26 Aug 2026 - NKG Day 6: Nanjing City Wall - Jiefangmen (南京城墙-解放门)

Our final stop for the day was Liberation Gate (解放门 - Jiefangmen), which is a vital gateway along the City Wall of Nanjing (南京城墙), situated at the southern shore of Xuanwu Lake (玄武湖) and immediately northeast of the ancient Jiming Temple (鸡鸣寺).

The Nanjing City Wall (南京城墙) is a monumental feat of military architecture and stands as the longest, largest, and best-preserved ancient city wall remaining in the world today. Built during the early Ming Dynasty under the order of the Hongwu Emperor (朱元璋), it took over 200,000 workers roughly 28 years to complete (from 1366 to 1393).

Before climbing up to the city wall, we took a stroll by the lake side to enjoy the beautiful night view.

The wall initially featured 13 massive gates, though more were added in the modern era to accommodate traffic. Unlike the original 13 gates constructed during the Ming Dynasty, Jiefangmen is a modern opening created to connect the historic city center with the scenic waterfront. It was constructed between 1951 and 1952 (officially opening in 1954) to improve traffic flow between the inner city and Xuanwu Lake, as well as to serve as an air-raid evacuation route.

There was an admission fee to ascend to the top of the city wall.

Jiefangmen is famous for offering one of Nanjing's most photogenic vistas. Standing on top of the wall allowed us to see the ancient yellow walls of Jiming Temple on one side, the vast waters of Xuanwu Lake on the other, and modern skyscrapers like the Zifeng Tower rising in the distance.

Built right into the Jiefangmen structure, there is a small museum showcasing the history, architecture, and construction techniques of the 600-year-old fortification. Inside, we could see ancient bricks stamped with the names of the officials and artisans who made them.

The grandest section of the city wall is the stretch of wall running from Xuanwu Gate through Jiefangmen to Taiping Gate. It is renowned as the longest, highest, and best-preserved section of the remaining Nanjing Ming City Wall. The wall here towers impressively between 20 to 25 metres high.

As we walked to the end of one section of the walls, there was a light projection show on the city gate, showcasing the history of Nanjing City Wall.

Walking on Nanjing City Wall felt a bit like walking on the Great Wall of China.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the Nanjing City Wall is its preservation of history at a granular level. Nearly 100 million bricks were cast for the project. To ensure strict quality control, the Emperor instituted a system of absolute accountability whereby each brick was stamped with Chinese characters detailing its precise municipality of origin, the supervising officials, and the individual artisan who made it. If a brick cracked or failed, it could be traced directly back to the maker for severe punishment. Today, this acts as the world's largest open-air library of historical inscriptions.

We spent about half an hour on the City Wall before taking a stroll back to the metro station. On the way, we saw an "opened vault door" where people were walking in and out. We decided to enter and take a look. The moment we stepped in, we felt the cool air blowing at us from the air conditioner system. Inside was actually a place for visitors to rest and escape from the outdoor heat. There were even water coolers for visitors to take water breaks.

After a short break, we continued to make our way to the metro station while passing by Jiming Temple (鸡鸣寺). It was already closed by that time.

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