Nanning is the capital of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China. It is known as the "Green City (绿城) " because of its abundance of lush subtropical foliage. Located in the South of Guangxi, Nanning is surrounded by a hilly basin, with a warm, monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate. Beginning in 1949, as it underwent sustained industrial growth, Nanning's economy began developing beyond its former role, and the city became essentially a commercial and administrative centre. Today, Nanning is considered the economic, financial and cultural center of Guangxi, and the chief centre for the training of the Zhuang minority in Guangxi. The People's Park is located in the center of the city. The city also serves as a gateway for the China-ASEAN opening up and cooperation. As of 2024, Nanning is ranked one of the top 200 science cities in the world by scientific research outputs, as tracked by the Nature Index. The city is home to several notable universities, including Guangxi University, Guangxi Medical University, Guangxi University for Nationalities, Guangxi University of Finance and Economics and Guangxi Arts University.

History

Imperial era

Nanning, an ancient city with a long history and rich culture, was part of Baiyue ethnic groups in the ancient time. In the first year of Daxing period of Eastern Jin Dynasty (AD 318), Jinxing County, established here as one of the county towns, ushered a history of 1700 years of Nanning organizational system. During the Zhenguan period of Tang dynasty (AD 632), it was renamed Yong prefecture (Yongzhou) and established Yongzhou government seat, which is why it has been called Yong (邕) for short. In the first year of Taiding period of Yuan dynasty (AD1318), Yongzhou was renamed Nanning, meaning the Pacified South. Nanning was once the territory of the Baiyue people and became the capital of Jinxing Prefecture which was separated from Yulin Prefecture of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. In 1076 during the Lý–Song War Yongshou was besieged by Lý forces. Under the leadership of Su Jian, the garrison held out for forty-two days before succumbing. The city was razed to the ground and its people massacred by Lý dynasty. In the Yuan dynasty in 1324, it was renamed Nanning Lu (Nanning Circuit) of Yongzhou. Historically, Nanning was famous for trade, and had permanent business offices from other areas in China since the Song dynasty. In the Ming dynasty Nanning developed into an economic center of the Zuo River and the You River with the reputation of "Little Nanjing".

People's Republic era

On 4 December 1949, Nanning was captured by the Communist Party. in January 1950, Nanning municipality was set up, and identified as the capital city of Guangxi on 8 February of the same year; in March 1958, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region was established, and Nanning municipality was the capital city. Nanning served as host for the annual China–ASEAN Expo (CASEAN Expo) which began in 2004. The city was also the venue for the 2006 World Robotics Olympiad.

Administrative divisions

Nanning has jurisdiction over 7 districts, 1 county-level city, 4 counties, and 6 development zones. Development Zones:

Cityscape

Nanning is home of the 21st tallest building in the People's Republic of China, the Diwang International Commerce Center, at 276 m, currently the tallest building in Guangxi and in southwestern China outside Chongqing. The second tallest building in Nanning is the World Trade Commerce City at 218 meters. The city currently has seven buildings taller than 100 m, built or under construction. Nanning has many parks with tropical lush green landscape, it is one of the "greenest" cities in China, and it's known as "Green City"(绿城). Nanning's downtown skyline is rapidly changing and the city is becoming an important hub in China. Recently, the government has begun a citywide beautification plan which aimed to further clean up the city and improve its image. This involved curtailing the number of street-side food vendors operating without proper licenses and restricting parking in busy streets. The program has achieved initial success, long-term efforts are still needed to deliver lasting results.

Economy

Nanning's GDP in 2015 was 341 billion RMB. The GDP per capita was $7,844. Foreign exports in 2007 were US$10 billion. Foreign fixed asset investment was 34.3 billion RMB. Nanning has six development zones and industrial parks, three of which accounted for 6 billion RMB of Nanning's GDP, more than 8 percent of Nanning's total. Mineral resources include gold, iron, manganese, aluminum, quartz, silver, indium, coal, marble, and granite with a third of China's different types of mineral resources found in Nanning.

Industrial zones

Transportation

Metro

Nanning Metro system is known for its Nanning Rail Transit (NNRT), expected to comprise a total of nine lines. The first was completed and put into operation in June 2016, the second began operation in December 2017. Line 3 began operation in 2019, and Line 4 began operation in 2020. Line 1 connects the East and West of Nanning, linking the financial and political center and the academic and research center of Nanning.

