Crouching behind the Cool Hill (Qingliangshan) in the northwest part of Nanjing, the stone city extends about three thousand meters from the south to the north, with a maximum height of seventeen meters. Built by order of Sun Quan (182-252), the ruler of the Wu Kingdom, it stands on reddish brown rocks on the hill. As it was close to the Yangtze River and built in a strategic place, it was used for naval training by Zhou Yu (175-210), a general of the Wu Kingdom. Zhuge Liang (181-234), the prime minister of the Shu Kingdom, described the terrain of Nanjing as "Zhongshan curling like a dragon and the Stone City crouching like a tiger" when he came to Nanjing on a mission to the Wu Kingdom. Since then, Nanjing has also been referred to as "Stone City." Today, the stone wall is the only attraction left of this once stone city. [China.org.cn] |
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)