Sister Cities

Jiujiang, China

Since October 1985, the Jiangxi Province and Commonwealth of Kentucky have been sister states. Jiujiang, located in Jiangxi Province of China, has been one of Louisville’s sister cities since 2004. Jiujiang is Louisville’s only sister city in Asia proper. Like Louisville, Jiujiang is located on a river, the Yangtze, and is historically significant in its country’s trading and transportation history.

  • Louisville chose Jiujiang, China, as a sister city in 1988 to foster cultural, educational, and economic exchanges. This partnership reflects Louisville's commitment to building international relationships and promoting mutual understanding.

    Both cities saw opportunities for collaboration in areas such as trade, tourism, education, and cultural exchange. The sister-city relationship has facilitated student exchanges, trade missions, and cultural events, deepening ties between the two communities.

    • City (2020): 4,600,276

    • Metro Area (2020): 1,164,268

    • Located in the Jiangxi Province

    • Metro made up of three urban districts (aka Xunyang, Lianxi, and Chaisang)

    • Originally a customs station in the late 3rd century CE, the settlement was fortified in the 5th century and was constituted as a county town in 589. 

    • Historically, its position on the Yangtze River made it a strategic place, guarding the route into Jiangxi, and a commercial hub. 

    • The city cycled through various names throughout the various Chinese Dynasties, finally receiving the name Jiujiang from the Ming Dynasty.

    • Between the 17th and 19th centuries Jiujiang became one of the major centres of the Chinese tea and rice trades. 

    • In 1861 it was opened as a treaty port to foreign trade, and in the latter part of the 19th century a sizable European settlement grew up there.

    • The tea trade, however, gradually declined, and much of Jiujiang’s remaining export trade was siphoned off by the railway, opened in 1936–37, from Nanchang to the coast.

    • Name literally means “nine rivers” due to its geographic location at the convergence of nine rivers

    • Jiujiang and Louisville share La Plata as a sister city

    • Mount Lu: an UNESCO world heritage site, one of the most famous mountains in China

    • Haiyun Sand Beach: a man-made beach in Jiujiang

    • Poyang Lake: the largest freshwater lake in China, nicknamed “the second Great Wall of China”

    • Nengren Temple: buddhist temple build in the 6th century CE

    • Donglin Temple: the birthplace of Chinese Pureland Buddhism built in the 4th century CE

    • Wave Well: one of Jiuijang’s most ancient relics, a well that had waves as the Yangtze did, the reason behind why it did is still disputed today

    • Bailu Academy: one of the four most famous academies in China

    • Lantern Festival: celebrated on the full moon in the first month of the lunar year, celebrates the end of Chinese New Year celebrations, involves going out with lanterns and solving riddles on them

    • Dragon Boat Festival: celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, celebrated by dragon boat races in memory of the poet Qu Yuan

    • Jiujiang has a humid subtropical climate. 

    • Extremes since 1951 have ranged from as low as −6.7 °C (19.9 °F) to as high as 40.9 °C (105.6 °F).

    • Jiujiang Tea Cookie: dates back to the Song Dynasty, made from tea oil, native flour, semen sesame negrum, and osmantus

    • Three Stones: a dish of stone chicken, stone fish, and fungus

    • Jiujiang Fish banquet: different kinds of fish are important in Jiujiang cuisine

    • Until 1949 the city had little industry, except for some handicrafts. Manufacturing is now the mainstay of Jiujiang’s economy, with factories producing textiles, petrochemicals, and machinery; shipbuilding is also important. 

    • As the northernmost port on the Yangtze in Jiangxi province, Jiujiang is an important regional hub of water and land communications, especially since the completion of the Jiujiang–Yangtze River Bridge and the Beijing-Kowloon (Hong Kong) rail line, which passes through the city. 

    • Other rail lines connect the city with Wuhan (Hubei province) and Hefei (Anhui province). It also has regular flights to Beijing

    • In 2024, Louisville hosted a delegation from Jiujiang to celebrate the 30 year anniversary of the Sister City partnership

    • In 2020, Jiujiang donated over 20,000 Personal Protection Equipment to Louisville’s Park DuValle Senior Center including masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer to help combat COVID-19. This occurred on May 12, 2020 just before lockdown began.