Air

Rail

Nanning has two major railway stations: Nanning railway station and Nanning East railway station. The latter one is newer and also the main destination of high-speed trains. A third, Nanning North railway station, is set to open in 2023 with the Guiyang–Nanning high-speed railway. Nanning railway station is a railway junction for the Nanning–Kunming, Nanning–Guangzhou and Hunan–Guangxi Railways. There are also plans to build a high-speed railway to Pingxiang on the Vietnamese border. The goal is to better integrate Pan-Pearl River Delta and southeast China with members of the ASEAN. At the end of 2013, some high-speed service has been introduced on the Hunan–Guangxi railway and on the railway line that connects Nanning with Beihai (as well as its branch to Fangchenggang). Guangxi is also a conjunction of Guangzhou-Guiyang Highspeed Rail.

Highways

Flora and fauna

Nanning's warm climate gives it a large amount of biodiversity. There are many species of animals and more than 3,000 species of plants. The city flower is the Jaba flower, an evergreen shrub, and the city tree is the almond tree which is regarded as the backbone tree used for greening and landscaping throughout the city.

Geography

Nanning is located in the southern part of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, 160 km from the border with Vietnam. It has an administrative area of 22293 km2. Nanning is situated in a hilly basin with elevations between 70 and 500 m above sea-level. Qingxiu Mountain dominates the southern part of town.

Climate

Nanning has a warm, humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), It borders the subtropical monsoon climate (Köppen Cwa).with an annual mean temperature of 22.3 °C. Summers are hot and humid with July, the hottest month, having a 24-hour average temperature of 28.5 °C. Winters are mild and somewhat damp with January, the coolest month, averaging 13.3 °C. From February to August, rain is most frequent and relative humidity consistently averages above 80 percent; the annual rainfall is 1269 mm. The area is also frost-free for all but 3 or 4 days a year and snowfall is virtually unheard of in the city, with a single exception since 1900: in December 1975 snow fell on the city albeit without sticking to the ground. Extreme temperatures have ranged from −2.1 to 40.4 °C. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 15 percent in March to 51 percent in September, the city receives 1,579 hours of bright sunshine annually.

Twin towns – sister cities

Nanning is twinned with:

Demographics

As of the 2020 Chinese census, Nanning had a population of 8,741,584, of which 5,293,359 live in its built-up (or metro) area made of 6 urban districts, Wuming District not being conurbated yet. Nanning is a city in which Zhuang ethnic group live in compact communities. Thirty-five ethnic groups live in compact communities in Nanning, including people of Zhuang, Han, Yao, Hui, Miao, Dong, and Man minorities.

Culture

Nanning is the center of science and technology, education, culture and health in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. There are altogether 54 scientific research institutes subordinate to districts. 10 colleges and 50 trade schools are training specialised personnel of all kinds. Now there are 62 mass cultural organizations, 13 performing groups, 8 cinemas, 285 projecting units, over 70 karaoke halls and over 1000 newsstands. Bookshops and cultural markets can be found everywhere.

Food

Nanning has not only local cuisine but also food from other areas of China and abroad. Traditional food culture can be found around most streets of Nanning. Nanning food shares the style of Cantonese food and of Southeast Asia. Chinese cuisine including Guangdong, Sichuan, Hunan and Jiangsu as well as Japanese, Thai and Western cuisines can be found. Rice noodles are very popular among the Nanning people. Laoyou rice noodles are the most famous, while other noodle dishes such as Guilin rice noodles and hand made noodles can be found. Laoyou rice noodles (means old friend rice noodles) are made of fry up pepper, sour bamboo shoots, black beans and garlic, then pork, and then soup and rice noodles. The sour-spicy tasting noodles are a very popular and cheap favorite street food for all meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) in Nanning. The dish, Lemon duck, is originally from Nanning.

Tourism

Nanning is close to scenic Guilin, with its world-famous hillscape, northern and western Guangxi and its minority villages, and the border with Vietnam in the south. Tourist attractions in Nanning include Guangxi Museum, People's Park with the Zhenning Fort, Mount Qingxiu, Guangxi Medicinal Herb Botanical Garden, and Yangmei Ancient Town. Other places of interest include Nanhu Park, Shishan Park and Nanning Zoo.

Colleges and universities

As of 2024, Nanning is ranked one of the top 200 science cities in the world by scientific research outputs, as tracked by the Nature Index. Note: Institutions without full-time bachelor programs are not listed.

Notable people