Nanjing

Template:Infobox Settlement Nanjing (Classic Zhenian: 南京), formally the City of Nanjing (Classic Zhenian: 南京市) , is the second most populous city in Zhenia situated in the center of southern Zhenia, being a major center of culture, education, politics, economy, infrastructure and tourism. 9.7 million residents live within the metropolitan area's borders, while around 23 million residents in the surrounding Nanjing-Guangzhou Metropolitan Area, the second-largest metropolitan area in the country. Along with Chenhai, Bakhan, Shenhai and Dongdo, it is one of the five cities independently administrated by a Metropolitan Municipality Government. The city is surrounded by Guangdong Province to the east and south and Henan Province to the north, along the Zhongwu River.

Starting out as a small fishing town along the Zhongwu River, Nanjing was rebuilt as the capital city of Southern Zhen in 517. Since then, it has served as the capital of many entities that came to rule southern Zhenia until the 19th century, although other major cities, including Zhenhai and Dongjing came to challenge the position from time to time. In 1848, the Federation of South Zhenia relocated its capital from Zhenhai to Nanjing, making the city a new center of southern Zhenia. It became a major center of industrialization during the First and Second Republics, being a center of heavy industry in southern Zhenia in the early 20th century. Although much of heavy industry was relocated to central and northern Zhenia during the Third Republic, the city remained a center of southern Zhenia with the further influx of the information technology (IT) industry in the 1980s.

Today, Nanjing remains the largest city in Zhenia south of Chenhai as the 'heart of the south', known for being a global city as well as a center of innovation and progress. The city's booming information technology (IT) industry has enabled the city to become the second most affluent city in the nation after Chenhai and Xiaolong. It hosts the headquarters of many of the nation's most successful high-tech corporations, as well as three of the nation's largest banks; in recent years, it has gained attention as the center of start-up ventures in the nation, being home to 35% of all start-up ventures in Zhenia.