Zhonghua Gate

Zhonghua Gate, originally called Jubao Gate, is the largest castle city gate among the 13 city gates in ancient Nanjing city. With the magnificent scale and the dedicate structure, Zhonghua Gate is regarded as the most complicated and well preserved city gate in the world. It is the south gate of Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. The gate stretches 118.5m from east to west, 128m from south to north, covering an area of 15,168 square meters. Three enceintes are set up and connected by four arched doors, the first of which is 21.45 m high. Each enceinte has 13 caves for hiding soldiers and storing up military materials. It was estimated that more than 3,000 soldiers can hide in the caves.

About the name

The construction of the city wall started from 1366. The gate today known as the Zhonghua Gate was built on the site of the south gate of the capital city of the Southern Tang Dynasty (937-975). Originally, the gate was called “Jubao Gate” with a legend that a treasure bowl was buried under the gate. After the Republic of China government established Nanjing as its capital, the gate was renamed Zhonghua Gate to show the triumph of the southern factions led by Chiang Kai-shek over the northern factions of the Beiyang government in Beijing.

Layout

The construction of the Zhonghua Gate took 21 years, with materials comprising of mainly large boulder strips and bricks mixed with glutinous rice juices, limes and China wood oil. It still holds its original state except for the wooden structure had been destroyed and some features on the wall constructed of sticks and stones. It is rare in the world for its vast scale and sophisticated style. At the top step, there used to be a wooden building to defend against the enemy. The middle step was built of brick and stone. 7 soldier hiding holes were constructed in the north section of it. An arched gate leading to enceintes was constructed in the middle of the lower step. There are 27 soldier hiding holes altogether in all the enceintes and two paved patches from where soldiers can get to the top of the castle by horse.

Bricks

Each brick is 0.4 m long 0.2 m wide and 0.1 m thick and weighs 15-20kg. It is quite difficult to fire such heavy bricks. In order to guarantee the quality of the construction, a strict quality control process was adopted. The brick makers and builders were ordered to mark their names on each brick in case of any disqualification. As a result, the Zhonghua Gate is firm enough to stand for six centuries.

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