Nanjing Municipal Museum

Nanjing Municipal Museum
南京市博物馆

Address: 4 Chaotian Palace, Qinhuai district, Nanjing, Jiangsu province
Hours: 9:00 - 18:00 (no entry after 17:00)
Closed Mondays
General admission: 25 yuan
Tel: (+86-25)84466460

The Nanjing Municipal Museum is located in the Palace of Heaven Veneration (Chaotian gong), a traditional Chinese palace complex initially built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It is the largest preserved official-style architectural complex in the Jiangnan region, the geographic area to the south of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Yeshan Mountain, where the palace is located, was once a place for metal casting in the State of Wu during the Zhou Dynasty (c. 11th century- 256 BC). It was called Yecheng, literally “city of metallurgy”, which was the original name of the city of Nanjing. Initially erected as a Taoist temple, the palace was rebuilt by Emperor Hongwu of the Ming Dynasty and renovated during the Qing Dynasty to promote Confucianism. It has now become the Nanjing Municipal Museum.

The museum is dedicated to studying, showcasing, and preserving the cultural achievements of Nanjing throughout its history. It is celebrated for its 100,000 artifacts and artworks, spanning from prehistoric times to the Republic period. Boasting high historic, scientific, and artistic value, the cultural relics are a precious and vivid testimony to Nanjing’s long history. The collection is still growing, as a professional archaeological team affiliated with the museum is working relentlessly to explore the underground world of Nanjing, trying to flesh out the local culture with more archaeological findings.

The museum's most notable artifacts include a skull fossil of Nanjing homo erectus, excavated in 1994,a celadon zunvessel with a lotus pattern, a celadon jar with under-glazed painting, underground tombstones bearing the memorial epigraphs of local prominent families Wang and Xie, a blue-and-white porcelain vase featuring a famous historical story between Xiao He and Han Xin during the Chu-Han Contention, an amber cup with a fisherman and lotus design, gold belt ornaments inlaid with jade carvings unearthed from the tomb of early Ming general Wang Xingzu, and the unearthed Asoka pagoda, the largest of its kind in China.