The Zhonghua Gate (), is a gate and defensive complex on the

city wall of Nanjing The City Wall of Nanjing was designed by the Hongwu Emperor (1328–1398) after he founded the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) and established Nanjing as the capital in 1368. To consolidate his sovereignty and defend the city against coastal pirat ...

, China. This is the southern gate of

Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

city. It is a renowned ancient

city gate A city gate is a gate which is, or was, set within a city wall. It is a type of fortified gateway. Uses City gates were traditionally built to provide a point of controlled access to and departure from a walled city for people, vehicles, goods ...

in China and the city gate with the most complex structure in the world.

History

2004 0928 Nanjing ZhongHuaGate HorseRamp

The

was built from 1360 to 1386 under the founder of the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

, the

Hongwu Emperor The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328– 24 June 1398), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizu of Ming, personal name Zhu Yuanzhang, courtesy name Guorui, was the List of emperors of the Ming dynasty, founding emperor of the Ming dyna ...

Zhu Yuanzhang. In 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang was crowned Emperor, and made Nanjing his capital. The southern and eastern sections of the old city wall from the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

were incorporated into the new wall. The northern and eastern sections were built afresh. The city wall was 33.676 kilometres long. It was 14–21 m high; 14.5m thick at its base, and 4.9m thick at the top. Thirteen gates were built into the wall, and the enclosed area was the largest of any walled city in China. The gate today known as Zhonghua Gate was then known as Jubao Gate (). It was built on the site of the south gate of the capital city of the

Southern Tang Southern Tang ( zh, c=南唐, p=Nán Táng) was a Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic state of China that existed during Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Located in southern China, the Southern Tang proclaimed itself to be the successor ...

dynasty. It was the largest among the thirteen gates of Nanjing. In 1931, after the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

government established

as its capital, the gate was renamed to Zhonghua Gate. In one sense, this reflects the triumph of the southern factions led by Chiang Kai-shek over the northern factions of the

Beiyang government The Beiyang government was the internationally recognized government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China between 1912 and 1928, based in Beijing. It was dominated by the generals of the Beiyang Army, giving it its name. B ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, who had named the southern (main) gate of

" Gate of China" to signify its status as "gate of the nation".

Layout

The gate was made of huge strip stones 0.8 – 1.39 m long, 0.7 m wide and 0.26-0.35 thick and large Chinese brick 0.4 m long 0.2 m wide and 0.1 m thick. Its dimensions were 118.5 m from east to west, and 128 m from south to north. The ramparts were 20.45 m high. The total area enclosed was 15,168 square meters. Three

barbican A barbican (from ) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Europe Medieval Europeans typically b ...

s were connected by four arched gates, each of which was equipped with a Qianjinzha () which could be opened up and down, as well as a pair of wooden doors. The Toudaomen () consisted of 3 steps. At the top step, there used to be a wooden building to defend against the enemy. The middle step was built of brick and stone. It was 65.15 m long, 47.20 m wide and 9.00 m high. In the north section of it were constructed 7 soldier staying holes. In the middle of the lower step was constructed an arched gate leading to barbican. It was 52.60 m long, 5.35 m wide and 8.7 m high. At the north section of it were built 3 soldier staying holes. Erdaomen (the second gate) was 16.14 m away from Toudaomen. Its hole was 8.20 m long, 4.97 m wide and 8.10 m high. The hole of Sandaomen (the third gate) 15.18 m away from Erdaomen was 8.32 m long, 4.82 m wide and 8.1 m high. Sidaomen (the fourth gate) was 19.3 m away from Sandaomen. Its hole was 8.8 m long, 4.8 m wide and 8.1 m high. At the outerside of the east and west of barbican were constructed 14 soldier staying holes (7 facing to the east 7 facing to the west). There are 27 soldier staying holes altogether in all the barbican and two paved ramps by which mounted troops can ride to the top. Zhonghua Gate has weathered wind and rain for 600 years. It still holds its original state except that the wooden structure has been destroyed and some features on the wall constructed of sticks and stones. It is rare in the world for its vast scale and sophisticated style. It is a great engineering project of complex and intricate design, occupying an important place in Chinese construction history, as well as being important in Chinese military history. It was listed on the cultural and scenic spots under careful protection by the

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

provincial government in 1957 and the state council in 1988.

Admission

The site is open to the public from 08:30 to 20:00, with tickets costing 50 yuan.

Transportation

The area is accessible within walking distance north of Zhonghuamen Station of

Nanjing Metro The Nanjing Metro is a rapid transit system serving the List of administrative divisions of Nanjing, urban and suburban districts of Nanjing, the capital city of Jiangsu Province in the People's Republic of China. Proposals for a metro system ...

History

Layout

Admission

Transportation

References

External links

See also