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How to Visit Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall (Tips, Photos & Map)

Saturday, February 12th, 2022

Plan your Nanjing Tour? Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall is the big draw on your Nanjing trip. The museum’s official name is called the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders (侵华日军南京大屠杀遇难同胞纪念馆).

Nanjing Massacre Museum tells the overwhelming atrocities of raping, killing, burning and looting committed by the Japanese forces of aggression during the six weeks from December 13, 1937 to January, 1938. In the massacre, a total of 300,000 people were killed including 28 mass slaughters and 858 occasional slaughters.

Nanjing Massacre Museum was open to the public on August 15, 1985. It was renovated and revamped in 1995. The museum is constructed on the site of one of the mass graves known as Jiangdongmen Mass Grave where over 10000 corpses of victims were buried.

Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall has a total area of 30,000 square meters with 9 gates. It is mainly composed of four sections: Site Square, Exhibition Area. Mass Grave of 10000 Corpse and Peace Park with a total area of 30,000 square meters.

We are thankful for Iris Chang

We are thankful for Iris Chang ( 张纯如) who has let the people around world better know the massacre. Iris Shun-Ru Chang (March 28, 1968 – November 9, 2004) was an American-born Chinese journalist, best known for her best-selling “The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II ” (published in 1997).

Iris Chang, author of “The Rape of Nanking”, ended her life with a pistol on November 9, 2004. She was 36. She had suffered from years of depression and constant sleep deprivation since her bestseller – “The Rape of Nanking”.

Iris Chang and her bestseller – “The Rape of Nanking”. (Image Credit: news.cgtn.com)

In his eulogy, reporter Richard Rongstad said, “Iris Chang lit a flame and passed it to others and we should not allow that flame to be extinguished.” ( Quoted from Who killed ‘Rape of Nanking’ author Iris Chang? by cgtn.com).

How to Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall

Take subway line 2 and get off at the station of Yunjin Lu (云锦路) and exit at Exit 2. When you exit from the subway station, you will see a huge architecture built of grey marble.

This is the Massacre Museum. You should enter Gate 1, first visit the Exhibition Area, then the Site Square, the Mass Grave of 10000 Corpses and finally the Peace Park. You are advised to exit from the Gate 2 and get back to the subway Station of Yunjin Rd (云锦路). But the museum’s official address is No.418, Shuiximen Street.

Location of Nanjing Massacre Museum (Google Map)

It is open from Tuesday to Sunday 08:30-17:30 (16:30 for latest entry); closed on Mondays;
Note: It will be normally open on Mondays on statutory holidays.

China Nanjing Yunjin Museum

As you can find from the google map above, upright corner there is a museum known as “China Nanjing Yunjin Museum“.

“Yunjin” literally means “cloud-pattern brocade” in Chinese. It now refers to the famous Nanjing Yunjin tapestry which dates back almost 1,600 years. The traditional Jacquard silk patterns are as various and as beautiful as the clouds in the sky, hence the name “Yunjin”.

If you have extra time, you may put the two museums on a half day combo trip. It is open 8 am-5:30 pm. Its address: 240 Chating East Street, Nanjing.

Virtual Tour of Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall

Follow me to visit the Massacre Museum.

Take subway line 2 and get off at the station of Yunjin Rd (云锦路) and exit at Exit 2.

The museum is a grey marble building with overwhelming statues and sculptures.

People are waiting in line to visit the museum which is free of charge. Try to avoid weekends and holidays and get to there earlier to beat the crowds. Each day there are a huge number of visitors coming to the museum.

When you enter the museum, you are on the site square, open and not so overpowering with people. The most prominent site you will see the stone wall engraved with the time of the massacre and 300,000 victims.

Turn right and walk to the Exhibition Area. In the exhibition hall, exhibits, photos and the memorabilia in the cabinets in English Japanese and Chinese tell their own stories without words. People are looking at the exhibits.

20000 case of rape during Nanjing Massacre

John Rabe is well known in China for his efforts to stop war crimes during the Japanese takeover of Nanjing and he did a lot to protect and help Chinese civilians during the massacre.

John Rabe did a lot to protect and help Chinese civilians during the massacre.

A group of students are waiting in line to see the mass grave of the 10000 corpses

The Peace Park calls on people to love peace and wipe off the War.

After visiting Nanjing Massacre Museum, if you have extra time, you have a 700-m walk to reach China Nanjing Yunjin Museum, where you see how weavers to make Yunjin tapestry with the traditional Jacquard silk patterns.

Tip: Hassle-free Jiangsu Guided Tours

If you don’t want to do a self-guided tour and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours, here are some options for organized tours to Jiangsu Province:

Nanjing Tour
Suzhou Tour
Jiangsu Tour

How to get to Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum

Taking the subway line 2 and get off at the station of Ming Xialing Tomb (Muxu) Station 明孝陵（苜蓿）站, then you can walk to the site of Ming Xialing Tomb.

