Presidential Palace

南京总统府

Over 600 years of history layered on one site: the Ming-era Prince of Han's residence, the Qing Governor-General of Liangjiang's office, the Taiping Heavenly King's Palace and the Republican presidential palace. A condensed scene of modern Chinese history.

The Presidential Palace is at No. 292 Changjiang Road. It covers 90,000 square metres and is a museum of modern Chinese history. In the Ming dynasty it was the residence of the Prince of Han. In the Qing it housed the office of the Governor-General of Liangjiang, which served as a lodging for the Kangxi and Qianlong emperors on their southern tours. In 1853, after the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom made it their capital, it became the Heavenly King's Palace. In 1912, Sun Yat-sen took office here as Provisional President of the Republic of China. From 1927 to 1949 it was the seat of the Nationalist government and the presidential office.

Highlights: the main gate along the central axis, where the 'Presidential Palace' gate tower is Nanjing's most iconic photo spot; the Great Hall; and the Zichao Building, Chiang Kai-shek's office, where you can see the desk and interior furnishings of the time. On the east side are the office of the Provisional President and Sun Yat-sen's living quarters. On the west side are the Xuyuan Garden in Jiangnan style (Taiping Lake, a marble boat and Wangfei Pavilion) and an exhibition on the history of Sun Yat-sen's provisional presidential office. There are also exhibitions on Taiping Heavenly Kingdom history and the former sites of the Executive Yuan and the General Staff Headquarters.

Admission is 35 yuan. Book in advance through the official WeChat account. The palace is closed on Mondays, except on public holidays. An audio guide costs 20 yuan, and free timed guided tours are also available.

Getting there: a 3-minute walk from Exit 5 of Daxinggong station on Metro Lines 2 and 3.

Allow 2 hours. Visit the central axis first, then the east side, then the west side. On leaving, follow Changjiang Road to the 1912 Block (a bar street of Republican-era architecture), the Jiangning Imperial Textile Factory Museum, Meiyuan Xincun and the Six Dynasties Museum. Or walk to the Yihe Road villa district to see Republican-era mansions.

Note: queues are long on holidays, so arrive when the gates open. Photography is allowed in the grounds, but no flash is permitted inside the Zichao Building.

Presidential Palace

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