Sights History Climate Hotels
Sights
Ming City Wall
During the Ming dynasty, Nanjing was in its prime and numerous reminders of that time can be found in and around the city. The most impressive is probably the remains of the Ming city wall. Once having measured 33 km, it was the longest city wall in the world. It took over 200'000 people to build it during 1366 - 1386. Bricks from five provinces were used and each brick has been stamped with the origin, the overseer's name and rank, the bricklayer's name, and sometimes the date. If a brick broke, it had to be replaced. The average height is 12 m and the top is about 7 m wide. Today, about 20 km is still standing.
Ming City Gates
Of the 13 city gates that originally gave access to the city, only some remain. The most impressive, the Zhonghua Gate in the south once garrisoned 3'000 soldiers who lived in the vaults. The northern gate, the Heping Gate is used as military barracks.
Ming Palace
Except for the Five Dragon Bridges, made of marble, and the Wu Men gate, nearly nothing remains. The palace was destroyed by bombardment during the Taiping rebellion.
Chang Jiang (Yangtse) River Bridge
When the Chinese wanted to build a bridge in the fifties, they naturally looked for help towards the Sowjet Union. But it was about the time that relations became increasingly distorted, so that China instead turned to the Americans. After some studies, they declared it impossible to build a bridge over the Chang Jiang. So the Chinese, stubborn as they were, started to build by themselves. Finally, after many years of constructions, the bridge could be opened on 23 December 1968. It is a double-decker, with a 4500 m long road on the upper floor and a 6700 m long railway below. In one of the bridgeposts is a museum, depicting this triumph of Chinese communism over American capitalism.
Nanjing Museum
The Nanjing Museum, although not big, houses a beautiful collection of artefacts from Neolithic times until the Communist period. There is a wonderful burial suit, made of small, rectangular jade pieces held together with silver thread. It dates from the Eastern Han Dynasty (25 - 220 AD).
Taiping Museum
Nanjing was the center of the Taiping rebellion. Its leader, Hong Xiquan, had built a palace, which was destroyed during the bombardement of the city in 1864. The only remaining piece is a stone boat in an ornamental lake.
Tomb of Hong Wu
This Ming emperor tomb lies east of the city on the southern slope of Zijin Mountain. It was built between 1381 and 1383 but was unused until the emperor died in 1398 at the age of 71. As with the Ming tombs near Beijing, the alley leading to the tomb is lined by stone statues of animals (lions, camels, elephants, horses) and officials. In the inner of two courtyard is the "Soul Tower" or "Altar Tower" which can be climbed. Behind the courtyards, the 350 m mound of Hong Wu's grave can be seen.
Sun Yatsen Memorial
A short way further is the memorial to the father of the modern China. A huge stairway that is 323 m long and 70 m wide leads up to the Ming style burial temple. The temple itself is divided into two chambers, the memorial ceremony chamber and the coffin chamber. There are ruomours that state that the body of Dr. Sun Yatsen is no longer in his grave, but has been carted off to Taiwan be the Guomindang.
Linggu (Soul Valley) Park)
Further east is the Linggu Park, host to various sights of different quality. One of the most interesting building, the Beamless Hall, is the remains of a temple that was moved from the site of Hong Wu's tomb when the emperor needed the place to build his grave in 1381. The building is made entirely of bricks with a vaulted ceiling. The Linggu Temple has a memorial hall to Xuan Zhang, a Buddhist monk that travelled to India and brought back the scriptures (which is "commemorated" in the story of the Monkey King. See section on Classics). Nearby is the Linggu Pagoda, with 60 m / 9 storeys offering a nice view over the surrounding area. It was built in the 1930s by an American architect as a memorial to Guomindang members who died in the 1926-1928 revolution.
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