The
Neolithic Liangzhu culture was based in this region, and in the
Eastern Zhou period it was home to the powerful states of
Wu, based in
Suzhou, and
Yue, based in the
Shaoxing area.
Nanjing first served as a capital in the
Three Kingdoms period as the capital of
Eastern Wu (AD 229–280). In the fourth century CE the
Eastern Jin dynasty (AD 317–420) moved its capital here after losing control of the north and its capital
Jiankang (present-day
Nanjing) became a major cultural, economic, and political hub. During the mid to late period of the
Tang dynasty (618-907), the region emerged as an economic hub, and by the late Tang the Delta became the Empire's foremost important agricultural, handicraft industrial and economic hub.
Hangzhou served as the Chinese capital during the
Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279). Then called Lin'an, it became the biggest city in East Asia with a population more than 1.5 million, and one of the most prosperous cities in the world, which it remained after the Mongol conquest. At the same time,
Ningbo became one of the two biggest seaports in East Asia along with
Quanzhou (in
Fujian province). Nanjing was the early capital of the
Ming dynasty (1368–1644) and the region remained the most important economic region of the empire even after the
Yongle Emperor moved the capital to
Beijing in 1421. During the mid-late
Ming dynasty (1368–1644), the first bud of capitalism of East Asia was born and developed in this area, although it was disrupted by the
Manchu invasion and controlled strictly and carefully by the Confucian central government in
Beijing, it continued its development slowly throughout the rest of the
Qing dynasty (1644-1911). During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the delta again blossomed into a large socioeconomic hub. During the
Qianlong era (1735-1796) of the Qing dynasty,
Shanghai began developing rapidly and became the largest port in the Far East. From late 19th century to early 20th century, Shanghai was the foremost commercial hub in the Far East. The Yangtze Delta became the first industrialized area in China. In the middle and late feudal society of China, the Yangtze River Delta region initially formed a considerable urban agglomeration. After the
reform and opening up program which began in 1978, Shanghai again became the most important economic region in
Mainland China. In modern times, the Yangtze Delta metropolitan region is anchored by Shanghai, and also flanked by the major metropolitan areas of
Hangzhou,
Suzhou,
Ningbo, and
Nanjing, home to nearly 105 million people (of which an estimated 80 million are urban residents). It is the heart of China's economic development, surpassing other concentrations of metropolitan areas (including the
Pearl Delta) in China in terms of economic growth, productivity and per capita income. In 1982, the Chinese government set up the Shanghai Economic Area. Besides
Shanghai, four cities in
Jiangsu (
Suzhou,
Wuxi,
Changzhou,
Nantong) and five cities in
Zhejiang (
Hangzhou,
Jiaxing,
Shaoxing,
Huzhou,
Ningbo) were included. In 1992, a 14-city cooperative joint meeting was launched. Besides the previous 10 cities, the members included
Nanjing,
Zhenjiang and
Yangzhou in
Jiangsu, and
Zhoushan in
Zhejiang. In 1997, the regular joint meeting resulted in the establishment of the Yangtze Delta Economic Coordination Association, which included a new member
Taizhou in
Jiangsu in that year. In 1997,
Taizhou in
Zhejiang also joined the association. In 2003, the association accepted six new members after a six-year observation and review, including
Yancheng and
Huai'an in
Jiangsu,
Jinhua and
Quzhou in
Zhejiang, and
Ma'anshan and
Hefei in
Anhui. In 2019, the area expanded to include the entirety of
Anhui,
Jiangsu,
Zhejiang, and
Shanghai. ==Demographics==