Nanjing Ming City Wall: Zhongshan Gate to Biaoying Gate

For Nanjing locals, the 'city wall' is an architectural giant we know all too well. No matter which corner of the city we are in, a stretch of city wall, long or short, accompanies us. Perhaps because of this familiarity, I had never made a deliberate trip just to walk along it. Occasionally, when entertaining out-of-town friends, I’d take them to the wall as a tourist spot. In 2021, quite by chance, I climbed up to the Zhonghua Gate tower. The exhibitions inside the tower sparked a desire in me to explore Nanjing’s city wall more intentionally and systematically. One exhibition, titled 'City Edge, Joyous Occasions' (城缘禧事), introduced the Spring Festival customs of Nanjing people, with every day from Little New Year onward having a special tradition. One such custom was 'Climb the City Wall on the 16th of the First Month, Tread on Peace and Walk Away All Illnesses' (正月十六爬城头 踏太平走百病). On that very day in 2021, at my child’s suggestion, we followed this ritual by walking the wall from Yijiang Gate tower to Dinghuai Gate tower. Just recently, with time to spare, I visited Jiuhua Mountain Park, a place I’d never been before, and again happened upon Taiping Gate. I climbed up and walked the wall toward Tai City, enjoying a unique perspective of the landscape—the mountains and waters took on a special charm. After that, I did my homework, delving into the details of the Nanjing Ming City Wall, and planned to step onto every section I had yet to visit. I also thought of organizing my past wall walks into a travel series to share with everyone.

Thinking back to a few years ago when I accompanied a classmate’s daughter to the Zhongshan Gate city wall, I didn’t wrote up the trip in time, so this entry has been shelved for years. Recent wall outings stirred my memories, so I dug out these 'old' photos to relive that day!

Date: December 2017

Mode of travel: cycling and walking

Attraction: Zhongshan Gate City Wall

Address: Zhongshan Gate, Nanjing

Admission: 10 yuan

Standing below the wall and looking up, the majestic Zhongshan Gate features three arched portals. The central arch serves as the entrance to Nanjing for the Shanghai-Nanjing Expressway. To ease traffic between inside and outside the city, twin tunnels for vehicles were opened on both sides beneath the gate. This gate is all too familiar to me, because I live in the east of the city. Before Metro Line 2 opened, whether by car or by bus, this was our inevitable route. Passing through the gate every day, had I grown so accustomed to the wall that I no longer truly saw it? Not really—I still felt its imposing presence daily. In different seasons and during different festivals, the wall above the gate would be adorned differently.

At the western side of the gate, on the south end, there’s a staircase leading up onto the wall. A stone tablet gives an introduction to the Nanjing City Wall, telling the history of Zhongshan Gate’s city wall—its construction, expansion, and restoration.

Zhongshan Gate city wall charges a 10 yuan admission. The area above the three arches is quite broad. Located in the city’s east, Zhongshan Gate originally stood on the site of the Ming dynasty’s Chaoyang Gate, one of the thirteen inner gates of the Nanjing Ming City Wall and the only eastern gate of Ming Nanjing. It got its name because it was the first to greet the sun. As the eastern gateway to Nanjing, Zhongshan Gate served as the most important passage linking the walled city with the eastern suburbs. It is said that the coffin of Dr. Sun Yat-sen entered Nanjing through this very gate. Now, standing in the middle of the wall top, we can enjoy a splendid panorama. The broad expressway runs right through the embrace of the gate, while wider city roads flank it on both sides. These roads underscore the gate’s role as a key traffic artery in eastern Nanjing. They not only lead to the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum scenic area but are also the necessary route for Ning-Hang Road and the Shanghai-Nanjing Expressway.

In the oval field between the expressway and the city roads stands a tall, mighty stone statue of a bixie—a mythical creature believed to ward off disasters and evil. When entering the city from the east, you’ll pass this bixie, an iconic symbol of Nanjing.

South of the expressway lies the rippling Yueya Lake (Crescent Lake) and the beautiful urban buildings along its shore. To the north of the wall stretches the undulating Zhongshan Mountain. The wall snakes onward; among the colorful woods runs Mingling Road. Further north, the wall turns, skirting Qian Lake and Pipa Lake. In the deep autumn of December, Nanjing turns into a palette of colors—greens and yellows of every shade intermingle. Together with the blue-gray wall, this scene evokes a sense of grandeur and timelessness that inspires awe.

In the past, only after passing through the city gate did one truly enter the city. The western side of the wall was what people then understood as the urban area. The Shanghai-Nanjing Expressway connection seamlessly becomes Zhongshan East Road, the main thoroughfare cutting east-west through the city.

A sign on the wall points north to the Qian Lake section ruins and south to Biaoying Gate. The area atop the three arches is spacious, but the wall narrows considerably on either side as it continues.

I walked north along the wall. Looking down, I saw the aged, solid wall body.

Below me was Mingling Road, running alongside the wall and heading north toward the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum. However, this stretch of the wall was blocked, so I couldn’t proceed further on top. I turned back and headed south along the wall.

Heading south past the gate, I found Yueya Lake on the east side of the wall. As a remnant of the ancient moat, it receives water from Zhongshan Mountain to the north, and from Tongzicang Gully and Weiqiao Gully to the east. To the south, water from the Yunliang River is pumped into the lake at Qiqiaoweng Pumping Station. To the west, it replenishes Mingyu River through a brass pipe sluice, echoing the northwest moats. It is an integral part of Nanjing’s historical city wall relics.

From high on the wall, sweeping views opened up: the lake and hills all in one glance. The late autumn leaves were golden-yellow, their reflection glowing on the blue lake. Small boats rested quietly, creating a scene of serene beauty.

Yellow-green leaves against the blue lake—a pure, brilliant sight caught my eye. Zooming out, the lens took in the lakeside trees and, in the distance, houses with white walls and red roofs—a landscape painting of city, forest, and water.

On the water, there were platforms, winding bridges, and waterfront pavilions. Small boats rocked gently on the lake. A slender ecological islet sat in the middle of Yueya Lake.

This section of the wall ran straight. Looking back, the imposing wall seemed to touch the distant Zhongshan Mountain. Around Yueya Lake, a park has been built, with sculptures of the Four Auspicious Beasts—the Azure Dragon, the Vermilion Bird, the Black Tortoise, and the White Tiger—placed at the four corners, symbolizing good fortune. Here was a spreading-winged Vermilion Bird, vividly lifelike.

Following the long, narrow lake alongside the wall to Houbiao Camp, it turns eastward, and the lake takes on a crescent shape.

Less than a kilometer south of Zhongshan Gate, I reached another gate—Biaoying Gate. This spot is also where Yueya Lake bends.

The top of Biaoying Gate also offered open space. Standing on the gate, I looked east along the busy Houbiao Camp Road, lined on both sides with handsome street trees of many varieties, their orderly rows painting beautiful strokes of color. The rippling lake brought a touch of water’s softness to this concrete city.

On the west side of the gate, Houbiao Camp Road continues westward. Leaning out as far as I could from the wall, I saw the lofty city wall accompanied by lush vegetation.

I climbed down and walked to Houbiao Camp Road to view the gate. This gate originally didn’t exist. In 2009, to close a gap that had been opened in the Ming city wall, this three-arch gate was newly built, connecting nearly 100 meters of wall to the south with the wall to the north, and was named 'Biaoying Gate'.

Walking into the gate and looking up, the gate in the sunlight appeared imposing, exuding the weight of the city. To be continued—I will set foot on every part of Nanjing’s city wall, one by one.