Nanjing Ming City Wall – From Xuanwu Gate to Jiefang Gate
Walking Route: Xuanwu Gate City Wall – Jiefang Gate City Wall
Walking Mode: on foot
Walking Date: September 2022
Many cities have city walls, but my favorite is the wall in the city of Nanjing. The Nanjing City Wall, stretching over 30 kilometers, does not follow the ancient capital convention of square or rectangular layout. Instead, it clings to mountains and rivers, winding like a lively dragon through the beautiful landscape. Due to its age and urban development, the wall is now divided into several sections, and we never walked the entire length in one or two tries. The year our child left home for studies, we whimsically decided to make climbing the city wall a pre-departure ritual. Over the past two years, we have walked section after section, and I’ve recorded these walks through travelogues. Before we knew it, it was time for the new school term again, and I regretted not having walked another section. The school’s notice of a delayed start then prompted this latest wall walk. Uncertainty has become the norm nowadays. We gladly accept the extra time with our ‘little monster’ at home! So, our parent-child wall ritual did not fall through this semester.
Xuanwu Gate is a later addition to the Nanjing Ming City Wall, opened in 1908. Originally named Fengrun Gate, it lies between Shence Gate, Jiefang Gate, and Taiping Gate, and is named for its proximity to Xuanwu Lake; it serves as the west entrance to Xuanwu Lake Park. Xuanwu Gate is also an ancient landmark of Nanjing. Here’s a ‘portrait’ of the east side of Xuanwu Gate tower. The wall is over ten meters high, and the two-tier gate tower with painted beams and carved rafters makes it even more majestic. The gate has three arches, each adorned with auspicious cloud patterns on the arched lintels. The bluish-gray wall with its red gate and golden studs and knockers exudes grandeur and elegance.
This side is the west side of the gate; to climb the wall, you need to buy a ticket here. Admission is 30 yuan.
Once you ascend the gate, you see the two-tiered tower with its double eaves.
Continuing south along the wall past the tower, this section is not very wide. Tall fir and pine trees flank the wall, forming a leafy corridor that disappears into the distance.
The wall is predominantly bluish-gray, mingled with occasional grayish-brown hues. A budding flower brings a touch of tender romance to the ancient fortification.
The wall is tall enough that we can see over the lofty vegetation to admire the lake’s charm.
Between the battlements, you can glimpse the scenery of Xuanwu Lake. We’ll walk along this centuries-old wall and enjoy the lakeside and mountain views all the way.
The details reveal the wall’s history and weathered character; a few strings of red lanterns adorn the ancient rampart.
Ancient trees tower along the way, faithfully guarding the imposing wall. This scene reminds me of the tree-and-stone embrace at the great city in Cambodia. Here, the trees and wall keep perfect company, a steadfast, unyielding guardianship.
The towering Zifeng Tower shows off its height advantage.
The calm lake in the foreground, the composed Purple Mountain in the distance — like an ink-wash painting, conveying a sense of detachment from fame and fortune.
As the dark clouds thin and light returns, after passing the woods, Zifeng Tower comes into clearer view, looming ahead.
As the sky brightens, the ink-wash scene transforms into a watercolor painting.
The layered, lush vegetation beside the wall stretches out, like a sea of forest.
At a turning point, we can see the wall ahead, embraced by greenery outside. The harmony of architecture and plants — which adorns the other, which embellishes the other?
Looking toward the bustling city.
This section also has a viewing platform, giving us a better angle to enjoy the lake and mountain scenery.
It feels like walking on a ribbon of time and space.
The wall’s base is laid with stone blocks, its body built of massive bricks. The bricks were fired from high-quality clay and white porcelain clay, each weighing 20 to 40 jin (10–20 kg). Many bricks bear the names of the supervising prefecture and county, the brickmaker, and the firing date. Most are dense bluish-gray, with a few higher-quality white porcelain bricks, and an occasional red or yellow one. The bricks and stones were bonded with lime mixed with glutinous rice paste, making them extremely sturdy. Despite centuries of weathering, about 20 kilometers of the wall remain intact today.
The wall stretches on with an aura of weathered solemnity, grandeur, and majesty. The section ahead coils like a dragon heading toward Purple Mountain, evoking the line ‘Tiger crouching, dragon coiling — today even better than the past.’ A magpie stands proudly on the parapet. It must feel the wall’s dignity and venerability, just as I do.
