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Purple Mountain (Nanjing)

Geography of NanjingMajor National Historical and Cultural Sites in JiangsuMountains of JiangsuParks in NanjingTourist attractions in Nanjing
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Purple Mountain or Zijin Shan (Chinese: 紫金山; pinyin: Zǐjīn Shān; lit. 'Purple-Gold Mountain') is located on the eastern side of Nanjing in Jiangsu province, China. It is 448.2 metres (1,470 ft) high. Its peaks are often found enveloped in purple and golden clouds at dawn and dusk, hence its name. A small mountain with an area of about 20 square kilometres (7.7 sq mi), the altitude of Purple Mountain at the top and foot of the mountain is about 448 metres (1,470 ft) and 20 metres (66 ft) respectively. The annual average rainfall is 1,000 millimetres (39 in) to 1,050 millimetres (41 in), and the average annual sunshine time is about 2,213 hours. Purple Mountain is a mountain related to many historical events of both ancient and modern China. It was originally known as Bell Mountain (traditional Chinese: 鐘山; simplified Chinese: 钟山; pinyin: Zhōngshān) and also became known as Mount Jiang (traditional Chinese: 蔣山; simplified Chinese: 蒋山; pinyin: Jiǎngshān) after Sun Quan named Jiang Ziwen, an Eastern Han official whose spirit was said to haunt the site, as the mountain's god during the Three Kingdoms era. The name Zijin (紫金) means "copper" - when copper is pure, it appears purple in color, so in Chinese, it is also called purple-gold. It is also named Mount Jinling (金陵山), due to its purple rocks. Jinling means "the mount of purple-gold". It is the origin of the nickname "Jinling" (金陵) of Nanjing. During the Ming dynasty, it was also called Mount Shenlie (神烈山). More than 200 heritage and scenic tourist sites are now located in or around the mountain, including three national historical sites, nine provincial historical sites, and 33 prefectural historical sites. Located in or close to the hillside of the mountain, there are also about a dozen national research institutes and universities. The Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, the tomb of Sun Yat-sen, and the Meiling Palace, the residence of Soong Meiling, are located at the foot of the mountain. Purple Mountain has 621 species of vascular plants, from 383 genera, 118 families (including 78 cultivated species).

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Purple Mountain (Nanjing) (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Purple Mountain (Nanjing)
西中腰路, Xuanwu District 孝陵卫街道

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N 32.0702 ° E 118.845 °
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西中腰路

西中腰路
210012 Xuanwu District, 孝陵卫街道
Jiangsu, China
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Meiling Palace
Meiling Palace

Meiling Palace (Chinese: 美齡宮, aka Meiling Villa and Meiling Gong) is a large villa in Nanjing, China, built by the chairman of the Chinese National Government, Chiang Kai-Shek, for his wife, Soong Meiling. It is known formally as the National Government Chairman Residence (Chinese: 国民政府主席官邸).The villa is located below Purple Mountain, about 6 km from Nanjing's city centre in the Zhongshan Mountain Scenic Area. It is the largest villa in Nanjing, with a floor area of more than 2,000 m2.Meiling Palace was completed in 1934, as a residence for the chairman of the Chinese National Government. Chiang Kai-Shek gave the mansion to his wife on her birthday, 4 March, and the couple moved there in summer 1936. Later it was used as a base for officials visiting the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, located nearby. After the end of the war between China and Japan in 1946, the National Government moved back to Nanjing and Chiang Kai-Shek used this villa as his official residence. The exterior of the villa was built in a traditional Chinese style with double eaves and a roof of green glazed tiles. There are more than a thousand phoenixes carved on the roof tiles. The Chinese artist Chen Zhifo (1896–1962) painted the eaves with birds and flowers. Viewed from above, the trees surrounding the villa are in the form of a necklace. The interior was in a western style. The building has two main storeys, a basement, and a mezzanine between the first and second floors. In the basement, there is an exhibition of paintings by Soong Meiling. On the second floor, there is a private chapel.