The Former Imperial Capital

Everybody knows that Beijing is the capital of China. But not all people aware that it is not the only one. In the past, several cities served as the imperial capital and one of them was Nanjing.

This city is located in the lower Yangtzi River drainage basin and the Yangtzi River Delta economic zone. It has always been one of China’s most important cities. Apart from having been the capital for six dynasties and of the Republic of China, it has also served as a national hub of education, research, transportation, and tourism throughout history. It is the second largest commercial center in East China after Shanghai. As the capital of Jiangsu province, Nanjing (literally means ‘the southern capital’) has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture.

The National Hero
He was Dr. Sun Yat Sen, the first president of the Republic of China. One of the organizers who created a modern country, he staged a revolution and in 1911 overthrew the Qing, the last imperial dynasty and ended the two thousand years of the feudal monarchy system.
Dr. Sun passed away of liver cancer on March 12th, 1925. He was buried in Nanjing, in Zhongsan Ling or the Grand Tomb located in Zijin Mountain on the outskirt of the city.
A question aroused on why this location was chosen despite the fact that the former president was born in Guangdong province, died in Beijing, and only stayed in Nanjing for a short time. In March 1912 when he was the provisional president of then the Republic of China, once he went hunting to the mountain. As he gazed at the winding Qinhuai River followed by green mountains behind, Ming dynasty tomb to the left, and Linggu Valley to the right, he smiled and said to his close attendants, “The day I die, I wish to be buried here.” Perhaps that is the answer.
To honor the ‘Father of the Republic of China’, a grand mausoleum was created. The impressive memorial was constructed from 1926 to 1929, covers an area of 80.000 square meters. It is considered the ‘Holy Land’ for the Chinese, both home and abroad.
After his death, Dr. Sun’s coffin was temporarily put in the Fragrant Mountain’s Temple of Azure Clouds while the mausoleum was being built on the southern slope of Zijin Mountain, according to his will. It is designed in the shape of an alarm bell, reflecting the doctor’s idea of ‘evoking the mass people to build the Republic of China.’ A granite memorial archway or the ‘paifang’ leads to the mausoleum’s ground. Behind it is the 375 meters long and 40 meters wide pathway with 392 steps leading up the hill to the formal gate hall. Inside is a pavilion which houses Dr. Sun’s memorial tablet; a huge stone steel about six meters high. On the upper part is four Chinese characters written by Dr. Sun himself ‘Tian Xia Wei Gong’ meaning ‘the nation is people’s nation and everyone shall serve the nation selflessly.’ At the end of the steps is the main memorial hall where the coffin chamber is located. Its ceiling is tiled with the flag of the Kuomintang. This was out of my attention however as I was too busy admiring the beautiful coffin where Dr. Sun was laid to rest. The sarcophagus topped with the statue of the president lying in state, is made of white marble. I circled the tomb in silence like other visitors, to pay a tribute to the leader who had brought China to the new era.

The Confucius Temple Market
Confucius, China’s legendary philosopher has passed away. Today’s people, especially the Nanjingers, associate his name with one thing: shopping!
I could make neither head nor tail when I was told that the next stop on the tour was the Confucius Temple Market. I thought I was going to be taken to a ‘real’ temple.
Confucius Temple or ‘Fuzi Miao’ in Chinese is located in the southern Nanjing. This is a great place to be on weekends and holidays. The main street, which is close to the traffic, is dominated by clothing shops and restaurant. The stalls in its alleyways sell stuffed animals, CDs, and even more clothes. Food sellers also line up offering various kinds of Chinese delicacies; from jellyfish dumplings, stuffed buns, to the attractive ice-glazed fruit satays.
However, the temple itself is the quietest place in the neighborhood. Constructed in 1034 during the Song dynasty, it used to serve to complete the Jiangnan Examination School where imperial examinations were administered. Some statues of the students stand at the entrance, maybe as a reminder that it was once an academic center.

