Nanjing Museum

Nanjing Museum

Nanjing Museum is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction and a base for patriotic education.

Nanjing Museum is situated at the southern foot of Purple Mountain and the north side inside Zhongshan Gate in Nanjing, covering an area of over 70,000 square meters. It is the first large-scale comprehensive museum invested in and built by the Chinese government. It has been awarded titles such as “National Advanced Unit for Public Cultural Facility Management,” “National First-Class Museum,” “Nationally Co-built Museum at the State Level,” and “National Patriotic Education Demonstration Base.”

I. Historical Evolution

In 1933, at the initiative of Cai Yuanpei, a modern Chinese democratic revolutionary and educator, the Nationalist Government established the Preparatory Office of the National Central Museum. Mr. Cai Yuanpei personally served as the first chairman of the council, with Li Ji and Hang Liwu successively taking charge of the preparatory work. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, it retained the name National Central Museum and was under the leadership of the Ministry of Culture. In March 1950, it was renamed the National Nanjing Museum, initially under the administration of the Cultural Relics Bureau of the Ministry of Culture, and later affiliated with the Cultural Department of the East China Administrative Committee. Starting in 1954, it came under the leadership of the Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Bureau. In 1959, the Nanjing Museum, Jiangsu Provincial Museum, and Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Management Committee shared offices under the name Nanjing Museum. Since its establishment, the museum has been led by directors including Xu Pingyu, Zeng Zhaoliang, η, Han Lixi, αng Shuhong, and λε.

II. Museum Architecture

The preparatory office originally planned to build three halls: Humanities, Arts and Crafts, and Natural History. Construction began in 1936, designed by the renowned architect Xu Jingzhi, and later modified under the guidance of Liang Sicheng and Liu Dunzhen to resemble the architecture of a Liao Dynasty hall. Construction was halted in 1937 due to the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, and by the early 1950s only the Humanities Hall had been completed. The grand hall, with its simple dignity and majestic presence, has become an iconic historical and cultural landmark of Nanjing and is now a provincial-level cultural relics protection unit. The Art Gallery built to the west of the main hall in 1999 continues the original architectural style.

In 2009, with high attention from the Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee and Government, the second-phase expansion and renovation project of Nanjing Museum commenced and was completed in 2013. The total construction area is 84,800 square meters, with an exhibition space of 26,000 square meters. This expansion followed the principle of “integrating old and new buildings, and combining above-ground and underground spaces.” It preserved the skyline against the backdrop of Purple Mountain and the historically significant main hall, while renovating the Art Gallery and constructing new special exhibition halls, the Republic of China Pavilion, Digital Museum, and Intangible Cultural Heritage Pavilion, forming a “one museum, six halls” layout. The architectural design embodies the concept of “gold inlaid with jade, treasures within,” achieving visual balance in terms of spatial relationships, eave heights, material colors, and decorative details. The overall style harmoniously blends traditional elements with a modern touch, complementing each other beautifully.

III. Major Collections

Nanjing Museum currently houses over 430,000 pieces (sets) of collections, ranging from the Paleolithic Age to the contemporary era. These include both national and Jiangsu regional items, court heirlooms, archaeological finds, as well as pieces acquired through social donations. All are treasured works from various dynasties, making it a vast treasure trove of Chinese culture and art. The collections span bronzes, jade and stones, ceramics, gold and silverware, bamboo, wood, ivory, and horn artifacts, lacquerware, silk embroidery, calligraphy and paintings, seals, stone carvings, and statues—each forming a complete historical series and serving as direct witnesses to thousands of years of Chinese civilization. Among them, national treasures include Neolithic “Jade Bead Necklaces,” Warring States period “Gold-inlaid Bronze Pot” and “Ying Yuan,” Western Han “Gold Beast,” Eastern Han “Seal of Guangling King” and “Silver-inlaid Bronze Ox Lamp,” “Gilt Bronze Inkstone Box with Inlaid Mythical Creatures,” Western Jin “Celadon Beast-Shaped Zun,” Southern Dynasties “Brick Relief of Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove and Rong Qiqi,” and Ming Dynasty “Underglaze Red ‘Three Friends of Winter’ Plum Vase.” Additionally, artworks by masters such as the “Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou,” “Wu School Painters,” “Jinling School Painters,” Fu Baoshi, and Chen Zhifo form distinctive collections.

