Some Lights: Nanjing (1) - The South Capital

It was really interesting to find out that Nanjing is one of the ancient capitals equivalent to Beijing and played significant roles in different parts of the history of China. In the Ming Dynasty, The first emperor of the Zhu YuanZhang who overthrew the Yuan Dynasty rebuilt this city and made it the capital of China in 1368. Nanjing remained the capital of the Ming Empire until 1421, when the emperor relocated the capital to Beijing. It was also the capital of the Taiping Kingdom in the mid-19th century. In 1927, the Kuomintang (KMT) under Chiang Kai Shek established Nanjing as the capital of the Republic of China. In 1949, the Communist forces captured Nanjing, Chiang Kai-shek's government fled to Taiwan, and Mao ZeDong declared the People's Republic of China with the capital in Beijing.

We took the night train from Beijing and arrived at Nanjing on the 20/05 morning. Our main destination is The Presidential Palace (总统府) which had once played important roles in the modern history of China. This is the office of the President of the Republic of China before the republic relocated to Taiwan in 1949. Earlier in 1853, Taiping Revolution forces led by Hong Xiuquan occupied Nanjing and converted the palace converted into a palace for Hong, the Palace of the Heavenly King, or Tianwang Fu. It now houses the China Modern History Museum

After checking in the hotel in Fuzimiao, we took a bus and arrived at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace. The ticket was priced on the high end at RMB50. I missed out a fair bit of photos here because the camera batteries were running down.

Main entrance of the Presidential Palace

In the main hall

In front of the big portrait of Dr Sun Yat Sen

Stone Boat in the pond within the garden

We also made a short visit to Ming Palace (明故宫) , the 14th century imperial palace of the Zhu YuanZhang, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty. The Forbidden City in Beijing built by his son, Emperor YongLe, subsequently became the Imperial Palace when the capital was moved to Beijing. The palace was destroyed by the Qing in 1644, and today only some foundations, walls, carved stones remain. What a big difference with the well-preserved Imperial Palace (Forbidden City) in Beijing!

The Meridian Gate - The same name as in the Imperial Palace, Beijing

A view from the gate

arden of Carved Stones from the ruins of The Gate of Heavenly Worship

The remains at the other end with stone lions

The Imperial Palace in Beijing is said to be modeled after the Ming Palace. We can imagine the splendid structure the Ming Palace possessed before the destruction.

Our hotel is in Fuzimiao (夫子庙), which is located in the south of Nanjing. This is a popular tourist attractions with many well-known destinations, such as Nanjing Confucius Temple, Qinhuai River, Jiangnan Gongyuan (where ancient provincial and national examinations were held), and etc . It is surrounded by the famous Qinhuai River. The Confucius Temple is situated in the center of this region, consisting of a cluster of symmetrically arranged buildings. We had a walk in the pedestrian street before the dinner.

Jiangnan Gongyuan

Nanjing Confucius Temple

Look at the splendid decorations and the lights at the river side

Fuzimiao pedestrian street

The lantern lights painted with the traditional Chinese Beauties

Qinhuai River at night

We had our dinner at the Nanjing Da Pai Tang Restaurant (南京大排档) which serves classic Nanjing cuisine in a Qing Dynasty teahouse atmosphere. The waitress are dressed in traditional costumes. There is a small stage in the centre with the live performance.