Zhenjiang is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Jiangsu Province in the eastern People's Republic of China (PRC). Once known as Jingjiang, Wade-Giles Chingkiang) or Jingkou, Zhenjiang is today an important transportation hub owing to its location near the intersection of the Yangtze River and the Grand Canal. Zhenjiang was the seat of feudal domains from the 8th century BC onwards, known first as Zhufangyi and later as Kuyangyi. After it was captured by Qin Shi Huang, the first Chinese emperor, in 221 BC, it became a county town and was given the name Dantu. It became the seat of a higher administrative division during the middle of the 3rd Century BC. Conquered by the Sui dynasty in 581 AD.