Nanjing Museum

Nanjing Museum, at 321 Zhongshan East Road in Xuanwu District, Nanjing, Jiangsu, is among the largest museums in China and one of the country's oldest, founded in 1933. Its main building, the Great Hall, was designed in the 1930s in the style of a Liao-dynasty imperial hall, with a grey-tiled hip roof and red columns, and stands beside the Ming city wall and Zhongshan Gate area. Visitors should expect to spend three to four hours, and the museum is large enough that choosing galleries in advance makes the visit more rewarding. Its collections draw strongly on Jiangsu and the lower Yangtze region, with prehistoric jade from the Liangzhu culture, Shang and Zhou bronzes, Han dynasty burial suits made of jade plates, Six Dynasties tomb reliefs from Nanjing, and a large holding of Ming and Qing porcelain, lacquer, textiles and paintings. The Republic of China gallery covers the city's period as the Nationalist capital, with a reconstructed Republican-era street scene. A digital gallery and a separate art building extend the experience, and special exhibitions rotate through the year. The building has a quiet garden courtyard with old architectural fragments and a cafe suitable for a break. Weekday mornings are the quietest time, while weekends, school holidays and rainy days draw the biggest crowds, and admission slots can fill quickly. Entry to the permanent collections is free, but a timed reservation with passport details is required for foreign visitors, and last entry is about an hour before closing. The museum is closed on Mondays. Audio guides and guided tours are available, and English labelling is provided for the major exhibits. A pairing with the Presidential Palace and Confucius Temple works well for a day exploring Nanjing's history.