Nanjing Things to Do

The Tombs of the Meritorious Ministers Attached to the Xialing Tomb of the Ming Dynasty;During the period between fixing his tomb site and passing away himself,Zhu Yuanzhang granted the privilege to more than a dozen meritorious ministers to be buried beside his tomb.They formed the zone of accessory Xiaoling Tomb burials on the northern side of the Zhongshan Mountain,and produced a contrast to the core zone of the Xiaoling Tomb on the southern side.
These tombs are now collectivelly called"the Tombs of the Meritorious Ministers attached to the Xiaoling Tomb of the Ming Dynasty",which form a protective semi-circle around the Xiaoling Tomb.When the Xiaoling Tomb was proposed for inclusion in the World Heritage List,some of these tombs such as the tombs of Xu Da,Chang Yuncun,Li Wenzhong,Wu Liang,Wu Zhen and Qui Cheng were included and thus the entire northern and southern burials became a WORLD CULTURAL HERITAGE SITE.

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The Sacrificial Altar was discovered in 1999 at the southern foot of the main peak of the Zhongshan Mountain about 200 meters to the north of the Purple Clouds Lake.Including to altars and an auxiliary building section,the ruins belong to the middle ages of the six dynasties(222-589) and have a history of more than 1500 years.The main body of the altar,square shape.is located in due north-south direction and made up four layers and five walls with total floorage of more than 8000sqm.The altar look magnificent with the highest point exceeding 10 meters and the largest stone weight over 2 tons.
On the altar,a large number of precious cultural were excavated including eaves tiles and stone pedestals with lotus designs in typical Six Dynasties style.As textual research shows,the altar was where the emperor held sacrificial ceremonies.It is the only state altar ruins found in Nanjing so far which was built before the Ming Dynasty.
In 2001.the Sacrificial Altar of Six Dynasties on Zhongshan Mountain was elected as one of "China's ten leading archaeological discoveries of 2000"

Healty Atmosphere Pavillion is situated on the hillside about 80 meters north to the Purple Clouds lake.In november 1946,Chiang Kai-Shek came to the vicinity of the Purple Clouds Cave with attendants after a visit to Dr.Sun Yat-sen's mausoleum in the east and the Xiaoling Tomb of the Ming Dynasty in the west with graceful landscapes,Chiang Kai-Shek decided his graveyard be located here and built a pavilion to mark it.
The pavilion is a square reinforced concrete structure built in 1947.It has a blue glazed roof with double upturned eaves and is based on granite from Suzhou.Richly decorated with colored drawings,the pavilion is a magnificent sight.

situated several hundred meters to the north of the pond,is an artificial lake with a surface of about 45000sqm.When established in the 1930s,the Administration Office of Dr.Sun Yatsen's Mausoleum decided to build a dam here to store drinking water.Hu Wenhu contributed to the project.Named after the nearby Purple Clouds Cave,the lake lies at the southern slope of Zhongshan Mountain with limpid water and graceful environment.the Purple Clouds Lake has become a good choice for summer picnickers.

Stele Forest is located some dozens of meters to the north of the Dinglin Mountain Villa.To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the normalization of Sino-Japan diplomatic relation and promote the calligraphy art and the upright spirit of Yan Zhenqing,a famous calligrapher of the Tang Dynasty(618-907),Japan Calligraphy Art Assocition donated the stele forest in 1992.It covers an area of about 2000sqm and includes a memorial archway,a tablet corridor,a pavillion and other buildings.
A stone memorial archway stands at the entrance to the stele forest with five characters engraved into its horizontal board in the handwritting of Yan Zhenqing.To the northeast of the stelesis a set-free pond,with pavilion beside in imitation of the Tang Dynasty style.

Located 60 meters to the east of the Donglin Tomb,was built in the 1980s in commemoration of Wang Anshi,a famous politician and literati of the Northern Song Dynasty(960-1127).Small but ingeniosly arranged,it is a three-layered pseudo-classic building complex enclosed by a winding corridor.Embedded on the eastern,southern and western walls of the corridor are more than 70 poems by Wang Anshi in praise of the Zhongshan Mountain written in the style of master contemporary calligraphers..

The Tomb palace Section,main body of the Xiaoling Tomb,is composed of the tomb palace,the Treasure Mound,the Treasure city and the underground palace.
The tomb palace,enclosed within a lofty wall rectangular in plan,is divided into three layers of yards,main architectures in which include a series of sacrificial buildings such as the Tomb Palace Gate,the Gate before the Sacrificial Palace(now imperial tablet hall),the Sacrificial Palace,the Eastern and Western Side Walls,the Imperial Kitchen,the Wardrope Hall and the Well Pavillion,plus the Inner Red Gate,the Rectangular Citadel,the Screen Walls decorated with brick-carved flowers at its two sides,and the Ming Tower.At the end of the Tomb Palace are the Treasure Mound and the Treasure City.
1-The Golden Water Bridge
2-Civil and Military Gate
3-4 Eastern&Western Well Pavilions
5-the Imperial Kitchen
6-the Wardrobe Hall
7-Imperial Tablet Hall
8-9 Eastern&Western Hall
10-Sacrificial Hall
11-Inner Red Gate
12-Ascension Bridge
13-the Treasure Mound

Columns are the starting point of the second section of the sacred avenue.6,25 meters high and 5.2 meters apart from each other,the pair of columns features a double layer cylinder crown on the top.This is a change from the traditional convention of using a lotus carving to crown the tops of the Sacred Avenue columns which had been in use since the Tang and Song Dynasties(618-1279),and thus is of great artistic importance.
Tall and exquisite,they are the outstanding stone artworks of the early Ming Dynasty.The shaft decorated with volute cloud design looks exceptionally dignified and graceful..