Nanjing Presidential Palace

Presidential Palace

At No. 292, Changjiang Road, Xuanwu District, the Nanjing Presidential Palace, originated in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) as a royal residence, is now the biggest China Modern History Museum. Nanjing, a seat of political power, has witnessed many defining moments in ancient and modern China. By visiting Nanjing Presidential Palace, visitors can get an intimacy with China.
 From early Ming Dynasty, this palace was home to royal princes. Then in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), it became the office of the General Governor of Liangjiang Area, embracing today’s Jiangsu, Shanghai, Anhui, and Jiangxi. In 1853, Nanjing fell to the Taiping Rebellion and the palace housed the Heavenly King. In 1911, Sun Yat-sen took his inauguration oath of office there as the provisional president of the Republic of China. After the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, Nanjing Presidential Palace continued to host official functions till the late 1990s, when it was transformed into the China Modern History Museum.

More than 90,000 square meters (968,752 square feet), the Nanjing Presidential Palace covers three exhibiting sections: the middle section, the western section, and the eastern section respectively, comprising altogether eleven halls.
See Also: Nanjing History
 

Office of the Provisional President

There are waiting rooms for audience seekers on the west and east sides through the western style Gate Tower rebuilt in 1929. Moving forward, the way leads to the Great Hall, a double-eave vintage Chinese building. The hall had seen many upheavals, but was always ready for occasions, for example, the inauguration of Sun Yat-sen in 1912 at the west chamber behind the hall. A northern hallway links the Great Hall with the Auditorium and the Secondary Hall of late Qing Dynasty vintage, which doubled as the ceremony venue at the reception of envoys. More to the north, passing by a reception room and Kylin Gate, you get to the government administration bureau, where many interesting materials are on exhibit. Continuing onward, you will reach the primary building of the Nanjing Presidential Palace, also known as Zichao Tower. The Tower is composed of five floors, wherein, the first floor is for civil officials, the second floor for president and vice president, while the third floor is for conferences.
 

Xuyuan Garden

Xuyuan Garden sits at the west of Nanjing Presidential Palace, so it is also called the “West Garden”. As a typical southern Chinese garden, Xuyuan has Stone Boat (Bu Xi Zhou), Wangfei Pavilion, Pavilion of the Ripple, and Yinxin Tablet House, etc. The most noteworthy building is the Office of the Provisional President, where the first cabinet meeting of the provisional republican government was held here on January 21st of 1912. Later on, it was occupied by various military organizations of National Government.
 It had once been the site of an administration building and is now used to display some important historical documents and records. Exhibitions on different themes are often held here.
 1. Take Metro line 2 or Metro line 3 and get off at Daxinggong Station.
2. Take bus 9, 29, 44, 65, 95, 304 or G5 to Zongtongfu (Nanjing Presidential Palace).
3. Take bus 2, 3, 31, 68, 80, or 313 to Daxinggong Bei.
Nanjing Bus / Metro Search
 

Entrance Fee	CNY40
Opening Hours	Mar. - Oct.: 8:30 - 18:00; Nov. - Feb. next year: 8:30 - 17:00; Closed on Mondays and Chinese New Year's Eve (except national holidays). Note: Ticket selling stops an hour earlier than closing time.

 Nearby Attractions:
  Zhanyuan Garden
  Confucius Temple (Fuzimiao)
  Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum
 
  Further Reading:
Top 10 Things to Do in Nanjing

12 Best Places to Visit in Nanjing