Nanjing Fuzimiao
Nanjing Fuzimiao is located in southern Nanjing City on banks of the Qinhuai River. Within the area are cultural attractions, arts, shopping, and entertainment. In the 3rd year of Xiankang reign of Jin Dynasty (CE 317), Nanking Imperial University was founded on the southern bank of Qinhuai River. Temple of Confucius was firstly constructed in the national school in 384. The place was destroyed. In 1034 during Song Dynasty, Confucius Temple was newly constructed on former site of imperial university, and was called Fuzimiao area along with Nanking Fuxue The place became Imperial University again in 1365 in the early year of Ming Dynasty, and 16 years later recovered to be the campus of Fuxue. During Qing Dynasty, there were two Xianxue (county schools of Shangyuan and Jiangning) in Fuzimiao area. The current buildings date from the 19th century, in Qing Dynasty, with additions made since then. The temple lost all financial support by the state as a result of the revolution of 1911. During the late 1920s to 1931 and again in 1932 it was used as army barracks for troops the KMT regime and left in a dilapidated state. Some halls were used as picture gallery. In 1985 Fuzimiao area was restored.
Throughout its history, the temple along with the around area has been a place for study of Confucianism. There is a small exhibit of folk art within the temple.
Zhan Garden
Zhan Garden is a Chinese garden located on No. 128 Zhan Yuan Road, beside Fuzimiao, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. The first garden on this site was built during the early Ming dynasty by the general Xu Da. It was destroyed during the Taiping Rebellion in the Qing dynasty, but was rebuilt later. As the main residence of Kiangsu Provincial Governor in the late Qing dynasty, it was visited by the Qianlong Emperor and was restored after 1949, with the southern ‘mountain’ added in 1960. On the grounds is the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom History Museum.
The Presidential Palace
The Presidential Palace in Nanjing, China, housed the Office of the President of the Republic of China since 1927 until the republic was relocated to Taiwan in 1949. It is now a museum called the China Modern History Museum. It is located at No.292 Changjiang Road (formerly Lin Sen Road), in the Xuanwu District of Nanjing. In the Ming Dynasty, this house was to the west of the Ming Palace, built by a duke. In the Qing Dynasty, it became the Office of the Viceroy of Two Lower Yangtze Provinces, the chief government official in charge of what is today Jiangsu, Anhui and Jiangxi. When Qianlong visited the Lower Yangtze, he chose this office to be the detached palace together with the Imperial Silk House. Today, “Daxinggong” (lit. the Great Detached Palace) Station of Nanjing Metro Line 2 is named after it.
In 1853, Taiping Revolution forces led by Hong Xiuquan occupied Nanjing. The palace was expanded and converted into a luxurious palace for Hong, called the Palace of the Heavenly King, or the Celestial Palace.
In 1864, Qing imperial forces re-took Nanjing. Commander Zeng Guofan ordered to destroy most of the palace by fire. He had a new palatial residence in 1870 and later imposing government buildings for the Qing Governor-General erected in the Neo-classical style, and in accordance with contemporary protocol.
The Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall
The Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall or formally, The Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders is a hall to memorialize those that were killed in the Nanjing Massacre by the Imperial Japanese Army in and around the then capital of China, Nanjing, after it fell on December 13, 1937. It is located in the southwestern corner of Nanjing known as Jiangdongmen, near a site where thousands of bodies were buried, called a “pit of ten thousand corpses”
The Nanjing Memorial Hall was built in 1985 by the Nanjing Municipal Government in memory of the 300,000 victims who lost their lives during the Nanjing Massacre. In 1995, it was enlarged and renovated. The memorial exhibits historical records and objects, and uses architecture, sculptures, and videos to illustrate what happened during the Nanjing Massacre. Many historical items were donated by Japanese members of a Japanese–Chinese friendship group, which also donated a garden located on the museum grounds. It occupies a total area of approximately 28,000 square meters, including about 3,000 square meters of building floor space. The memorial consists of three major parts: outdoor exhibits, sheltered skeletal remains of victims, and an exhibition hall of historical documents. The outdoor exhibit include statues, sculptures, relief carvings, tablets, and a large wall listing the names of victims, as well as an atonement tablet and memorial walkway. The memorial walkway displays footprints of survivors, some of which were impressed as recently as 2002.
