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​简介Introduction

命运坎坷。活出精彩。Nanjing has lived centuries and is thriving.

"虎踞龙蟠今犹在,天时地利,不如人和。"

 

The geography may have changed over time,

but the marvelous landscape of Nanjing is long-existing.

It witnessed how PEOPLE and their relationships between themselves and nature have been the key in history.  

​芹菜这么说

    南京自新石器时期便多山丘河湖沼泽。随着长江入海口的东移和秦淮河入江口的变化,南京得以拥有肥沃平原和江南水乡地貌。自古以来,南京城市建设就积极利用山水作为城市屏障和经济发展设计的出发点。自东吴,孙权发扬其海洋文化,增强吴国和临近各国的军事、贸易交流。东晋以来,统治者从洪水造成的破坏中意识到绿化的重要性,挖城沟,种槐柳。明城墙的修建更是尊重了山水走向,包入山岗,留水流在城外以保卫城市。

    除了山水,人文地貌上坚持着以城市功能实际需要为先的原则,并且统治者大多尊重居民区自身发展规律。南唐以前1000多年,统治者一直将宫城选在城北,不去打扰城南居民区的经济文化。南唐之后,居民区带来的经济效应促使统治者把其划入城内,但目的是互相保护,而不是将市民财富占为己有。除了统治者的支持以外,老南京和老城南是更值得敬意的:因为在改朝换代中,不管新政权带来怎样的冲击,居民区仍然能长久的盘踞在城南容纳流通人口,不断创造新的市井文化。现在的老南京人口组成仍然五方杂处,南京话也有不同口音的,但无一例外都是充满了烟火气的。

    明清南京居民区的功能综合性进一步促进了城市人文发展。洋务运动时期,新式工业和文教建设让南京进入现代化新时代。明城墙被拆了建新房和开辟新城门,确实方便了市民交通。然而这些新建设的代价也是显而易见的。为了建设交通,民国初年修建中山路不惜把明故宫宫城分为两半。新军政住宅建筑也逐渐蚕食明故宫的辉煌宫殿。连接着乌龙潭的干河被填埋修建广州路,但是夏季暴雨使乌龙潭水涨起,使那一段经常淹水。城市建设随着人口增长压力增大,有失有得,需要探索均衡之道。

    来南京看什么?综上所述,看山水,看人文。看山水,能看到历史变迁、旧都的沧桑,和新城市的活力。看人文,能看到由城市细微处的多元化、手工商业的繁荣,和文教事业的发展。不论你是因为什么原因有机会来南京,感谢你可以抽空逛一逛这座城市。不论你在南京有一天,一周,还是一个月,希望这个网站可以助你一臂之力,找到符合你兴趣和对出行舒适度期待的目的地。

    这个网站的灵感来源于网上和线下众多文章,和我这个南京人的理解和成长体验。特别感谢薛冰老师的《南京城市史》。一年前我在新华书店看到了这本书,因为手感而爱上,因为内容而回味。

 

Nanjing is the home to mountains, rivers and wetlands. Since the migration of Yangtze River toward the east thus the change of the mouth of Qinhuai River, Nanjing has benefitted from the nutritious soil environment and the biodiversity of the wetland. While the citizens might find it easy to sustain themselves with farming, city developers were ambitious enough to design the city with nature, more specifically, to adapt to the landscape. Sun Quan who ruled Dong WU was able to enhance the country's communication with neighbors by trading goods on boats and training navy force. Dong JING's emperors learned from the severe stormwater damage to plant more willows and design artificial sewage channels to mitigate inundation. MING's emperor designed walls and gates to leave rivers out yet include mountains in to improve the safety measure of the city.

 

The city's functionality has always been the priority in city construction, besides the natural landscape. The emperors had chosen to build their luxury palace and military base in the northern part of the city for a thounsane years till Nan TANG. Meanwhile on the southern side, citizens and residential areas had been growing in a relatively undisrupted format.As a result, the southern part of the city had stayed extremely resilient and prosperous over time. Despite that the residential structure may be disturbed by a new emperor and his regulations later on, the strong economic basis, cultural landscapes, and the convenient transportation methods had helped citizens survive through the years. Moreover, new cultures and habits form following the settlement of new residents and their interactions with the older generations. The young generations of new immigrants may carry light accents from their birth places when they speak Nanjing dialect, but you can always sense the familiar indigenous dynamic. 

 

While MING's residential mixed use (commercial, residential,  light industrial)continued to promote the cultural landscape in Nanjing, QING‘s Westernization Movement modernized Nanjing with new industrial standard, culture and education innovation.Moreover, the MING's Wall was deconstructed to recycle bricks for new construction, while the Gate of MING's Wall was partly removed to accommodate more traffic.These new plans indeed benefitted citizens. However, they tend to put historical preservation in dismay and throw the natural landscape away. MING's Palace were cut into half by Zhongshan Road and eroded by renewal construction projects for military and government uses. Gan River was sealed underground to build Guangzhou Road, yet such action cost property damage and environmental challenges upon stormwater overflow.  As the increasing population is driving the demand for modernization and urbanization, the city should explore a sustainable way moving forward. 

So, what you should expect when visiting Nanjing? The nature. The indigenous people. You could explore the ebbs and flows of Nanjing's and the nation's history, as well as the opportunities and challenges of the modern city. You could also find the cultural diversity when observing the city in details, the prosperous handcraft industries, and the rising art and science education business. Thanks for your interest in visiting Nanjing. With this website, I present simply a view of the city in hopes of helping you discover your own. Hereby, I pay attributes to all the books, articles I read online and offline for their inspirational narratives, especially "Nanjing City History" by Xue Bing.

 

 
Jiangsu Province, China

“偶滴妈耶,这是哪个年代滴事?”

小抄在此!妥妥的!

Dynasty Cheat sheet 

© 2019 by 芹菜.

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