The image above reveals a detail of the defensive wall that
envelops Nanjing, the rebel capital during the Taiping Rebellion
of 1850-1864. The wall stands 60 feet high and at 23 miles long
completely surrounds the city. Much of it is still preserved,
and you can stand there and imagine yourself looking out towards
the trenches where the imperial siege forces camped during their
brutal two-year battle for Nanjing in 1862-1864, the culmination
of the bloodiest civil war in human history. UMass Amherst
historian and China expert Stephen Platt tells the story in his
book Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West and the
Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War, awarded the prestigious
2012 Cundill Prize. Learn more. Photo credit: Stephen Platt