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Jiangsu is a long, narrow province hugging the coast south of Shandong. Low-lying, flat and wet, it is one of the most fertile and long-inhabited areas of China, dense in population and with plenty of sights of interest. The provincial capital, Nanjing , one of the great historical cities of China, was until only fifty years ago the nation's capital. Suzhou and Yangzhou are ancient cities famous throughout China for their gardens and silk production, while Wuxi attracts thousands of tourists to the shores of Tai Hu for its scenery, fruit trees and fish, and for the caves of Yixing across the lake. The traditional route across Jiangsu is the Grand Canal , which was once navigable all the way from Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province to Beijing, and is still very much alive in the sections that flow through southern Jiangsu. In addition to Suzhou, Yangzhou and Wuxi, Zhenjiang and Changzhou are two more classic trading centres full of the bustle of canal life. The province's other great water highway - the Yangzi River - connects Nanjing with the seaport of Shanghai, ensuring that trade from both east and west continues to bring wealth to the region. The northwest has traditionally been the poor and backward part of the province, but even here Xuzhou is now a major rail junction with modern coal mines to supplement the fame of its early Han origins. A rail link - the continuation of the line that eventually runs all the way across Asia and Europe to Rotterdam - connects Xuzhou with Lianyungang on the coast. The central parts of Jiangsu have a coast too shallow for anchorage, but ideal for salt panning, traditionally the source of its income. Among these flat lands dotted with small towns and lakes, and seamed with canals, the highlight is Huai'an , the attractive hometown of Zhou Enlai.
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