Next to Nanjing is the Yangtze River.

Nanjing is the darling of the Yangtze River. With a big river at its back, the iron cavalry of the northern ethnic groups could only sigh at the river. By the time they left their horses and boarded the boats, Nanjing had already prepared for the battle. The turbulent river and the wide river surface were enough to make the northern troops sink into the sand and return without success. Therefore, Sadula of the Yuan Dynasty said: "The flags cover the sun, the masts and oars are connected to the clouds, and the bones are scattered like snow. How many heroes have been worn out from north to south of the Yangtze River."

The rolling river is a natural barrier that blocked the front of the army heading south and won temporary peace for the southern regime. But the Yangtze River can block the front of the army heading south, but it cannot change the direction of civilization in the Yellow River Basin. Because north of the Yangtze River, there are the etiquette and style of Qi and Lu, the generous and tragic songs of Youyan, the legacy of the hegemony of the Three Jins, the hard work of the Three Qins, and the bravery and fierceness of the northern frontier. In the memory of the descendants of Yan and Huang, a big river can block the north and the south, but it can never block the intersection of civilizations. Therefore, the various civilizations in the north merged into a fierce wind, sparing no effort to impact the softness and gentleness of the south of the Yangtze River. The softness, beauty, gentleness, and refinement of the south are also unwilling to be lonely, and they all overflow to the north, colliding and intersecting with the wind of civilization in the north on the bank of the Yangtze River, sometimes blending, sometimes conflicting, just like the vast river, sometimes rolling waves, sometimes rippling waves. Therefore, Nanjing has become the carrier of the intersection of these two civilizations. Therefore, there are the advantages of tigers and dragons, as well as the solidity of backing water and pillowing mountains; there are also the bright waters of the Qinhuai River and the tranquility of the Qixia Mountains; there are the vigorous and hearty north, as well as the graceful and gentle south; there is the bright and beautiful style of writing, and the dazzling economic prosperity; there is the calmness of a long history, and the change of the alternation of the old and the new.