Presidential Palace

Presidential Palace, Nanjing Attraction

Brief Introduction
The Presidential Palace in Nanjing, China, housed the Office of the President of the Republic of China since 1927 until the republic was relocated to Taiwan in 1949. It is now a museum called the China Modern History Museum. It is located at No.292 Changjiang Road (formerly Lin Sen Road), in the Xuanwu District of Nanjing. The Presidential Palace could be thought of as Nanjings version of the Forbidden City in Beijing with it once being home to emperors and political leaders. The palace was also the base for Dr Sat Yun Sen when he led the Kuomintang party to power in China. It was also the KMT's headquarters from 1927 to 1949 from which it ruled the country until Mao Zhedong and the CCP took over control and declared Beijing as the capital. Inside of the walls today still stands the imperial palaces and gardens built many years ago and also buildings added in the 1930's that housed the revolutionary government.

Presidential Palace is a National Cultural Heritage Conservation Unit and also a famous tourist spot. Presidential Palace in many well-preserved remains of Chinese and Western architecture, it is the unique culture and rich history. It has beautiful natural environment and nearly 30000 square meters leisure zone. We highly welcome visitors all over the world.

History

Ming and Qing Dynasty
In the Ming Dynasty, this house was to the west of the Ming Palace, built by a duke. In the Qing Dynasty, it became the Office of the Viceroy of Two Lower Yangtze Provinces, the chief government official in charge of what is today Jiangsu, Anhui and Jiangxi. When Qianlong visited the Lower Yangtze, he chose this office to be the detached palace together with the Imperial Silk House. Today, "Daxinggong" Station of Nanjing Metro Line 2 is named after it.

In 1853, Taiping Revolution forces led by Hong Xiuquan occupied Nanjing. The palace was expanded and converted into a luxurious palace for Hong, called the Palace of the Heavenly King, or the Celestial Palace.

In 1864, Qing imperial forces re-took Nanjing. Commander Zeng Guofan ordered to destroy most of the palace by fire. He had a new palatial residence in 1870 and later imposing government buildings for the Qing Governor-General erected in the Neoclassical style, and in accordance with contemporary protocol.

Modern Period
During the ruling of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Hong Xiuquan , the leader of the kingdom constructed a large-scale of Heavenly King’s Palace. Since then Zeng guofan reconstructed Liangjiang Viceroy’s office residence here. Lin Zexu, Li Hongzhang, Liu kunyi, Zhang Zhidong etc. they were the famous ministers in Qing Dynasty.

On 1 January 1912, Dr Sun Yat-sen sworn as the Provisional President in the Presidential Palace. During the following 15 years, here became the Official Residence of the Jiangsu Military Governors, the Vice-President’s Office and so on. In 1927, the Nanjing National Government was established and here became the government offices. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, here was still the national government and the presidential office space.

On 24 April 1949,The People’s Liberation Army occupied the Presidential Palace , then the Presidential Palace used to be the government offices. In 1998, the people's Government of Jiangsu Province decided to used it as the Nanjing Historical Remains Museum of Chinese Modern History. After a couple of years of establishments, the Presidential Palace has the nowadays outlook.

The total area of the Presidential Palace covers a space of 90000m2 and divided into 3 parts: the Central Line, the West Garden (Xu Yuan Garden), and the East Garden.

Travel Guide

Admission: CNY 40
Opening Time: 8:00-18:00
Address: No.292 East Changjiang Road, Baixia District, Nanjing
Tel: +86 25 8457 8718

How to get to Presidential Palace

Metro Route: Take Line 2 or Line 3 and get off at Daxing Gong (Daxing Palace)
Bus Route: Take bus No. 5, 9, 25, 55, 80 and get off at Daxing Gong stop or Xinjiekou stop.