Where is the world's longest existing ancient city wall? Not in Beijing, nor in Xi'an...

The basic exhibition hall of Nanjing City Wall Museum. (Photo courtesy of Nanjing City Wall Museum)

Zhang Ye

January 24th is the fourteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, and the festive atmosphere of the New Year is growing stronger in the Nanjing City Wall Museum in Jiangsu.

In the exhibition hall, many parents explained to their children the traditional Chinese New Year culture related to the city wall, "prepare New Year's goods in the twelfth lunar month, visit the lantern festival on the Lantern Festival, climb the city wall on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month..." The children first read the text and then watched the animation, immersing themselves in the lively scenes of the old Nanjing people celebrating the New Year.

In the special exhibition hall, the "Treasures of the Tang Dynasty - The Essence of Cultural Relics from the Underground Palace of Famen Temple" is attracting more and more citizens and tourists to check in and visit the exhibition, and savor this cultural feast of the Spring Festival.

The longest existing ancient city wall in the world

The Nanjing City Wall is an important city card of Nanjing and a symbol of the city. On May 18, 2022, the Nanjing City Wall Museum, which carries rich historical and cultural connotations, was officially opened. The Nanjing City Wall, a magnificent city wall, was magnificently reproduced in another form.

Following the winding and towering ancient city wall, passing through the alleys with pink walls and black tiles, you come to the old south of Nanjing, where a building that combines the ancient and modern elements will catch your eye.

Unlike other museums, the Nanjing City Wall itself is the largest exhibit in the museum. The Nanjing City Wall Museum is located adjacent to the Zhonghua Gate Wengcheng, connected to the Qinhuai River and Mendong Street District. Its architectural form echoes the Zhonghua Gate and the horse path. The wired glass exterior wall sets off the city wall landscape, achieving a fusion of ancient and modern times between the ancient city wall and the new exhibition hall.

"Nanjing has 25.1 kilometers of completely preserved city walls, which is the largest, longest and best-preserved capital city wall in the world." Li Xintong, director of the Comprehensive Management Department of Nanjing City Wall Museum, told reporters that how to display the 25-kilometer-long city wall heritage in the limited museum space is the biggest challenge facing curators.

To this end, the curatorial team did not use the common fine cultural relics and historical narrative clues, but based on the positioning of cultural heritage, with "presenting the wall" as the core design concept, and strived to use the cultural heritage value of Nanjing City Wall as a clue to comprehensively explain the history and culture of Nanjing City Wall, and tell the audience the story of the city wall, the city, and the people.

The bricks tell the story of the city wall

City bricks are the largest collection of the Nanjing City Wall Museum, the focus of the exhibition, and a vivid carrier for telling the story of the city wall. Entering the museum's basic exhibition "Unparalleled City Walls - Nanjing City Wall Historical and Cultural Exhibition" is like entering a library full of city bricks. In the city brick array hall, more than 700 city bricks are classified and arranged according to their origins and cultural connotations, which brings extreme shock to tourists.

Li Xintong said that the bricks in the city record a wealth of historical information, including the name of the brick maker, the location where the bricks were made, the time when the bricks were made, etc.

The exhibition hall is equipped with an interactive screen for querying surnames on bricks with inscriptions on them. Visitors can search for their surnames, find photos and inscriptions of bricks with their own surnames, and find the corresponding bricks in the exhibition hall and take photos with them, which brings today's visitors closer to the city wall.

Speaking of bricks, we have to mention the kilns for firing bricks. The museum exhibits a brick kiln from Lichuan County, Jiangxi Province, which is an important historical witness of the firing of bricks for the Nanjing City Wall more than 650 years ago, and is also a physical miniature of tens of millions of brick kilns.

The digital sand table in the middle of the exhibition hall, with the help of a vertical screen and projection, can make the Nanjing City Wall of the Ming Dynasty "move" in real time. Standing in front of the sand table, you can see the city wall structure and urban layout in all directions, and intuitively feel the grandeur of the city wall.

Immersive experience enhances fun

Walking into the immersive cinema of "A Day on the City Wall", the reporter stood in front of the screen and seemed to travel back to the Ming Dynasty more than 600 years ago: following the team presenting the unicorn, he experienced the oars and lights on both sides of the Qinhuai River; walking in the bustling streets, he felt the vendors shouting and the fireworks flying...

In order to make the exhibition more interesting and interactive, many interactive devices were set up in the museum, and the children were happy to explore them. For example, there were three receivers next to the sand table. When I picked up the receiver and put it to my ear, I heard a childish voice: "How high is the city gate? It's thirty-six feet high. Ride a flower horse and carry a knife. Go into the city gate and grab some. Do you eat oranges or bananas?" The moment I heard the ballad, I seemed to be back in my childhood, and the scenes of the game and my childhood playmates all appeared in my mind.

In the Nanjing City Wall Museum, Nanjing residents also have a place to place their feelings for the city wall. At the exit of the exhibition hall, there is an exhibit called "Our City Wall", where 100 old Nanjing citizens, experts, volunteers, etc., tell their stories about the Nanjing City Wall from the perspective of "Our City Wall". Here, you can feel the close connection between the Nanjing City Wall and people's lives today, and you can also leave your own stories about the city wall after visiting the exhibition, so that this exhibition into the Nanjing City Wall can return to the visitors' own feelings and experiences.