1．龍盤虎踞帝王城

1．龍盤虎踞帝王城

自古以來，南京就享有“江南佳麗地，金陵帝王城”的美名。它位于長江中下游，北部有遼闊坦蕩的江淮平原，東邊有富饒的長江三角洲，西面靠近皖南丘陵，南面連著太湖水網(wǎng)，長江又穿城而過。

南京東部有鐘山（紫金山）為屏障，鐘山向西延為覆州山（今九華山）、雞籠山（今北極閣）、鼓樓岡、五臺山到石頭城（今清涼寺），一路蜿蜒起伏，進入城內(nèi)。三國時代的孫權(quán)在金陵邑原址石頭山上建石頭城，作為江防要塞。相傳三國時期著名的政治家、軍事家諸葛亮在赤壁之戰(zhàn)的前夕來到東吳時，曾與孫權(quán)一起來視察這里的山川形勢，不禁贊嘆說：“鐘山龍盤，石頭虎踞，真乃帝王之宅也。”意思是說，南京地勢龍蟠虎踞，是定都的好地方。從此，南京就以“龍蟠虎踞”而著稱于歷史。

南京東北部沿長江有幕府山、棲霞山、龍?zhí)渡降龋鹘酉闵?、獅子山、馬鞍山、石頭山構(gòu)成的城西山系。幕府山靠江邊由于斷層作用形成懸崖，東段有突出在江上的燕子磯，此外，在城西還有三山磯，這些磯都是古代南京的渡口，是守江的軍事?lián)c。

提到南京的獨特形勢，就不得不提到在南京城市發(fā)展過程中曾起到過重要作用的秦淮河。秦淮河發(fā)源于句容、溧水，全長110千米。它的下游兩岸發(fā)展為市區(qū)，擔(dān)負(fù)著居民取水和水上交通。古代，秦淮河在南京通濟門外，分為兩支，一支穿城而過，一支繞過城南，到水西門外，兩支相匯，由此注入長江。

南京還有青溪、運瀆、楊吳城濠等組成的內(nèi)河網(wǎng)。這些河流都曾在歷史上發(fā)揮過重要的作用，但現(xiàn)在，有的淤淺，有的堵塞。歷史上著名的秦淮河在城內(nèi)也只能供人憑吊。

1. Geographic Features

Surrounded by the Jianghuai Plain in the north, the Yangtze Delta in the east, hills in the west and Taihu lake in the south and with the Yangtze River flowing through, the city of Nanjing has been regarded as "the most beautiful city in South China and an ideal place for emperors to reside in" from ancient times.

In very remote years, Nanjing was said to be "a city with dragon and tiger to safeguard". The name was given with reasons. To the east, Mount Zhong winded its way to the city like a flying dragon while the stone city built by Sun Quan (the warlord of Wu Kingdom in the Three Kingdoms period) to serve as a riverside fort, was like a tiger crouching on the land. Legend goes that when examining the landform of today's Nanjing for the Battle of Red Cliffs against Cao Cao, the most powerful warlord in north China, Zhuge Liang (a famous statesman and militarist and the prime minister of Shu, another kingdom in the Three Kingdoms period) couldn't help acclaiming ,"with Mount Zhong which looks like a flying dragon and the stone city which looks like a crouching tiger, Nanjing is really ideal for an emperor to reside in".

To the northeast and west of the city, there are mountains with rocks projecting over the Yangtze River, forming many piers which were also important military strongholds along the river bank in ancient times.

Speaking of the geographic features of Nanjing, one thing that cannot be neglected is the Qinhuai River which provided drinking water for residents on the one hand and made water transportation possible on the other. Originated from Jurong and Lishui of Jiangsu province, the river flowed over a length of 110 kilometers and broke into two branches outside the Tongji Gate: one flowing through the city and another around its south. Then outside the Shuixi Gate, the two branches converged again and flowed to the Yangtze River.

Together with the Qinghuai River, many other rivers including the Qingxi River, the Yuanxie River formed an inner-city water network which played a significant role in history. Today, nonetheless, all of them are either silted up or blocked. Qinghuai River, once the busy waterway, is no more than a scenic spot reminding people of its past glory.