A Blissful Escape at Nanjing Bona Hotel: Happiness, Earthly Delights, and the Ideal Vacation

As China's economic strength gradually improves, people's wallets are getting fuller and life is increasingly prosperous. After meeting basic living needs, spiritual nourishment is naturally something people seek further. For most of us, the best form of leisure is travel – it not only relaxes the body and mind but also relieves fatigue and broadens horizons. Why not do it?

1. Scenic Area Guide

Zhongshan Scenic Area is located on Purple Mountain (Zijin Mountain) in Xuanwu District, Nanjing, and is often called the Zhongshan Scenic Area. It is a famous scenic destination in China, one of the first national-level scenic areas, one of the first national 5A tourist regions, a national forest park, a national civilized scenic spot, and one of China's top 40 tourist attractions.

Zhongshan Scenic Area centers on the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum Park, supported by Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum and Linggu Temple. It boasts over 200 historical sites and relics, with 84 accessible scenic spots.

Because purple clouds often shroud its summit, Zhongshan is also called Purple Mountain. The mountain and the back lake (Xuanwu Lake) lean against each other, creating Nanjing's innate geographical advantage. Here, like a coiling dragon and crouching tiger, mountains, water, city walls, and forests blend seamlessly – a convergence of Nanjing's natural beauty and cultural richness. Hence Zhuge Liang’s praise: 'With Zhongshan coiling like a dragon and the Stone City crouching like a tiger, this is truly an imperial residence.'

Zhongshan, as a 'coiling dragon,' stands by the Yangtze River, drinking in rosy clouds and swallowing mists. For over a thousand years it has remained lush and green, sheltering emperors and heroes, its pines and cypresses ever verdant. It integrates diverse cultures and natural wonders, standing out among mountains. Encompassing the cultures of the Six Dynasties, the Ming Dynasty, landscape-city-forest culture, ecological leisure culture, and Buddhist culture all on one mountain, it is acclaimed as 'the number one cultural mountain within a Chinese city.'

The Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum is a majestic architectural complex on Purple Mountain. Built into the hillside, it faces south with ridges stretching before it and undulating peaks behind. The combination of blue and white hues is harmonious yet solemn. Gazing upon its grandeur, one can almost envision Dr. Sun Yat-sen's magnificent and heroic life.

From above, the mausoleum resembles a giant alarm bell lying on a green velvet carpet. The bronze statue of Dr. Sun Yat-sen at the foot of the mountain is the bell's clapper tip, the semi‑circular Bo’ai (Universal Love) Square is the arc of the bell’s top, the long spirit way and steps form the pendulum, and the dome of the tomb chamber at the top is like a bell’s clapper knob. This enormous 'alarm bell' merging with the green hills seems to forever inspire later generations to 'keep striving.'

Entering the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, you first arrive at the square in front of the tomb. Located at the southern end, the square is semi‑circular in plan.

From the square, you ascend steps to the entrance of the spirit way. Here stands a granite archway with three bays and four pillars reaching skyward, covered with blue glazed tiles. Inscribed on it are two Chinese characters '博爱' (Universal Love) in Dr. Sun Yat-sen's own calligraphy; thus it is also called the 'Bo’ai Archway.' 'Universal Love' was his favorite phrase to write for friends.

Beyond the archway stretches a 375‑meter‑long spirit way, divided into three lanes: the central lane is 12 meters wide, and the two side lanes are 4.2 meters each. Between the side lanes, from south to north, five pairs of rectangular green belts are planted with two rows of cedars and four rows of cypress trees symmetrically. At the end of the spirit way is the mausoleum gate, the main entrance to the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum.

On the left and right of the platform before the gate there are two symbolic guardhouses. The mausoleum gate faces south and has three arches, each fitted with two‑leaf openwork bronze doors.

The gate is rectangular, 27 meters wide, 16.5 meters high, and 8.8 meters deep, entirely built with granite from Fujian and topped with blue glazed tiles. Above the central door on the south side are four gold characters '天下为公' (The World Belongs to All), also in Dr. Sun Yat-sen's hand.

On the east and west sides of the gate stand two pairs of white marble lions about 3 meters tall. These lions were purchased by General Song Zheyuan, then governor of Chahar Province, from the Dingwang Mansion in Beiping (now Beijing) in July 1935 and donated to the Sun Yat-sen Cultural Education Center, which later transferred them to the mausoleum.

Beyond the gate is a square stele pavilion. Measuring 12 meters on each side and about 17 meters high, the pavilion is entirely of granite with a double‑eaved hip‑and‑gable roof and blue glazed tiles. Each side has an arch, but the north arch is blocked by stone balustrades, preventing passage; visitors can lean here to gaze at the sacrificial hall's majestic shape.

