1．龙盘虎踞帝王城

1．龙盘虎踞帝王城

自古以来，南京就享有“江南佳丽地，金陵帝王城”的美名。它位于长江中下游，北部有辽阔坦荡的江淮平原，东边有富饶的长江三角洲，西面靠近皖南丘陵，南面连着太湖水网，长江又穿城而过。

南京东部有钟山（紫金山）为屏障，钟山向西延为覆州山（今九华山）、鸡笼山（今北极阁）、鼓楼冈、五台山到石头城（今清凉寺），一路蜿蜒起伏，进入城内。三国时代的孙权在金陵邑原址石头山上建石头城，作为江防要塞。相传三国时期著名的政治家、军事家诸葛亮在赤壁之战的前夕来到东吴时，曾与孙权一起来视察这里的山川形势，不禁赞叹说：“钟山龙盘，石头虎踞，真乃帝王之宅也。”意思是说，南京地势龙蟠虎踞，是定都的好地方。从此，南京就以“龙蟠虎踞”而著称于历史。

南京东北部沿长江有幕府山、栖霞山、龙潭山等，西接香山、狮子山、马鞍山、石头山构成的城西山系。幕府山靠江边由于断层作用形成悬崖，东段有突出在江上的燕子矶，此外，在城西还有三山矶，这些矶都是古代南京的渡口，是守江的军事据点。

提到南京的独特形势，就不得不提到在南京城市发展过程中曾起到过重要作用的秦淮河。秦淮河发源于句容、溧水，全长110千米。它的下游两岸发展为市区，担负着居民取水和水上交通。古代，秦淮河在南京通济门外，分为两支，一支穿城而过，一支绕过城南，到水西门外，两支相汇，由此注入长江。

南京还有青溪、运渎、杨吴城濠等组成的内河网。这些河流都曾在历史上发挥过重要的作用，但现在，有的淤浅，有的堵塞。历史上著名的秦淮河在城内也只能供人凭吊。

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.