Travelogue in Nanjing 1: The ancient capital of six dynasties

Open Sesame hi welcome to travelogue and welcome to a new series if you mentioned the name Nanjing to anyone in China you get this sagely nod of approval it's the capital city of the jang-soo province but it was also the capital of ancient dynasties that ruled over China it's a place filled of history but also intrigue where Emperor's ruled over China and where China finally overthrew it's Emperor's unter ad and welcome to nan Jie oh well that's a load off my chest all jokes aside Nanjing makes a good first impression it's clean it's green and best of all it's not crowded if you drive around town it's hard not to be aware that Nanjing was an ancient capital of China for one thing its name means southern capital it's also hard not to notice this huge fortress it's called the drum choir gates and was built over 600 years ago at the start of the Ming Dynasty apparently is the most complex city gate in the world and I hear there's also full of surprises about scared you didn't I I bet you know what this is this was a cave for hiding soldiers and when enemies come over on the other side of the city wall from survey for weaknesses in Nanjing defense they then look at John Guare gate and they see it as relatively undefended so when they poured in through the entrance what they didn't know pour out surround them and then they're do away with them as you no doubt know the gate is usually the weakest link in a city walls defenses but the clever designers of the John fire gates used a bit of reverse psychology and made this its strong point when the attackers finally made it through they were in for a surprise this was actually a fortress and it had these high walled courtyards that were basically a trap soldiers defending soldiers would pour out from these holes at the top and at the bottom and unleash all manners of hell upon them but if they managed to break through and get through this gate over here there were two more waiting for them so as you can imagine it was a bit of an impregnable fortress if you close your eyes you can almost smell the Gunpowder in the air a soldiers fight to defend their city at John Guare gates that's or maybe someones been smoking nearby anyway our next stop is another key Nanjing institution this place started life as the palace of a 14th century main prince it was used as a residence of rulers and officials right up until the year 2000 on its walls you see the portraits of leaders who've occupied this palace besides giving you the chance to admire their impeccable dress sets the paintings take you on a visual journey through every party that's wrong China since the late 19th century and as you go further in it's not just the faces that change but also the architecture looks pretty good right this is the shoe garden actually the oldest part of the presidential palace have built around 600 years ago in the Ming Dynasty and is the oldest part of this place if yours will have step back into the Ming Dynasty I hope they don't mind me trespassing anyway make your way to the other side of the garden and you literally enter another area in this western-style mansion China's very first cabinet meeting was held him it doesn't sound very exciting now but back then there was a groundbreaking event because up until that point the Emperor's word had been law with this meeting the people of China finally found their voice in nanjing you might hear the name soon yat-sen attached to roads ports and of course statues so who was he in short he was a revolutionary he brought an end to Imperial rule in China and his mausoleum can be found on the east side of town I got a birdie to avoid the crowds but it seems like they're determined to find us well that's a lot of people so this is Sun yat-sen's mausoleum it was kind of like it was kind of like China's Abraham Lincoln and this place is actually like Lincoln's war in Washington DC and this gate is his gates of universal love so now this place has been made into a free park you can kind of feel the love in the atmosphere I know I can you'll be surprised by just how many people visit this mausoleum it gives you a good idea of the respect soon yat-sen still commands even if it does leave me feeling a bit overwhelmed Sun yat-sen was kind of like the savior of Chinese people because he'd been tend to a corrupt feudal system that had ruled over China for around 2,000 years and kind of revolved around the emperor so if you look up there that is his world famous motto the world belongs to the public which is something that has stayed in the heart of Chinese people ever since oh it's like everyone's here to see them at the top of the hill is the actual mausoleum it's a unique mix of Imperial and modern stars which is symbolic of the changes China winter under sun yat-sen besides giving you a good workout the steps leading to the top give you the chance to move over soon yet sends ideals or take some choice photos right so this is it insights is where Sun yat-sen's buried and at the top of that mausoleum are his three principles nationalism people's livelihoods and people's rights you really get the sense that people's respect for Sun yat-sen is genuine and his tomb receives offerings of fresh flowers every day why did you guys come here - oh yeah this is total show yourself yeah say talk about this is like the father knew China and he started Metro's but we may not be the one who did the table to do it but he really stipulated the people that we should not let the Qing China to continue yeah and I think this will make a picture of China and also I think for my kids is now studying the modern history okay so this is also a good education for him as well brilliant is really nice yes it's a great spot for Mosley once you've seen everything in the mausoleum there's a pleasant surprise waiting for you just down the hill this amphitheater was built as a place where visitors to the mausoleum could come and have a rest true to form it's somewhere all the public can enjoy locals come here to relax and taking the presents around man I love this place it's it's pretty incredible I mean people come here to rest after they've visited suniye Sens mausoleum but this this environments amazing I mean seeing down here and watching people have picnics taking their kids around you feel this kind of togetherness that I just haven't felt in another city and this place I can't recommend it enough it really is brilliant right Tom's head back one of the things I like about managing is that there are so many trees everywhere it really makes traveling around an enjoyable experience there's a story behind these big camphor trees that you're part of Sun yat-sen city plan and I know it's hard to imagine between feudal times trees were never really for the public people had always planted them in their own private gardens but when Sun yat-sen came around he extended his idea of everything for everyone to trees and he had them planted along all of landings roads that everyone could share their slender nanjing was a test site for china's first modern city plan it introduced zoning which focused on how land was used it doesn't sound very