Hua Cao, M.D., Ph.D., lives in Seattle doing medical research on genome engineering; enjoys arts, literature, and performance dancing; and aspires to being positive and optimistic.
Qinhuai Impressions
Introduction
Wandering the world for decades, having lived in many places for my career, I often have to ponder before answering the question, “Where are you from?” However, deep inside, Nanjing is a special place that I consider my true home. In ancient times Nanjing was called Jianye, Jiankang, and Jinling and is renowned as “the Ancient Capital of Six Dynasties” and “the Metropolis of Ten Dynasties.” Today, I’d like to share my homeland, give you a brief tour, and show you why Nanjing is a unique travel destination not to be missed.
1. Nanjing Confucius Temple
The Qinhuai River, like the Seine River in Paris and the Thames River in London, is the mother river of Nanjing. The Nanjing Confucius Temple is a renowned ancient temple on the bank of the Qinhuai River. It is one of the most famous tourist destinations in Nanjing.
Back in the Jin Dynasty, the Confucius Temple was the first national highest academic institution in the country, and the Imperial University. Later in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it was the largest imperial examination place for government. In the Qing Dynasty, the Confucius Temple was built on the former site of the Imperial University as a place to worship and commemorate Confucius, the greatest philosopher and educator of ancient China.
Confucius
The Confucius Temple has been renovated. It has become a cultural activity center with multiple functions such as culture, tourism, shopping, and services.
The culture, tourism, shopping, and services center
In the Confucius Temple Scenic District, there are many ancient buildings with interesting and notable architecture, such as the Confucius Temple, Xuegong, Jiangnan Gongyuan and so on.
Imperial examination place
The famous landscape scenes there include the "Tianxiawenshu" archway, the Confucius statue, Dazhaobi, Pingxingmen, and the beautiful Qinhuai River.
Statue of Confucius
The Beautiful Qinhuai River
Every year, around the time of lunar New Year, the Lantern Festival is held in the Confucius Temple, which is called the "Qinhuai International Lantern Festival". It is the most famous event of the Spring Festival and produces beautiful scenery in Nanjing.
Qinhuai Lantern Festival
2. Dabao’en Temple Ruins Park
Nanjing has developed rapidly in recent years. There are several tourist attractions added, such as Dabao’en Temple, located outside the Zhonghua Gate in Qinhuai District, and Niushou Mountain in Jiangning District. Those are the hottest Buddhist and tourist attractions.
The Dabao’en Temple is a group of large-scale palace-like buildings from Ming Dynasty. It was built by the Emperor Taizong of the Ming Dynasty to commemorate his mother. The most magnificent building in the Dabao’en Temple was a glazed pagoda, which was 78.2 meters high and could be seen dozens of miles away on the Yangtze River.
The drawing of the original ancient glazed pagoda
The entrance of the Dabao’en Temple
In 1856, during the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom era, the Dabao’en Temple including the glazed Pagoda were destroyed by war. There remain only a few remnants. Among them, the top bone relic of Sakyamuni Buddha unearthed at the site of the Dabao'en Temple is a national archeological discovery, and the only one left in the whole world. It was later moved to Niushou Mountain Relic Park and enshrined there.
The Remnants of the Dabao’en Temple
The Dabao’en Temple has always been a sacred place for Buddhists. In 2004, the Nanjing Municipal Government began planning and launching the reconstruction of the Dabao’en Temple, and it was completed in 2015. The Dabao’en Temple Ruins Park is now officially open to the public.
Various Buddha statues in the Dabao’en Temple
Because the Dabao’en Temple relics are protected by the country's "Cultural Relics Protection Law", and our knowlage to the original tower is limited, a glazed pagoda can’t be reconstructed at the ruins. The new tower that we see is made of glass and was constructed as a cover to protect the base of the glazed pagoda, the underground palace, and the ruins. It has the same size and height as the original glazed pagoda. In a sense, it can be regarded as the reconstruction of that number one tower in the world.
3. Niushou Mountain Relic Park
The Niushou Mountain, located in the southern suburb of Nanjing city, Jiangning District, is famous for its long Buddhist history. The name of the mountain is a pictogram. The two peaks of the mountain resemble two bull’s horns which make the mountain look like a bull’s head (in Chinese: niushou).
