nanking

noun Older Spelling.

1. Nanjing.

noun Pinyin.

1. a port in and the capital of Jiangsu province, in E China, on the Chang Jiang: a former capital of China.

noun

1. a port in E central China, capital of Jiangsu province, on the Yangtze River: capital of the Chinese empire and a literary centre from the 14th to 17th centuries; capital of Nationalist China (1928–37); site of a massacre of about 300 000 civilians by the invading Japanese army in 1937; university (1928). Pop: 2 806 000 (2005 est)

city in China, literally “southern capital,” from nan “south” + jing “capital.” See Nanjing. City in eastern China on the Yangtze River, northeast of Shanghai; an industrial and transportation center.