Frank Lawson, age 14, of Dotham, Ala., for his question:
HOW OLD IS NANKING, CHINA?
Nanking is one of China's most important centers of industry, transportation and government. People have lived in what is now the Nanking area since about the 400s B.C. Early settlers chose the site because it was located near a large river.
Nanking served as the capital of various local Chinese dynasties from A.D. 420 to 1421.
The Ming dynasty gained control of most of China in 1368. The first Ming ruler named Nanking the seat of the dynasty. Nanking means "southern capital." Then in the early 1400s, the Mingo moved the capital to Peking, which means "northern capital."
In 1853, rebels called the Taipings seized Nanking from the Manchus, who ruled China at that time. The Taipings made the city the capital of their empire. The Manchus regained Nanking in 1864.
In 1911, Chinese revolutionaries overthrew the Manchus. The new rulers met in Nanking and founded the Republic of China. From 1928 to 1937, the city served as the capital of the republic.
Japanese forces captured Nanking in 1937 and burned much of the city.
Nanking again became China's capital in 1946, the year after Japan's surrender ended World War II.
The Chinese Communists took over China in 1949. They made Peking the capital, but Nanking remained a center of regional government. During the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and into the 1980s, the Communists built hundreds of manufacturing plants in Nanking. The city has grown into a major industrial center.
The city lies on the Yangtze River, about 200 miles from the East China Sea. Wharves that can handle ocean going ships line the river's banks.
The remains of an ancient defensive wall surround the built up areas of Nanking.
Railroads link Nanking to Peking, the capital of China, in the north and to Shanghai in the east. A double deck bridge that extends three miles across the Yangtze serves trains and motor vehicles.
Most of the Nanking residents travel by bicycle or public bus. Trucks transport most products in the city but some goods still travel in carts pulled by animals.
Leading products produced by the manufacturing plants include cement, fertilizers, iron and steel, porcelain, textiles and trucks. Nearby mines provide iron ore for the iron and steel plants.
Several communes or farm communities operate just outside the city. The farmers raise cotton, rice, wheat, vegetables and other crops.
Population of Nanking is well over 2 million.
Government office buildings, two museums and a stadium are in the center of Nanking. Commercial and residential areas lie outside the central area. Most of the people live in apartment buildings or in apartments above shops.