Nanking
capital of the province of Kiangsu, formerly the capital of China, on the Yangtse river, 130 miles from its mouth. Its name signifies the southern capital. Since the removal of the seat of government to Peking (northern capital), in the beginning of the 15th century, the official name has been century, the official Kiangning, though the old name is popu- larly preferred. From 1853 to 1864 it was the capital of the Taiping rebels, who destroyed nearly all the magnificent public buildings for which the city was once famous. Previous to that time the walls inclosed an area nearly 20 miles in places an elevation of 70 feet. The circumference, and reached in many most memorable of the ruined buildings were the Porcelain Tower, the summer palace, and the tombs of the kings, with its recapture by the Chinese imperialists, Nanking resumed its position as the seat of the viceregal government, arsenal was established. In and 1842 it was captured by the British. and an arsenal was established. In sin (1858) as a river port to be opened to foreign trade, little has come of this concession. Pop. estimated 270,000. an NANNING