Nanjing Wutong Avenue | A Shady Corridor Through the Republic of China

In the height of summer, the plane tree leaves in Nanjing filter the sunlight, weaving a flowing green shade on the asphalt road. From Zhongshan Gate to Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, the several-kilometer-long Wutong Avenue on Lingyuan Road is a romantic relic of the Republic of China's "Green Capital Plan." Legend has it that Chiang Kai-shek planted plane trees as ribbons and Meiling Palace as a gem to form a necklace in the Purple Mountain to make Soong Mei-ling smile. Ride here in the early morning when the mist has not yet dissipated, and the wheels roll over the mottled shadows of the trees, while the cicadas and birds sing among the branches and leaves. Old red brick villas peek out from the green curtain, with half-century-old house numbers engraved on the bronze plaques. Turn into Linggu Temple Road, where the tree crowns crisscross to form arches, and occasionally squirrels leap over the red-tiled eaves of the Republic of China Post Office. At dusk, climb to the Purple Mountain Observatory and overlook the plane tree corridor gilded with gold, like a tunnel to the past. In late autumn, caramel-colored fallen leaves cover the Shixiang Road, and at the end of the 392 steps of Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, the plane trees and ginkgo trees splash out a colorful oil painting. Hold a cup of old tea from the south of the city, sit on the terrace of Meiling Palace, and watch the sunset dye the plane tree leaves the emerald color of Soong Mei-ling's cheongsam. The plane trees in Nanjing are love letters from history to the sky. Here, you can hold an oil-paper umbrella to listen to the rain, ride an old bicycle to chase the wind, or do nothing, waiting for a leaf to fall on your shoulder and read half of the history of the Republic of China for you.