Under the blue sky, the bluish-gray brick wall dotted with red lanterns looks even more beautiful.
Xuanwu Lake inside the wall.
On this side, tall greenery closely accompanies the wall.
Usually we have to look up at these trees. Now, standing on the towering wall, we can truly appreciate their height. Nanjing’s green cover is something we who live here are proud of.
High-rises, unwilling to be lonely, crane out to gaze at the blue lake.
Every few steps on the wall brings a different view. The lakeside path runs parallel to the wall. Walking on the wall versus on the path below may be in the same space, but the different perspectives certainly give different visual experiences.
Walking Nanjing’s city wall, you not only tour the wall itself but also enjoy endless views inside and outside the city. The beautiful Xuanwu Lake and modern city architecture serve as backdrop — perhaps such beauty is unique to Nanjing!
Overlooking Xuanwu Lake Park, its islands are connected, linked by stone bridges.
The broad Xuanwu Lake on the northern side of the wall is the moat that encircles the Nanjing Ming City Wall, an important component of it. The expansive water surface sets off the tall and sturdy wall, making would-be attackers tremble.
The vast expanse of Xuanwu Lake unfolds, with the five islets in the middle coming into view. Small boats dot the open water, enlivening the scene.
The undulating mountains in the distance are Zhongshan (Purple Mountain). In the foreground, the lake, a green causeway crossing it, and the lakeside green belt… The rolling mountains, the sinuous green band, and the shimmering lake combine into a beauty of dynamic and tranquil elements.
The tree species in the green belt differ, sketching the scene with varied brushstrokes.
Continuing east along the wall, the white round structure ahead to the left is the Sun Palace. Its unique shape and white color stand out against nature’s blue-green palette.
The Nanjing Ming City Wall is the only one built in the south of China, making full use of the Jiangnan (south of the Yangtze River) natural landscape. Following the mountains and waterways, it winds and merges with the forests — truly beautiful.
As we walk the wall, Zifeng Tower stays with us like a shadow.
Starting from Xuanwu Gate toward Taiping Gate, this stretch offers a constant view of the mirror-like green Xuanwu Lake. Nanjing’s garden-style concept of ‘mountain, water, city, forest’ merges into one scene here.
Through the woods, I spot the top of Jiming Pagoda peeking out, signaling that we’re getting closer to Jiefang Gate.
The impressive height and sturdiness of the wall give a sense of being ‘as solid as iron and stone.’ From this angle, you can see the difference in elevation between the east-west section from Taiping Gate to Jiefang Gate and the north-south section from Jiefang Gate to Xuanwu Gate, and also spot three gates here. The Ming City Wall from Xuanwu Gate via Jiefang Gate to Taiping Gate is the longest, best-preserved, and also the tallest section of the remaining wall in Nanjing. The height from the battlements to the ground outside commonly reaches 20 to 25 meters. Of the three gates in view, the largest one, Jiefang Gate, is a city traffic passage; the gate on the wall ahead leads toward Taiping Gate. In recent years, after renovation, the Nanjing City Wall Museum was built above that gate, making Jiefang Gate itself a tourist attraction. The gate below the wall leads to Xuanwu Lake Park.
This gate with surging crowds is Jiefang Gate. Jiefang Gate was opened in 1954 as a new gate in the Nanjing Ming City Wall; it is a single-arch gate. To facilitate traffic inside and outside this section of the wall and for civil air defense evacuation, the city decided to create this gate near the ‘Back Lake Wall’ at the foot of the Taicheng at Beiji Ge.
The Ming City Wall, Jiming Pagoda, and Zifeng Tower in one frame tell the story of Nanjing’s history. The mottled wall is a memory carrier of the Ming Dynasty’s footprint in Nanjing; the clear lake reflects the natural landscape, while layers of historical relics unfold in this city.
Climbing to the highest point — Taicheng — I look back at the section we just walked from Xuanwu Gate to Jiefang Gate. The magnificent wall beneath my feet sits solemn and steady as Mount Tai. The green trees beside the wall contrast and highlight the embracing Xuanwu Lake in the middle ground and the soaring city buildings in the distance, sharp and layered.
Vines wrap around the wall, attaching themselves to the surface and tinting the gray with green, making the monotonous gray lively and interesting.