The City Wall of Nanjing
The City Wall of Nanjing was designed by Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang (r. 1328–1398) after he founded the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) and established Nanjing as the capital 600 years ago. To consolidate his sovereignty and keep out invaders, he adopted the suggestions of advisor Zhu Sheng to build a higher city wall, to collect grains and to postpone the coronation. Then, he started to build the city wall. It took 21 years to complete, and used 200,000 laborers to move 7 million cubic meters of earth. The City Wall of Nanjing was among the largest city walls ever constructed in China. The enclosed Nanjing City is about 55 square kilometers.
The Jiming Temple
The Jiming Temple is a renowned Buddhist temple in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. One of the oldest temples in Nanjing, it is located in the Xuanwu District near Xuanwu Lake. The temple, which literally means “rooster crowing” was first constructed in 557 during the Liang dynasty and has been destroyed and reconstructed many times. The existing temple was initially constructed during the Ming dynasty during the reign of the Hongwu Emperor in 1387. It was destroyed during the Taiping Rebellion but was rebuilt later.
By 1931 most temple buildings had been appropriated as barracks by police and army of the Nationalist government of Republican China. The main hall had been emptied completely apart from the large Buddha statue. Only one hall, near the city wall was still being used for worship. The temple remained popular primarily because of its tea house which was also situated in that hall. The seven-story pagoda overlooks Xuanwu Lake. There is an entrance to the Nanjing City Wall from the rear of the temple.
Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum
Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum is situated at the foot of the second peak of Mount Zijin (Purple Mountain) in Nanjing, China. Construction of the tomb started in January 1926, and was finished in spring of 1929. The architect was Lu Yanzhi, who died shortly after it was finished. Dr. Sun was born in Guangdong province of China on 12 November 1866, and died in 1925 in Beijing, China. On 23 April 1929, the Chinese government appointed He Yingqin to be in charge of laying Dr. Sun to rest. On 26 May, the coffin departed from Beijing, and on 28 May, it arrived in Nanjing. On 1 June, 1929, Dr. Sun was buried there. Sun, considered to be the “Father of Modern China” both in mainland China and in Taiwan, fought against the imperial Qing government and after the 1911 revolution ended the monarchy, and founded the Republic of China.
The Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum
The Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum is the tomb of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dynasty. It lies at the southern foot of Purple Mountain, located east of the historical centre of Nanjing, China. Legend says that in order to prevent robbery of the tomb, 13 identical processions of funeral troops started from 13 city gates to obscure the real burying site.
The construction of the mausoleum began during the Hongwu Emperor’s life in 1381 and ended in 1405, during the reign of his son the Yongle Emperor, with a huge expenditure of resources involving 100,000 labourers. The original wall of the mausoleum was more than 22.5 kilometres long. The mausoleum was built under heavy guard of 5,000 troops.
The mausoleum complex suffered damage during the mid-19th century Taiping War, but was restored during the Tongzhi era thereafter. Along with the Ming Tombs north of Beijing, the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum of Nanjing was inscribed by UNESCO as part of the World Heritage Sites “Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties”.
Yuejiang Tower
Yuejiang Tower is situated on the top of Shizishan (Lion Mountain) to the northwest of Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China. “Yue” is equivalent to “Enjoying” in Chinese while “River” refers to the world-famous Yangtze River. Ascending the tower, one can enjoy the Yangtze River extending far away to its north and the scenery of Nanjing to its south.
In 1360, Zhu Yuanzhang defeated Chen Youliang’s 400,000 forces with his 80,000 army in Lu Longshan, which set up the basis for the reign of Ming Dynasty and for taking Nanjing as the capital. After proclaiming himself as the emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang changed Lu Longshan as the Lion Mountain in 1374. He ordered to build the Yuejiang Tower on top of the mountain and wrote the Note on Yuejiang Tower in person, although the tower was never built. Yuejiang Tower was built first time and opened to the outside world in 2001. The building is 52 meters high, amounted to seven layers. With its distinct style of Ming Dynasty and classical royal makings, it is regarded as one of the Four Major Famous Buildings in Jiangnan with Yellow Crane Tower, Tengwang Pavilion and Yueyang Tower included. Yuejiang Tower has attracted tens of millions people to come to have a visit and tour. It has also been reported that the action ceremony of the documentary of Zhenghe was set in Yuejiang Tower, Nanjing. The architect is Professor Du Shunbao, a professor of Southeast University.
