Former Site of the Provisional Presidential Palace of Sun Yat-sen

Former Site of the Provisional Presidential Palace of Sun Yat-sen

The Former Site of the Provisional Presidential Palace of Sun Yat-sen is a Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Former Site of the Provisional Presidential Palace of Sun Yat-sen

Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit, First and Second Batches, Announced in Adjusted List March 1982 Former Site of the Provisional Presidential Palace of Sun Yat-sen 1912, Nanjing, Changjiang Road, includes oath hall, offices, living quarters, etc.

The Presidential Palace is located at No. 292 Changjiang Road. This grand building served as the office of the Viceroy of Liangjiang during the Qing Dynasty. When the Taiping Army made Nanjing their capital, they built the Heavenly King’s Palace here. After the Xiang Army captured Tianjing (Nanjing), they burned down the Heavenly King’s Palace, leaving only the central structure “Golden Dragon Hall” and the stone boat in the Western Garden. In 1912, Sun Yat-sen took the oath of office as the Provisional President of the Republic of China here and worked here for over 90 days. Chiang Kai-shek used this site as the Nationalist Government’s Presidential Palace for 14 years before and after the War of Resistance.

Approaching the main gate of the Presidential Palace, a tall flagpole atop the gate tower soars into the sky, while the three large characters “总统府” (Presidential Palace) on the horizontal beam shine brightly. Right at the center of the grand hall in front is a plaque inscribed with Sun Yat-sen’s handwriting of the phrase “天下为公” (The world belongs to all), marking the site of the former Heavenly King’s Golden Dragon Hall. The Golden Dragon Hall featured a double-eaved round roof, beams gilded in red with painted dragon and phoenix patterns, and walls adorned with images of dragons, tigers, lions, and elephants, making it truly resplendent and thus also known as the “Dragon and Phoenix Hall.”

The buildings within the Presidential Palace showcase diverse styles from the late Qing Dynasty, the Taiping Rebellion period, and the Republican era. Thanks to the ingenious design, these structures blend harmoniously, offering unique artistic charm that is rarely seen elsewhere in China. Today, three themed visiting routes have been established within what has been developed into a “Modern History Museum”: the central route focuses on the original sites of the Nationalist Government and the Presidential Palace; the eastern route centers around the Qing Dynasty Viceroy of Liangjiang Office, the Taiping Heavenly Palace, and the original Executive Yuan of the Nationalist Government; the western route highlights the office of Sun Yat-sen, the Provisional President.

Located to the west of the Golden Dragon Hall, the Xuyuan Garden — also called the “Western Garden” by locals in Nanjing — is where both Hong Xiuquan and Sun Yat-sen once lived. The garden features attractions such as the Xijia Tower, Bu Xi Zhou (Unmoored Boat), Wangfei Pavilion, Mandarin Duck Pavilion, and Tongyin Pavilion. With lush flowers and trees, elegantly scattered pavilions, and lake-side rockeries, it is delicate, beautiful, and tranquil.

Historical Evolution of the “Presidential Palace”

In 1665 (the fourth year of the Kangxi reign in the Qing Dynasty), the Qing government established the Viceroy of Liangjiang in Nanjing to administer the three provinces of Jiangsu, Anhui, and Jiangxi. The Viceroy’s Office was built in 1647 on the former site of the Ming Dynasty’s Prince of Han’s Palace. The site of the Viceroy’s Office was also where the Qing government and Britain negotiated the humiliating Treaty of Nanking (also known as the Treaty of Nanjing).

In 1853, the Taiping Rebellion army captured Nanjing and renamed it Tianjing. On the site of the former Qing Viceroy of Liangjiang Office, they constructed the Heavenly Palace (Heavenly King’s Palace). Amid severe internal strife among the Taiping forces and heavy siege by Qing troops, Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan fell ill and died within the Heavenly King’s Palace, where he was also buried.

In 1864, the Xiang Army captured Tianjing. A few months later, they “rebuilt on the old foundation” the Viceroy of Liangjiang Office. Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang, Zuo Zongtang, Zhang Zhidong, and Liu Kunyi successively served as Viceroys of Liangjiang.

On January 1, 1912, Sun Yat-sen took the oath of office as the Provisional President of the Republic of China here, proclaiming the founding of the Republic of China, using the original Viceroy’s Office as the Presidential Palace. He served here for just 91 days until leaving office on April 3.

Over the next 15 years, the site successively served as the Nanjing Garrison Command, the Headquarters of the Anti-Yuan Army, the Duzhifu Office of the Beijing Government, the Military Governor’s Office, the Vice President’s Office, and the Headquarters of the Five-Provinces United Army.

In April 1927, after the establishment of the Nationalist Government, it used this location as its office. Until November 1937, when the Nationalist Government relocated to Chongqing, this remained its base.

On December 13, 1937, after Nanjing fell, the Nationalist Government became the headquarters of the Japanese 16th Division. The Japanese held a military parade at the entrance of the Nationalist Government to flaunt their power upon entering the Chinese capital, Nanjing.

In May 1946, the Nationalist Government “returned to the capital” Nanjing and moved back into the original office building.

On April 23, 1949, the People’s Liberation Army entered Nanjing and occupied this centuries-old architectural complex — the Presidential Palace — ushering in a new era in Chinese history.

Source: China Broadcasting Network

Sun Yat-sen (1866–1925), given name Wen, courtesy name Zaizhi, alias Rixin, also known as Yixian, childhood name Dixiang, alias Zhongshanqiao, often went by the name Zhongshan. Born into a farming family in Cuiheng Village, Xiangshan County (now Zhongshan City), Guangdong Province. In his youth, influenced by the revolutionary traditions of the people of Guangdong, he admired the revolutionary cause of the Taiping Rebellion. He was a pioneer of China’s modern national democratic revolution, a great forerunner of the Chinese democratic revolution, the founder of the Republic of China and the Kuomintang, an advocate of the separation of the five powers, and the creator of the “Five-Power Constitution.” He was the first to raise the banner of complete anti-feudalism... More details about Sun Yat-sen ++

Further Reading:

· First and Second Batches of Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units