Jiangxi

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The area was originally inhabited to a large extent by non-Chinese, but in the 3rd-6th C was settled by Han-Chinese, who fled there to escape the steppe peoples in the north. During the Ming period (1368-1644) the province emerged with its present boundaries. In the 20th C Jiangxi was the first power base of the communist revolutionaries.

The large coal reserves and deposits of tungsten ore in the Dayu Ling Mountains are important industrially. Kaolin is also mined, with porcelain production in Jingdezhen. The main agricultural product is rice, which is cultivated for 10 to 11 months in the year (wet rice-growing area around Poyang Hu) and occupies 70 per cent of the available arable land. Other crops include tea, barley, wheat, sesame, rape, maize and sweet potatoes. Jiangxi is also an important fruit-growing area, producing watermelons, pears, date-plums, apples, oranges and the famous pipless mandarin and has a significant forestry industry (cedar, camphor, maple and pine).