Discover Nanjing
Nanjing Museum
南京博物院
One of China's three biggest museums and arguably the best-curated, with a Jiangsu-wide collection plus a full reconstructed Republic-era street inside the building that you can walk down.
The story
What makes this place special
Nanjing Museum grew out of the preparatory department of the National Central Museum, established in 1933 at Cai Yuanpei's urging. He proposed three great halls; only one, the Humanity Hall, was built — the Liao-style main building of the 1930s, whose design has been attributed both to Xu Jingzhi and to Liang Sicheng, who was involved in the project. Part of the collection was moved during the Japanese invasion and some of it ended up in the National Palace Museum in Taipei. Extensions were added in the 1990s, 1999 and 2009. It now covers 70,000 square metres and holds over 400,000 objects, including one of the largest collections of Ming and Qing imperial porcelain anywhere.
What you’ll discover
Six divisions rather than one museum: the history galleries, an art hall, a Republic of China hall, an intangible cultural heritage hall, a digital hall, and special exhibitions. The history galleries run from prehistory through the six dynasties that had their capital here. The art hall holds the porcelain, the lacquer and the painting. The Republic of China hall is the surprise: a full-scale indoor reconstruction of a 1930s Nanjing street, with shops, a post office, a tram and a cinema, which you walk down. Above it all sits the 1930s Liao-style hall itself, a serious piece of early Chinese architectural modernism.
A little local insight
Good to know before you go
- The Republic of China street is the thing people remember and it is tucked away below the main level — ask for 民国馆 if you cannot find it, because the signage does not lead you there.
- Do not try to do all six halls. Pick the history galleries plus one other; the art hall for porcelain and painting, the Republic hall for atmosphere.
- Free but by advance booking, and the daily quota genuinely runs out in holiday periods. Book a slot several days ahead in summer.
- The Liao-style main hall is worth looking at from outside before you go in. It is a 1930s attempt to design a modern national architecture from eleventh-century precedent, and it is the reason architects come here.
- It sits immediately next to the Ming city wall and Zhongshan Gate, so the wall walk and the museum combine well on one half-day.
When to come
A weekday morning; any wet or very hot day. Closed Mondays. Allow three hours minimum.
Getting around
Very good. Lifts throughout, level galleries, step-free entry, accessible toilets, plenty of seating, and lift access down to the Republic of China street. The historic 1930s hall has steps at its front but there is a step-free route in. One of the easiest large museums in China for a wheelchair user.
Worth knowing before you go
The underground Republic Street with its working tea house and barber shop is the highlight; go there first before the crowds arrive.
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