Qinhuai River Guide

The Qinhuai River used to be called Huai Water, and was renamed Qinhuai for the legend that Qin Emperor Shihuang, the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), ordered to introduce Huai Water to the city by excavating a mountain.
Qinhuai River, a branch of the great Yangtze River, is 110 kilometers (about 68 miles) in length and covers a drainage area of 2,631 square kilometers (about 1,016 square miles). It runs through central Nanjing. It's also the birthplace of the age-old Nanjing culture. As such, it's called "Nanjing's mother river". It is the "life blood" of the city. The Qinhuai River is divided into inner and outer rivers.

The Qinhuai River is divided into inner and outer parts. There are many famous sites of interest along the banks of the Qinhuai River, including Confucius Temple,Zhanyuan Garden, Zhonghua Gate, and the sights along the Taoye Ferry ride to Zhenhuai Bridge.
The most frequented place along the inner river is the Confucius Temple. It is a grand temple with an unassuming style, which was built to commemorate the famous Chinese sage, Confucius. Zhonghua Gate, also found along the inner river, is the largest city door in China as well as the best-preserved and most intricate city door in the world. Finally, there is the Zhanyuan Garden, which was constructed in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and is the oldest existing garden in Nanjing City.

The outer river resides between Yangjiawan lock and Qinhuai lock. In June 2005, the area was designated by the government as a new tourist route, because it encompasses views of Nanjing City, a city wall from the Ming Dynasty, and the Jiangsu Nanjing TV Tower, etc.
Floating lights are the most famous view on the Qinhuai River. On the river, any boat or ship, large or small, will hang color lamps. It is a very important activity for a visitor to ride such a boat, floating on the river to enjoy the scenes. The prestigious Chinese writer Zhu Ziqing (1898-1948) wrote a verse on the floating lights, which gave a very good description of the wonderful view. While floating on one of the traditional, recently modernized, painted boats of the region, visitors will have the opportunity to fully appreciate the beautiful sights of the Qinhuai River.

• Confucius Temple
• Dr.Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum
• The Presidential Mansion
• Yangtze River Bridge
• Nanjing Zhonghua Gate
• Nanjing City Wall
• Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall
• Qinhuai River
• Purple Mountain Observatory
• Mochou Lake
• Linggu Temple
• Purple Mountain
• Nanjing Municipal Museum
• Mount Huaguo
• Huaxi Village