The inscription on the stele reads: 'Here is buried Premier Mr. Sun by the Kuomintang of China,' written and carved by Tan Yankai. The stele is 8.1 meters tall, 4 meters wide, weighs dozens of tons, and is carved from Fujian granite. It is dated June 1, 1929 (the 18th year of the Republic of China).

The entire mausoleum features azure‑blue glazed tiles on the domes, symbolizing 'the world belongs to all' and embodying a lofty, righteous, and great personality and spirit.

Passing the stele pavilion, a flight of 392 steps leads to the sacrificial hall, broken by eight platforms, representing the 392 million people of the Republic of China at that time. The steps are all built of Suzhou Jinshan granite. On both sides, cypress, maple, photinia, and crabapple trees stay green all year round.

On the fifth platform there is a pair of huge bronze ding (tripod cauldrons) engraved with four seal‑script characters '奉安大典' (Grand Ceremony of Enshrinement), donated by the then Shanghai Municipal Government to commemorate Dr. Sun Yat-sen's funeral.

The sacrificial hall is a palace‑style building blending Chinese and Western architectural styles. It is 30 meters long, 25 meters wide, and 29 meters high, with exterior walls of Hong Kong granite. The roof is a traditional Chinese double‑eaved hip‑and‑gable design covered with blue glazed tiles. All buildings in the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum feature white walls and blue tiles, matching the basic colors of the Kuomintang's 'blue sky and white sun' emblem.

On the stone pedestals in front of the hall, to the east and west, stand a pair of bronze ding donated by Sun Fo (Sun Ke), Dr. Sun Yat-sen's son, on behalf of the whole family.

The front of the sacrificial hall has three arches, the central one larger and the side ones slightly smaller, all fitted with openwork bronze doors. Above the lintels, from east to west, are inscribed the three principles of the people: 'Minzu' (Nationalism), 'Minsheng' (People's Livelihood), and 'Minquan' (Democracy). Between the upper and lower eaves of the central door is embedded the phrase '天地正气' (Righteousness of Heaven and Earth) in gold, also by Sun Yat-sen.

Inside, the floor is paved with Yunnan marble. Twelve huge pillars are arranged in a four‑hidden–eight‑visible pattern, resting on marble bases; the columns are made of reinforced concrete and clad in black granite from Qingdao.

The ceiling of the sacrificial hall is inlaid with mosaic tiles forming the Kuomintang emblem of a blue sky and a white sun.

In the hall sits a marble statue of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the work of the world‑renowned sculptor Paul Landowski.

Dr. Sun Yat-sen's remains were placed in an American‑made bronze coffin and buried in a rectangular tomb pit 5 meters deep beneath the mausoleum. The pit is paved with granite at the bottom and surrounded by partition walls. The bronze coffin is 2.24 meters long, 0.8 meters wide, and 0.65 meters high, with the national emblem engraved on the lid.

The Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum was a major project designed and built by China in the early Republic era. Integrating the terrain of Purple Mountain, it links individual buildings with broad stone steps, platforms, and expanses of greenery along a central axis into one sweeping whole. Despite decades of wind and rain, it remains as fresh and pristine as ever.

Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum Music Stage

The Music Stage is located southeast of the Bo’ai Square at the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum. Built between 1932 and 1933, it covers about 4,200 square meters, designed by Guan Songsheng and Yang Tingbao. The stage is semi‑circular in plan, with the performance area at the center of the circle. To the rear stands a large curved wall designed to gather sound waves, its top carved with coiling dragon motifs. The front edge has three wavy tiers. Right in front of the stage, an arc‑shaped crescent‑shaped pond filled with water lilies curves along the edge; a hidden spring keeps the pond perpetually clear. Beyond the pond, following the slope, a semi‑circular bowl‑shaped lawn with a radius of 50 meters has been shaped, divided into twelve fan‑shaped sections by radial paths and concentric circular paths. This exquisite structure harmonizes beautifully with the surroundings and is one of the most important commemorative buildings of the mausoleum.

In recent years, the Nanjing Forest Music Festival and the Zhongshan Holiday Concert are often held here, making the Music Stage a true outdoor music sanctuary.

Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum

Ming Xiaoling is the joint tomb of Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and his empress, Ma. Because Empress Ma was posthumously honored as 'Xiao Ci' (Filial and Compassionate), the tomb is named Xiaoling. It lies at the foot of Dulongfu (Peak of the Lone Dragon) on the southern slope of Purple Mountain in Nanjing, bordered by the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum to the east and Plum Blossom Hill to the south. It is one of the largest imperial tombs in ancient China and was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2003, becoming Nanjing’s first 'World Cultural Heritage.'

