Nanjing Kuomintang Historical Materials Exhibition Hall

Nanjing Kuomintang Historical Materials Exhibition Hall

The Nanjing Historical Materials Exhibition Hall is a remnant of Republican-era public architecture. It is located inside Zhongshan Gate in Nanjing, to the west of the Ming Imperial Palace, aligned with the central axis of the Ming Imperial Palace and symmetrically arranged with the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection building complex. It is commonly referred to as the "Western Palace" by the public. Designed in 1934, construction began in February 1935 and was completed in July of the following year.

The museum faces south and is surrounded by gardens and four guard posts. The ground floor houses offices of various sizes, meeting rooms, and historical materials storage rooms, while the second and third floors are used as exhibition halls. Visitors enter via grand steps leading directly to the central auditorium, then proceed to the exhibition halls on either side. The exhibition halls are entirely constructed of reinforced concrete, with special fireproof steel doors and air conditioning systems installed in the storage areas to ensure the strict protection of the archived materials. The interior features diamond-patterned windows and doors, ceiling caisson decorations, and painted plaster designs, while the exterior presents a grand, double-eaved hip-and-gable palace-style architecture. After the liberation, it was repurposed as the Second Historical Archives of China, housing a collection of major national historical materials. As the original site became insufficient for current needs, the Jiangsu Provincial Architectural Design Institute was commissioned for an expansion design in 1976. By the end of 1977, the opinion of architect Yang Tingbao was sought. He approved the concept of expanding the original exhibition hall with east and west "wing buildings," and explicitly suggested that the height of the wings not exceed that of the main building, and that their color scheme and materials should relate to the main structure, thereby ensuring harmony and consistency between the old and new sections.

In 1991, the former site of the Central Committee for the Compilation of Kuomintang Historical Materials was recognized as an outstanding example of modern architecture by the Ministry of Construction and the National Cultural Heritage Administration of China. In 1992, it was designated as a Nanjing Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Unit by the Nanjing Municipal People's Government. In July 2001, it was further listed as a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.