impressive now where you have to remember that for thousands of years cities were planned to suit the Emperor's needs and preferences but here were the city that finally took the public into consideration it's a really pleasure to walk around Nanjing's neighborhoods and check out the buildings built during sun yat-sen's time believe the Western law Chinese but more of a brave combination of both as such there are lasting testament to senior sense vision of a new China if you get tired of wandering around I suggest heading to one of managing x' much-loved institutions the lillahi I want Gail it's actually a bookstore housed in an underground car park and is a popular hub for like-minded people together lunging is progressing a lot but I also feel like I'm still in China yeah I mean it's not capital so it's got all that culture still I feel people are quite proud of that culture and they just as fun cities like Beijing chef jernard from Geralt Shanghai which are nicer kind of feel that yeah they want to retain their beeps to history their culture yeah as loves this is quite an interesting thing isn't it because then there's a bit of a different vibe there in invention when I guess where the city is like I mean I'm looking at their old traditional things well Chinese people are looking at yeah modern 2-year old building I'm a big fan of reading and for me a bookstore is more than just a place to buy books it's an experience the owner has succeeded in making this place more than just a bookstore people come here to share ideas study meet friends and relax it's become a public institution this place that's not just state it's not just a books it's kind of looking pretty good places are people too on the minds to take a break from their busy schedule or shopping schedule sit down with a nice cup of coffee I could book a great place to unwind maybe it's a relaxing surroundings or the ambience of the place but after you sit down you really don't want to get up again it's a beautiful morning and I've got up early to visit stromal Lake it's in the center of town and free for all to enjoy it's also a great place to go to learn what nanjing means to the locals if you ask nicely some of these groups might even let you join in it's not what they say I mean titles really not on old people sport look at this sweat pouring down my face and I've somehow managed to attract loads of flies but this is a regardless this was still very good and a great way to exercise I think now time for the next one show more lake used to be the private retreat for the Emperor but as you can see things are a little different now even so Nanjing is always proud of its heritage right so you catch my breath sir so you see this the slope bit I just came up on and then if you look over there you can see stairs that lead up to the city walk the reason that this part is different this because horses used to run this slope pass to carry messages and for messages to other parts of the city kind of like a UH like an old postal service right so I came up the stairs this way and then this is why I ran all the way up it gets a hit oh it's like a Great Wall of China you can find a clue as to why these walls have lasted so long written on the bricks believe it or not every single one has characters on it describing where the brick was made and who made it an ancient form of quality control wow what a nice view this is you know even though the city wall has been around for what 400 years since the the Ming Dynasty the the actual area that is sitting on Titan has been around since 1600 years ago since the start of the southern dynasties and this place used to be the back garden of emperors and this lake here the somme lake was a private getaway a place for them to come here and relax luckily for us many of Nanjing's attractions are in the vicinity of cyril lake we can even see our next destination from the wall right so I've got my ticket to the deeming temple it's right next to thermal lake and about 1,600 years ago but it really took off in China and during that time there was a massive boom in building temples so this one that we're going to now that she was considered to be the most important one during that time jimang temple looks a bit different to others I visited it almost looks Imperial like something you'd find the summer palace it's most likely because Emperor's used to visit regularly I hear one particularly devout Emperor even stayed here as a monk in southern China praying at temples is quite common with the younger generation in the past Emperor's might have come here to pray for wealth power and good health there are those people come here to pray for well pretty much the same thing really some things never change this is pretty incredible it's like them so you've got thousands of hurdles staring I hear feels like you're really in the presence of some time maybe spiritual will be humbling I think Jim in Temple is a bit different to the other temples I do too it's got this really kind of energetic and open feel to it and once you climb to this top and third to the top of this pagoda and you look out at the rest of Nanjing you realize that it's a really lively and vibrant city and that this temple is kind of there to to celebrate this atmosphere time to head back to show more lake if you come here in the evening you'll see a completely different side to the park a lot of people walk or jog down there as you can see under the mat you've got these really nice electric what are they called carts these electric carts that take you around I think a really interesting thing about Nanjing about Cyril Lake actually is that when you're inside you can see this really modern world around you you see all of these now look at that massive science skyscraper over there but inside it feels really peaceful so it's like it's like you've entered a kind of oasis within the city right now we're going to go to a very special place a very cool restaurant actually looking out at the Cyril Lake kind of like an emperor these ladies are performing something who'd buy jeans it's a type of Opera 600 years old that you only find in Nanjing they usually sing about everyday life and it's their skin and improvisation that is the secret to their popularity what better way to enjoy the capital of Six Dynasties than to sit by some lake in a pavilion used to belong to a prince enjoy the setting is ancient but the food is most def made and tempering so this one is a but two bowls here one is a famous new hearthstone at Nanjing and the other one is a a nice dessert so it's a good way to test and see if you're actually intelligent enough to be an emperor I feel like I've relived Nanjing's entire history over the past few days now I've come away with a better understanding of why people hold this city in such high esteem all in all it's been a great end to the first leg of our tour in Nanjing so make sure you stay tuned to travel on for part two of our trip around this wonderful city you

Channel: CGTN

Views: 37,911

Rating: 4.8642535 out of 5

Keywords: CCTVNews, News, CCTV, Breaking, politics, 南京, nanjing, capital

Id: mzAFZcQ6YyE

Length: 25min 37sec (1537 seconds)

Published: Tue May 26 2015