Introduction:
The tender feelings and sentiment of Nanjing, this century-old city, will be unveiled in the sound of oars and the shadows of lights as you take a night cruise on a gaily-painted pleasure-boat on the Qinhuai River in summer while enjoying the cool evening breeze and lingering mist.
Main body:
Nanjing is one of China’s “Four Furnaces”, which means summer is especially hot like a furnace. Although you will feel a little uncomfortable about the weather, coming to visit Nanjing at this time still gives you an opportunity to enjoy a unique view of Nanjing in summer. During the day, you can both feel the cool breeze and feast your eyes with the scenery under the shade of the Chinese parasol trees in the Zhongshan Scenic Area and the willows on the lakeside of the Xuanwu Lake Scenic Area; at night, you can take night cruise on a gaily-painted pleasure-boat on the Qinhuai River, and feel the tender feelings and sentiment of Nanjing, the century-old city.
The Qinhuai River, a tributary of the Yangtze River, is the largest regional river in Nanjing. The shipping and irrigation functions of the Qinhuai River gave birth to the ancient civilization of Nanjing, and it is called “Nanjing’s mother river”. The Qinhuai River is very famous in Chinese history and is known as “China’s first historical and cultural river”.
The Qinhuai River, with a total length of 110 kilometers, is divided into two branches when it flows through central Nanjing: one branch enters the city from Dongshui Guan, passes through Huaiqing Bridge, Wende Bridge, and exits Xishui Guan, and it is called “Inner Qinhuai”; the other branch flows along the east, south, and west sides of the Ming Dynasty City Wall, being the moat of Nanjing in ancient times, and it is called “Outer Qinhuai”. The two tributaries flow into the Yangtze River after meeting outside the Shuixi Gate.
The waterscape along the Qinhuai River has an ancient charm, especially of the night view. The poet Du Mu of the Tang Dynasty described the night view of the Qinhuai River with such beautiful verses as “As the water and sands veiled in misty moonlight, on the Qinghuai River, I moor near some restaurants at night” in his masterpiece “Moored on the Qinhuai River”. In the famous essay “Oar-splashing and Lantern-illuminating Qinhuai River” by Zhu Ziqing, a famous essayist in modern China, it is also full of poetic expressions praising the night view of the Qinhuai River.
Take a night cruise on the inner Qinhuai River and board the boat from the Panchi Wharf in front of the Dacheng Hall of the Confucian Temple. The Panchi Wharf situates in the liveliest area in the Qinhuai River Sightseeing Attraction of the Fuzimiao (Confucius Temple), with large crowds of people gathering here and hubbub of voices.
The gaily-painted pleasure-boats on the Qinhuai River at night are decorated with strings of red lanterns, and feature antique style in and outside the boats. When the boat is shipping above the river, the lights on the boat and colorful ones on both sides of the river are reflected in the water, dazzling and dreamy. Most of the tourists walking on both sides of the river will not let this beautiful scenery slide away and will definitely take photos for memory with cameras.
