Running in Nanjing China

 

For a Chinese city of some 5.3 million people, I found that it surprisingly easy and pleasant to run in Nanjing. Yesterday I covered over 25-kilometers of the former Chinese capital, most of it through forest roads and along lakeside paths. 

 

My loop took me past many of Nanjing's scenic highlights along the eastern edge of the city.  I did "cheat" a bit by taking a short taxi rides at each end of the run.   Among the attractions was the fact that much of the run was immediately adjacent to the Ming City Walls which date back to the 14th century and stretch some 33-kilometers around Nanjing.  The city walls seem to be holding up much better than the older and more famous Great Wall.

 

From my hotel in Nanjing's Fuzi Miao area, I took a 5-minute, 2-kilometer taxi ride out to Nanjing Museum.  A few hundred meters east of the museum I could pass through the towering (40-meter high) Ming City Wall and start up Purple Mountain, a large forested area on the eastern edge of Nanjing.  For several kilometer I ran northward along forested roads and on trails past small lakes enjoying the looming sight of the Ming Walls.  There was a bit of auto traffic on the road sections, but it was still pleasant to run.   I gave myself some extra hillwork by climbing the cobblestone, 2-kilometer road up to the Purple Mountain Observatory, and enjoyed the birds-eye perspective of Nanjing and hazy views of the Yangtze river in the distance.  Then I turned around back down the Purple Mountain and westward across a busy street to Nanjing's other urban running treasure - Xuanwu Lake. 

 

Xuanwu Lake reminded me a bit of running around Green Lake in Seattle with its paved pedestrian perimeter trail filled with people strolling (but no other runners).  I ran counterclockwise from the south end of the lake around to the main entrance on the lake's west edge.  Here I decided to pay the small fee to run through the 5 islands  These islands are connected by bridges and make for great running 

 

I exited at the Jiengaman Gate at Xinhua Lake's south end and ran several kilometers through the city center before hailing a cab for the 2-kilometers back south to my hotel.