Nanming District 南明区

History

The district government traces old Guiyang back to 1282, when the rammed-earth Shunyuan city (顺元土城) was begun, with the broad Nanming River (南明河) serving as its southern defence. In 1312 the official He Chenglu (何成禄) founded the Wenming Academy (文明书院), the first academy in Guiyang's history. In 1382 Gu Cheng (顾成) replaced the earthen walls with a stone inner city nine li around with five gates, and in 1404 he built the nine-arched Jihong Bridge (霁虹桥) across the Nanming River. Guizhou became a province in 1413, and in 1569 the city was named Guiyang Prefecture (贵阳府), meaning 'south of Gui Mountain'. In 1672 Tian Wen (田雯) had Jiaxiu Tower (甲秀楼) on the river restored and added pavilions and waterside halls.

What to see

The district's culture and tourism bureau lists Jiaxiu Tower as a national 3A scenic area; in 2025 it was put on the list of candidates for 4A status. The bureau's routes also feature Cuiwei Garden (翠微园), marked as a place where Wang Yangming (王阳明) left a poem, and the Qingyun Road pedestrian street (青云路步行街) with its Qingyun Market, listed as a national night-time culture and tourism consumption cluster and a national tourism and leisure street. Cao Zhuangyuan Street (曹状元街) carries a marker for Cao Weicheng (曹维城), Guizhou's first military top graduate in the Qing dynasty. Its routes also take in Aha Lake National Wetland Park (阿哈湖国家湿地公园), the Guizhou Nationalities Museum (贵州省民族博物馆), the former Dade School (达德学校旧址) and Huaguoyuan (花果园).

In Guiyang Forest Park (贵阳森林公园) on Yuanlin Road (园林路) stands the Tuyunguan War of Resistance Memorial Hall of the Chinese Red Cross Medical Relief Corps (中国红十字会救护总队贵阳图云关抗战纪念馆). The corps was based at Tuyunguan (图云关), one of old Guiyang's gateway passes, from March 1939 until late 1945. In the 1980s Guiyang raised a monument to the corps on the site; not far from the five figure sculptures before it stands a memorial to the international medical teams that aided China.

Setting and landscape

The district government puts annual sunshine at 1,354 hours and calls Nanming one of the cities with the lowest ultraviolet radiation in the world. The mean annual temperature is about 18°C, with summers averaging about 24°C, and annual rainfall averages 1,200 mm.

Getting oriented

The Hunan–Guizhou, Sichuan–Guizhou, Guizhou–Guangxi and Guiyang–Kunming railways and the Guiyang–Guangzhou fast railway meet in the district, and Guiyang railway station lies within it. Xiaobi Township (小碧乡) and Longdongbao Subdistrict (龙洞堡街道) are administered on its behalf by the Guizhou Shuanglong Airport Economic Zone (贵州双龙航空港经济区).

Highlights

• Jiaxiu Tower 甲秀楼: Tower on the Nanming River restored in 1672; a national 3A scenic area on the 4A candidate list.
• Qingyun Road Pedestrian Street 青云路步行街: Listed as a national night-time culture and tourism consumption cluster and a national tourism and leisure street.
• Cuiwei Garden 翠微园: Marked as a place where Wang Yangming left a poem.
• Tuyunguan War of Resistance Memorial Hall 中国红十字会救护总队贵阳图云关抗战纪念馆: In Guiyang Forest Park; the Red Cross Medical Relief Corps was based at Tuyunguan from 1939 to 1945.
• Aha Lake National Wetland Park 阿哈湖国家湿地公园: On the district's tourism routes.