IV. Organizational Structure and Staffing

Nanjing Museum is a public welfare cultural institution at the deputy department level. It includes departments such as the Jiangsu Provincial Institute of Archaeology, Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Institute, Exhibition Art Research Institute, Social Service Department, Collection Department, Jiangsu Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Institute, Ancient Architecture Research Institute, Ancient Art Research Institute, Cultural Relics Acquisition Department, Library and Information Department, Cultural Creativity Department, “Southeast Culture” Editorial Department, Office (including the Party-Mass Work Section and Cultural Exchange Center), Human Resources and Organization Department, Planning and Finance Department, Academic Committee Secretariat, Security Department, and Logistics Support Department. It also hosts the Jiangsu Office of the National Cultural Relics Entry-Exit Inspection Agency.

As of the end of 2013, the museum had 221 full-time staff members, of whom 143 held college degrees or higher (including 29 postgraduates and 55 undergraduates), and 81 held mid-level or higher professional titles (23 senior and 30 associate senior). There were also over 300 contract employees.

V. Permanent and Special Exhibitions

Nanjing Museum has always upheld its founding mission of “promoting scientific research, supporting public education, and using appropriate exhibitions to advance knowledge.” Even during its temporary relocation to Licheng, Sichuan during the War of Resistance, it held exhibitions such as the “Prehistoric Stone Tools Exhibition,” and in 1948 co-hosted an exhibition with the Palace Museum that attracted over 100,000 visitors.

In the decade following the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Nanjing Museum organized special exhibitions such as “From Ape to Man,” “Exhibition of Chinese Ceramics Through the Ages,” “Exhibition on the History of Social Development,” “Ancient Art Exhibition of Our Great Motherland,” “Prehistoric Colored Pottery Exhibition,” “Exhibition of Cultural Relics Unearthed from the Southern Tang Tombs,” and “Ten Years of Nanjing Museum.” Starting in 1960, the “Jiangsu Historical Exhibition” became the permanent display, systematically showcasing the political, economic, and cultural development of the Jiangsu region through nearly 3,000 archaeological, ethnological artifacts, and historical documents. This marked a shift from temporary to a combination of permanent and temporary exhibitions. In 1989, this exhibit was updated to the “Five Thousand Years of Civilization in the Lower Yangtze Region,” transforming the general history display into a thematic one.

The Art Gallery built in 1999 features 7,000 square meters of exhibition space and includes 11 specialized exhibition halls for treasures, jade, bronze, Ming and Qing porcelain, calligraphy and painting, pottery, lacquerware, textiles and embroidery. It was named one of the “Top Ten National Fine Exhibitions of 1999.”

Today, the “one museum, six halls” each have their unique focus: The History Hall permanently exhibits “Ancient Civilization of Jiangsu,” comprehensively presenting the development of ancient civilization in the region; the Art Gallery classifies and displays its treasures by the medium of the artworks; the Special Exhibition Hall focuses on high-quality exhibitions, including both imported shows and theme exhibitions centered on the museum’s collections; the Intangible Cultural Heritage Pavilion dynamically showcases intangible cultural heritage projects on the national list from Jiangsu, with inheritors demonstrating traditional crafts on-site; the Republic of China Pavilion highlights the social life and culture of Nanjing during the Republican era; and the Digital Hall offers a new experience of ancient civilization through a blend of digital technology and interactive displays.

In addition to its permanent exhibitions, Nanjing Museum holds dozens of temporary exhibitions each year, including special displays of its own collections, fine art exhibitions from other provinces and cities, works by contemporary art masters, and influential cultural relics and art shows from abroad.

VI. Academic Activities and Research Achievements

1. Early Research in Ethnology and Folklore

In the 1930s, a large number of renowned cultural scholars gathered at Nanjing Museum. They conducted surveys and research on historical sites, ethnic costumes, handicrafts, languages, scripts, flora, and fauna in southwestern and northwestern China. They collected a substantial number of cultural relics and successively published academic works such as “Introduction to Far Eastern Stone Tools,” “Mosuo Phonetic Script Dictionary,” “Mosuo Pictographic Script Dictionary,” and “Illustrated Guide to Chinese Folk Crafts,” laying the academic foundation for the study of Chinese ethnology and folklore.

2. Archaeological Surveys and Excavations

During the War of Resistance, experts from Nanjing Museum either led or participated in the excavation of cliff tombs in Pengshan, Sichuan, the Yin Ruins in Anyang, Henan, Longshan Culture sites in Shandong, Qijia tombs in Yangwawan, Ningding, Gansu, and surveyed the cultural environment of the Cang-Er region in Yunnan.

