The history and culture of Jiangsu is inseparable from water. Ancient towns and gardens incorporate water into their structures. Seafood from the rivers, lakes and ocean are a highlight in the famous cuisine system of Jiangsu - Huaiyang cuisine. Handicrafts, delicate music, the rich heritage of folk customs, nothing expresses more the poetic qualities of Jiangsu's connection with water and the romance and warmth of its people. Jiangsu was originally part of the ancient state of Wu, and was long considered to be outside of China. Jiangsu finally became a separate province in 1667, taking its name from the two most important prefectures it contained.

During the 1980s, Jiangsu surpassed all other provinces in China in rural non-agricultural economic development. Collective township and village enterprises account for most of the activity, with local government officials deeply involved in their support and management. The local government became involved when the central government's reform policies led to fiscal decentralization, giving local officials a strong incentive to generate their own revenues. The brains behind these enterprises come from two sources: urban technicians who retire to their ancestral villages, and urban people who retained ties to the communities where they were sent down as youth during the Cultural Revolution. Today Jiangsu is one of the wealthiest and most densely populated provinces in China. In 1987 its industrial output value accounted for 11.5 percent of China's total, making it first in the country.