National Day on Zijin Mountain

Wednesday, October 1. Today is the official National Day of the People's Republic of China, declared on October 1, 1949, by Chairman Mao.

So today, Tara and I take on Zhongshan Mountain, also known as Zijin (Purple-Gold) Mountain, where several of Nanjing's most historic sites are located. The word "mountain," however, would be misleading. So would Lonely Planet's statement that it "dominates the eastern fringes of Nanjing." "A large, flat hill that is not actually visible from anywhere in the city except from the Nanjing Bridge" would be more accurate. It is, as reported, heavily forested and quite lovely. It's just not a mountain.

We take a taxi to one of the entrances to the park. The traffic is horrific (National Day) so it takes an hour to get there from our hotel. We aren't exactly sure where we are in relation to things but we follow the herd of people making their way into the park. Fortunately, the signs are in English as well as in Chinese so we are eventually able to get our bearings.

It turns out that we are closest to the Ming Xiaoling Scenic Area which is the site of the 14th-century tomb of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang (1328-1398) and his wife, Empress Ma. Zhu (officially Emperor Hong Wu) was the first emperor of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) and is the only Ming emperor to be buried outside of Beijing. Entrance fee: 70 yuan. Yikes. But what the heck, it's National Day and we're paying our respects to China's heritage. It is also a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site.

We pass through the Grand Golden Gate, so named because it used to have a single-eaved sloping roof covered with yellow glazed tiles on green glazed rafters. It must have been awe-inspiring but, unfortunately, the roof has not survived. All that is left is a lovely, well-proportioned and very large stone bridge with three arches.

Next we reach the Tablet Tower, also known as the Square Citadel. It is a square stone "tower" (about 40' high) with an arched gate in each of the four walls. It also used to have a double-eaved, hip-and-gable roof covered with yellow glazed tiles. Must have been magnificent. Inside the tower is the Tablet of Great Merits, erected by the fourth son of Emperor Hong Wu (himself Emperor Yong Le), in 1413. The tablet, with dragons at the top, has an inscription of 2,746 characters extolling the lifetime achievements of Hong Wu. The tablet is carried on the back of a giant tortoise. Apparently, ancient people believed that the tortoise, because of its longevity, was the only link between this world and the next.

As we are walking through the park, we see people setting up hammocks and small tents and cooking equipment. Clearly, some families are here not to see the World Heritage sites but to enjoy being outdoors. And it is a beautiful day.

The Sacred Avenue is the next section of the tomb complex. The first part is 618 meters long and is lined with 24 stone animals, six different animals in 12 pairs (two of each animal sitting and standing): the lion, the camel, the elephant, the horse, and two legendary animals, the Xiezhi and the Kylin (Chinese unicorn). They are quite large and manage to be both magnificent and delicate at the same time. Each one was carved out of a whole piece of stone.

Alongside the Stone Elephant Road (as this part is called) is Plum Blossom Hill, a 28 hectare site containing 15,000 plum trees of 230 varieties, some quite rare. In spring, this must be an unforgettable sight.

The second part of the Sacred Avenue is 250 meters long and contains two stone sacrificial columns, two pairs of civil officials and two pairs of military officials, also in stone.

Finally, the last part of the Sacred Avenue, the Lingxing Gate (only ruins of this remain) and the Five-Dragon (or Golden Water) Bridge, leads to the actual Tomb Palace section. And, in the immortal words of The Carpenters, "we've only just begun." So we have lunch in a restaurant near the Golden Water bridge.

The Tomb Palace complex. The Tomb Palace gate (a reproduction of the original), painted red with a yellow glazed roof. The Imperial Kitchen (foundation stones only). The Eastern and Western wells are beautiful but I'm guessing the roofs have also been restored. The Imperial Tablet Hall (Qing dynasty). The Sacrificial Palace, of which only some stone elements, including the Sumeru pedestal, remain from the original building (current building, much smaller, erected in Qing dynasty). The Inner Red Gate. The Grand Stone Bridge, or Ascension Bridge, leading to the Rectangular Citadel (being restored, could not visit), a vast building with the Ming Tower on top (yellow glazed roof missing), which stands in front of Treasure City, a closed rampart brick wall surrounding Treasure Mound, over 1,000 meters in circumference, 7 meters high and over 2 meters wide at the top. The Treasure Mound itself, where the Emperor and his wife are theoretically buried in an underground palace, is about 400 meters in diameter. It has yet to be excavated.

Needless to say, this is one heck of a tomb. Napoleon, eat your heart out!

It is now mid-afternoon and we have reached a decision point. Clearly, we are not going to be able to see both of the two remaining Top Three attractions on Zijin Mountain: The Dr. SunYatsen Mausoleum and the Linggu Temple Complex. The distances are too great, the traffic is bumper-to-bumper and the whole mountain is, as the French would say, "noir du monde" (black with people) visiting their cultural heritage on National Day. So as much as I am reluctant to forego seeing the Sun Yatsen tomb and museum, we decide to skip that in order to see a building at the Linggu Temple site: The Beamless Hall.

But first, we have to get there. After inquiring of numerous people about where to get the bus going to the Linggu Temple site (as opposed to the one going back to town - these are regular city buses!) and stumbling around, we finally (thanks to a very helpful park attendant - a woman with a broom) get to the right place. Believe me, this bus stop is not in any way obvious to the casual tourist. And let me explain "inquiring." Usually, this consists of pointing to a map of the mountain and the Chinese characters for whatever it is we want to see!

So eventually we are on the bus and on the road to the Linggu Temple, first passing by the entrance to the Sun Yatsen complex. It is an interminable journey as the narrow road is simply packed with cars, taxis and buses. Fortunately, we are able to sit down on the bus. (Note: While we are on the bus, I see a beautiful reflection of tall, red flowers in a canal with waterlilies nearby but unfortunately can't get a photo of it. Just keep the memory alive.)

At the Linggu Temple entrance, we find that we cannot purchase a ticket just to the Temple complex itself but have to shell out another 80 yuan for a ticket to both the Temple and the Sun Yatsen tomb. This is extremely annoying as we will not have time to do both. But we do it because who knows when or if we'll ever be back.

The Beamless Hall. This fascinating building (1381) was built entirely out of brick and stone, containing no beam supports. It is very simple and Romanesque. There are three vaulted ceilings (the middle one is larger and higher but very poorly lit so hard to see) and a large stone platform where Buddhist statues used to sit. Now it is a memorial to those who died resisting the Japanese.

The Linggu Temple. Fabulous Buddhist temple complex. Magnificent Buddhas. Yellow-garbed monks. Burning incense. A sacred place.

We are exhausted and the park is closing. Thanks to Tara's tenacity (she's grabbing the moving bus with one hand and me with the other!), we manage to get onto one of the last buses into town. (Coming down the mountain: Sign for "Dr. Sun Yat Sen Mausoleum Beauty Spot." I assume that means a scenic viewpoint!!) We don't know where the bus is going but we figure we can get off once we're in town and take a taxi. Which is exactly what we do. And we go straight to the Starbuck's we saw yesterday when wandering around looking for the bookstore. Forget dinner, we're having coffee and a muffin! A venti vanilla latte doesn't come cheap in China (36 yuan) but I never thought I would be so happy to see one!