In the early 1950s, as a key component of the East China Cultural Relics Work Team, Nanjing Museum led or participated in the excavation of numerous cultural sites and tombs in Jiangsu, Fujian, Zhejiang, Anhui, and Shandong. Led by Zeng Zhaoliang and others, excavations at sites such as the λε Tomb and αngshu Burial Mounds yielded influential archaeological findings.

After 1954, archaeological surveys and excavations mainly focused on Jiangsu. Led projects included the Kunshan Zhaoling Mountain Site (1991), Gaoyou Longqiu Village Site (1993), Yangzhou Tang City Site (1993), Xuzhou Shizi Mountain Western Han Chu King Tomb (1995), Yangzhou Song Great City Site (1995), Jintan Sanxing Village Site (1998), Jiangyin Gaochengdun Site (1999), Lianyungang Tenghualuo Site (2000), Wuxi Hongshan Yue State Noble Tomb (2004), Jurong-Jintan Zhou Dynasty Tumulus Tomb Cluster (2005), Zhangjiagang Dongshan Village Site (2009), Xuyi Dayunshan Jiangdu King Tomb (2011), and Sihong Shunshanji Neolithic Site (2012), all of which were named among the “Top Ten National Archaeological New Discoveries.” The Tenghualuo, Sanxing Village, and Jurong-Jintan Zhou Dynasty Tumulus Tomb Cluster sites received second and third prizes in national field archaeology. Major excavation reports such as “Archaeological Report Near Nanjing,” “Neolithic Sites in East China,” “Southern Tang Tombs,” “Excavation Report of the Yinan Ancient Stone Tomb,” “Beiyinyangying,” “Han Dynasty Cliff Tombs in Pengshan, Sichuan,” “Huaying — Excavation Report of a Neolithic Site in Xinyi,” “Wuxi Hongshan Yue Tombs,” and “Liangwangcheng Site in Pizhou” were published. Notably, the proposed archaeological culture names such as “Qingliangang Culture” and “Hushu Culture” caused significant impact in the Chinese archaeological community.

In 2013, the Jiangnan Archaeological Workstation was established, providing strong scientific research and logistical support for timely provision of cultural relics protection parameters, formulation of scientific preservation plans, and improvement of conservation efficiency with its advanced hardware and experimental capabilities.

3. Research on Cultural Relics Conservation Technology

The research on cultural relics conservation technology at the Nanjing Museum began in the mid-to-late 1970s, taking on the responsibility of preserving both the museum's collection and above-ground cultural relics in Jiangsu Province. Over the past decade, 14 projects—including "Protection Technology for Aged Paper," "NMF-1 Antifungal Agent," and "Compound Herbal Insecticide"—have won awards at various levels. The "Fragile Paper Web Membrane Reinforcement Technology" leads domestically, while research outcomes such as "New Materials for Bronze Artifact Conservation" and "New Termite Control Drugs" have been promoted nationwide. Five cutting-edge scientific achievements, including a "Multi-functional Protective Device for Paper-based Cultural Relics" and a "Method for Isolating and Restoring Colored Coatings on Ancient Architectural Murals," have received national patents. The implementation of the original-site conservation project for the King of Yue’s Tomb at Yingshan in Shaoxing was listed among the "Top Ten Cultural Relics Restoration Projects Nationwide in 2011."

In 2014, the museum successfully established a Key Scientific Research Base for Paper-based Cultural Relics Conservation under the National Cultural Heritage Administration, and its Metal Cultural Relics Conservation Laboratory has also taken initial shape.

4. Academic Activities and Publications

The Jiangsu Provincial Museums Association, Archaeological Society, Folklore Society, and Wu Culture Society are all affiliated with the Nanjing Museum. These organizations have carried out activities such as "Research on Prehistoric Cultures of the Lower Yangtze," "Studies on 'Dream of the Red Chamber'," and "Research on Wu Culture." The jointly published *Wenbo Newsletter* evolved into the publicly distributed *Southeast Culture* magazine, which is now a key academic journal in the fields of cultural relics, archaeology, and cultural heritage conservation. It has been recognized as a "Dual-Effect" publication in the "China Journal Matrix" and is among Jiangsu’s Top 10 Outstanding Social Science Magazines. In recent years, the Nanjing Museum has hosted or co-hosted a series of academic events—ranging from exhibition design and archaeological excavations to cultural relics conservation and digitalization of museum resources—that have strengthened communication, learning, and collaboration with various sectors. Additionally, the museum has undertaken research projects and initiatives in areas such as ancient architecture studies, large site conservation, ancient art research, and intangible cultural heritage inheritance.

