Nanning was originally founded during the Yuan Dynasty (1271 - 1368), although there was a county seat here called Jinxing as far back as 318 CE. Opened to foreign trade by the Chinese in 1907, Nanning grew rapidly. From 1912 to 1936 it was the provincial capital of Guangxi, replacing Guilin. Due to its proximity to the Vietnamese border Nanning became a major centre for supplying Ho Chi Minh's North Vietnam during the Second Indochina War (Vietnam War).