Presidential Palace (zǒng tǒng fǔ 总统府) is located on Changjiang Road (cháng jiāng lù 长江路) in Nanjing City (nán jīng shì 南京市). During the 1009 years from 1840 to 1949, it was the backbone of the Chinese military and politics. The Presidential Palace is now a historic site with great importance in modern history of China. And it is now the biggest modern history museum in China.

In the early Ming Dynasty (míng cháo 明朝), the Nanjing Presidential Palace was the Palace of King Han (hàn wáng fǔ 汉王府). In the Qing Dynasty (qīng cháo 清朝), it became the office of the Viceroy of Liangjiang (liǎng jiāng zǒng dū 两江总督), the chief government official in charge of what is today Jiangsu (jiāng sū 江苏), Anhui (ān huī 安徽) and Jiangxi (jiāng xī 江西). It was also the residence for Emperor Kangxi (kāng xī 康熙) and Qianlong (qián lóng 乾隆) when they visit the south region of the Yangtze River. In 1853, Taiping Revolution (tài píng yùn dòng 太平运动) forces led Hong Xiuquan (hóng xiù quán 洪秀全) occupied Nanjing. The palace was expanded and converted into a palace for Hong, the Palace of the Heavenly King (tiān wáng fǔ 天王府). In 1864, Qing imperial forces re-took Nanjing and the Commander Zeng Guofan (zēng guó fān 曾国藩) ordered that most of the palace be razed. After the Xinhai Revolution (xīn hài gé mìng 辛亥革命) in 1911, Sun Yat-sen (sūn zhōng shān 孙中山) was sworn in at the Presidential Palace as the provisional President of the Republic of China. During the 50 years after the revolution of Nanjing, the Presidential Palace was the office for the government institution.

The Presidential Palace covers an area of 90000 square meters, which can be divided into three parts, namely the central part, the western part and the eastern part. There are sites of the Nationalist Government (guó mín zhèng fǔ 国民政府) and the Presidential Palace in the central part, the Office of the Provisional President (lín shí dà zǒng tǒng bàn gōng shì 临时大总统办公室), Secretariat (mì shū chù 秘书处) and the Department of Staffs (cān móu bù 参谋部) in the western part and the Executive Yuan (xíng zhèng yuàn 行政院), Stable (mǎ jiù 马厩) and East Garden (dōng huā yuán 东花园) in the east.

Some of the architectures in the palace are with classic style while some are combination of the Chinese and western style. However, all of them can reflect a period of Chinese history. Visiting the palace, you will get more about the modern history of China.

Presidential Palace
Location: No. 292, Changjiang Road, Nanjing City
Admission fee: RMB 40 (April 15 – October 15)
                       RMB 30 (October 16 – April 14)
Opening hours: 7:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. (April 15 – October 15)
                        8:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. (October 16 – April 14)
Transportation: you can take bus No. 3, 29, 44, 65, 95, 304 and tourist bus Line 1, 2 to get there