Xuanwu District 玄武区

History

In the Republican era the area was Nanjing's First District, so numbered because the Presidential Palace stood here; more than 130 offices of the Nationalist government and party were concentrated in it. It received the name Xuanwu in 1955, was renamed Yaowu (要武区) during the Cultural Revolution in 1967, and took back its old name in 1973. The district government notes that many palaces and imperial gardens of the ten dynasties that ruled from Nanjing were built within its bounds.

What to see

Ming Xiaoling (明孝陵) is the joint tomb of Zhu Yuanzhang (朱元璋), founder of the Ming, and Empress Ma; the tomb takes its name from her posthumous title Xiaoci (孝慈). Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum (中山陵) was among China's first 5A scenic areas in 2007. The Presidential Palace (总统府) has served in turn as the mansion of the Ming Prince of Han, the office of the Qing Viceroy of Liangjiang, the Taiping Heavenly King's palace and the office of the provisional president of the Republic of China.

Nanjing Museum (南京博物院) stands at the southern foot of Purple Mountain inside Zhongshan Gate (中山门). It grew out of the National Central Museum, whose preparatory office the Nationalist education ministry set up in 1933, and holds more than 430,000 objects. Jiming Temple (鸡鸣寺), a Buddhist nunnery on the south shore of Xuanwu Lake, occupies the reputed site of Emperor Wu of Liang's Tongtai Temple of 527; Zhu Yuanzhang rebuilt it under its present name in 1387. Its seven-storey Medicine Buddha Pagoda (药师佛塔), built in 1991 and 44.8 metres high, holds a Ming bronze Medicine Buddha moved from the Yonghe Temple (雍和宫) in Beijing in 1972. East of the temple is an old well said to be the Rouge Well (胭脂井), where the last Chen emperor hid when Sui troops broke into the palace city.

Getting oriented

Nanjing Railway Station and the long-distance bus station form one hub in the district, and the Shanghai–Nanjing and Nanjing–Hangzhou expressways run into the city here. Metro Lines 1 to 4 serve it, and Lines 3 and 4 both reach Jimingsi station (鸡鸣寺站) for the temple. Universities in the district include Southeast University (东南大学), whose Sipailou campus is here, Nanjing University of Science and Technology (南京理工大学) and Nanjing Agricultural University (南京农业大学).

Highlights

• Ming Xiaoling 明孝陵: Joint tomb of the Ming founder Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma.
• Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum 中山陵: Among China's first 5A scenic areas in 2007.
• Presidential Palace 总统府: Ming prince's mansion, Qing viceroy's office, Taiping palace and Republican president's office.
• Nanjing Museum 南京博物院: Founded from the 1933 National Central Museum project; over 430,000 objects.
• Jiming Temple 鸡鸣寺: Nunnery by Xuanwu Lake, rebuilt in 1387, with a 1991 pagoda holding a Ming bronze Buddha.
• Xuanwu Lake 玄武湖: Lake at the foot of Purple Mountain that gives the district its name.