Construction began in the 14th year of the Hongwu reign (1381) and was completed in the 3rd year of the Yongle reign (1405), lasting 25 years. Around 100,000 laborers were employed, and over 5,000 troops guarded the tomb. At that time, pavilions and halls were interconnected, incense smoke swirled inside the sacrificial halls, and the sea of pines murmured as a thousand deer roamed the grounds, their calls adding to the grandeur. Due to repeated warfare, now only the Shenlie Mountain Stele, the Dismount Archway, the Great Golden Gate, the Square City, and the Stele of Divine Merit and Sacred Virtue remain. The Sacred Way preserves six types of stone animals: lions, xiezhi (mythical creatures), camels, qilin, horses, and elephants, each in two pairs—two kneeling and two standing—making 24 statues in total. There are also two stone pillars on the Sacred Way, and four pairs each of civil officials and military generals.

The stone animals on the Sacred Way are enormous; the stone figures (wengzhong) include two pairs of generals and two pairs of civil officials, eight statues over 3 meters tall.

The mausoleum’s system inherits the tradition of earlier dynasties’ 'mountain‑side tombs' while innovating by changing the square tomb mound to a round one, establishing the basic layout of 'square in front, round at the rear.' The design of the mausoleum palace, the square city, the Bright Tower, the Bao City, and the Bao Ding pioneered the architectural regulations for Ming and Qing imperial tombs, standardizing over 20 mausoleums built during those 500 years. For this special role, it is hailed as a milestone in the history of Chinese imperial tombs. The Sacred Way of Ming Xiaoling winds sinuously and overall assumes the shape of the Big Dipper, a unique layout among Chinese imperial mausoleums.

In front of the mausoleum palace lies Plum Blossom Hill, the supposed tomb of Sun Quan of the Three Kingdoms. Legend has it that Zhu Yuanzhang wanted Sun Quan, a 'hero,' to 'guard his gate.' Plum Blossom Hill is one of China’s famous plum blossom viewing spots. That Sun Quan ended up 'watching the gate' for Zhu Yuanzhang is merely historical legend.

Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty made six southern tours and paid homage at Ming Xiaoling five times. This showed, on one hand, Zhu Yuanzhang’s indelible contribution to the Ming Dynasty’s 276‑year reign and, on the other, Kangxi’s broad‑mindedness, extraordinary tolerance, and strategic acumen. At that time, Manchu‑Han tensions were still acute; sweeping the tomb of a Han emperor was a way to promote Manchu‑Han unity and win over the Han people, thus stabilizing his rule.

During his third visit, Kangxi inscribed the words '治隆唐宋' (Surpassing the Tang and Song Dynasties), making his respect clear.

Folklore claims that thirteen city gates opened simultaneously for Zhu Yuanzhang’s funeral procession, and that he was buried in the Chaotian Palace in Nanjing or Wanshou Hill in Beijing, leaving a centuries‑long mystery about whether he actually rests in Ming Xiaoling. In the early Republic, someone carved characters on the wall bricks of the Bao Ding, altering the character '明' (Ming) by writing its '日' (sun) radical as '目' (eye), meaning 'use your eyes to see' — a device often used by literati.

To uncover the historical truth, starting in 1998, archaeological experts from the Nanjing Municipal Institute of Cultural Relics and the Zhongshan Cemetery Administration’s heritage department spent nearly six years using precision magnetic surveying and other high‑tech methods, combined with traditional exploration, to detect the underground palace. They concluded that this is indeed the center of the Ming Xiaoling underground palace and that Zhu Yuanzhang is buried dozens of meters beneath Dulongfu. The underground palace is well preserved, dispelling old rumors of tomb robbery.

2. Hotel Guide

The Bona Hotel (Nanjing Xuzhuang Metro Station Software Park branch) offers great value for money and didn’t disappoint me at all. Getting from downtown to the Software Park is very convenient—right at the metro station and you’re at the hotel.

Upon entering, there were many drinks available. The staff greeted me proactively, asking if I had a reservation. The service felt much improved compared to before; the staff were very warm and welcoming.

The room is not huge, but overall it feels clean and tidy. The interior is smart‑designed, featuring a Tmall Genie (smart speaker) that can control the air conditioning, lights, and curtains, saving you the trouble of getting up—quite handy. There were complimentary drinks in the fridge, which added to the pleasant experience.

I found the soundproofing decent; at least I didn’t hear noises from the hallway or any other disturbances.

Breakfast was great—a self‑service buffet. The best part is the high value: around 200 yuan per night for such a hotel is truly worth every penny.