Nanjing Ten Dynasties Historical and Cultural Park

Nanjing Ten Dynasties Historical and Cultural Park

I. Overview

Nanjing Ten Dynasties Historical and Cultural Park is located within the Xia Ma Fang Relics Park at No. 1 Sifangcheng in the Zhongshan Scenic Area. The site was formerly the factory grounds of the Nanjing Zhongshan Watch Factory, covering an area of nearly 350 acres with a construction area of about 21,000 square meters (comprising 10 buildings). It boasts a beautiful natural environment, uniquely designed architecture, and excellent transportation access.

II. Project Development Goals and Functional Positioning

The development vision and goals of the project are: leveraging the unique resource advantages of the Zhongshan Scenic Area, integrating Nanjing’s historical and cultural resources, showcasing the historical essence of Nanjing as the “Capital of Ten Dynasties,” highlighting the central role of Nanjing’s history and culture in Chinese history, and creating a culturally and commercially distinctive industrial park with strong historical and cultural tourism features. This will enrich and enhance the cultural tourism functions of the Zhongshan Scenic Area and make a positive contribution to advancing the “Cultural Nanjing” strategy.

The Ten Dynasties Historical and Cultural Park integrates exhibitions, cultural business operations, tourism development, carbon-neutral offices, academic exchanges, and interactive experiences. Its functional positioning includes: a base for patriotic and social humanities education, a window to showcase Nanjing’s historical culture, a venue for inheriting historical and cultural heritage, a distinctive cultural tourism and leisure destination, a cultural industry park that combines public welfare and commercial operations, and a new cultural landmark of Nanjing.

In terms of the project's functionality and positioning, it properly balances public welfare initiatives and cultural industries. It adheres to developing industries within public welfare projects and promoting public welfare through industrial projects. Public welfare drives industry, and industry fosters public welfare, ultimately achieving a win-win development of both social and economic benefits.

III. Overall Layout of the Park

The Ten Dynasties Historical and Cultural Park consists of five zones: the Exhibition Zone, Cultural Business Zone, Outdoor Landscape Zone, Commercial and R&D Office Zone, and Performance Zone.

(1) Exhibition Zone — Includes two theme pavilions: the Nanjing Ten Dynasties Historical and Cultural Exhibition Hall and the completed scenic area parks to be integrated by the city and district by the end of the year, such as the Ming Xiaoling Museum; and five specialized pavilions: the Jinling Buddhist Capital Pavilion, Ten Dynasties Treasures Pavilion, Jinwen Brocade Art Pavilion, Guanpu Ming-style Furniture Art Pavilion, and Jinling Stone Path Pavilion. The total area is 9,200 square meters.

(2) Cultural Business Zone — Mainly distributed on the first floors of various buildings, with a total area of about 5,500 square meters. Business projects include: cultural exchange centers, craft sales and auctions, photography art centers, intellectual property trading services, design and planning, book bars, teahouses, etc.

(3) Commercial Office Zone — With a total area of about 4,500 square meters, it provides premium office spaces for corporate headquarters and R&D institutions.

(4) Outdoor Landscape Zone — Distributed at the entrance of the themed park, central plaza, edges of the large lawn, and areas around the Sacred Way of Ming Xiaoling. It consists of five parts: Ten Dynasties Upright, Heaven’s Blessing and Earth’s Spirit, Buddhist Light and Pagoda Shadows, Idioms Corridor, and Literary Garden of Excellence.

(5) Performance Zone — The indoor performance area is located within the Ten Dynasties Treasures Pavilion; the outdoor performance area is situated in the southern part of the green space plaza on the western side of the park.

IV. Venue Introductions

◆ Nanjing Ten Dynasties Historical and Cultural Exhibition Hall: The theme venue of the Nanjing Ten Dynasties Historical and Cultural Park, located in Building 4 in the central area of the park, with a construction area of 3,260 square meters, planned and built by Nanjing Zhongshan Culture Development Co., Ltd. The exhibition hall takes the history of the ten dynasties as its main thread, featuring pictures, multimedia, and experiential facilities to fully present the politics, culture, economy, military, science and technology, and institutional development of Nanjing during the ten dynasties. It showcases the unique charm of the ancient capital’s historical culture and serves as a window and base for the public and tourists to comprehensively understand and experience the history and culture of Nanjing’s ten dynasties.

◆ Ming Xiaoling Museum: Located in Buildings 2 and 3 in the northern part of the park, with a construction area of about 5,000 square meters, invested in and constructed by the Zhongshan Mausoleum Administration, and opened in February 2009. The museum consists of the “Great Ming Xiaoling” thematic exhibition hall, a 360-degree surround-screen cinema, Guanpu Ming-style Furniture Art Pavilion, the Great Ming Life Hall, temporary exhibition halls, and a cultural product supermarket. It aims to display the unique cultural charm of the World Heritage Site Ming Xiaoling from multiple perspectives and in various forms, interpreting the profound connotations of Ming culture.

