Zhonghua Gate Castle

Background

Zhonghua Gate is the main south gate of Nanjing's city wall. Originally called Jubao Gate, it stands between the inner and outer Qinhuai rivers; it was first built during the Yang Wu state of the Five Dynasties period and served as the south gate of Jiangning Prefecture under the Southern Tang and of Jiankang Prefecture under the Southern Song. From 1366 Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming, built the Nanjing city wall and rebuilt Jubao Gate on the site of the old Southern Tang south gate; it was renamed Zhonghua Gate in 1931. The castle is 118.5 m wide from east to west and 128 m long from north to south, covering about 15,000 square meters. It has three barbican enclosures linked by four arched gateways; the first gate is about 21 m high, with horse ramps on either side for riding up onto the wall. Each gate originally had a portcullis that could be raised and lowered and a pair of wooden doors; today only the grooves of the portcullises remain. There are 27 soldier-hiding caves in the barbicans and beneath the horse ramps, estimated to hold about 3,000 people. The story that Shen Wansan's treasure bowl is buried beneath the gate is a folk legend. Zhonghua Gate is an important part of the Nanjing city wall and a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level.

Local customs

• Once on the wall you can walk east along it to the Dongshuiguan area
• below on the north side are the Laomendong and Menxi historic districts, and to the south across the outer Qinhuai River lies the direction of Yuhuatai. Nanjing locals like to link Zhonghua Gate, Laomendong, the Confucius Temple and the Qinhuai River into a one-day old-Chengnan route
• around the Lantern Festival the Qinhuai Lantern Fair is held in the south of the city, lanterns are often set up on and below the wall, and in recent years nighttime light shows have been held inside the barbican.

Religion & beliefs

The city gate is a military defensive structure with no religious function. The inscriptions often seen on the wall bricks record the prefectures and counties that fired the bricks, the craftsmen and the supervising officials, part of the Ming dynasty system of "inscribing makers' names" for quality tracing, not prayers. The temples and mosques around the south of the city each have their own etiquette, so please observe them separately if you visit.

Rules that apply here

Travel tips

• Allow 1–1.5 hours, or half a day if you walk along the city wall to Dongshuiguan or add Laomendong. It is about a 10-minute walk from Zhonghuamen Station on Metro Line 1, and from Wudingmen or Fuzimiao stations on Lines 3, 5 and others you can transfer to a bus or walk
• boat tours run on the outer Qinhuai River. Entry to the Zhonghua Gate Castle requires a ticket, opening hours change with the seasons, and whether it opens at night and light-show schedules are as announced by the Nanjing City Wall management. Combine with: the Laomendong Historic District and the Nanjing City Wall Museum to the north, north along the inner Qinhuai River to the Confucius Temple and the Jiangnan Examination Hall, and south across Changgan Bridge to the Grand Bao'en Temple Ruins Park and Yuhuatai.