Yijiang Gate

Yijiang Gate

Yijiang Gate is located at No. 457 Zhongshan North Road and is a national-level cultural heritage site. Originally named Hailing Gate, its construction began in May 1914 (the 3rd year of the Republic of China), during which soil was taken from Bazi Mountain inside the gate to build a road from the gate entrance to the riverbank. The single-arch gate was completed in March 1915 (the 4th year of the Republic of China). This project shortened the route into the city and facilitated traffic to the docks. In 1927 (the 16th year of the Republic of China), to welcome the casket of Dr. Sun Yat-sen to be laid to rest in Nanjing, the gate was expanded into a triple-arch structure, and a nine-bay tower with double eaves and upturned corners was built on the gatehouse. In 1928 (the 17th year of the Republic of China), it was renamed Yijiang Gate, the name it still bears today. The three characters “Yijiang Gate” on the gate were inscribed by Dai Jitao, then President of the Legislative Yuan of the Nationalist Government. At 12:00 AM on the night of April 23, 1949, a main force of the People’s Liberation Army landed at Xiaguan and entered Nanjing through Yijiang Gate, occupying the Presidential Palace of the Republic of China by the early hours of the following morning, thus liberating Nanjing. To commemorate this great historical event—the victory of the People’s Liberation Army’s crossing of the Yangtze River and the liberation of Nanjing—a decision was made by the Nanjing Municipal People’s Government in February 1984 to establish the “Victory of Crossing the Yangtze River Memorial Hall” on the gatehouse of Yijiang Gate. In April 2009, the “Victory of Crossing the Yangtze River Memorial Hall” was relocated and rebuilt elsewhere. The gate now serves as an important passageway along Zhongshan North Road.