5. Promotion and Publication

Since its establishment, the Nanjing Museum has edited and published over a hundred books on cultural relics and archaeology. Among them, *Museums* co-authored by Zeng Zhaofu and others in the 1930s laid the foundation for China’s museum studies. In recent years, the museum has published an average of more than 150 types of publications (including papers) annually. Series such as the *Nanjing Museum Treasures Collection*, *Essays by Nanjing Museum Scholars*, and *Nanjing Museum Cultural Relics Conservation Science Series* have been released as planned, forming a comprehensive promotion and publication system that includes archaeological excavation reports, conservation project reports, academic monographs, cultural relics catalogs (albums), research journals, and departmental yearbooks.

VII. Cultural Exchange and Inter-museum Collaboration

As early as the 1950s, the Nanjing Museum participated in national exhibitions of cultural relics held in countries such as the Soviet Union and Germany. Since the reform and opening-up, international academic exchanges have increased significantly. The museum has held exhibitions of its collections in countries and regions including the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, promoting national culture and fostering international dialogue. Scientific collaborations with overseas academic institutions have also grown, achieving notable results in areas such as the southern spread of Buddhism, archaeological studies of early rice paddies, research on human bones from the Jiangnan region, and the preservation of wooden artifacts unearthed from the Sishang Han Tombs. In recent years, the museum has signed cooperation agreements with renowned institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art (USA), the Royal Ontario Museum (Canada), the National Palace Museum in Taipei, the Kyushu National Museum (Japan), and the National Museum of Korea, and has conducted numerous academic and cultural activities.

VIII. Public Services and Educational Programs

Since 2008, the Nanjing Museum has offered free admission. The museum provides comprehensive and thoughtful services, including consultations, guided tours, luggage storage, wheelchairs, strollers, umbrellas, audio guides, scheduled tours, Wi-Fi, dining, and shopping. Visitors can enjoy premium exhibitions, participate in cultural activities, and take advantage of leisure services, truly achieving the goals of gaining knowledge, lifting their spirits, and cultivating refined tastes.

The Nanjing Museum also serves as an educational base for many schools and military units stationed in Nanjing, actively organizing diverse social education programs. Themed events such as "Our Festivals" and "Nanjing Museum Elements, My Inspiration" are held nearly 100 times annually. Specialized spaces like the Children’s Fun Experience Room and China’s first Digital Experience Hall for People with Disabilities cater to the needs of unique visitor groups. The museum regularly invites inheritors of intangible cultural heritage—such as Jinling paper-cutting, Yangzhou woodblock printing, Yixing purple clay art, Qinhuai lantern-making, and Nanjing gold leaf—to showcase their crafts. The small theater and traditional teahouse host performances of puppet shows, acrobatics, Nanjing Baiju opera, and Suzhou Pingtan. All services and activities emphasize promoting the museum and its collections while raising public awareness of cultural relics protection, allowing visitors—especially young people—to experience the essence of traditional Chinese culture through interaction.

In recent years, as China’s museum construction has accelerated, the Nanjing Museum’s operational management philosophy and model have gradually shifted from focusing on "objects" (cultural relics) to serving "people" (visitors). Through high-quality exhibitions, top-tier services, and multi-level activities, the museum’s development has returned to the core mission defined by the International Council of Museums (ICOM): "serving society and its development." Currently, the new Nanjing Museum—"One Museum, Six Galleries, Six Institutes"—will achieve greater growth on a higher platform, steadily advancing toward its goal of becoming a "nationally leading, internationally first-class" museum. This vision includes integrated functions of collection, conservation, research, education, and service, with the infrastructure to host various exhibitions and conduct scientific research, as well as a profound historical foundation and distinctive characteristics.

Recommended Visit Duration

2–4 hours

Transportation

Public Transit

Get off at Zhongshanmen Station via Bus Routes 5, 9, 34, 36, 55, Tourist Route 1, Tourist Route 2, or Tourist Route 5.

Take Metro Line 2 to Minggugong Station, exit at Exit 1, and walk 300 meters east.

Admission

Free admission. Visitors can collect free tickets on-site with valid ID (ID card, household registration book, student ID, medical insurance card, etc.). Alternatively, reserve free tickets online in advance at http://www.jswenhui.com/njmuseum and collect them on-site.

Opening Hours

Tuesday–Sunday: 9:00–17:00 (last entry at 16:00). Monday: 9:00–12:00 (last entry at 11:00). The museum is open all day on national holidays that fall on Mondays.

Further Reading:

· National First-Class Museum of China