Yudao Street

Yudao Street

The Imperial Way — as the name suggests — was a road reserved exclusively for the imperial family. In Nanjing, the ancient capital of six dynasties, there were two roads historically referred to as the Imperial Way. One was located roughly where Zhonghua Road is today, serving as the Imperial Way during the Six Dynasties period. The other is Yudao Street. The Imperial Way on Zhonghua Road has long vanished due to the passage of time, but not long ago, the remains of a bluestone-paved road from that era were excavated in the Daxinggong area, which lies along the same axis. These remnants provided clues about the layout of the Six Dynasties Imperial Way. The Imperial Way from the Ming Dynasty can still be seen today. At the starting point of Yudao Street, inside Wuchao Gate, there is a narrow bluestone path about 6 meters wide and polished to an extraordinary sheen. Before the 1930s, this bluestone path — accessible only to the emperor and his trusted ministers — once extended all the way to Guanghua Gate, 2 kilometers away. Today’s Yudao Street was developed and expanded based on this historical route.

The History of Wuchao Gate Park

Wuchao Gate Relics Park is now a well-known urban park for residents on the eastern side of the city. Every morning, birds chirp in the park as thousands of locals gather to dance, practice martial arts, and exercise, creating a peaceful scene. But during the Ming Dynasty, Wuchao Gate was a symbol of imperial majesty.

In films, TV dramas, and traditional operas, when an emperor is enraged, he might shout: “Take him to Wuchao Gate and behead him!” In reality, ancient emperors typically executed ministers either in the execution grounds of the Ministry of Justice or in public marketplaces. However, a significant execution did indeed take place inside Nanjing’s Wuchao Gate. The victim was the scholar-official Fang Xiaoru.

In 1399, after Emperor Jianwen ascended the throne, the renowned Confucian scholar Fang Xiaoru served as Hanlin Academician and was deeply loyal to the young emperor, offering steadfast support. After Zhu Di captured Nanjing, he compelled Fang Xiaoru to draft his imperial ascension edict. Fang Xiaoru refused to comply and threw down his brush, declaring, “I’d rather die than draft the edict!” Enraged, Prince Yan (Zhu Di) retorted, “If you refuse to write the edict, I’ll exterminate your entire clan!” Fang Xiaoru shot back defiantly, “Go ahead — wipe out my nine clans, even ten if you dare!” Upon hearing this, Zhu Di flew into a rage and immediately ordered Fang Xiaoru to be executed by dismemberment (cut in half at the waist) inside Wuchao Gate. According to local legend in old Nanjing, the bloodstained stone slab on the palace steps inside Wuchao Gate was stained by the blood of Fang Xiaoru’s neck — after rain, it would appear freshly red as if the blood had just spilled, and some claimed you could still faintly smell the iron-like scent of blood.

The story of the bloodstained stone is just a tale reflecting the public’s sympathy for a loyal minister who chose death over betrayal. However, another stone tablet at Wuchao Gate does offer genuine insight into the urban development of Nanjing at the time. This tablet contains inscriptions detailing the water supply and drainage systems for all rivers in Nanjing, including the Imperial Moat, Jinchuan River, and Qinhuai River, demonstrating that ancient Nanjing had already developed relatively advanced urban water management systems. Interestingly, the tablet also explicitly states that residents were prohibited from dumping waste into the rivers, with penalties enforced by the authorities — an early form of environmental protection law.

Yudao Street Was Once Called “Thousand-Pace Corridor”

Stretching 2,300 meters from Wuchao Gate northward to Guanghua Gate, the street we now call Yudao Street was once part of the grand imperial complex. Today, flanked by two universities, it is broad, bustling, and beautifully landscaped, having been recognized as one of Nanjing’s star-rated scenic boulevards in the early 1990s. But beyond its aesthetics, its role in China’s political history is no less significant than that of the Ming Imperial Palace.

The section of Yudao Street north of Guanghua Gate was historically known as the “Thousand-Pace Corridor.” Along its sides were aligned the Five Military Commanders’ Offices of the Ming Dynasty and central administrative agencies. To the east were the central government offices such as the Ministries of Personnel, Revenue, Rites, War, and Works (except for the Ministry of Justice, which was located outside Taiping Gate). To the west stood the highest military authority — the headquarters of the “Five Military Commanders’ Offices.” The Imperial Ancestral Temple (Tai Miao), dedicated to the nation’s spiritual legacy, was also located in this area. However, all these structures were destroyed in the successive wars that ravaged Nanjing. Only the Outer Five-Dragon Bridge, situated in the middle section of Yudao Street inside Guanghua Gate, remains as an original relic from the early Ming Dynasty.

Last year, construction work at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics uncovered some architectural ruins. Based on comparisons with the layout of Beijing’s Forbidden City — which was modeled after Nanjing’s Ming Imperial Palace — experts identified the site as the ruins of the Imperial Ancestral Temple. Its precise location is in the central-northern part of the university’s administrative zone axis (i.e., within the central garden area).

NUA Used to Be an Airport

Speaking of Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (NUAA), the prosperity of today’s Yudao Street is largely due to the development of this nationally renowned institution. In ancient times, Yudao Street held little significance. During the Republican era in modern history, the vast area west of Yudao Street and north of the Imperial Moat was also sparsely populated because it was the site of Chiang Kai-shek’s private airport — in those days, all you could see were high walls and barbed wire. When Nanjing was liberated, it was from here that Chiang fled in haste.

Later, in response to strategic development needs, NUAA was established on this site, transforming the former airfield into a cradle for talent in China’s aerospace industry. Today, this university with over 50 years of history has nurtured countless notable alumni: Gu Guanqun, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and president of Southeast University; Feng Peide, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering; Xu Zhizhan, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference; Fan Xuru, president of Shanghai Jiao Tong University...

From Drastic Changes to Tranquil Beauty