The longest city wall in the world- the Ming Dynasty city wall was fully open to the public on August 8, 2014, some 22 of the remaining 25 kilometers of which was once inaccessible. Situated in Nanjing, the capital of the Jiangsu province, the city wall enjoys a history over 600 years.

  China not only has the world’s longest fortification, the Great Wall with 21,196 kilometers, but the longest city wall, Nanjing’s Ming Dynasty city wall with originally 35 kilometers around.

   The wall’s initial construction started in 1366, but it was not completed until two decades later to protect the capital of the Ming Dynasty. According to historical records, there were up to 350 million bricks used to build this city wall.

   In November 2011, the Ming City Wall was added in to the Chinese World Heritage List.

The city wall was opened before the 2nd Summer Youth Olympic Games (16-28 August). The local government is making effort to get the Ming City Wall into the UNESCO World Heritage list on 2015.

Visit Nanjing Ming Dynasty City Wall 

   There are some best routes to take a view of this treasure.

Tourists can also visit these three sections (Qingliang Gate – Guofang Garden, Dinghuai Gate – Yijiang Gate, and Zhongfu Road – Central Gate) for free.

   Pay entrance fee: Shence Gate to Taiping Gate, including the City Wall Museum; Taiping Gate to Guanghua East Street; East Water Pass to West Water Pass, including the barbican of Zhonghua Gate.

Pedicab is available on the wall. There are three routes:

1. Barbican of Zhonghua Gate – Yuhua Gate – Wuding Gate – East Water Pass:  30   yuan

2. Barbican of Zhonghua Gate – Changgan Gate: 15 yuan

3. Changgan Gate – Jiqing Gate: 15 yuan

Ride atop the City Wall

From Zhonghua Gate to Dongshui Gate

Zhonghua Gate

Climb up a platform, visitors will have an impressive view over the Qinhuai River to the south and buzzing downtown to the north. Visitors can rent a bike and ride atop the wall to Dongshui Guan.

Ticket Price: 35 yuan

Dongshui Guan

Dongshui Guan, or the East Water Checkpoint, is a Ming watergate 2.7 kilometers to the northeast. It takes a 10 minutes bike ride along the wall from Zhonghua Gate to Dongshui Guan. In recent years, the gate and its surrounding area have been redeveloped into a 41,500-square-meter public park.

    Published by  elysees