So that you don't think Nanjing was only a polluted experience for us, I am sharing a few images of our last day there. We visited the Ming Tomb, or Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum, or
明孝陵, which are located at the bottom of a pleasantly green hill, the Purple Mountain. Several other important sites were also set on the hill, but we just did not have enough time.
The Ming Dynasty was founded in 1368 by Zhu Yuanzhang, and Nanjing became the capital of China at that moment. During his reign, Zhu built the great city walls (today UNESCO World Heritage Site), the imperial palace and its future tomb, the Ming Tomb in Nanjing.
We started our exploration on a first leg of a path, lined with various stone animals, elephants, lions, camels, unicorns. A second portion was lined by four pair of tall ministers and generals, who have accompanied the emperor to perpetuity. Then the winding "sacred path" opened up to three different buildings, first the Square City, then the Imperial Tablet Hall and finally the Sacrificial Palace. The last portion of the path lead up to the Ming Tower, but it was under restoration. It reminded me of some Italian saying: when it is a very important site, it is under scaffolding!
Here are a few photos, sparing you the scaffolded parts.
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