Jiujiang, China

Since October 1985, the Jiangxi Province and Commonwealth of Kentucky have been sister states. Jiujiang, located in Jiangxi Province of China, has been one of Louisville’s sister cities since 2004. Jiujiang is Louisville’s only sister city in Asia proper. Like Louisville, Jiujiang is located on a river, the Yangtze, and is historically significant in its country’s trading and transportation history.

  • Louisville chose Jiujiang, China, as a sister city in 1988 to foster cultural, educational, and economic exchanges. This partnership reflects Louisville's commitment to building international relationships and promoting mutual understanding.

    Both cities saw opportunities for collaboration in areas such as trade, tourism, education, and cultural exchange. The sister-city relationship has facilitated student exchanges, trade missions, and cultural events, deepening ties between the two communities.

    • City (2020): 4,600,276

    • Metro Area (2020): 1,164,268

    • Located in the Jiangxi Province

    • Metro made up of three urban districts (aka Xunyang, Lianxi, and Chaisang)

    • Originally a customs station in the late 3rd century CE, the settlement was fortified in the 5th century and was constituted as a county town in 589. 

    • Historically, its position on the Yangtze River made it a strategic place, guarding the route into Jiangxi, and a commercial hub. 

    • The city cycled through various names throughout the various Chinese Dynasties, finally receiving the name Jiujiang from the Ming Dynasty.

    • Between the 17th and 19th centuries Jiujiang became one of the major centres of the Chinese tea and rice trades. 

    • In 1861 it was opened as a treaty port to foreign trade, and in the latter part of the 19th century a sizable European settlement grew up there.

    • The tea trade, however, gradually declined, and much of Jiujiang’s remaining export trade was siphoned off by the railway, opened in 1936–37, from Nanchang to the coast.

    • Name literally means “nine rivers” due to its geographic location at the convergence of nine rivers

    • Jiujiang and Louisville share La Plata as a sister city

    • Mount Lu: an UNESCO world heritage site, one of the most famous mountains in China

    • Haiyun Sand Beach: a man-made beach in Jiujiang

    • Poyang Lake: the largest freshwater lake in China, nicknamed “the second Great Wall of China”

    • Nengren Temple: buddhist temple build in the 6th century CE

    • Donglin Temple: the birthplace of Chinese Pureland Buddhism built in the 4th century CE

    • Wave Well: one of Jiuijang’s most ancient relics, a well that had waves as the Yangtze did, the reason behind why it did is still disputed today

    • Bailu Academy: one of the four most famous academies in China

    • Lantern Festival: celebrated on the full moon in the first month of the lunar year, celebrates the end of Chinese New Year celebrations, involves going out with lanterns and solving riddles on them

    • Dragon Boat Festival: celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, celebrated by dragon boat races in memory of the poet Qu Yuan

    • Jiujiang has a humid subtropical climate. 

    • Extremes since 1951 have ranged from as low as −6.7 °C (19.9 °F) to as high as 40.9 °C (105.6 °F).

    • Jiujiang Tea Cookie: dates back to the Song Dynasty, made from tea oil, native flour, semen sesame negrum, and osmantus

    • Three Stones: a dish of stone chicken, stone fish, and fungus

    • Jiujiang Fish banquet: different kinds of fish are important in Jiujiang cuisine

    • Until 1949 the city had little industry, except for some handicrafts. Manufacturing is now the mainstay of Jiujiang’s economy, with factories producing textiles, petrochemicals, and machinery; shipbuilding is also important. 

    • As the northernmost port on the Yangtze in Jiangxi province, Jiujiang is an important regional hub of water and land communications, especially since the completion of the Jiujiang–Yangtze River Bridge and the Beijing-Kowloon (Hong Kong) rail line, which passes through the city. 

    • Other rail lines connect the city with Wuhan (Hubei province) and Hefei (Anhui province). It also has regular flights to Beijing

    • In 2024, Louisville hosted a delegation from Jiujiang to celebrate the 30 year anniversary of the Sister City partnership

    • In 2020, Jiujiang donated over 20,000 Personal Protection Equipment to Louisville’s Park DuValle Senior Center including masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer to help combat COVID-19. This occurred on May 12, 2020 just before lockdown began.