Stone City (Nanjing)
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The Stone City (Chinese: 石头城; pinyin: Shítóu Chéng)[1] is the site of an ancient fortified city within Nanjing, Jiangsu province, China. Almost all of the original city is gone; all that remains are portions of the massive city wall.[2]
History
The original town was built during the Warring States period (475-221 BC) by people from the Chu kingdom. The city was expanded during the Later Han Dynasty and a wall, about 9,000 metres (5.6 mi) in circumference, was built around the Chu-era city.[3]
Sun Quan (182-252), ruler of the Wu Kingdom, had what is now called Stone City built on a hill overlooking the Yangtze. It was used for naval training by General Zhou Yu (175-210).[4] On a political visit to the area, the prime minister of the Shu Kingdom, Zhuge Liang (181-234) described the Qingliangshan Hill and Stone City area as "Zhongshan curling like a dragon and the Stone City crouching like a tiger".[4]
The stone wall is all the remains from the ancient city.[4] The ancient city is strongly enough associated with Nanjing that Nanjing itself is sometimes referred to as "Stone City".
Park
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One of the most famous of its landmarks is the "Ghost-Faced Wall". The ancient city wall from Caochang Gate (Chinese: 草场门) to Qingliang Gate (Chinese: 清凉门) has been strengthened to prevent it from collapsing.
Transportation
The area is accessible within walking distance north west of Hanzhongmen Station of Nanjing Metro.
See also
- Defence Park (Nanjing), within Stone City
- Qingliangshan Park, adjacent to Stone City
References
- ^ [1] Archived May 19, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ [2] Archived April 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Anecdotes of Nanjing 《南京掌故》 published by Nanjing Normal University Press Author: Chen Jimin on page 14-17
- ^ a b c Stone City (Shitoucheng). China Internet Information Center. Retrieved May 16, 2014.
32°03′09″N 118°44′59″E / 32.0524°N 118.7497°E / 32.0524; 118.7497
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