◆ Jinling Buddhist Capital Pavilion: A specialized pavilion within the Ten Dynasties Historical and Cultural Exhibition Hall, located on the fourth floor. It displays the over 1,780-year history of Buddhist culture development in the ancient capital Nanjing. The long-standing Buddhist history, eminent monks, abundant Buddhist scriptures, diverse Buddhist sects, rich and splendid Buddhist relics, the unique Jinling Scripture Carving, and the unparalleled Buddha’s Hair Relic all demonstrate that Nanjing is not only a renowned historical and cultural city in China but also a true Buddhist capital of the Jiangnan region.

◆ Ten Dynasties Treasures Pavilion: A specialized pavilion within the Ten Dynasties Historical and Cultural Exhibition Hall, located on the first floor of the exhibition hall, with a construction area of about 1,130 square meters. The Ten Dynasties Treasures Pavilion aims to promote Nanjing’s historical and cultural heritage and protect the traditional culture of the Chinese nation. Its functional positioning includes: exhibition, promotion, sales, identification, collection, auction evaluation, training, and appreciation; gathering fine works of Jinling arts and crafts, and promoting master artisans of Jinling arts and crafts. It serves as a window to display the historical and cultural essence of the ancient capital of the ten dynasties and a venue to spread intangible cultural heritage of Nanjing.

◆ Jinwen Brocade Art Pavilion: Located on the second floor of Building 3. Jinwen is a Chinese Master of Arts and Crafts and a recipient of the World Cultural Celebrity Achievement Award. He has been engaged in brocade creation and research on ancient silk weaving techniques for over 30 years, leading or participating in more than ten national, provincial, and municipal scientific research projects. He is currently a member of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Expert Committee and has been awarded the sole title of “Brocade Silk Weaving” Master of Arts and Crafts by the provincial government.

◆ Guanpu Ming-style Furniture Art Pavilion: Located on the first floor of Building 3, it is the first Ming-style furniture art pavilion in the Jiangnan region. The pavilion combines Ming-style furniture from both the Ming and Qing dynasties, created by the Ming Xiaoling Museum, Wuwuzhai Zhuangdao Art Treasures Workshop, Nanjing Forestry University, and experts specially invited from the Shanghai Museum. The pavilion deeply exhibits special materials like rosewood, crafting tools, deconstructed furniture, mortise-and-tenon structures, and evolving craftsmanship scenarios, extending to the complete form and spirit of Ming-style furniture.

◆ Jinling Stone Path Pavilion: Located in Building 1 of the park, with a construction area of about 1,600 square meters, invested in and built by Nanjing Jinling Stone Path Pavilion Co., Ltd. The pavilion features an exquisitely designed layout with a dazzling array of exotic stones and an elegant, profound cultural atmosphere. From the first to the third floor, visitors can admire and purchase their desired treasures among various sizes, styles, shapes, and types of stones from across the country and around the world. They can also appreciate the natural beauty of unadorned, serene, and artistic ornamental stones, experiencing the wonder of “silent poetry, three-dimensional painting, and frozen music” of natural stones and the profound richness of Chinese stone culture.

V. Outdoor Landscape Introductions

Ten Dynasties Upright: Located at Entrance No. 1 of the park. Ten stone pillars representing the cultures of the ten dynasties are arranged in historical order, forming a columnar array that carries and displays the historical information and cultural connotations of each dynasty.

Heaven’s Blessing and Earth’s Spirit: Located in the central plaza of the park. At the center of the sunken garden courtyard stands an ancient south-pointing chariot, elevated on a circular base, creating a sense of unity and visual focus. Around the small courtyard are three groups displaying maps of the ancient capital city walls of the ten dynasties, echoing the south-pointing chariot and placed on the grassy ground. Visitors can learn about the historical development of Nanjing’s urban landscape and rest on the stone platforms.

Buddhist Light and Pagoda Shadows: Two replica pagodas—the Jinling Great Bao'en Temple Pagoda and the Ashoka Pagoda—are placed along the central axis of the park. Both pagodas are set on square bases with traditional Sumeru pedestal designs, and the four sides of the bases are carved with reliefs of the eight major temples of Jinling. To the south of the pagodas are statues of four renowned Buddhist figures: Kang Senghui, Emperor Wu of Liang, Kezheng, and Yang Renshan, showcasing the deep connection between Buddhist culture and the history of Jinling.

Idioms Corridor: Located on the western side of the central plaza of the park. A corridor about 140 meters long in the style of the Republic of China displays 105 idioms and allusions closely related to the ancient capital Nanjing. These idioms cover a wide range of themes and feature elegant characters, making them a remarkable spectacle in the history of language.

Literary Garden of Excellence: Located on both sides of the Sacred Way in the southern part of the park. On the western side of the Sacred Way, six sets of stone carvings of famous poems, paintings, and literary works from Jinling run throughout the scenic area. Visitors can walk along while reciting the verses and appreciating the classical poetic and pictorial ambiance, immersing themselves in the depth of Jinling culture. On the eastern side of the Sacred Way is a celebrity sculpture garden, featuring stone sculptures of nine notable figures including Sun Yat-sen, Sun Quan, and Zhu Yuanzhang.

Admission: Free

Opening Hours: 09:00–16:00 (Closed on Mondays)

Transportation: Bus 20; Bus 203 (formerly Tourist Route 3)

Address: Xia Ma Fang Relics Park, No. 1 Sifangcheng