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Drum Tower of Nanjing

Buildings and structures in NanjingDrum towersMing dynasty architectureTowers in China
Nanjing Gulou 1
Nanjing Gulou 1

The Drum Tower of Nanjing (simplified Chinese: 南京鼓楼; traditional Chinese: 南京鼓樓; pinyin: Nánjīng gǔlóu) on Gulou Mountain in the Gulou District of downtown Nanjing, was first built in the 15th year of the reign of Hongwu, of the Ming Dynasty (1382 AD). The Drum Tower, which is an important part of Drum Tower Park, is 44 meters long, 22 meters wide and 30 meters high. Its shape is like a Chinese traditional city gate, with a square foundation pedestal made of stone. In the pedestal, there are three arch gateways, one larger in the middle and two smaller on the side. In the side gateways, there are four side-rooms, which were guarded by the imperial drumming officers with hundreds of soldiers during the ancient dynasty. On the pedestal is a red two-story watch tower, made of wood and bricks, which was a sacred place to hold some important ceremonies, such as giving a correct time, welcoming honorable guests, offering sacrifices to the god, and others.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Drum Tower of Nanjing (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Drum Tower of Nanjing
丹凤街, Xuanwu District 新街口街道

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N 32.058664 ° E 118.782014 °
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丹凤街

丹凤街
210005 Xuanwu District, 新街口街道
Jiangsu, China
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Nanjing Gulou 1
Nanjing Gulou 1
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Nanjing
Nanjing

Nanjing (; Chinese: 南京; pinyin: Nánjīng, Mandarin pronunciation: [nǎn.tɕíŋ] ), alternatively romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, and a megacity. The city has 11 districts, an administrative area of 6,600 km2 (2,500 sq mi), and a population of 9,423,400 as of 2021. Situated in the Yangtze River Delta region, Nanjing has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having served as the capital of various Chinese dynasties, kingdoms and republican governments dating from the 3rd century to 1949, and has thus long been a major center of culture, education, research, politics, economy, transport networks and tourism, being the home to one of the world's largest inland ports. The city is also one of the fifteen sub-provincial cities in the People's Republic of China's administrative structure, enjoying jurisdictional and economic autonomy only slightly less than that of a province. Nanjing has been ranked seventh in the evaluation of "Cities with Strongest Comprehensive Strength" issued by the National Statistics Bureau, and second in the evaluation of cities with most sustainable development potential in the Yangtze River Delta. It has also been awarded the title of 2008 Habitat Scroll of Honor of China, Special UN Habitat Scroll of Honor Award and National Civilized City. Nanjing is also considered a Beta (global second-tier) city classification, together with Chongqing, Hangzhou and Tianjin by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, and ranked as one of the world's top 100 cities in the Global Financial Centres Index.By 2021, Nanjing has 68 institutions of higher learning, including 13 double-first-class universities, ten 111-plan universities, eight 211 universities, and 97 academicians. Nanjing has many highly ranked educational institutions, with the number of universities (13) listed in 147 Double First-Class Universities ranking third (after Beijing and Shanghai), including Nanjing University, which has a long history and is among the world's top 20 universities ranked by Nature Index. The ratio of college students to the total population ranks No.1 among large cities nationwide. Nanjing has the sixth-largest scientific research output of any city in the world. As of 2023, it has been ranked as the world's top second scientific research center in earth & environmental sciences and the world's top third scientific research center in chemistry, according to the Nature Index.Nanjing, one of the nation's most important cities for over a thousand years, is recognized as one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China. It has been one of the world's largest cities, enjoying peace and prosperity despite wars and disasters. Nanjing served as the capital of Eastern Wu (229–280), one of the three major states in the Three Kingdoms period; the Eastern Jin and each of the Southern dynasties (Liu Song, Southern Qi, Liang and Chen), which successively ruled southern China from 317 to 589; the Southern Tang (937–75), one of the Ten Kingdoms; the Ming dynasty when, for the first time, all of China was ruled from the city (1368–1421); and the Republic of China under the nationalist Kuomintang (1927–37, 1946–49) before its flight to Taiwan by Chiang Kai-Shek during the Chinese Civil War. The city also served as the seat of the rebel Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (1853–64) and the Japanese puppet regime of Wang Jingwei (1940–45) during the Second Sino-Japanese War. It suffered severe atrocities in both conflicts, most notably the Nanjing massacre of 1937.Nanjing has served as the capital city of Jiangsu province since the establishment of the People's Republic of China. It has many important heritage sites, including the Presidential Palace and Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum. Nanjing is famous for human historical landscapes, mountains and waters such as Fuzimiao, Ming Palace, Chaotian Palace, Porcelain Tower, Drum Tower, Stone City, City Wall, Qinhuai River, Xuanwu Lake and Purple Mountain. Key cultural facilities include Nanjing Library, Nanjing Museum and Jiangsu Art Museum.

John Rabe House
John Rabe House

The John Rabe House (拉贝故居), located at Xiaofenqiao No. 1 (小粉桥1号) in Nanjing, China, was where John Rabe stayed during the Nanjing Massacre and protected more than 600 Chinese refugees in this house, and within its garden, from Japanese persecution. Today it accommodates the “John Rabe and International Safety Zone Memorial Hall” and the “John Rabe Research and Exchange Centre for Peace and Reconciliation.” The John Rabe House is located in the center of Nanjing, at southeast corner of Gulou campus of Nanjing University. John Rabe, former Siemens China Representative and Chairman of the International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone, resided there from 1932 to 1938. It was also in this house where he wrote the famous “Diaries of John Rabe”. For almost half a century, Rabe's former residence in Nanking (as it was spelled then) received little recognition until its location was publicized by the publication of Rabe's diaries in December 1996 by his granddaughter Ursula Reinhardt. When German president Johannes Rau visited Nanjing University in 2003, he expressed concern about the dilapidated condition of John Rabe’s former residence. After Rau’s visit and with his great encouragement to renovate the house, the project kicked off successfully in 2005. The Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Shanghai, together with Siemens Ltd. China, Bosch-Siemens Home Appliances signed an agreement with Nanjing University to renovate the house and construct the “John Rabe and International Safety Zone Memorial Hall” and “John Rabe Research and Exchange Centre for Peace and Reconciliation.” The German side was to provide financing while Nanjing University was responsible for the renovation and maintenance of the John Rabe House as well as for the establishment and management of the Memorial Hall and Research Center.