Bailuzhou Park

Historic site of the East Garden of Xu Da, the Ming dynasty Prince of Zhongshan; the park was listed among the Forty-Eight Scenes of Jinling as "White Egret Fragrant Islet", its lake-center islets linked by winding bridges — a citizens' garden offering quiet amid the bustle by the Qinhuai River. The East Water Gate (Dongshuiguan) ruins in the park were the water gate where the Qinhuai River entered the city beneath the Ming city wall; its twin-arched sluices join the ramparts, a key point for understanding Nanjing's "water and city as one" layout. Mornings are steeped in old-Nanjing life — tai chi and folk opera singing; by evening, lantern-lit waters lie just a wall away from the hubbub of the Confucius Temple area, making it a good breather stop on a Qinhuai itinerary; in spring peach and plum trees line the banks, and on summer nights lotus flowers mirror the lanterns of painted pleasure boats.

Getting there: East of the Confucius Temple