Ming City Wall History Museum

Ming City Wall History Museum

Ming City Wall History Museum

The Nanjing Ming City Wall History Museum was officially established on May 24, 1998, and is situated on the picturesque Taicheng section of the Nanjing City Wall. It is a thematic historical museum that focuses on the collection, exhibition, and research of the Nanjing City Wall. In 2001, the museum was designated as a Jiangsu Provincial Patriotic Education Base.

The museum's distinctive features come from its rich cultural significance combined with the natural scenery of mountains, water, city, and forests. The Ming City Wall History Museum primarily collects inscribed bricks from the Ming Dynasty, along with numerous related artifacts and documents. There are over 600 varieties of sample bricks, including the “golden bricks” specially used in the Ming imperial court.

The inscriptions on Nanjing’s city wall bricks carry profound cultural meanings and are extremely valuable historical relics. The museum also houses foundational wooden piles from the Ming Imperial Palace and ancient stone fortifications used in warfare. The permanent exhibition, “The Nanjing City Wall,” systematically introduces the history, construction features, and the global and national significance of the Nanjing City Wall.

Visitors often show particular interest in several exhibits: one of the most intriguing is a large, twisted old tree root, which was accidentally discovered during the 1994 restoration of the Taiping Gate section of the wall. Over the years, as the root grew tightly against the bricks and into the crevices of the wall, the textures of the brick inscriptions—such as “甲首金田”—were remarkably imprinted on its bark, leaving visitors in awe.

Another precious item is a brick inscribed with “Hongwu First Year,” providing solid evidence for studying the construction history of the Nanjing City Wall. It also holds an unresolved mystery: considering that the character “元” (Yuan) was customarily avoided in early Ming Dynasty texts and replaced with alternatives such as “原” or “宣”, how did this brick bearing “元” end up on the Chaoyang Gate? The answer remains unknown.

There is also an exhibit featuring a brick-earth laughing humanoid head. Discovered in 1957 at a demolition site, this oddly smiling face appeared within a broken brick marked “Huaining County.” What meaning does this enigmatic figure hold within the brick? It seems to be yet another unsolved mystery. Through ongoing research, museum professionals continue to delve deeper into the rich cultural heritage of the Nanjing City Wall, striving to elevate the museum’s operations to new heights.

While continuously improving its infrastructure and enhancing its comprehensive reception capacity, the museum also actively organizes diverse public cultural activities. After years of development, the Ming City Wall History Museum has become the “foremost window, image, and venue” showcasing the ancient capital charm of Nanjing.

The Ming City Wall History Museum and the City Wall Management Office actively perform their roles in management and maintenance, undertaking wall repair and emergency projects across multiple sections each year, handling over 400,000 bricks annually.

We believe that with the high attention of the Party and government, as well as the care and support of the entire society, the Nanjing City Wall—this treasured piece of historical and cultural heritage—will shine even more brilliantly, and the work of the Nanjing Ming City Wall History Museum will reach new and higher levels.

Address: No. 8, Jiefangmen, Huanchi Road, Xuanwu District, Nanjing

Type: Museum

Recommended visiting time: 1–2 hours

Phone: 025-83217200

Official website: http://www.njcitywall.com/

Opening hours:

8:00-17:30

Ticket information:

Door price: Starting from 15.0 RMB

Regular ticket: 15 RMB, postcard ticket: 18 RMB, senior postcard ticket: 10 RMB, combo ticket (Taicheng & Shence Gate): 16 RMB.

Further reading:

· National Third-Class Museum of China