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Capital · Historic city · Industrial centre · Jiangxi

Nanchang

南昌 (Nánchāng)

City of the Pavilion of Prince Teng and the 1927 uprising

Nanchang is the capital of Jiangxi, on the Gan River near its outflow into Poyang Lake. Founded as the Han commandery seat of Yuzhang in 201 BCE, it is known for the Pavilion of Prince Teng, celebrated by the Tang poet Wang Bo, for the painter Bada Shanren, and as the city of the Nanchang Uprising of 1 August 1927, regarded as the birth of the People's Liberation Army.

ProvinceJiangxi

Key facts

Province
Jiangxi (capital)
Administrative level
Prefecture-level city
Area
about 7,195 km²[1]
Resident population
6.26 million(as of 2020 census)[2]
Founded
201 BCE

Overview

Nanchang grew on the east bank of the Gan River where it approaches Poyang Lake, a natural centre for the rice lands of northern Jiangxi and for traffic between the Yangtze and the south. For most of its history it was a prefectural and provincial capital of the second rank, famous above all for the Pavilion of Prince Teng.

Today the city spreads across both banks of the Gan, with the new Honggutan district on the west bank. It has industries in aviation, cars, electronics and pharmaceuticals, and is the political and educational centre of Jiangxi.

Names and nicknames

  • 洪城 (Hóngchéng)

    From Hongzhou, the city's name from the Sui to the Song.

  • 豫章 (Yùzhāng)

    The Han commandery name, still used in literary contexts.

  • 英雄城 (Yīngxióng chéng)

    “Hero City”

    Epithet recalling the 1927 uprising.

History

The Han general Guan Ying built the city of Yuzhang in 201 BCE. Prince Teng, a son of the Tang founder, built his pavilion in 653, and Wang Bo's preface of 675 made it famous. Bada Shanren lived and painted in Nanchang in the late seventeenth century. On 1 August 1927 Zhou Enlai, He Long, Ye Ting, Zhu De and others led an uprising against the Nationalists, the founding event of the Red Army.

  1. 201 BCE

    City of Yuzhang founded

    Guan Ying built the walled seat of Yuzhang commandery.

  2. 653

    Pavilion of Prince Teng built

    Li Yuanying, Prince of Teng, built the pavilion on the river; it has been rebuilt many times, most recently in 1989.

  3. 675

    Wang Bo's preface

    The young poet's preface, composed at a banquet in the pavilion, became one of the best-known pieces of Chinese parallel prose.

  4. 1 August 1927

    Nanchang Uprising

    Communist-led units of the National Revolutionary Army seized the city; 1 August is Army Day in China.

Landmarks

  1. Historic site

    Pavilion of Prince Teng

    滕王阁 (Téngwáng Gé)

    Rebuilt Song-style pavilion on the bank of the Gan River, one of the Three Great Towers of Jiangnan.

  2. Museum

    Bada Shanren Memorial Hall

    八大山人纪念馆 (Bādà Shānrén Jìniànguǎn)

    At the Daoist Qingyunpu temple where the painter is said to have lived.

  3. Museum

    Memorial Hall of the Nanchang Uprising

    八一南昌起义纪念馆 (Bāyī Nánchāng Qǐyì Jìniànguǎn)

    In the former Jiangxi Grand Hotel, the uprising's headquarters.

  4. Museum

    Haihunhou Site Museum

    海昏侯国遗址博物馆 (Hǎihūnhóu Guó Yízhǐ Bówùguǎn)

    Displays the treasures from the tomb of Liu He, briefly Han emperor and later Marquis of Haihun, excavated from 2011.

Neighbourhoods

  • Wanshou Palace quarter

    万寿宫历史文化街区 (Wànshòu Gōng lìshǐ wénhuà jiēqū)

    Restored old streets around the temple of Xu Xun, the Daoist patron of Jiangxi.

  • Honggutan

    红谷滩 (Hónggǔtān)

    New business district on the west bank of the Gan.

Food

  • Mixed rice noodles

    南昌拌粉 (Nánchāng bàn fěn)

    The city's breakfast: rice noodles with soy, chilli, pickles and peanuts.

  • Clay-jar soup

    瓦罐汤 (wǎguàn tāng)

    Soups simmered for hours in small jars inside a charcoal urn, eaten with the noodles.

  • White-sugar cakes

    白糖糕 (báitáng gāo)

    Fried glutinous rice sticks rolled in sugar.

Culture

Nanchang's literary identity rests on Wang Bo's preface and on the painters and scholars of the Gan valley; its revolutionary identity on the 1927 uprising. Gan opera is performed by the provincial troupe, and the city's temple to Xu Xun (Wanshou Palace) was the centre of guild halls founded by Jiangxi merchants across China.

落霞与孤鹜齐飞，秋水共长天一色。

Luòxiá yǔ gū wù qí fēi, qiūshuǐ gòng cháng tiān yī sè.

“The setting clouds fly with a lone wild duck; the autumn waters share one colour with the endless sky.”

— Wang Bo, “Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng” (滕王阁序), 675

Getting around

  • The Nanchang Metro crosses the Gan River to link the old city with Honggutan and the railway stations.
  • Nanchang West is the main high-speed station; Nanchang station serves older lines. Changbei International Airport lies to the north.

Day trips

  • Haihun marquisate site

    海昏侯国遗址 (Hǎihūnhóu guó yízhǐ)

    Archaeological park of the Han marquis's capital and cemetery in Xinjian.

  • Anyi old villages

    安义古村 (Ānyì gǔcūn)

    Ming and Qing merchant villages north-west of the city.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

  1. Nanchang Municipal People's Government — Nanchang Municipal People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
  2. Seventh National Population Census communiqués — National Bureau of Statistics of China (retrieved 27 September 2026)
  3. Nanchang — Encyclopaedia Britannica (retrieved 27 September 2026)

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