Nanjing has hundreds of manufacturing plants. Leading products include cement, fertilizers, iron and steel, porcelain, textiles, and trucks. Nearby mines provide iron ore for the iron and steel plants. The farmers raise cotton, rice, wheat, vegetables, and other crops. Railroads connect Nanjing to Beijing, the capital of China, in the north and to Shanghai in the east.
Numerous ships dock at the wharves of the city.
B.C. Early settlers chose the site because of its location near a river and some roads. The Ming dynasty gained control of most of China in 1368. In 1853, rebels called the Taipings seized Nanjing from the Manchus, who ruled China at that time. The Taipings made the city the capital of their empire. The Manchus regained Nanjing in 1864.