Jiangxi Province, abbreviated as “Gan”, is a provincial-level administrative region of the People’s Republic of China, with Nanchang as its capital. Located in southeastern China, on the south bank of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, it borders Zhejiang and Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei and Anhui across the Yangtze River to the north. It lies at the central hinterland of the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta and the West Coast of the Taiwan Straits. As of 2023, Jiangxi governs 11 prefecture‑level cities, 27 municipal districts, 12 county‑level cities and 61 counties, totaling 100 county‑level divisions.
The province got its name from Jiangnanxi Circuit established during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, and its abbreviation “Gan” from the Ganjiang River, the mother river of Jiangxi. Since ancient times, it has been known as the “Land of Ganyue”, “the head of Wu and the tail of Chu, the gate of Guangdong and the courtyard of Fujian”, a “region of strategic beauty”. It has long enjoyed the reputation of “a land of literature, loyalty and integrity, and a land of white cranes, fish and rice”.
Jiangxi’s terrain is dominated by hills and mountains typical of the south of the Yangtze River, with extensive basins and valleys, and a small share of the Poyang Lake Plain and the middle‑lower Yangtze Plain. It has a subtropical warm and humid monsoon climate, with an annual average temperature ranging from about 16.3℃ to 25℃, generally increasing from north to south. There are more than 2,400 rivers across the province. Except for a few border areas belonging to the Pearl River and Xiangjiang basins or flowing directly into the Yangtze, most rivers originate from the mountains within Jiangxi and converge into five major systems: the Ganjiang, Fuhe, Xinjiang, Raohe and Xiuhe rivers. They all eventually empty into Poyang Lake, which connects to the Yangtze River at Hukou County, forming a centripetal water system centered on Poyang Lake. Poyang Lake is the largest freshwater lake in China.
Jiangxi is one of China’s major grain‑producing areas in the south of the Yangtze River, with rice as the staple crop.Oil crops such as rapeseed, peanuts and sesame account for about 70% of the sown area of commercial crops in Jiangxi. Camellia oleifera, the main woody oil crop, ranks second in China. Cotton is mainly produced in three major regions: northern, central and northeastern Jiangxi. Jiangxi is one of the sugarcane‑growing areas in southern China. Ramie is a traditional commercial crop of national and local significance. Tea plantations are concentrated in northeastern Jiangxi and the Xiushui River basin in northwestern Jiangxi. Citrus cultivation is centered in Xingan, Qingjiang, the Fuhe basin and southern Jiangxi.
Jiangxi is also an important producer of timber and bamboo in southeast China, and one of China’s key freshwater fishery provinces. Meanwhile, Poyang Lake is world‑famous as a wintering ground for waterbirds, where the number of wintering white cranes has reached more than 4,000, accounting for about 98% of the global population. Therefore, Jiangxi fully deserves the title of “a land of white cranes, fish and rice”.
Jiangxi is rich in underground mineral resources and is one of China’s provinces with a well‑matched mineral resource portfolio. Reserves ranking among the top three nationwide include copper, tungsten, silver, tantalum, scandium, uranium, rubidium, cesium, gold, associated sulfur, talc, quartz powder and wollastonite. Copper, tungsten, uranium, tantalum, rare earths, gold and silver are praised as the “Seven Golden Flowers” of Jiangxi.
Non‑ferrous metal smelting, machinery manufacturing and porcelain making are among the most advanced in China. Jiangxi has a developed non‑ferrous metal mining and metallurgical industry, gradually forming an important national non‑ferrous metal production base dominated by the pattern of “tungsten in the south and copper in the north”. Tungsten smelters have been built in Ganzhou, while Shangrao, Linchuan, Jiujiang and Yingtan are developing into northern Jiangxi copper industry bases. Guixi Smelter is China’s largest modern copper smelting enterprise.
