Nanjing Historical Landscape and City Changes

Abstract

Nanjing’s urban geography played an important role in the specific cultural traditions in the development process and formed different culture landscapes in historical periods while serving as the main context of historical inheritance. Wu state(229 AD) first selected Nanjing as its capital under the idea of a materialistic “geographic landscape intent”; it regarded Yangtze as a natural moat in the north of the city. The two branch ranges of Ningzhen Mountain surround the small plain of Qinhuai River and constructed the ancient cityscape of Nanjing. After that, the local people saw that the mountains appeared to sometimes show a “purple light” or “royal aura.” It was said that an “imperial atmosphere” for over a thousand years. In the Ming Dynasty, the capital was named “Response Heaven Capital.” The city wall ran along the mountain ranges and rivers, reaching a length of 33.67 km. In the Republic of China, Nanjing had its first Western-style city plan.