The Longest City Wall
Defense was an important matter to the Chinese empire. The Ming dynasty paid great attention to this aspect, especially with Nanjing’s status as the then imperial capital.
The first Ming emperor Zhu Yuangzhang (1368-1398) built a wall which is now known as the Zhonghua Gate or the City Gate of Nanjing. Originally called the ‘Gate of Gathering Treasures’, it carries a legend from the time of its creation. Legend said that when the emperor had the gate built, the ground kept sinking and made the structure collapsed again and again. It stood firm only when a treasure bowl was buried under the gate. The defense structure was renamed Zhonghua Gate in 1931, during a ceremony to commemorate the 1911 revolution, like the name of the Republic of China in pinyin, ‘Zhonghua Minguo’.
The wall was built to defend the city from attack. There are thirteen gates and the grandest is a complex structure composed of close courtyards and for arched doors serve as the entrance. Two double-paneled wooden doors with additional stone doors are set behind. If the enemy broke through the wooden door, they could be separated and trapped in the closed yards upon dropping the stone doors.
Inside the complex, I saw some tunnels. They were used to store a large quantity of food and weapons and could hold approximately 3000 soldiers. Wide and steep ramps were built on the east and west side to allow people to carry materials upward. The view from the top was quite magnificent; the ancient castle of the city gate combined with modern buildings.

Pride of the Chinese
I wondered what made a bridge so special that it is included in a tour itinerary. That was my thoughts about the Yangzi River Bridge.
The answer was right there on the bridge itself. It is a mega construction, a striking example of post-revolutionary art and engineering structures, stretching 1.5 kilometers long. As a double-decker, it has a dual function of highway and railway, and is listed on the Guinness Book of World Records.
The bridge is the pride of the Chinese and has a special meaning both technologically and politically. After the 1949 Revolution, China worked closely with the late Soviet Union, which provided many technical advisors and engineers, to construct the bridge. However, when the relation between the two countries broke up in the early 1960s, the USSR pulled all of its engineers home. Before leaving, they bet they bet that China would not be able to finish the bridge without their help. The Soviets lost their bet; Chinese engineers managed overcome the challenge and finished the construction in 1968.
The fascinating architectural decoration evokes the enthusiasm and patriotism of the 1960s in China. It is a symbol of the power of the revolutionary masses. Chairman Mao Zedong’s slogan is written in huge red characters on one of the eastern buttresses which read ‘The people-only the people-are the driving force behind world’s history’. The huge piers are capped with towers topped by giant glass sculptures representing red flags, the flag of the republic, surging forward.
Apart from its political significance, the bridge gave the first direct rail link between Beijing and Shanghai. In the past, trains had to be ferried across the river and it took two hours. Today it only takes about two minutes to cross along the lower deck.
To access the bridge I went through the Great Bridge Park, under and around the span of the southern bank. An elevator took me to the upper deck, where I could see the river.
A gallery is set up on one of the piers. It is a large room displaying beautiful color painted crystal balls. They are unique because painted in the inside, and besides, they come on different sizes. They are sold at the price range of between 400 to 1000 yuan and the money goes to finance the maintenance of the bridge.
These are possible thanks to Master Guo Luan, a native Nanjing who used to be a school teacher but later quit his job and dedicate himself to help maintaining the bridge by painting crystal balls. All of the crystal balls sold at the gallery are his work of art. His masterpiece is a large crystal balls with the picture of the Forbidden City, too bad it is not for sale.
The master was there at the gallery during my visit, but he was working on a painting and did not want to be disturbed. As I walked along the gallery I saw two interesting pictures. One is portraying the master showing how to paint a crystal ball to his students, and the other is small crystal bottles with pictures of presidents and world celebrities such as the late Princess Diana, the former Singapore prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, the former Russian prime minister Boris Yeltsin, and the US president George W. Bush.

Two days were not enough to see the entire city.