The scenic belt from Shence Gate to Xuanwu Lake.
Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day in the West, and young people plan to celebrate the holiday in various romantic ways. In Nanjing, a 79-year-old man interprets the day in a special way. Since August 2008, this elderly man has walked around Nanjing’s Ming city wall twice, carrying a photo of his late wife. This Valentine’s Day, he has started his third walk. The man says he is fulfilling an unkept promise to his wife. Over the years, he has recorded his journey with over 200 carefully selected photos, titling the album “A Necklace Adorned with Gems.” He wrote the captions for each photo in neat small regular script, each one seemingly explaining the beauty of Nanjing through his eyes to his beloved.
His wife once made a promise to explore the world together
This sentimental elderly man from Nanjing is named Wu Zhining, 79 years old, a retired Chinese language teacher from Shuangzha Middle School in Nanjing, and a master of small regular script calligraphy.
The name of the photo album was handwritten by the elderly man himself: “A Necklace Adorned with Gems – A Documentary of Scenic Spots Around Nanjing’s Ming City Wall.” It contains over 200 photos carefully selected from thousands taken by Wu Zhining along the Ming city wall. At the beginning of the album, the elderly man explains that after his beloved wife of 47 years of shared hardship passed away, leaving him alone, their shared dream of exploring the world together also vanished. To fulfill his wife’s last wish, he continuously stepped out of his home with her photo. Wu’s vision was, apart from selectively traveling across the country, to first visit all the major historical sites, urban and rural areas of his hometown Nanjing, and document them all with his camera.
The elderly man begins his third walk along the Ming city wall
In 2008, it took him over three months to complete the entire Ming city wall of Nanjing. In early 2011, feeling that the city and its surroundings had changed with development, Old Wu spent several more months walking around the wall again, taking additional photos to supplement his collection, eventually curating them into this album – “A Necklace Adorned with Gems – A Documentary of Scenic Spots Around Nanjing’s Ming City Wall.” During this year’s Spring Festival, he started his third walk along the wall.
“These scenic spots or belts are strung together alongside the Ming city wall, encircling the old city area of Nanjing like a colorful ribbon into a dazzling scenic circle,” Wu Zhining said. “The majestic ancient walls are like a noble and solemn necklace, laid out on the land of the ancient capital Nanjing, and the bright, crystal-clear gems inlaid on the necklace are the various scenic spots around the city wall.” When asked about the reason for naming the album “A Necklace Adorned with Gems,” Wu explained this way. Spanning 35.267 kilometers (including both existing and destroyed sections). On his two walks along the Ming city wall, Wu Zhining took thousands of photos, most accompanied by captions.
The elderly man’s “Opening Words” in the album
His beloved wife of 47 years, who shared weal and woe, was cruelly taken away by illness, and their shared dream of exploring the world together also vanished.
To alleviate and escape the torment of these painful memories, and to fulfill his wife’s last wish, with the support of his family, starting from the beginning of this year, I picked up my camera and, along with her photo, continuously stepped out of the house to document the scenery.
Measuring love by footsteps on the city wall
Wu Zhining hand-drew a beautiful map of Nanjing’s Ming city wall, which straightforwardly records each of his walks along the wall.
He started from the west side of Shence Gate, proceeding clockwise around the wall until reaching the eastern foot of Lion Mountain. Having walked around the Ming city wall twice, every scenic view along the way is vivid in Wu Zhining’s mind.
First segment “Scenic Belt from Shence Gate to Zhongshan Gate”
Wu Zhining captured the “Most Beautiful Taicheng” – a section of the wall located southwest of Xuanwu Lake, perched on a hill and by the lake, with picturesque scenery, epitomizing the integration of landscape, city, and forest characteristic of the ancient capital’s walls.
“Qianhu Lake and Pipa Lake at the foot of Purple Mountain are also the natural moats of the Ming city wall, backed by the wall and facing Purple Mountain. Here, without having to stand high, just by looking out, the integrated natural scene of landscape, city, and forest is fully visible.”
