A Nanjing Local's View of Nanjing – Museum Edition – Seeing Nanjing in Chaotian Palace

Walking time: November 2020.

Route: Take Metro Line 2, get off at Shanghai Road Station, then walk.

Address: Chaotian Palace (Wangfu Street, Chaotian Palace Subdistrict, Qinhuai District, Nanjing)

Admission: 20 yuan

Walking route within the complex: Bian Gong Site and Bianhu Tomb Stele – Dismounting Stele – “Wall of Ten Thousand Fathoms” – Pan Pond – Lingxing Gate – Dacheng Gate – Dacheng Hall – Chongsheng Hall – Nanjing Municipal Museum – Rear Hill Garden Area – Jingyi Pavilion

I came across an online article introducing some lesser-known spots for autumn beauty in Nanjing, and Chaotian Palace was among them. The red walls paired with golden ginkgo leaves and a beautiful young woman instantly captured my attention. I felt a bit ashamed that I had never set foot in Chaotian Palace before. So this autumn, let’s go! To match the overall colors for photos, I deliberately chose a bright, colorful skirt that had been buried at the bottom of my closet for years—too loud to wear usually, but after all these years it finally got its chance. Paired with a black sweater, the outfit turned out to be a great success against the red walls and yellow ginkgo leaves. Follow my walk and see for yourself!

Coming out of the Shanghai Road metro station, walk straight south along Mochou Road. After a few hundred meters, on the east side of the road, you’ll see Bian Gong Site and Bianhu Tomb Stele. Bianhu served as the head of the Imperial Secretariat during Emperor Ming’s reign in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Later, he and his two sons died in street fighting while suppressing the Su Jun rebellion, and was buried in Yecheng (present-day Chaotian Palace).

There’s an octagonal pavilion called “Bianhu Well Pavilion,” with an opening at the top; the well railing faintly reveals the Zhongxiao (Loyalty and Filial Piety) Spring.

Enter the Bianhu Tomb Memorial Archway — the Imperial Bestowed Quanjie (Complete Integrity) Archway.

A graceful, colorful garden.

Inside the garden, there’s a pavilion for the “Bianhu Father and Son Tomb Stele.” Inside the pavilion stands a tall, weathered stone tablet with blurred inscriptions, erected in the spring of the Daoji Year Jiawu (1846): “Tomb of Duke Bian, Loyal and Filial Father and Son of the Jin Dynasty.”

Here you can find an introduction to Chaotian Palace and a panoramic map.

At a turn, an inconspicuous dismounting stele stands, inscribed with “Civil and military officials, soldiers, and commoners must dismount here.” In ancient times, all officials, both civil and military, had to dismount and walk from this point onward.

This is the stone and brick archway on the west side of Chaotian Palace, inscribed with “Dao Guan Gu Jin” (The Way Runs Through Ancient and Modern) written by Zeng Guofan. You can’t enter here; you have to continue walking around.

Take a peek through the archway’s railing for a preview. The archways are symmetric east and west; there’s another one opposite, with a large square in between.

Here’s a detailed notice. The first courtyard of Chaotian Palace is open to the public free of charge.

The Wenjin Bridge spanning the Qinhuai River.

The river at the southernmost part of Chaotian Palace is an east-west artificial canal, now part of the Inner Qinhuai River. On the north bank stands a tall screen wall.

The lovely Qinhuai River and its scenic banks.

Arriving at Chaotian Palace Square, it’s beautiful. Vegetation in various colors makes the place vibrant this season.

The pretty square is a joyful place for citizens to gather, chat, and walk their birds — endless fun.

From the square, you can better admire Chaotian Palace’s enormous screen wall. On its southern face, four large regular-script characters are carved in brick: “Wan Ren Gong Qiang” (Wall of Ten Thousand Fathoms).

Approaching it, the beautiful red wall.

Walk around the “Wall of Ten Thousand Fathoms,” and there’s a lovely view by the red wall.

Under the red walls and glazed tiles, the bright yellow leaves inside the courtyard contrast beautifully with the dark green leaves outside. Who could resist such an autumn scene?

To the north, there’s a semi-circular Pan Pond.

Pan Pond, with its walls and railings built of bluestone, holds clear blue water with gentle ripples.

On the square north of Pan Pond, there are archways on both the east and west palace walls.

Three arches, topped with brick plaques. The eastern one is carved “De Pei Tian Di” (Virtue Matches Heaven and Earth),

and the western one “Dao Guan Gu Jin” (The Way Runs Through Ancient and Modern).

Facing front is the Lingxing Gate, the main gate of the Wenmiao (Confucian Temple). It’s a four-pillar, three-bay wooden archway, topped with yellow-glazed tiles.

