Linggu Scenic Area (Linggu Temple and Beamless Hall)

The Linggu Scenic Area occupies a wooded valley within the Zhongshan Scenic Area on Purple Mountain in Xuanwu District, Nanjing, Jiangsu province, China, at 96 Linggu Temple Road. It centres on the site of Linggu Temple, founded in the Liang dynasty and moved to its present location under the Ming Hongwu Emperor, and is best known for the Beamless Hall (Wuliang Dian), a 1381 brick vault built without wooden beams, which is regarded as a landmark of Ming construction. The hall is a large arched structure of brick and stone, roughly 22 metres high, and is now used as a memorial to Nationalist soldiers who died in the Northern Expedition and the 1920s campaigns. Nearby is the Linggu Pagoda, a nine-storey octagonal tower completed in 1931, which visitors can climb, sometimes for an additional fee, for views over the forest and hills. The Linggu Temple area also contains a Xuanzang memorial hall, the Song Qingling inscription, the Songfeng Pavilion and stone steles, and the surrounding parkland has old cypress and pine trees. In the autumn the maples and ginkgo trees turn red and gold, and this is the busiest and most photogenic time to visit. A visit usually takes two to three hours. The site is normally quieter on weekday mornings, while weekends and holidays draw many tour groups. The scenic area ticket is about ¥70, with children under 1.2 metres free and half price for students and seniors with ID. Because Linggu lies deeper in the park than the other mausoleums, visitors usually take the scenic-area bus or a taxi from Xiamafang Station on Line 2 rather than walking. It pairs well with the nearby Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum and the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum on a single day. Photography is allowed outdoors, with restrictions on flash inside some halls.