park that started it all overXuanwu Lake Park Transportation:
Xuanwu Lake takes up a very large area and there are several places from which to enter the park. Here’s a list of the busier entrances in clockwise order.
Xuanwu Gate
Xuanwu Gate (Xuanwu Men, 玄武门) is next to the Xuanwu Gate subway station at the intersection of Hunan Lu (湖南路) and Central Road (Zhonyang Lu, 中央路). From the subway station, the park entrance is just a three minute walk east, passing by the convention center (南京市规划建设展览馆). Xuanwu Gate’s appearance is also the biggest and most impressive.
North and East Sides
The official park does not stretch around the north and east edges of the lake. Still, there are several other places that allow you to reach the edge of the lake including Nanjing Train Station and Lovers Garden. The southeast corner features Taiping Gate while Peace Gate is just to the west of Nanjing Station. Neither gate’s appearance is particularly significant.
View of Xuanwu Lake from the Nanjing Train Station
Jiefang Gate
Jiefang Men (解放门) is a couple blocks North of Beijing Dong Lu (北京东路) and the municipal government building. You can get to the top of the city wall from this gate.
Xuanwu Lake is a popular spot to light fireworks during the Chinese New Years Festival.