The Buddhist history of the mountain can be traced back to the early years of the Southern Dynasty of China, when there were temples on the Niushou Mountain already. The most famous one was the Hongjue Temple, a seven-level pavilion-style brick tower, from the Tang Dynasty. Since then, to the Ming Dynasty, for more than a thousand years, the Niushou Mountain had always been a place where monks and Buddhists gather, meditate, chant, and bless.
In 1937, the Japanese invaders burned down all the buildings on the mountain. Later, due to a long time of iron ore mining, one peak of the mountain was not only flattened, but also turned into a pit. After the Liberation, our country implemented a “scenic planning” policy. The Niushou Mountain was granted protection, management and regreening. The Hongjue Temple Tower was repaired, and the Niushou Mountain Relic Park was rebuilt.
Hongjue Temple
In order to enshrine the top bone relic of Sakyamuni Buddha, which was unearthed in the underground palace of Changgan Temple at the site of Dabao’en Temple, the Nanjing Municipal Government launched the “Niushou Mountain Relic Park Creative Project”.
The entrance of the Foding Palace
The Foding Temple
The most iconic building on the Niushou Mountain, the Foding Palace, was built up in the mine pit, where formerly there was one “bull’s horn”. The Foding Palace filled the mine pit and restored the shape of the bull’s horn. The Foding Temple with the other mountain peak, and the Hongjue Temple with Foding temple, reproduced the grand pattern of the “Twin Peaks and Twin Towers” on the Niushou Mountain.
The Foding Palace is divided into three parts: the large dome, the small dome and the Foding cliff. There are nine floors, three above ground and six underground.
The large and small domes
The Foding cliff
Above ground the palace is composed of three major spaces: the Zen Grand View, the Relic Hall and the Relic Palace.
The Zen Grand is elliptical, and it’s composed of three parts as well, the Zen garden where the Buddha was born and enlightened, and the Rulian (lotus ) Theater in the middle, with the sleeping buddha stature showing the deeds of the Buddha throughout his life.
Sleeping buddha statue in the Zen garden
The top bone relic of Sakyamuni Buddha, the only one in the whole world
Underground, there is a Thousand Buddhas Hall, and a Ten Thousand Buddhas Corridor in the outer circle.
The Thousand Buddhas Hall
The Ten Thousand Buddhas Corridor
The top bone relics of Shakyamuni Buddha, the world’s most sacred Buddhism relic, is enshrined and worshipped here. It is opened to the pilgrims seven times per year. Due to the culture and religious singnificance, the Niushou Mountain Relic Park draws not only tourists but also Buddhists.
4. Sun Yat-sen (Sun Zhong-Shan) Mausoleum
One of my favorite places in Nanjing is the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum. Every time going to Nanjing, I would have to find an opportunity to visit.
The Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum is the tomb of Sun Yat-sen , (1866-1925). Sun Yat-sen was the first president of the Republic of China, who established the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party of China). In 1926, after his death, the Kuomintang built this bell-shaped majestic mausoleum for him on the southern side of the Zijin Mountain in Nanjing, in accordance with his last wish. The implication was to awaken people with alarm bells.
Along the platanus trees lined asphalt avenue, arriving at the foot of Zijin Mountain, there is an entrance square, Fraternity Square, with a giant granite archway. On top of the archway, there are two golden characters “Bo-Ai” (fraternity, in Chinese), which are in Sun Yat-sen's handwriting.
Passing through the Fraternity Square, there is a tomb road nearly 400 meters long and climbs a total of 73 meters in elevation to the tomb. A total of 392 stone steps are paved on this hillside tomb road. There are platforms in between the steps. If you pay attention, you will notice, the design of the steps and the platforms is very interesting. From the bottom looking up, you can see only the steps, you can’t see the platforms. When you look from the top down, you can see only the platforms, not the steps.
Looking up, you can see only the steps.
Looking down, you can see only the platforms.
Walking along the tomb road to the tomb gate, there are many pavilions, and you will see the famous “The world is for all” inion on the tomb gate.
In the center of the altar hall there is a seated white marble statue of Sun Yat-sen , reminds me of the statue of Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC.
The burial chamber is circular, with a long tomb in the center. The top is a white marble lying statue of Sun Yat-sen. The tomb is now closed to the public.
5. Music Stage of Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum
Surrounding the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum there are many Pavilions you can visit, such as Music Stage, Guanghua Pavilion, and Liuhui Pavilion. They are all excellent architectural works. They surround the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum like stars surrounding the moon. Among them, the beautiful the Music Stage is my favorite.
