Nanning
has a history of more than 1,600 years. It was named Yongzhou,
or Yong for short in the Tang Dynasty; Yongning prefecture in
the Song Dynasty, Yongzhou headquarters in Yuan dynasty; Nanning
prefecture in Ming and Qing Dynasties and Nanning county after
the revolution of 1911. It did not acquire the present name
until 1949.
Nanning,
with a glorious tradition, is remembered as a heroic city in
the minds of Chinese people. For thousands of years, the city
has undergone countless tests in battle. In the old days, Su
Jian, head officer of this region in Song Dynasty, once led
the army and people throughout Yongzhou City to resist the Vietnamese
aggressors, who were waging war against China. In modern times,
the famous generals Liu Yongfu and Feng Zicai bravely safeguarded
the region against French aggressors in a bid to defend their
homeland. Moreover, the city has also witnessed glorious deeds
by locals as following: the 1911 Revolution, the May 4th Movement
in 1919, dispatching troops to aid the Northern Expeditionary
Armies, the founding of the Seventh and Eighth Armies of the
Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, the Baise Uprising
paving the way for establishing the Zuojiang and Youjiang revolutionary
bases, the Longzhou Uprising and the bloody Kunlunguan Campaign
which gave a heavy blow to the Japanese aggressors. The local
people have added an illustrious chapter to the history of defending
the homeland and pursuing social progress by safeguarding the
South Gate of the motherland and participating in the socialist
construction of New China.
