First built in 1382 or the 15th year of Hongwu Period (1368-1398) of the Ming Dynasty, the Drum Tower hillock, 40 meters above sea level, is the stretching branch of Zhongshan Mountain.
The park is named after the Drum Tower. Amid the towering maidenhair trees, cypresses and locust trees, the Drum Tower with red walls looks even more splendid.
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Chaotian Palace was the place where the emperors worshipped in the Ming Dynasty. It is also the best preserved ancient building complex of the Ming and Qing dynasties in south of the Yangtze River. It is located southwest of Xinjiekou, the center of Nanjing.
The name “Chaotian Palace” was conferred on them by Emperor Taizu of the Ming, meaning “worshipping Heaven”. The existing buildings were rebuilt in the 5th Tongzhi year (1866) of the Qing Dynasty. The history and culture of Nanjing as an ancient capital has been going on continually ages ago from pre-2,500-year-old Yecheng, to the site of worshiping the emperors in the Ming Dynasty, the Confucius Temple of the Qing Dynasty, Jiangning Imperial College, and to today’s Nanjing Museum.
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Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum was formerly known as the “Prime Minister’s Mausoleum”. It is the tomb of the great revolutionary forerunner Sun Yat-sen. Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum is located at the southern foot of Zhongshan Mountain in Nanjing. Oriented to the south, it is bounded by the Xiaoling Tomb of the Ming Dynasty to the west, and the Linggu Temple to the east.
With its ridges and hills, it is a grand and magnificent setting. The coffin of the great revolutionary leader Sun Yat-sen was placed there on June 1, 1929. The whole mausoleum looks something like a “bell”. The Altar Hall is a palace-style building, with three arched gates. The lintels are inscribed with the words “nationalism, democracy and people’s livelihood”. The marble statue of a sitting Sun Yat-sen can be found in the altar hall, and walls are inscribed with the text of the Fundamentals of National Reconstruction written by Sun Yat-sen.
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The Music Stage is located to the south of the Square in the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum. It was built between 1932 and 1933. The Music Stage is semicircular, and lies at the center of the garden. Big walls form the backstage, and are similar to the Echo Walls of Beijing in function.
The big walls function to gather together the sound waves. In front of the Music stage is a crescent-shaped lotus pond. There is a spring at the bottom of the pond. In front of the pond is a semicircular lawn where audiences can appreciate song and dance performances. In addition, there are many pigeons to be found on the Music Stage.
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