Second segment “Scenic Belt from Zhongshan Gate to Zhonghua Gate”
Wu Zhining explains that this segment passes through Zhongshan Gate, Biaoying Gate, Zijin Gate, Yuhuamen, Guanghua Gate, Tongji Gate, and Zhonghua Gate. In this section, Old Wu recommends Dongshuiguan Relics Park. He said, Dongshuiguan is the starting point of the Qinhuai River, the moat of the Ming city wall, which then slightly bends left passing through Shicheng Gate, Hanzhong Gate, Qingliang Gate, and Dinghuai Gate before flowing into the Yangtze River.
On Rain Flower Terrace, Old Wu looked toward the Zhonghua Gate area and was deeply moved: “In the distance are high-rise buildings, nearby are overpasses, subways, and trains crisscrossing. What a modern urban scene.”
Third segment “Scenic Belt from Zhonghua Gate to Hanzhong Gate”
It passes through Zhonghua Gate, Jiqing Gate, and Hanzhong Gate. At Changgan Gate, as a native Nanjinger, Wu Zhining knew that this place was previously called West Changgan Lane, once an area with very poor living conditions, but unexpectedly, it has now transformed into a “scenic belt where natural landscape and cultural sights complement each other.”
At Fengtai Bridge, he observed: “Fengtai Bridge is at the southwestern corner of Nanjing’s city wall. The Qinhuai River flowing downstream makes a 90-degree turn north here toward the Yangtze River.”
Fourth segment “Scenic Belt from Hanzhong Gate to Jinchuan Gate”
This segment passes through Hanzhong Gate, Qingliang Gate, Caochang Gate, Dinghuai Gate, Yijiang Gate, and Jinchuan Gate. “The once-interrupted wall resumes near Qingliang Gate.” The endpoint is at the exit of Lion Mountain Park at the foot of Lion Mountain. Old Wu explains that each walk along the wall takes several months, during which he may revisit the same spot two or three times to verify a location or retake a photo, and the entire journey is completed on foot.
“It’s a pity I couldn’t overlap the endpoint with the starting point,” Old Wu explains, “because that section of the Ming city wall no longer exists.”
47 years of ordinary life hand in hand
Meeting
A quick flip through the two albums reveals collections of family landscape photos that are fairly typical—except that the captions are handwritten in small, elegant regular script by the elderly man himself. On one photo of Baima Park, Elder Wu “tells” his wife: “You can get to the Nanjing Astronomical Observatory along this boardwalk.” Wu explains that he and his wife married in 1960 but had met back in 1958, when he was sent down to work and train at Hongqi Village in Shuangzha. She was the locally renowned female production team leader. Sharing a mutual love for the arts, the two quickly grew close.
Marriage
After getting married, Wu Zhining returned to teaching at school while his wife stayed home to farm. Due to his busy teaching schedule, “she took care of everything at home, raising our two sons all on her own,” yet she never complained and single-handedly held the family together. The couple supported each other through 47 years of life together.
“She wasn’t well-educated and never once complained or said she was ‘suffering’…” Despite being 79 years old and having lost his wife seven years ago, Elder Wu’s eyes still well up with tears when speaking of her.
Growing Old Together
The elderly man says that although their lives lacked major ups and downs, the two walked hand in hand through thick and thin, understanding the sweetness and bitterness firsthand—which made separation even harder to bear. This brings to mind the popular saying: “Love is often not about being together, but about thinking of someone from time to time—as if they’ve never really left.” Reading these photo captions closely, you’ll understand why the words feel so sincere and warm—each one reads like a personal commentary from Elder Wu, as if he were showing his beloved wife around through the lens of each photo.
Parting
Speaking of which, the reporter was especially curious to see the photo that Wu Zhining always carried with him. Wu pulled out a black-and-white group photo from inside his shirt pocket. Two slender elderly figures are smiling at the camera. On the back is a note Wu wrote in April 2008: “My beloved wife Zhao Xiulan passed away in August 2007 due to an incurable illness. Our original plan to travel together could not be realized. From now on, wherever I go, I will carry this photo with me to keep her memory alive. Zhining, 08.4” Reporter Gu Yuefei