Nanjing City Wall

Introducing Nanjing City Wall
Nanjing City Wall is one of the key historical and cultural remains of Ming Dynasty(1386) under state protection. Nanjing City Wall is a masterpiece of China’s ancient architecture. Nanjing is one of the few cities in China that still have old city walls, and its City Wall is better preserved with most part still remained. Even though Nanjing City Wall has a history of about 600 years Nanjing City Wall is still spectacular and of great value in terms of cultural relics protection. It was the longest city wall in the world and the city enclosed by it remained the world’s largest until the 17th century.

Nanjing City Wall Fast Facts
• Chinese Name: Nan Jing Ming Cheng Qiang 南京明城墙
• Best Time to Visit: March to May; September to October
• Recommended Visiting Hours: About 1 to 2 hours
• Things to Do: Photography, History and Culture, Architecture
• Opening Hours: 08:30 – 17:00 (Shence Gate to Taiping Gate & from Fugui Gate to Lanqi Street); 08:30 – 20:00 (East Water Pass to Jiqing Gate); All day (Qingliang Gate to Central Gate)
• Entrance Fee: CNY 30 (Shence Gate to Taiping Gate, including the City Wall Museum); CNY 10 (Fugui Mountain to Lanqi Street); CNY 50 (East Water Pass to Jiqing Gate, including the barbican of Zhonghua Gate); Free (Qingliang Gate to Central Gate)
• Address: Xuanwu District, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province

What to expect at Nanjing City Wall

With an original perimeter of about 35 kilometers (22miles), Nanjing City Wal has a height 14-21 meters (46-67 feet). The footing has a width of 14 meters (about 46 feet). The present remains have a length of about 21 kilometers (13 miles). Each brick weighs about 10 kilograms with a length of 40-50 centimeters, a width of 20 centimeters and a height of 10 centimeters. The bricks are inscribed with the names of officials who were responsible for the quality of the bricks. Up to 350 million bricks were used to build the wall.

Nanjing City Wall is made up of four parts. From the outside first there is Outer City, Inner City, Imperial City and Palace City. In 1390, Outer City was built with a length of 180 kilometers (112 miles) in a diamond shape to strengthen defenses though it does not exist any more and only the names of the 18 gates are still used now. Nanjing City Wall we can see today is mainly the relic of the Inner City. The Imperial City was built to protect the Palace City, which is nicknamed ‘Forbidden City’ as it is the centre of the four walls.

Nanjing City Wall is an important cultural relic for the inscriptions on the bricks. The inscriptions come in two forms. One is from scholars and officials, the other from the artisan or folk people. The characters of the former is beautiful and elegant and contains the major calligraphic styles, the origin of one of the characters styles even cannot be traced. From here, you can see how Chinese characters developed and understand the multiculturalism of the Ming Dynasty. These inscriptions act like a historical scroll, recording the changes of the wall over dynasties. It provides an indispensable record for the study of Nanjing history.

Getting up on the Nanjing City Wall, visitors can have great views of the Xuanwu Lake, Zijin Mountain and Intercontinental hotel tower from Jiming Temple, etc.

How to get to Nanjing City Wall
• Take Metro line 1 to Zhonghua Gate or Xuanwu Gate.
• Take bus 2, 16, 49, 63, 202, 302, 701, 706, D18 or G5 to Zhonghua Gate.
• Take bus 1, 8, 22, 25, 28, 30, 33, 35 or 56 to Xuanwu Gate.
• Take bus 10, 13, 30, 32, 33, 35. 42, 45, 54, 66, 69, 72, 73, 76, 315, 318, 501, 510, 555, or 558 to Central Gate.
• Rent a car/bus from GGC to enjoy a hassle free private transfer from hotels in Nanjing to Nanjing City Wall.

Additional travel advice on Nanjing City Wall
• Please wear comfortable hiking shoes.
• It’s suggested to visit the wall in the morning or during the sunset. Please wear sunscreen, hat and sunglasses to prevent sunburns in the daytime.
• To enjoy the night view of the city wall, visitors should buy the night tickets for the south section (East Water Pass to Jiqing Gate), and ascend the wall from the north gate of Zhonghua Gate.