Jiangxi

Jiangxi, also Kiangsi or Chiang-hsi, province, southeastern China. It includes cultivated alluvial lowland in the north—along the Yangtze and Gan rivers and around a large lake, the Poyang Hu—and a surrounding border of low hills on the east, west, and south. Rice is the main lowland crop, with tea important in upland areas. Major resources are coal, mined in the western hills, and kaolin clays, mined here since ancient times for the manufacture of porcelain. Leading cities are Nanchang (the capital), Ji’an, Ganzhou, Pingxiang, and Jiujiang.

Jiangxi first came under Chinese administration during the Han dynasty (206bc-ad220). Between the 9th and 19th centuries, it prospered from the trade between northern and southern China along the Gan River. It was the main military base for the early Communist movement in China from the 1920s until the Communists were expelled in 1934. Area, 164,800 sq km (63,630 sq mi); population 74,058,200 (2003 estimate).