In general, most of Chinese cities had its own city wall that defends against enemy invasions. Nanjing, a prestigious city and sometimes a capital, has its city wall, most of which was built in the Ming Dynasty but was demolished or dismantled later in natural disasters, wars or political turmoil.
The surviving section of the wall is now protected by the municipal government. It spans 33.5 km in length and is in good shape. The gates, left almost intact, include Zhonghua Gate, Yijiang Gate, Xuanwu Gate and Zhongshan Gate.
The city wall is 12 meters tall and usually 7.62 to 12.19 meters thick. The brick used to assemble the wall weighs roughly 15 to 20 kg and was carved with dates and names, which indicated when, where and by whom the brick was made.
On the Zhonghua Gate, about 2000 pillboxes were built and they were used to defend against enemy attacks. There are 27 hidden spaces built into the wall, which were sophisticated in design and had a capacity to hide more than 3,000 soldiers in total. This structure has been found as the largest one of its kinds in China. Zhonghua Gate is well known for its well protected structure and many attachments of the gate become historical relics. |