A bit of history from Baidu: During the Southern Dynasties, this was the site of Zongmingguan Imperial Academy. In the Ming Dynasty, it became a place for rehearsing etiquette before grand court ceremonies, and also where children of officials studied to inherit titles and where civil and military officials learned how to meet the emperor. In 1384, Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang bestowed the name “Chaotian Palace,” meaning “paying homage to heaven” and “meeting the emperor.” The Chaotian Palace built before the Qing Dynasty was destroyed during the Taiping Rebellion. The current ancient complex was rebuilt on the same site from 1866 to 1870 after the turmoil. In the late Qing, it served as the Jiangning Prefectural School and Confucian Temple; today it houses the Nanjing Municipal Museum and was designated a Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Unit in 1956.

The stone lions in front of Lingxing Gate look much gentler.

On both sides of the west gate, there are four pairs of coiled-dragon brick carvings, exquisitely rendered and lifelike — masterpieces of Qing Dynasty brick carving art.

The stone steps in front of Lingxing Gate have been a play area for generations of Nanjing children. Countless little bottoms have worn a shiny groove into these timeworn steps.

Behind Lingxing Gate is the first courtyard of the Confucian Temple.

Facing you is a bronze statue of Confucius teaching.

On the east and west sides, there are two wings respectively: the east houses the Literature and History Study and the Sacrificial God Storehouse; the west the Military Officers’ Study and the Butchering Pavilion.

Now, both sides are used for other purposes.

Right now, a poster exhibition is being held here.

This side now serves as the visitor service center.

On the north side of the first courtyard stands the imposing Dacheng Gate. It features double-eaved hip-and-gable roofs with dougong brackets on both eaves, covered with glazed tiles. There are three gates: left, center, and right. Unique to this gate are two smaller doors at each end. The central gate was for the emperor during Confucian ceremonies; princes used the left and right gates; ordinary officials could only use the small end doors.

Today’s brilliant sunshine lights up everything here.

A Qing Dynasty bronze bell from the Jiangning Prefectural School.

Passing through Dacheng Gate leads to the second courtyard. This area requires a ticket, but today I enjoyed the medical staff tour card benefit and entered for free.

The courtyard is surrounded by long corridors, with east and west side halls.

At the center stands the magnificent Dacheng Hall, the main building of the Confucian Temple. In front is a spacious terrace surrounded by stone railings, with dragons carved in relief along the central steps.

The hall has double-eaved hip-and-gable roofs with upturned eaves, sloping sides, one main ridge and four diagonal ridges, the roof slightly curved like outstretched wings. Both front and back corridors feature massive red wooden pillars, all under pure yellow glazed tiles.

The terrace before the hall, surrounded by tall trees.

At this time of year, the ginkgo trees steal the show.

Today, Dacheng Hall looks exceptionally dazzling. Under the blue sky, the yellow glazed tiles sparkle, and the red pillars shine. The ancient ginkgoes are at their most beautiful now too, making everything a perfect, eye-catching match.

This beautiful season and such a beautiful ancient-style setting make it a popular spot for Hanfu enthusiasts and social media photos.

Under the old ginkgo tree, every gesture is filled with affection.

There are also Western-style wedding photos being taken here.

East of Dacheng Hall stands a Ming Dynasty “Stele of the Imperial Order to Rebuild Chaotian Palace.” Nearly 6 meters tall, it consists of head, body, and pedestal. The head features finely carved cloud-dragon reliefs; the body is flanked by coiling dragon patterns; the tortoise-shaped pedestal with raised head and glaring eyes is vivid. The inscription records the positioning and scale of Chaotian Palace in the early Ming, and details of its reconstruction during the Chenghua period.

Behind Dacheng Hall, in the third courtyard, stands Chongsheng Hall, similar in style to Dacheng Hall, with a two-tiered terrace fronting it, enclosed by stone railings.

A side view of Chongsheng Hall.

West of Dacheng Hall, the complex with interconnecting corridors is the Nanjing Municipal Museum.

Bells hanging under the upturned eaves.

Permanent exhibition halls include “Crouching Dragon, Coiling Tiger – Nanjing’s Urban History,” “Jade Hall Treasures – Selected Collection Highlights,” and “Cloud Garments and Hairpins – Song and Ming Dynasty Costume Exhibition,” among others.

First, we see the “Crouching Dragon, Coiling Tiger” hall. It traces urban history through five sections: “Favorable Terrain, a Livable Land,” “Six Dynasties’ Continuity, Capital Established in Jinling,” “Rise and Fall Through Dynasties,” “Unified Empire, Flourishing Southern Capital,” and “Birth of the Republic, New Modern Capital.” It highlights Nanjing’s special status as one of China’s Four Great Ancient Capitals, focusing on the features of Nanjing during the Six Dynasties, Ming, and Republican periods and their contributions to Chinese history.