Niushou Mountain
Niushou Mountain is located in Jiangning District of Nanjing. The mountain twin peaks look like ox horns, hence the name. 1700 years ago, the first founder of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, emperor Yuandi, wanted to set up two magnificent gate towers to symbolize imperial power. However, Prime Minister, Wang Dao, considered it inappropriate to do so. One day, when they looked afar at the east and west Peak of Niushou Mountain, the Minister suggested that the two peaks were the most suitable heavenly-made gate towers. The beautiful scenery of Niushou Mountain in spring has been widely known. With profound culture, it is the location for battle against Jin Wuzhu led by Yuefei and tomb of Zheng He. With abundant Buddhism culture, Niutou Sect of Chinese Zen Buddhism is cultivated and developed here.
Nanjing Niushou Mountain Cultural Tourism Zone is a recent major cultural project of Nanjing. Based on the philosophy of establishing “new heritage of world Buddhism culture, and new sight of modern architecture art”, with the theme of “long–time enshrining of Buddhist holy relic–Usnisa”, the whole tourist attraction takes full advantage of ecological, cultural and tourism resources to create the wonderful scenery for ecology, culture and leisure.
The Nanjing Museum
The Nanjing Museum is located in Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu Province in East China. With an area of 70,000 square metres (17 acres), it is one of the largest museums in China. The museum has over 400,000 items in its permanent collection, making it one of the largest in China. Especially notable is the museum’s enormous collections of Ming and Qing imperial porcelain, which is among the largest in the world. It was established by the Republic of China as the National Central Museum in 1933. During the Japanese invasion, many collections were transferred to Southwest China, and in the end moved to the National Palace Museum in Taipei when the Kuomintang lost the Chinese Civil War. The Nanjing Museum was one of the first museums established in China. The predecessor of the Nanjing Museum was the preparatory department of the National Central Museum,which established in 1933. The museum took over 12.9 hectares (32 acres) in the Half Hill Garden of Zhongshan Gate. Cai Yuanpei, the first preparatory president of the council of the museum, proposed building three major halls, named “Humanity,” “Craft” and “Nature”. Because of China’s political instability in the 1930s, only the Humanity Hall was built. Part of the museum’s collection was relocated to Taiwan by the Kuomintang in 1949 and is now part of the National Palace Museum in Taipei. The historian Fu Sinian and anthropologist and archaeologist Li Ji were once preparatory presidents, and the archaeologist and museologist Zeng Zhaoyu (曾昭燏) was the first female president and also a founder of Nanijng Museum.
In 1999 and 2009, extensions were built to the museum.
Xuanwu Lake
Xuanwu Lake is located in Xuanwu District in the central-northeast part of Nanjing in Jiangsu, China. Five islands within the lake are interconnected by arched bridges. Within the park are temples, pagodas, pavilions, gardens, teahouses, restaurants, entertainment venues, a small zoo, and other attractions. The main entrance to the Xuanwu Lake Park is through Xuanwu Gate, which is part of the Nanjing City Wall that borders the south and east portions of the park and Ji Ming Temple is in its southwestern area.
Tangshan hot spring
Tangshan hot spring is located 28 kilometers east of the eastern Zhongshan Men (Zhongshan Gate) in Nanjing’s ancient city walls the Tangshan Hot Springs bubble up amidst pleasant surroundings.
Purportedly a source of healing vapors and waters, the Hot Springs have welcomed emperors, high officials, and local citizens for centuries to cure skin diseases, arthritis, neuralgia and many other ailments. Locals tout the benefits of the odorless water, which contains calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium and averages between 50°C-60°C (122°F-140°F). Today, a modern resort is being developed adjacent to the springs. The Tangshan Hot Springs are not to be confused with the Tangquan Hot Springs in Pukou, northwest of central Nanjing, nor should they be confused with the Tangshan area north of Beijijng.
