Suppose for once that we do as we are told and don’t intend to leave Nanjing over the Labour Day holiday which begins tomorrow. What shall we do in lieu of lying on a beach in Sanya? Nanjing has thankfully a few new attractions to occupy us.
First up is the Nanjing City Wall Museum, the biggest of its kind in China. Fittingly, the design of the building is inspired by the Wall itself, and in particular Zhonghua Men. There, the large ramps on either side built to accommodate soldiers running and those on horse back provide for the new Museum’s design aesthetic. They are also the means by which visitors may access its flat roof, for a panorama of the many nearby sights.
On the ground floor, the Museum facade is comprised of the largest glass curtain wall in the world. Nothing can be seen of the Museum’s interior from outside, but once inside, visitors can see through the one-way glass panel for a view of the Zhonghua Men Barbican. According to Xinhua, this is also the very first time the special material has been used on a building in China.
Inside, among the many City Wall artifacts are 700 bricks for the wall dating from the Ming Dynasty. Each is personally inscribed and placed on the Museum’s shelves on their end, creating a bookshelf impression. The inscriptions indicate the prefecture or county of the brick’s origin, as well as the official in charge and the brickmaker’s name. Such can be viewed as an ancient “satisfaction guaranteed” label. The inscriptions are also another unique-to-Nanjing feature, being absent in all other city walls.
Of particular note for readers of The Nanjinger is the collection of foreign- language books that in some way reference our City Wall. Dating from 1639 CE is the Latin version of “China in the 16th Century: The Journals of Matteo Ricci: 1583-1610” . The Jesuit priest wrote of the Wall, “In terms of beauty and majesty, indeed, perhaps few other cities can match or surpass it”.
Visits to the Nanjing City Wall Museum require an appointment made in advance via their official WeChat account (南京城墙). The Museum is a 20-minute walk from exit 2 of Zhonghua Men Metro Station.
On to our next stop for Labour Day, one which cannot be named. Not for legal reasons, but because it doesn’t yet have a name. For that, authorities are soliciting suggestions from the public. We’re talking about the hydrophilic circular landscape bridge (see why they want the suggestions?) beside the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge.
The bridge is itself part of a 1.1 kilometre extension to the Binjiang Greenway which is now complete all the way from there to the Nanjing Yuzui Wetland Park in the south. That’s a total of 21 kilometres of riverside trails for running, biking and inlining.
Seven metres wide and 95 metres long, the main bridge spans the east and west sides of the Jinchuan River. Its subsidiary, connecting with the main bridge across the Jinchuan, is six metres wide with a central glass deck.
As the second phase of a comprehensive environmental improvement project for the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge Park, the new attraction opens for visitors on 1 May. No metro nearby.
Finally, because it’s a little out of the way, is the World Literature Saloon. Yes, saloon, not salon, says China’s official English media. With its Chinese name, however, being World Literature Living Room (世界文学客厅), this is the first of many such literary spaces which will each be a combination of urban living room, exchange and exhibition centre, and testing ground for literary innovation activities.
All well and good, but for us, the venue is special for the unique decoration that hangs from the ceiling. This long coiling scroll is engraved with many of the former names for Nanjing. Not all, mind you; that would need be a very long scroll, since Nanjing has gone by more than 70 different names in its past. It’s another reason for Beijing to jump in the river; the Northern Capital has only been known by 30 or so names. That of Nanjing is a fascinating and sometimes bloody story, and one which The Nanjinger wrote all about in 2019.
That was also the year in which Nanjing was selected as a UNESCO World Literature Capital, an award which was a key driver for the official opening of the “Saloon” this past Sunday, 24 April. On an area of 3,000 square metres, the facility is located at the foot of Jilong Shan in Jiangning District. No metro nearby.
The Nanjinger wishes all its readers a very pleasant extended weekend Labour Day holiday.