The Music Stage of Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum is a semi-circular open-air stage southeast of the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum. It is mainly used to hold ceremonies, musical performances and assembly speeches to commemorate President Sun Yat-sen.
The center of the Music Stage is a concrete performance stage, leaning against a carved concrete back wall that can reflect sound waves. It’s said that the design of this stage has the characteristics of ancient Greek architecture and the style of the traditional Chinese “five-mountain screen”. In front of the stage there is a meniscus-shaped lotus pond. The pond never dries up, and it has the function of enhancing the sound effects from the stage.
Surrounding the stage is a large semi-circular lawn that is the auditorium, which can hold 3,000 spectators. The outer edge of the stage are two semicircular wisteria corridors. There are pillars, flower beds, and stone benches along the wisteria corridors for visitors to enjoy. The Music Stage is a harmonious combination of Chinese and Western architectural styles. It always gives me a sense of tranquility, elegance and beauty.
6. Wuliang (Beamless ) Hall
The Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum is surrounded by many famous attractions. To its east there is the Linggu Temple, and to its west, there is the Ming-Xiao Tomb. To the south of the Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum there is the uniquely designed Wuliang Hall.
Wuliang Hall
Wuliang Hall is a Ming Dynasty brick building in the Linggu Temple. It is the oldest and largest brick vaulted arch structured building in China.
Linggu Temple
Built in 1381, the Wuliang Hall is famous for its special arched brick structure. The entire building is built with bricks only, without wood, nails, or any other materials. And there are no any beams but adopts a vaulted arch structure to support the ceiling. So it is called “Beamless Hall (in Chinese: Wuliang) ”.
The vaulted arch structure of the Beamless Hall
Originally, the Wuliang Hall was a place for worshiping the Wuliang Buddha. In 1931, the National party remodeled the Wuliang Hall into the Memorial Hall for the National Revolutionary Army, and named it “Zhengqi Hall”. The Wuliang Hall is now a wax museum of the celebrities of the Xinhai Revolution in early 20th century.
Wax figures of the celebrities of the Xinhai Revolution
7. Nanjing Presidential Palace
The Nanjing Presidential Palace is the landmark commemorating the liberation of Nanjing by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. It is located in Nanjing City, Xuanwu District. As the name suggests, it was a presidential palace in Chinese history. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, it was a palace for dignitaries. Now it is one of the protected national cultural relics.
Since Sun Yat-sen became the provisional president of the Republic of China in 1912, Presidential Palace has become the office of the National Party, and later the Presidential Palace of the Republic of China.
A sitting statue of President Sun Yat-sen in the Presidential Palace
In 1949, the People's Liberation Army of China liberated Nanjing, and occupied the Presidential Palace. Since then, the Presidential Palace has been used as the office of the People's Government of Jiangsu Province. In 2003, the Presidential Palace was renovated into a museum for modern Chinese history, called the China Modern History Museum, and has become one of the hottest tourist attractions in Nanjing.
The Nanjing Presidential Palace covers a 50,000 square meter area divided into 3 visitor sections: central, west, and east. The central section is mainly the national party and presidential affiliated institutions. The western section is Mr. Sun Yat-sen's temporary presidential office, headquarters, and a beautiful western garden. The eastern section is the presidential executive offices and a huge eastern garden.
Office building
The presidential office
The gardens and pavilions in the Presidential Palace
In the Presidential Palace, there are several exhibitions: "Sun Yat-sen, a pioneer of the revolution", "Hong Xiuquan of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom" and “the Palace History Exhibition”.
The historical relics in the exhibition hall
The statues of historical scenes in the exhibition hall
You will learn the history of Nanjing as the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties, Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Taiping Uprising, and the Republic of China, as you appreciate this largest and most well-preserved architectural work of southern China.
8. Yuhuatai (Rain Flower Terrace)
Yuhuatai is a beautiful hilly terrace located in the south of Zhonghuamen in Nanjing city. It covers more than 100 hectares of land.
Yuhuatai has a more than 3,000 years history, and once was a Buddhist shrine in ancient times. According to legend, in the Nan Dynasties, Master Yunguang set up an altar on the terrace and had his great Buddhist lectures. His devotion touched the Buddah so that the Buddah let the flowers fall like rain on the spot, and the flower petals tuned into beautiful stones on the ground called Yuhuashi (Rain Flower Stones). The hill thus got its name: Yuhuatai (Rain Flower Terrace).
