Time of the visit: the 9th of nov.,and the 10th of nov.,2025

On the 9th of nov. I entered a section of the Nanjing wall through the entrance next to the Zhongshan gate.The entrance fee was 5 yuan.I turned left and walked on the wall for around 5 mins min. encountering a checkpoint and a closed iron door with a sign saying "military area" .I turned around and walked for around 3 km till I passed the Biaoying gate.I kept walking,but after around 10 min I came to a death end.I turned around and left the wall through the exit next to the Biaoying gate. There were almost no other people on the wall.

The following day I visited the Zhonghua gate,the largest and most complex castle-style gate in the world. A massive fortress with four layered walls and hidden chambers for troops, designed to trap invading armies.

The gate was illuminated, music could be heard, various light scenes were projected on various walls. I had to pay a hefty entrance fee.. 100 yuan. The advantage was that only a few people were in the gate itself, where there were well-inspired light spectacles with actors in the various chambers. Admittedly impressive, but all in Chinese, so I wasn't as fascinated as the locals.

I climbed the stairs to the actual wall, enjoying the great night-time view of the Baoen Temple Tower and the observation tower behind it, all colorfully illuminated. In fact, the entire wall was illuminated from the outside.

On the left and the right of the gate on the wall were countless bikes to rent ...via wechat, electric bikes and standard bikes. The few visitors were not interested in the wall itself, but only in the gate and the light and music spectacle inside the chambers.

I had the wall for myself.To tell the truth I enjoyed the bike tour on the wall immensely... Nanjing is a single color and light spectacle at night, nice to look at. In addition, it was the first time in my life that I rode a bike on a city wall. Great experience! I rode the bike back and forth to both sides of the gate on the wall as far as the routes allowed.... both sides end in dead ends. All in all I spent around 1,5 h on the wall and inside the Zhonghua gate.

My thumps go up. Why? Because it was the world's largest city wall ever when built. A monumental "look what we can do" from a new empire. Because It didn't fight nature, it used it. The wall cleverly wove through hills and rivers, creating a stronger, more organic defense. Because it is the real deal: It's not a replica. Long, original sections survive, offering an authentic walk through 600 years of history.

In short: It's the ultimate example of imperial Chinese power, engineering genius, and smart urban planning, and it's still standing strong,so to speak.

The Nanjing City Wall is not just a part of the serial nomination; it is widely considered the flagship and most significant component of the entire serial nomination.The Nanjing City Wall stands out as the prototype and most ambitious project.

The original Nanjing City Wall was about 35 km long. Today, approximately 25 km of it remain preserved.This makes the Nanjing City Wall the longest surviving city wall in the world.

As for Nanjing City itself,it offers numerous attractions and another whs (Ming Tombs) to its visitors.I stayed there 2 nights,but would have liked to stay 1-2 nights more.