In order to consolidate his authority shortly after the proclamation of the Great Ming Dynasty (大明), in 1368, the Hongwu Emperor transferred the imperial capital to the mountainous region of Nanjing (南: "south", 京: "capital") and commissioned what would 600 years later be one of the best preserved city walls ever built.
To ensure that no brick would falter during his reign, he ordered the 118 counties of 20 states in the five provinces that molded the bricks to inscribe the names of their respective place of origin, official, supervisor, brick-maker, and transporter onto each slab. Whoever didn't pass quality control was executed. Awesome, right?
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| Nanjing skyline with Jiming Temple in the foreground |
What's also great about this wall (and I guess, most Chinese walls) is that you can walk on it. We accessed this section through Jiming Temple. It's not free; 25 RMB per person, but students get a discount. Oh, and you also have to pay to enter the temple.
But despite the cost, it's very much worth the visit. There aren't many centuries old walls left in this world that are still made up of their original building material, not to mention one this big (the Great Wall might come in at a close first; also in China). It also provides an unobstructed view of the Nanjing skyline and Xuanwu Lake.
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| I thought I was your one and only, Xiaoming... </3 |
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