Nanjing Things to Do

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The Doctor Sun Yet-sen Mausoleum is probably the most important and for certain the most visited of the attractions on the Purple Mountain. Knowing so little of the life of Dr. Sun Yet-sen and his significance in Modern Chinese history, my visit to the mausoleum and the nearby museum on his life was to wander into a great unknown.
Dr. Sun Yet-sen is consider the father of modern China. It was under his leadership that the archaic near feudal empire that was China in the early 20th century was overthrown and replaced by the Republic of China. In doing this, Dr. Sun Yet-sen was able to unite people right across a broad scope of the political spectrum at that time. Although Dr. Sun Yet-sen was eventually disposed himself he is now considered to be one of the most revered political figures in China today.
Dr. Sun Yet-sen died in 1925 of liver cancer. For four years he was entombed in the Azure Clouds Temple outside of Beijing. In 1929 his remains were removed to this massive mausoleum. The mausoleum spans an area of 85,000 square meter. It begins at an archway and proceeds up the slope of the Purple Mountain. A long stairway leads you up to the tomb itself. As you proceed you pass through a three arched gate, where calligraphy by Dr. Sun Yet-sen is displayed, and then to a Tablet Pavilion. Finally after a long walk up the slope you arrive at the Sacrificing Hall where Dr. Sun Yet-sen's remains are entombed in a large coffin. Overall I was very impressed by the whole scale of the mausoleum and I think that it does justice to this noble figure.

The Wuliang Dian, otherwise known as the Beamless Hall, is the only building dating from the Ming Dynasty on the Linggu Temple grounds. It is a huge brick building that remarkable for it's construction without the use of nails or beam supports. In my mind it comes across as a huge military bunker but others seem to consider it beautiful. Perhaps forseeing my opinion, the interior of the Beamless Hall has been turned into a museum full of wax figures depicting major historical characters of early 20th century Chinese history. These were somewhat interesting if you want to learn a bit about the history of that area without reading a book. Many of these figures and their poses are of a military nature.

I entered the Nanjing Museum not expecting much and received a pleasant surprise. This is for the fact that the Nanjing Museum turned out to be quite good. The museum is small considering it is suppose to be a provincial museum in a city of over 5 million but the exhibits here are still very well presented. In a similar manner as the Shanghai museum, the exhibits are order in various hall dedicated to a particular art form popular in China during its long history. The Lacquer-ware Hall is particularly notable but I think that I enjoyed the porcelain works the most. As with any Chinese museum, the Jade-ware should also be seen to be believed. I visited this museum late in the day and I found that I wish that I had given it more time for I stayed until closing.
The Nanjing Museum is open daily from 9am to 4:30pm and a visit costs Y20.

The Linggue Pagoda is one of the more interesting attractions on the Purple Mountain. The pagoda is considered to be part of the large Linggu Temple complex but it is actually just a recent addition. The pagoda was originally built in 1929 as a memorial built for the Nationalist soldiers who had died in the revolution. The pagoda is 60.5m high and you can climb up the spiralling stairs up nine stories to the top for some very fine views providing it is not to hazy (after all this is China).

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The Zhonghau Gate is the largest and southernmost of Nanjing's city gates. The size of the gate caught me off guard as it appeared be so huge and so well fortified that it is more comparable to a 19th century European fortress than a simply a "city gate".
The gate was built between 1366 and 1386. Huge bricks were used in the construction making the gate almost indestructible to 14th century weaponry. The gate contains four different archways and three courtyards between them. There were also 27 caves built into the fortified ramparts and archways where the gate's garrison could seek cover during a bombardment. In all the gate is 128m in depth and 118.5m in length.
Today it is possible to visit the gate for Y10. Inside one of the caves is a small museum detailing the history of the city walls. Along the ramps up to the ramparts are life size mannequins dressed in period uniforms. From the ramparts themselves are good views of Nanjing.

This mausoleum is a great work of architecture & its foundation is built upon 392 steps & 7 platforms. Once you climbed up all the steps & have reached the top, do not forget to look back. You will be grasped by the breathtaking view on top. From this vantage point high up, the many steps below seem to disappear, creating an optical illusion of a smooth slope. You are unable to see the 9 platforms below. They have been disguised by the great detail of architecture. Beside this, one can get a chance to take a photo stitch of this landscape or simple enjoying the lush greenery.

The tomb of Dr. Sun Yat Sen is situated at the top with his marble sitting statue.

There are some stone benches on the 9 platforms to rest those tired feets.

If you fancy some stones for your aquariums / plants, here you can choose various colourful pebbles. They are called rain and flower stones. They are perfect for decorating your home. Souvenir stalls are arranged alongside the foot of the mausoleum.

This tourist attraction is very crowded with tourists from all around China to pay respect to Dr. Sun Yat Sen. Parking for personal vehicles and tour coaches are quite far from the mausoleum, be prepared to walk and climb up the steps.

Please note that smoking is prohibited here.

This building is located beside the Xuanwu Lake. It houses a huge heated swimming pool, which we thought is great, especially during winter. We didn't actually go in for a visit, we only stood outside to take pictures. According to our local guide, the admission fee is pretty expensive (by local Chinese standards) - about 60 RMB.

Xuanwu Lake is situated on the northern part of Nanjing. The name "xuanwu" refers to the black tortoise, and is a symbol of the direction "North" in Chinese Fengshui (the East is represented by "qinglong", the green dragon; the West by "baihu" the white tiger and the South is represented by "zhuque" the red phoenix).

The bank of the Lake has rows of Chinese willows, swaying softly in the wind.