Former Site of the Japanese Embassy in Nanjing

Former Site of the Japanese Embassy in Nanjing

The former site of the Japanese Embassy in Nanjing is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The former site of the Japanese Embassy to the Republic of China is located at No. 1 and No. 3 Beijing West Road, adjacent to the southwest corner of Gulou. -- Built around the 1920s–1930s, it covers an area of 12.7418 mu, approximately 8,494.53 square meters. Only a single point-style building within the courtyard of No. 3 remains today. This building has a brick-concrete structure, is four stories high, and has a construction area of 540 square meters.

After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, the former site of the Japanese Embassy to the Republic of China was confiscated by the Nationalist government as enemy and puppet property and was used as dormitories for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Originally, there were three Western-style buildings and four Western-style bungalows. The bungalows were demolished one after another. In 1976, a two-story building in the courtyard of No. 3 was demolished; in 1992, to make way for the construction of a fire station, a building in the courtyard of No. 1 was also demolished. The existing structure faces south and is situated to the north, with a figure-eight-shaped brick staircase at the front of the building leading directly to the second floor. Directly below the center of the figure-eight staircase, there is a door. Each floor has a roughly similar layout: the wooden staircase is located on the right side of the middle section, while the toilet, washroom, living room, bedroom, and office are distributed around the staircase. The rooms feature wooden strip flooring, wainscoting, beaded ceilings, and partitions. The north façade includes an outer corridor. Each floor has four brick square pillars, and the roof is a wooden gabled truss structure. The façade is topped with a parapet wall, the exterior walls are plastered with cement mortar, and the window and door exteriors are fitted with cement decorative casings. The details of the outer corridor pillars, cantilever beam ends, door head carvings, and railing designs show Baroque influence. There are signs of renovation and additional floors in the building.

The former site is currently occupied by the Nanjing Armed Police Detachment and the Nanjing Armed Police Fire Brigade Headquarters.

On October 7, 2019, the former site of the Japanese Embassy in Nanjing was included in the eighth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Further Reading:

· Eighth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units