Nanjing Fortress City

Nanjing Fortress City

Nanjing Fortress City

Nanjing’s Tianbao City and Dibao City were two important military fortresses built during the Taiping Rebellion period. Tianbao City is located on Xifeng Mountain, within today’s Purple Mountain Observatory, constructed atop sheer cliffs where it overlooks the entire city. Dibao City is situated at the foot of Xifeng Mountain, outside Taiping Gate, with sturdy artillery emplacements. The two sites complemented each other from above and below, making them easy to defend but difficult to attack.

After establishing Nanjing as its capital in 1853, the Taiping Rebellion built two heavily fortified military strongholds — Tianbao City and Dibao City — on the 267-meter-high Tianbao Peak and at the mountain’s northwest base, near Longbo Ridge, using the locally sourced hard "tiger-skin stone." These strongholds served as strategic outposts for controlling potential enemy incursions from the northeast, including areas such as Yaohua Gate and Chalukou, as well as the southeast, such as Qilin Gate and Shangfang Gate. In the later stages of the Taiping Rebellion, when the Taiping Army faced off against the Xiang Army, the Xiang Army first captured Tianbao City in 1864 before taking Nanjing. Currently, three sides of Tianbao City — the west, south, and east — remain intact. Visitors can take a cable car from Dibao City at the mountain’s base, which takes about 15 minutes to arrive, then walk through a forest trail to reach the observatory for a visit.