Standing at the highest point, Taicheng. ‘Taicheng’ is famous for the line ‘The most heartless are the willows of Taicheng’ from Liu Zhuang’s poem. Today, ‘Taicheng’ broadly refers to the Jiefang Gate scenic area radiating outward from Jiefang Gate.
Here, using the internal space and the roof of the wall above Jiefang Gate, a Taicheng exhibition hall has been set up. The permanent exhibition is titled ‘The Ever-Standing Capital – A Special Exhibition on the Nanjing City Wall’. Through pictures, multimedia, and other means, we learn about the wall’s history, military, cultural, and technological values.
Climbing a staircase on one side of the exhibition hall.
Reaching the highest point of the wall, this 250-meter section was the back garden of the Eastern Jin palace, popularly called Taicheng. The wall here is broad and majestic. Along one side, for a hundred meters or so, replicas of various cannons, crossbows, and other defensive weapons are displayed. Seeing them, you can imagine the thunderous cannon fire at the foot of Purple Mountain and atop the old Jinling city walls.
The Taicheng section of the wall is hailed as Nanjing’s best viewing spot. Here you find the cultural and historical charm of Beiji Ge and Jiming Temple, the splendid natural scenery of Xuanwu Lake, and the majestic grandeur of Purple Mountain and Jiuhua Mountain.
At Taicheng, the Nanjing Ming City Wall splits into two branches, forming a Y shape. One branch is the section we just walked, extending northwest along Xuanwu Lake and further north to Shence Gate… The other branch ends beside Jiming Temple after passing Jiefang Gate. Although it’s an abandoned section of wall, its height far exceeds that of the Xuanwu Lake section, with the ancient Jiming Temple as a backdrop and few tourists, making the scenery beautiful and serene. Amid green hills and trees, Jiming Temple is built onto the hillside, tier upon tier covering Jiming Mountain. The temple’s Buddhist chants linger in the air, while modern high-rises soar into the clouds — a collision of time and space that bursts into the beauty of city and forest.
The wall half-embraces Xuanwu Lake. Five flower-bedecked islets dot the misty expanse of the lake. Distant mountains and nearby waters, with mountain mists reflected.
Walking here, you feel the solid and majestic wall — so solemn, so weathered. Mottled ancient bricks, with mischievously luxuriant vines creeping out of the crevices, entwining the blocks.
The orange morning glory is delicate yet resolute.
Continue toward Jiuhua Mountain and Taiping Gate.
From this angle overlooking the city, with Purple Mountain to the east and Jiuhua to the south, Xuanwu Lake lies cradled among hills, its ripples reflecting the ancient city of the crouching tiger and coiling dragon, graceful and grand.
The design elements on the wall show a youthful vitality.
City life beside the wall is fully visible.
From here you can see Jiuhua Mountain in the distance.
Through the dense trees, you can faintly see kayaks moored by the lakeside. Xuanwu Lake is one of Jiangsu’s water sports training bases.
Heading toward Jiuhua Mountain, a barricade unexpectedly blocked our way. I suddenly realized it might be the aftermath of an incident at Jiuhua Mountain. I hadn’t thought of that — no wonder there were so few visitors along this stretch; it had puzzled me a bit. Oh well, an extra kilometer of walking just counts as exercise.
We turned around and headed back toward Taicheng.
Unable to go further that way, we could only look from here. This section of wall heading toward Taiping Gate curves around the Jiuhua Mountain mass.
A wall over 600 years old accompanies this city, silently guarding it. The bricks, the ancient trees clinging to the wall — every detail speaks of historical vicissitudes.
Looking at the modern cityscape from atop the wall is another kind of splendor. Skyscrapers in downtown Nanjing play a magnificent urban symphony like musical notes.
The ancient wall and modern high-rises in one frame, a woman in Hanfu strolling hand in hand with her casually dressed boyfriend — everything is so harmonious.
The wall is a protective barrier, and also a vein through which the city’s ancient charm flows. Since 1366, Nanjing has undergone earth-shaking changes — skyscrapers rose from level ground, old palaces crumbled. Over 600 years have rushed over the city of Jinling, yet Nanjing’s city wall, having weathered many storms, still stands firm.
Nanjing locals have an inexplicable affection for the city wall. We love strolling on it, taking in the city-forest scenery we adore, and also love walking the greenways beside the wall, enjoying different beauties. I will continue to measure it with my steps, to experience the unique and incomparable Nanjing City Wall.
