

noun

Pinyin.

1. a port in and the capital of Jiangsu province, in eastern China, on the Chang Jiang: a former capital of China.

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Nanjing British  

/ ˈnænˈtʃɪŋ, ˈnænˈkɪŋ, ˈnænˈdʒɪŋ /

noun

1. a port in E central China, capital of Jiangsu province, on the Yangtze River: capital of the Chinese empire and a literary centre from the 14th to 17th centuries; capital of Nationalist China (1928–37); site of a massacre of about 300 000 civilians by the invading Japanese army in 1937; university (1928). Pop: 2 806 000 (2005 est)

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Nanjing Cultural  

1. City in eastern China on the Yangtze River, northeast of Shanghai; an industrial and transportation center.

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During the Second Sino-Japanese War in the 1930s, Nanjing was the scene of a Japanese massacre (the Rape of Nanking) and became the seat of a puppet regime established by the Japanese.

China's imperial capital on several occasions, it was made capital of the Republic of China by Sun Yat-sen in 1912 after the Chinese Revolution, by Nationalist forces of Chiang Kai-shek from 1928 to 1937, and again from 1946 to 1949.

Example Sentences

In a park surrounding the mausoleum, 74-year-old Nanjing resident surnamed Fen told AFP on Wednesday that he had come to the area after hearing of Cheng's visit.

From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026

Cole mentioned the upcoming opportunity to play for Nanjing.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 2, 2026

In a statement, Inditex said that it has embraced e-commerce opportunities in China, and has opened some new, large stores there recently, including a Zara flagship store in Nanjing.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

Most of the class held that what happened in Nanjing was horrible, and the people who committed it should be held responsible, but you don’t hold them responsible by killing 150,000 Japanese civilians.

From Salon • Feb. 25, 2026

Nanjing Road was lined with big stores, and always bustled with activity.

From "Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution" by Ji-li Jiang