Beautiful Yuhuashi (Rain Flower Stones)
Beautiful Yuhuashi (Rain Flower Stones)
In the Republic of China, Yuhuatai became an execution ground for the national party rulers. As many as 100,000 democratic revolutionary patriots were massacred here. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, Yuhuatai was built as a cemetery for those revolutionary martyrs.
The Yuhuatai Scenic Area is divided into six major areas: Martyrs’ Mausoleum Park, Historic Scenery Area, Yuhuashi Exhibition Area, Yuhua Tea Cultural Area, Recreation Area and Ecological Forest Area.
The most important one is the Martyrs’ Mausoleum Park, which is located in the middle of the Yuhuatai, running from north through south. There are several groups of sculptures of martyrs, the revolutionary martyrs monument, the revolutionary martyrs memorial hall, and the murals of the national anthem and the international song.
The revolutionary martyrs monument
The revolutionary martyrs monument
Sculptures of martyrs
The mural of national anthem
Every year at the Chingming Festival (Tomb Sweeping Day), schools would organize students to memorialize and pay homage to the martyrs here. While visiting Yuhuatai, in addition to memorializing the martyrs and learning the history of the National Revolution you will enjoy the Exhibition of the beautiful Yuhuashi, and learn it’s stories.
9. Xuanwu Lake
Xuanwu Lake is a beautiful lake park in Nanjing city. It’s the largest in-city park in Jiangsu province.
Xuanwu Lake is a natural lake developed by weathering and erosion of rocks. It has a 1500 year-long history. The lake was built as a garden in the later Qin Dynasty and became the royal garden in several dynasties after the Nanbeichao in Chinese history. The lake park is diamond-shaped, with a circumference of 10 kilometers, covering an area of 502 hectares. The water surface area of the lake is about 378 hectares, and the depth of the lake is about 2-3 meters.
There are five islands in the lake forming five tourist attractions, called Yingzhou, Huanzhou, Lingzhou, Liangzhou and Cuizhou (Zhou means island in Chinese). Each has its own characteristics.
Yingzhou is in the center of the lake. There are 1,000 cherry trees. Every spring when they blossom they make the lake a “flower Sea”. There are also a hundred acres lotus garden in Yingzhou, which is a good place to appreciate lilies in summer.
Huanzhou is shaped like two arms around Yingzhou. The weeping willow trees make the characteristic view of this island. Lingzhou in Chinese means diamond-shaped island. The famous Nanjing Zoo was on this island. The Monkey Mountain in the zoo was my favorite when I was young. But it has been moved to the Nanjing Hongshan Park.
Liangzhou is the oldest and most scenic island among the five. Prince Zhaoming in the Liang Dynasty built this park, so it’s called Liangzhou (Ling island). Liangzhou has a big bonsai garden. Every autumn, there will be a chrysanthemum exhibition. Hundreds of spicies of beautiful chrysanthemums made the Liangzhou famous for the Autumn Chrysanthemum. Cuizhou is decorated with pine trees and cedar trees. There are temples, pagodas, and pavilions from ancient dynasties. There are also some precious historical paintings and calligraphies collected here.
Chrysanthemum exhibition
The five islands of the Xuanwu Lake are connected by bridges and embankments. There are speedboats, entertainment boats and luxury ferries on the lake as well providing entertainment and transportation. The boat harbor is right across the water facing the lakeside square of the Nanjing Railway Station. Tourists can take a speedboat to visit the Xuanwu Lake as soon as they arrive in Nanjing.
The Nanjing Railway Station
Epilogue
Nanjing, along with its vast history, profound heritage, and spectacular scenery, also boasts a rich food and cuisine culture. Countless delicacies like Jiming steamed buns, Osmanthus-scented fermented sweet rice, salty duck, duck blood vermicelli soup, and glutinous rice siu-mai add to the ancient city’s allure. Nanjing promises an extraordinary travel experience to all visitors and offers unique glimpses into China’s past and present.
Hua Cao, M.D., Ph.D., lives in Seattle doing medical research on genome engineering; enjoys arts, literature, and performance dancing; and aspires to being positive and optimistic.
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