Nanjing 1912
Nanjing 1912 is the main bar district in Nanjing, just as the Sanlitun of Beijing and Xintiandi of Shanghai which attracts the trendy and young crowds of the city. Set up in 2004, it has become the hottest place in Nanjing nowadays. Different style bars and clubs dot the district, such as the Red Club, Scarlet Bar, and Blue Marlin Restaurant etc. During the weekends and holiday time, 1912 District becomes extremely busy and crowded.
1912, its name was derived from the year Dr. Sun Yat Sen overthrew the Qing Dynasty and created the Republic of China and founded its capital at the city of Nanjing. The 1912 District is situated near the old headquarters of Chinese Kuomintang.
Xinjiekou Business Centre
Xinjiekou Business Centre is the most prosperous trading and cultural centre of Nanjing. Deji Plaza, Jinying International Shopping Centre, Nanjing Xinbai, Oriental Business City, Dayang and many other large shopping malls are located here. It’s prime place for shopping and relaxing.
The Porcelain Tower of Nanjing
The Porcelain Tower of Nanjing, part of the former Bao’en Temple, is a historical site located on the south bank of external Qinhuai River in Nanjing, China. It was a pagoda constructed in the 15th century during the Ming Dynasty, but was mostly destroyed in the 19th century during the course of the Taiping Rebellion.
In 2010 Wang Jianlin, a Chinese businessman, donated a billion yuan to the city of Nanjing for its reconstruction. This is reported to be the largest single personal donation ever made in China. In December 2015, the modern replica and surrounding park opened to the public.
The Porcelain Tower of Nanjing was designed during the reign of the Yongle Emperor (r. 1402–1424), shortly before its construction in the early 15th century. It was first discovered by the Western world when European travelers like Johan Nieuhof visited it, sometimes listing it as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. After this exposure to the outside world, the tower was seen as a national treasure to both locals and other cultures around the world.
In 1801, the tower was struck by lightning and the top four stories were knocked off, but it was soon restored. The 1843 book, The Closing Events of the Campaign in China by Granville Gower Loch, contains a detailed description of the tower as it existed in the early 1840s. In the 1850s, the area surrounding the tower erupted in civil war as the Taiping Rebellion reached Nanjing and the rebels took over the city. They smashed the Buddhist images and destroyed the inner staircase to deny the Qing enemy an observation platform. American sailors reached the city in May 1854 and visited the hollowed tower. In 1856, the Taiping destroyed the tower either in order to prevent a hostile faction from using it to observe and shell the city or from superstitious fear of its geomantic properties. After this, the tower’s remnants were salvaged for use in other buildings, while the site lay dormant until a recent surge to try to rebuild the landmark.
Gingko Lake International Golf Club
(银杏湖球场)
The golf course of Gingko Lake International Golf & Country Club has 27 holes and 10,800-yard-in-total international championship course fairways. It, well representing the traditional concept and essence, not only holds the golf styles of being natural, harmonious and elegant, but also absorbs Chinese countryside unique features. The golf course is designed naturally and scientifically and each fairway is individualized but uniform in style. The design of fairways, greens and hazards adopts the opinions given by golf authorities, with the difficulty and challenge reinforced. The club, thanks to famous David Jonsa’s outstanding design and precise construction, is just like a natural being with infinite fascination.
Nanjing Zhongshan International Golf
(钟⼭山球场)
The Gary Player Designed Nanjing Zhongshan International Golf Club, is a 27-hole ‘tournament’ golf course, with driving range and practice facilities, located adjacent to the historic and auspicious, Zhongshan ‘Purple Mountain’. In its first year of opening, Nanjing Zhongshan hosted the 2005 National China Games, and was Voted Top Ten Golf Courses in China, Asian Golf Monthly 2006.
The most difficult tee at Nanjing Zhongshan International Golf Club has a USGA Course Rating of 6. This metric is used to measure difficulty for a scratch golfer, or one who consistently achieves par without a handicap. To put this in perspective, the average course has a maximum tee rating of 10.
The USGA defines a bogey golfer as male with a USGA Handicap Index of about 20 strokes or a female with a handicap of 24. For the bogey golfer, Nanjing Zhongshan International Golf Club offers tees with a Course Slope of as high as 2, which is among the least difficult of all golf courses.