Jiangxi’s iron and steel industry emerged in the early 1950s, mainly using local iron ore and coal. The output of ferromanganese produced in Xinyu accounts for about half of the national total. Longnan County is an important rare earth production base in southern China. Jiangxi is known as the “World Tungsten Capital”, “Kingdom of Rare Earths”, “China’s Copper Capital” and “Home of Non‑Ferrous Metals”.
Jiangxi has a long history of porcelain making. Jingdezhen, the Porcelain Capital, has long been China’s center of porcelain production. Since 1949, porcelain production has gradually been mechanized. Products fall into three categories: colored glaze porcelain, painted porcelain and carved inlaid porcelain. The production of classic varieties such as Venus Green, Uniform Red and Ji Red has also been revived.
Jiangxi is a sacred land of the Chinese revolution:
Jinggangshan is the cradle of the Chinese revolution.
Nanchang is the birthplace of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.
Ruijin is where the Provisional Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic was founded.
Anyuan is the source of the Chinese workers’ movement.Jiangxi is a land of culture and talent, famous for literature and moral integrity. It has nurtured distinctive cultures including red culture, landscape culture, ceramic culture, academy culture and opera culture, as well as regional cultures such as Linchuan Culture, Luling Culture, Yuzhang Culture and Hakka Culture.
Jiangxi is the birthplace of ancient Chinese academies. The Yimen Dongjia Academy in De’an and Guiyan Academy in Gao’an, both founded in the Tang Dynasty, are among the earliest academies in China. During the Song Dynasty, Bailudong Academy ranked first among China’s Four Great Academies. Hualin Academy invited scholars from all over the country, Ehu Academy pioneered the atmosphere of free academic debate, and Bailuzhou Academy was renowned for producing numerous talents and running for 800 consecutive years.Among the 1,239 academies in the Ming Dynasty, 238 were in Jiangxi, accounting for one‑fifth of the national total. According to the Gazetteer of Jiangxi · Academies compiled during the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty, Jiangxi had as many as 526 academies. Scholars estimate, based on various historical records, local chronicles, notes and stone inscriptions, that Jiangxi had more than 1,000 ancient academies, 85 of which remain relatively intact today.
By 2024, Jiangxi is home to:
5 World Heritage Sites:
1 Mixed Cultural and Natural Heritage: Mount Wuyi in Yanshan, Shangrao;
2 Natural Heritages: Mount Sanqing, Mount Longhushan‑Guifeng (part of China Danxia);
1 Cultural Heritage: Lushan Scenic Area in Jiujiang.
4 Global Geoparks: Lushan, Sanqingshan, Longhushan (including Longhushan, Guifeng and Xiangshan sections) and Wugongshan.
2 Ramsar Sites (Internationally Important Wetlands).
2 Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems: Wannan Rice Culture System, Hakka Terraces in Chongyi (part of the Southern China Rice Terraces System).
4 World Irrigation Engineering Heritage Sites: Chatan Weir in Taihe, Qianjin Weir in Fuzhou, Liaohe Irrigation District and Shangbao Terraces.
Traditional Chinese tea processing and associated practices inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.Jiangxi has 18 national‑level scenic areas, including 15 AAAAA‑level tourist attractions and 213 AAAA‑level attractions (as of 2024). It also has 5 national tourist resorts, 51 key villages and 6 key towns for national rural tourism, 37 AAAAA‑level rural tourism sites and 210 AAAA‑level ones. All 11 prefecture‑level cities have been awarded National Forest City.
The province has established 190 nature reserves at all levels (16 national, 38 provincial, 136 municipal and county‑level), 182 forest parks (50 national, 120 provincial, 12 municipal and county‑level) and 99 wetland parks (39 national, 60 provincial).
Jiangxi has 6 National Famous Historical and Cultural Cities: Nanchang, Ganzhou, Jingdezhen, Ruijin, Fuzhou and Jiujiang. A total of 32,800 immovable cultural relics have been registered, including 160 Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level. There are 202 registered museums, of which 61 are national‑level museums, ranking sixth in China.
In 2023, Jiangxi received more than 800 million tourist visits, with a total tourism revenue of nearly one trillion yuan.
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