Some people told me that there’s not much to see here, but if you see this along with some places close to it, it can be part of a great day out.
To set the record straight, the main “museum piece” is the wall itself. Stretching between Jiming Temple and Jiuhuashan, running along the south shores of Xuanwu Lake for some three kilometres or so, this really is an impressive relic of this ancient city’s past. The walk along the wall gives great views of the lake on one side, and the city on the other, with Jiming Temple decorating one end and the stupa on the hill on the other end (although you can’t access it, more on that later).
Yes there IS an actual museum…it’s just one underground room, but there’s enough to see to give you an appreciation of the wall you’re walking on. There’s a chart telling you about the longest city-surrounding walls in the world’s history, and Nanjing ranks number one, clocking in at over 35 kilometers long (remember this used to be China’s capital, so that’s not surprising). There’s also a model of ancient Nanjing, which is very interesting if you’re familiar with and interested in the modern Nanjing.
You can access the wall from a street, but it’s too small to be listed on the average map anyway, so naming it won’t mean much to most people…so the best way is get there via Jiming Temple. Go to the entrance of Xuanwu Lake area (the Gulou Plaza side), hit the wall, and follow it for maybe twenty five minutes on foot. It’s a nice walk along a really nice area, so it’s time well spent. The wall entry is on your left just before Jiming Temple.
