Jiangsu, also Kiangsu or Chiang-su, province, eastern China, on the Yellow Sea; Shanghai, located in the southeastern part of the province is separately administered as an independent municipality. bounded by the provinces of Hupeh and Anhwei on the north, Chekiang and Fukien on the east, Kwangtung on the south, Hunan on the west. The provincial capital is Nan-ch'ang.

Under the T'ang dynasty (618-907) the opening of the Grand Canal set Kiangsi on the main trade route between North and South China. The Ch'ing dynasty (1644-1911/12) settled a period of protracted warfare in Kiangsi.It fell under Japanese occupation from 1938 to 1945. Communist forces took possession of the province in 1949.

Main crops of rice, wheat, cotton, and silk grown for industrial use. Coal, phosphates, and salt are major mineral resources; and textiles, steel, chemicals, and machinery are the leading industrial products. construction of large irrigation projects and hydroelectric power stations, and increased use of chemical fertilizers and mechanization. Food crops include rice, sugarcane, fruits, peanuts (groundnuts), and sweet potatoes. Tea, cotton, tobacco, and soybeans are commercial crops.

Major industrial towns are Xuzhou, Lianyungang, Huai'an, Yancheng, Xinghua, Taizhou, Zhenjiang, Nanjing, Nantong, Wuxi and Suzhou.

Area 102,600 sq km (39,600 sq mi); population 74,380,000.

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