With an area of 90,000 square meters (968,752 square feet), Nanjing Presidential Palace is the largest modern historical museum of China, featuring classical garden architecture clusters of the south of Yangtze River. It is dotted with pavilions, terraces, open halls, bridges and ancient trees, and it is a blend of Western and Chinese architectural styles.
Highlights of the Presidential Palace
The Presidential Palace is composed of three areas: the Central Area, the West Area and the East Area. The Office of the President and its affiliated institutions are in the Central Area. In the West Area are the offices of the provisional president Sun Yat-sen, the secretariat, thechiefs of staff and Xiyuan Garden. In the East Area are thesite of the Executive Department, the stables and the East Garden.
Facing south, the Western-style yellow bungalow is in a typical Italian renaissance style, and it served as the office of the provisional president, Sun Yat-sen, from January to April,1912.
It was a private garden of the Governor General of Jiangnan and Jiangxi Provinces in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), which was expanded during the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (1851-1864), and the ‘living room’ of Sun Yat-sen is in the garden.
Built in June 1934, the Site of the Executive Department of the Republic of China consists of the Office of the President, the Office of the Vice President, the Office of the Commissioner, the assembly rooms and the audit rooms.
In addition, a number of exhibition halls are also available in Nanjing Presidential Palace, highlighted by the forerunner of the Chinese Revolution–the Sun Yat-sen Exhibit Hall and the historic Exhibit Hall of Hong Xiuquan and his Imperial Palace.
- Office of Provisional President
- Xiyuan Garden
- Site of the Executive Department
History of Nanjing Presidential Palace
Inside of president palaceWith a history of over 600 years, Nanjing Presidential Palace served as a mansion for the Princeof Han in the Ming Dynasty(1368-1644) andwas used as the Jiangning (Nanjing) Fabric Manufacture Bureau, the Jiangnan (south of the Yangtze River) Governor’s General Bureauand the Bureau of the Governor General of Jiangnan (including the current Jiangsu Province and Anhui Province) and Jiangxi Provinces respectively in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). It served as a temporary imperial palace during the Emperor Qianlong’s stay in Jiangnan in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
From the First Opium War in 1840 to Nanjing’s Peaceful Liberation in 1949, it served as the political and military center of China, where a series of important political events took place. It was conquered by Taiping rebels and served as the imperial palace of Hong Xiuquan’s Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (1851-1864)in March 1853; however, it was recovered by the Qing (1644-1911) government in 1864 and re-used as the Bureau of the Governor General of Jiangnan and Jiangxi Provinces in the 9th year (1870) of the Emperor Tongzhi’s reign.
As the Qing Dynasty(1644-1911) was overthrown during the Revolution of 1911, Sun Yat-sen took office as the provisional president of the Republic of China in Nanjing on January 1, 1912, and Chiang Kai-shek was elected as President of the Republic of China in Nanjing Presidential Palace on May 20, 1948. Nanjing Presidential Palace was captured by the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) on April 23, 1949.
Travel Essentials
- Location: 292 Changjiang Road, Xuanwu District, Nanjing
- Bus routes:29, 304, 44, 65, 95, (游) 1 and (游) 2
- Opening hours: 7:30 am to 6:00 pm from March to November; 8:00 am to 5:00 pm from December to February the followingyear.
