The keynote of the Sacrifice Hall, main body of Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Tomb, was set in white, black, and blue, which are Chinese traditional colors for mourning. However, the colorful glasses discover the Western flavor. The combination of Chinese and Western styles is just like the sprite and manner of Dr Sun, who mastered the knowledge of Chinese and Western.
Something about Dr. Sun Yat-sen
Dr. Sun Yat-sen, forefather of the Chinese revolutions, led the Chinese people against the Qing Dynasty in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was remembered as a national hero who brought China from a feudal, semi-colonial society in to a republican one. He was greatly respected by Chinese people of different parties and nationalities and was honored as "Father of the Country" by the Nationalist Party.
Who designed it
The designing of the tomb attracted many architects and after extensive and intensive studies of all the designs, the present one was selected. The designer, Lv Yanzhi, put the main constructions such as the Memorial Arch, Tablet Pavilion, Sacrificing Hall and Coffin Chamber on the central axis and shaped the whole mausoleum as like a bell which symbolized the noble spirit and heroic efforts of Dr. Sun who contributed himself to wake up the Chinese people against oppression and aggressions.
Facing south, the structures, along with the mountain ascends gradually along with the central axis line running from south to the north and is regarded as the most outstanding mausoleum in Chinese modern architectural history.
Getting around
The majestic mausoleum's construction was started in 1926 and completed in 1929. After your visit of this mausoleum, you will have learned a lot about the Chinese modern history in the late 19th century and early 20th century, a drastic transitional period in Chinese history.
The half-moon square
Traveling along the marble road, firstly you will arrive at half-moon square in the south of the Tomb. It is understated and modest, while endowing grandeur to the Tomb.
Paifang (memorial archway)
Then at the entrance to the mausoleum stands the great marble Paifang (memorial archway) on which is written 'Bo Ai' meaning 'love'. Through it there is a Passway of 480 meters (about 1574 feet) long and 40 meters (about 131 feet) wide, on both sides of which stand orderly pine and cypresses trees.
The Frontispiece
Continuing forward to the end of the Passway, there is the Frontispiece, standing some 16.5 meters (about 54 feet) high and 27 meters (about 88 feet) wide. The Frontispiece has three archways, each of which has a pair of symmetrical enchased copper gates. Four Chinese characters are inscribed on the lintel over the doorways written by Dr. Sun Yat-sen meaning 'the world is commonwealth', which fully explains the cause he struggled for during his life.
The marble pavilion
Through the Frontispiece is a pavilion made of marble, in which a great stele, 9 meters (about 29 feet) high and 4 meters (about 13 feet) wide, was erected by Kuomintang in memory of Dr. Sun Yat-sen. On the stele there are carved just 24 Chinese characters and no epitaph as people think that there are no words capable of representing this giant of modern China.
The Sacrifice Hall
Through the pavilion, climbing along the stairs upward, the Sacrifice Hall is your next encounter. Here is the highest place of the Mausoleum, some 158 meters (about 518 feet) high. The Sacrificial Hall is located in the center of this plateau.
Above the door was inscribed with four characters "Tian Di Zheng Qi" ("Healthy Atmosphere between the Heaven and the Earth") written by Dr. Sun. Around the Sacrificial Hall, there are two 12.6-meter-high (about 41 feet) Huabiao, ornamental columns like those in Tiananmen Square.
The statue of Dr. Sun Yat-sen
There is a 4.6-meter-high granite reposing statue of Dr. Sun Yat-sen in the hall. It was carve by a famous French sculpture out of the Italian granite. The statue is vivid and looks alive; Dr Sun was dressed in a long robe and a mandarin jacket and sat there quietly. On the granite wall carved with his posthumous work - The article of The Fundamentals of National Reconstruction.
The keynote of the Sacrifice hall was set in white, black, and blue, which are Chinese traditional colors for mourning. However, the colorful glasses discover the Western flavor. The combination of Chinese and Western styles is just like the sprite and manner of Dr Sun, who mastered the knowledge of Chinese and Western.
The Tomb Chamber
Then, you come to the Tomb Chamber. It is hemisphere-close building. The tomb vault is in the middle. On the top of it is the reposing statue of Dr. Sun and his body was buried inside. The whole building is simple but momentous.
392 stone stairs
Besides it is the tomb of the great Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Tomb is also an outcome of the ingenious architects. For example, the numerous stone stairs was design ingeniously. It has 10 sections and 392 flights in total. Every section has a lever terrace.
When you stand at the foot of the stairs and look up, you will see the continuous stone stairs. You can see the top stair but you cannot see the lever terrace, and vice versa. The figure 392 was not a coincidence. It represents the 392 million people from all nationalities in China at that time. The figure is a symbol that the 392 million people are paying respects to the forerunner who brought them the conception of democracy, freedom, and ruling by law.
Getting there
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City bus: No.9
- Tourist bus: No.1, 3.