Kylin (Chinese unicorn) of Nanjing.

Human-face eaves tiles unearthed from the Six Dynasties’ Jiankang city ruins; their expressions are quite amusing to observe.

Lifelike pottery figurines showcase the distinctive costumes of the Six Dynasties period.

Song Dynasty farming tools.

A statue of Zu Chongzhi, a representative figure in science and technology, with texts and videos introducing him and his achievements.

Models illustrate water transportation in the river-crossed Jiangnan region.

The Nanjing Municipal Museum houses over 100,000 cultural relics, spanning from ancient times to the Republican era, rich in content.

Statues of Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang and Liu Ji.

After making Nanjing his capital, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang built numerous ritual structures including the palace and imperial city, with strict regulations and grand palatial architecture reflecting the founding majesty of the Ming Dynasty.

Large building foundation stones.

The Ming Dynasty marked the second peak of Nanjing’s development. With Zhu Yuanzhang establishing the capital here, Nanjing became the capital of a unified Chinese dynasty for the first time, the national political, economic, and cultural center, leading to development in all aspects. Here we see the meteorological observatory and instruments used in Nanjing at that time.

A large group of Ming pottery honor guard figurines unearthed at Majiashan, outside Nanjing’s Zhonghua Gate. Numerous and vividly modeled, these lifelike figurines demonstrate exquisite ceramic craftsmanship of the time.

The “Birth of the Republic, New Modern Capital” section introduces the crucial transitional period from the late Qing to Republican era, when Nanjing shifted from an ancient enclosed city to a modern open one. Maps in multiple languages appeared in Nanjing.

A batch of modern buildings was constructed.

Using scene reconstructions, model reproductions, artistic illustrations, multimedia audio-visual presentations, and other modern means, a splendid scroll of Nanjing’s ancient capital history is unfurled.

Culture thrived during this period; Nanjing had its own film companies and cinemas, and people’s lives changed.

Stepping back into the bright sunlight outside, I felt as if waking from a dream. Experiencing the rhythm of Nanjing’s history, the grace of its ancient capital, and the charm of its culture within these ancient buildings is a wonderful experience.

Apart from the “Crouching Dragon, Coiling Tiger” hall, the museum’s multi-function hall also hosts a temporary exhibition “Green Returns to Jiangnan – Joint Exhibition of Cultural Relics from Eight Cities in the Nanjing Metropolitan Area.”

On the third floor of the new exhibition area, the “Jade Hall Treasures” gallery showcases selected masterpieces from the collection. Using the ancient Confucian temple architecture as its vessel, the museum presents the profound historical and cultural heritage of a capital of ten dynasties. Under the glazed tiles, we interpret Nanjing’s urban historical development and appreciate the essence of its ancient capital culture.

After seeing the Confucian temple and thoroughly exploring the museum, there’s still a natural scenic area waiting for us. Here’s a map of the rear hill garden area.

Climbing the steps leads to the highest point of Ye Hill.

The colorful autumn is resplendent.

White walls, grey tiles, lattice windows, and red leaves together form a painting.

Amid the hills, an elegant and ancient-style garden courtyard building.

At the summit stands a pavilion — Jingyi Pavilion.

Standing in the pavilion and looking around, trees and palace halls reflect each other’s glory.

Rockeries and piled stones frame Jingyi Pavilion on both sides, with ponds and courtyards, presenting a leisurely scene evocative of a Jiangnan garden.

A little girl stepping into the frame brings the picture to life.

Steles in the garden.

Looking down from the hilltop at the roof ridges of Chongsheng Hall, the little mythical beasts are vividly lifelike.

Walk back down along the white gable wall into the courtyard.

Looking at the north side of Dacheng Gate from the courtyard.

The small side door of Dacheng Gate.

Turning back from Dacheng Gate to gaze at Dacheng Hall, with green street trees, and at the far end, golden, lemony, and butter-yellow ginkgoes encircling the yellow-tiled, red-walled hall — any snapshot becomes a masterpiece.

Going back through Dacheng Gate into the first courtyard.

On one side of the courtyard, there is a museum shop.

Small potted plants by the shop entrance.

The stone lions at the gate each have their own posture, with humorous and interesting expressions that bring a smile to your face.

Leaving, I turn back for one last look. The whole Confucian temple complex is built against the hill, facing south, with a symmetrical central axis and orderly layout. Such a beautiful architectural ensemble, such a beautiful autumn. Thinking back, after so many years in Nanjing, it’s incredible that I’ve only just visited this gorgeous place for the first time. On the other hand, Nanjing is just too beautiful, with too many beautiful places to see them all. Fortunately, now I have the time and the mood, and I’ll visit every spot I haven’t been to yet, and enjoy them properly.