Nanjing Music Stage

Nanjing Music Stage

The Nanjing Zhongshan Mausoleum Scenic Area Music Stage is located southeast of the Zhongshan Mausoleum Square. Covering an area of approximately 4,200 square meters, it was designed by Yang Tingbao, commenced construction in the autumn of 1932, and completed in August 1933. The Music Stage is an ancillary facility of the Zhongshan Mausoleum, primarily used for musical performances and speeches during memorial ceremonies for Dr. Sun Yat-sen.

The entire Music Stage is built with a reinforced concrete structure. The site has a semi-circular floor plan, with an arc-shaped stage set at the center of the semicircle. Steps on both sides of the stage connect to flower-covered pergolas. Behind the stage is a large sound-reflecting wall that serves as the focal design element of the Music Stage. The wall faces south and north, is about 16.67 meters wide and 11.33 meters high, and has a horizontally curved cross-section. It can accommodate up to three thousand spectators. A cement corridor runs along the edge of the lawn, providing a pleasant spot for visitors to rest and enjoy the cool.

Right in front of the stage is a crescent-shaped pool, with a radius of 12.67 meters, designed to collect natural rainwater from the open-air venue. The pool water never dries up throughout the year, which helps enhance the acoustic effect of the stage. On both sides of the stage are platforms topped with reinforced concrete flower pergolas.

The architecture of the Music Stage is an exemplary fusion of traditional Chinese style and Western classical architectural elements. In its use of the natural environment, as well as in its floor plan and facade design, it draws extensively from the artistic characteristics of ancient Greek architecture. Meanwhile, details such as the sound-reflecting wall and stage incorporate design techniques from classical Chinese gardens in the southern Yangtze region, thereby creating a structure that combines a grand, spacious ambiance with exquisite ornamentation, achieving perfect harmony and unity between nature and architecture.

In front of the stage is a crescent-shaped lotus pond, whose water remains year-round. The seating area is fan-shaped and can hold three thousand people. The surroundings are lush with green grass, willows, and towering poplars. The Music Stage is a commemorative structure, and its layout is the first of its kind in China.

The Music Stage is situated southeast of the Zhongshan Mausoleum Square and was built in 1932, jointly funded and donated by overseas Chinese residing in San Francisco, USA, and the Liaoning Provincial Party Department. The stage surface is semi-circular, about 3 meters high, with a large rear wall that is 11.3 meters high and 16.7 meters wide, serving to amplify sound.

In front of the stage is a crescent-shaped lotus pond, whose water remains year-round. The seating area is fan-shaped and can hold three thousand people. The surroundings are lush with green grass, willows, and towering poplars. The Music Stage is a commemorative structure, and its layout is the first of its kind in China.

Covering an area of approximately 4,200 square meters, the Nanjing Music Stage is located southeast of the Zhongshan Mausoleum Square. It was designed by renowned architects Guan Songsheng and Yang Tingbao, and jointly funded and donated by overseas Chinese in San Francisco, USA, and the Liaoning Provincial Party Department. Construction began in the autumn of 1932 and was completed in August 1933. The Music Stage is an ancillary facility of the Zhongshan Mausoleum, primarily used for musical performances and speeches during memorial ceremonies for Dr. Sun Yat-sen.

The entire Music Stage is built with a reinforced concrete structure. The site has a semi-circular floor plan, with an arc-shaped stage set at the center of the semicircle. Steps on both sides of the stage connect to flower-covered pergolas. Behind the stage is a large sound-reflecting wall that serves as the focal design element of the Music Stage. The wall faces south and north, is about 16.67 meters wide and 11.33 meters high, and has a horizontally curved cross-section.

Right in front of the stage is a crescent-shaped pool, with a radius of 12.67 meters, designed to collect natural rainwater from the open-air venue. The pool water never dries up throughout the year, which helps enhance the acoustic effect of the stage. On both sides of the stage are platforms topped with reinforced concrete flower pergolas.

The architecture of the Music Stage is an exemplary fusion of traditional Chinese style and Western classical architectural elements. In its use of the natural environment, as well as in its floor plan and facade design, it draws extensively from the artistic characteristics of ancient Greek architecture. Meanwhile, details such as the sound-reflecting wall and stage incorporate design techniques from classical Chinese gardens in the southern Yangtze region, thereby creating a structure that combines a grand, spacious ambiance with exquisite ornamentation, achieving perfect harmony and unity between nature and architecture.

The Zhongshan Mausoleum Music Stage was built in the autumn of 1932 and completed the following summer. It was designed by renowned architects Guan Songsheng and Yang Tingbao and funded by overseas Chinese in the United States. The architectural style blends Chinese and Western elements, making it China's only open-air grand stage.

The floor plan of the Music Stage is fan-shaped, with the performance platform at the center. At the back of the stage is a large arc-shaped sound-reflecting wall, the top of which is carved with swirling dragon patterns, and the bottom features three stone-carved dragon heads. These heads contain water conduits, allowing water to spout from their mouths and cascade down in an artificial waterfall into the crescent-shaped lotus pond in front of the stage.

The fan-shaped area features large sloped lawns arranged as seating, totaling twelve sections, which can accommodate 3,000 people. The lawn is dotted with over a thousand pigeons, and the corridors are adorned with wisteria-covered trellises.

Ancient trees surround the Music Stage, providing fresh air and earning it the nickname "natural oxygen bar." On weekends, it comes alive with music and dancing, and flocks of pigeons fill the sky. As a renowned scenic spot of the Zhongshan Mausoleum, the Music Stage attracts a large number of domestic and international visitors each year with its serene environment and picturesque scenery.

Address: No. 7 Shixiang Road, Xuanwu District, Nanjing City, within the Zhongshan Mausoleum Scenic Area

Type: Urban park, fountain square, historical building

Rating: AAAAA

Recommended visiting time: About 1 hour

Phone: 025-84431174

Official website: http://zschina.nanjing.gov.cn/

Opening hours:

8:30-17:00