Map of Jiangxi

History

Jiangxi is centered on the Gan River valley, which historically provided the main north–south transport route of south China. The corridor along the Gan River is one of the few easily traveled routes through the otherwise mountainous and rugged terrain of the south-eastern mountains. This open corridor was the primary route for trade and communication between the North China Plain and the Yangtze River valley in the north and the territory of modern Guangdong province in the south. As a result, Jiangxi has been strategically important throughout much of China's history.

Jiangxi was outside the sphere of influence of early Chinese civilization during the Shang dynasty (16th to 11th centuries BC). It is likely that peoples collectively known as the Baiyue inhabited the region.

Geography

Mountains surround Jiangxi on three sides, with the Mufu Mountains, Jiuling Mountains, and Luoxiao Mountains on the west; Huaiyu Mountains and Wuyi Mountains on the east; and the Jiulian Mountains (九连山) and Dayu Mountains in the south. The southern half of the province is hilly with ranges and valleys interspersed; while the northern half is flatter and lower in altitude. The highest point in Jiangxi is Mount Huanggang (黄岗山) in the Wuyi Mountains, on the border with Fujian. It has an altitude of 2,157 metres (7,077 ft).

The Gan River dominates the province, flowing through the entire length of the province from south to north.

Economy

Jiangxi was a major recipient of China's investment in industrial capacity during the Third Front campaign.

Rice is the dominant crop in Jiangxi. Cash crops commonly grown include cotton and rapeseed. Jiangxi is the leading producer of kumquats in China, particularly in Suichuan County.

Mining-related industries are a major part of Jiangxi's economy.Jiangxi is rich in mineral resources, leading the provinces of China in deposits of copper, tungsten, gold, silver, uranium, thorium, tantalum, niobium, among others. Noted centers of mining include Dexing (copper) and Dayu County (tungsten).

It is located in extreme proximity to some of the richest provinces of China (Guangdong, Zhejiang, Fujian), which are sometimes blamed for taking away talent and capital from Jiangxi.

Demographics

The population of Jiangxi according 2020 Chinese census is 45.18 million. 99.73% of that is Han Chinese, predominantly Gan and Hakka. Ganzhou, Jiangxi's largest city, has an especially large number of Hakka. Ethnic minorities include the She people.

Jiangxi and Henan both have the most unbalanced gender ratios of all Chinese provinces. Based on a 2009 British Medical Journal study, the ratio is over 140 boys for every 100 girls in the 1–4 age group.

In 2019 the most-common surname in Jiangxi was Liú (刘), the only province where this was the case.