Nanjing Things to Do

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The ruins of the former Imperial Palace of the Ming dynasty lie in a park called Wuchaomen Park along Zhongshan East Road near the Nanjing Museum. Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang (r. 1368-1398), the first emperor of the Ming dynasty built his palace here in 1366 and it was rebuilt in 1375 and eventually completed in 1377. The palace was destroyed during a war between 1853 and 1864 and all that remains are blocks of the ruined palace plus the Five Dragon Bridges and the superb Meridian Gate.

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The City Wall of Nanjing was designed by Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang (r. 1368-1398) after he founded the Ming Dynasty and established Nanjing as the capital 600 years ago. To consolidate his sovereignty and keep out invaders, he adopted the suggestions of advisor Zhu Sheng to build a higher city wall. It took 21 years for the project, which involved 200,000 labourers to move 7 million cubic meters of earth. All this resulted in the wall measuring 33km in length, averaging 12 metres high and 7 metres wide at the top - the longest city wall ever built in the world. About two thirds of it still stands today. Originally, thirteen gates were built through Nanjing’s walls, but this number had grown to eighteen by the end of the Qing dynasty.

Zhongshan Gate, built in 1386, is located on Zhongshan East Road and is named after Sun Yat-sen, the father of modern China. Originally it was called Chaoyangmen, which translates roughly as the gate of the Morning Sun. The gate is located in the east of the city and was the main east entrance. It gave direct access to the palace city where the emperor lived and where the imperial government offices were located. Interestingly, when the Yongle Emperor moved the capital to Beijing in 1420, he kept many of the same gate names for the Beijing city walls and Chaoyangmen is one of these.

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Covering an area of 12.9 hectares, Nanjing Museum is situated inside the Zhongshan Gate of the city from which it takes its name. It was originally established in 1933, and now exhibits some 2,000 first class treasures of national and cultural interest. There are eleven exhibition halls which exhibit the following:

Ancient Chinese Earthenware
Ancient Chinese Jade
Ancient Chinese Calligraphy & Painting
Bronze Ware
Cultural Relics
Folk Art
Jiangnan Silk Product
Ming and Qing Porcelain
Modern Art

Open: 9am-4.30pm. Admission: Free.

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This was one of a few jade suits of armour made from small jade tiles that I saw throughout my trip in China. This one dates from the Eastern Han dynasty (2nd century A.D.) and is threaded with silver. It was unearthed in Tushan, Xuzhou, Jiangsu province.

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This building became the President's office when Dr Sun Yat-sen was sworn in as the Provisional President of the Republic of China on 1st January 1912. The first cabinet meeting was also held here. The Renaissance-style building was constructed when Duan Fang was the Liangjiang Viceroy of the Manchu Government and completed in 1910. Inside are exhibits of Dr Sun Yat-sen including his clothes and typewriter.

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This building was erected in 1870. It was used as the secret room of the Heavenly Dynasty Palace of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. After the Republic of China was established in 1912, President Sun Yat-sen sometimes worked and received guests here. It is surrounded by water and connected to land by two bridges.

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This building was built in the late Qing dynasty. Dr Sun Yat-sen lived here after he became the Provisional President of the Republic of China on 1st January 1912. The upstairs rooms included his office and bedroom. The downstairs rooms included the reception room, dining room, a room for bodyguards and a kitchen.