How to Visit Ming Xiaoling Tomb

Take the subway line 2 and get off at the station Ming Xialing Tomb (Muxu) Station 明孝陵（苜蓿）站, the exit at Exit 1. When you exit from the subway station, you will see a huge sign with 7 Chinese characters “钟山风景名胜区” (Zhongshan Mountain National Park) and under the 7 Chinese characters, you could recognize two subtitles “Dr.Sun Yat-sen’ Mausoleum and The Ming Tomb” pointing to the pathway to the two attractions.

The Map of Zhongshan Mountain Scenic Spot (Google)

Zhongshan Maountain National Park mainly comprise the four attractions – Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum, Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s MausoleumMusic Stage Linggu Temple and Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum. All the four attractions are linked by electric carts, a kind of shuttle service.

The Ming Tomb is located in the west of Zhongshan Moutain area, Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum and the Music Stage in the middle and Linggu Temple in the east. The Ming Tomb is quite close to the subway station. So you can walk from the subway line 2 station to the entrance to the Ming Tomb.

The Ming Tomb is located in the west of Zhongshan Moutain area (red in circle)

After visiting the Ming Tomb, you may have a 30-minute walk and take the park electric cart to the next attraction – Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum. Then again have a half hour walk to Linggu Temple or take a park cart to the temple. Each section for taking an electric cart costs you RMB 5.

In a several minutes, you will come to the entrance to the Ming Tomb. The entrance ticket fee: RMB 70 ( a combined ticket to the Meihua Hill which is the mausoleum of Sun Quan, King of the Kingdom of Wu in the Three Kingdoms period (220-265).

Virtual Tour of Ming Xiaoling Tomb

Now follow me to visit Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum. The Ming Tomb is quite close to the subway station. A few steps from the subway exit, you will see the signpost pointing to the Ming Tomb ( the mausoleum).

The signpost pointing to the Ming Tomb ( the mausoleum).

You have the option to take a battery cart visiting all the attractions in the park ( 5 yuan)

The tablet mounted on a stone tortoise in the middle is engraved with 4 Chinese characters “治隆唐宋”, which indicates the greatness of the Ming Dynasty founder Zhu Yuanzhang, matching (or outweight ) that of the founders of the Tang and Song Dynasties. The 4 character’s were written by Kangxi Emperor in Qing Dynasty.

Civil and Military Gate – the first gate to the graveyard of the Ming Tomb

The Ming Tower is built atop the rectangular citadel, a highest building in the mausoleum compound.

The Treasure Mound behind the Ming Tower is the actual site of the Ming Tomb.

From the top of Ming Tower, have a bird’s-eye view of the mausoleum compound

There two sections of the Sacred Way – the Elephant Road and the Wengzhong Road. The Elephant Road is flanked by 12 pairs of animals ( 6 kinds of animals including lions, xiezhi, camels, elephants, qilin, and horses), which guard he tomb.

Then you will find two columns called huabiao in Chinese. Starting from the two columns, you wander along the Wengzhong Road lined with four pairs of ministers and generals of stone standing there for centuries to escort the mausoleum.

Wengzhong Road lined with four pairs of ministers and generals

Tip: Hassle-free Jiangsu Guided Tours

If you don’t want to do a self-guided tour and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours, here are some options for organized tours to Jiangsu Province:

Nanjing Tour
Suzhou Tour
Jiangsu Tour

No. 01: Dr Sun Yat-Sen Mausoleum

Dr Sun Yat-Sen Mausoleum is situated on Zhongshan Mountain in the eastern suburb of Nanjing, capital city of Jiangsu province. It was built in January 1926 and was finished in 1929.

Dr. Sun Yat-sen was a great forerunner of the Chinese democratic revolution and led by Dr. Sun the Chinese people brought down the corrupt rule of the Qing Dynasty and ended 2000 years of the feudal monarchy system, which led the Chinese peoples in to a new age.

Check out How to Visit Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum for more information.

The whole Mausoleum Scenic Area represents an alarm bell as seen from the air, symbolizing the noble spirit and heroic efforts of Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s devotion to the Chinese people, fight of oppression and wining the independence of China.

Entrance Fee: Free
Opening Hours: 07:00-18:00
How to get there: take Buses Y1, Y2, No. 9 to the Dr Sun Yat Sen Mausoleum

2. Nanjing Confucius Temple-The Qinhuai River Scenic Area

Now Nanjing Confucius Temple with its old world charming surrounding area is popularly and officially known as Nanjing Confucius Temple-The Qinhuai River Scenic Area (夫子庙秦淮风光带).

Check out How to Visit Nanjing Confucius Temple-The Qinhuai River Scenic Area for more information.

Qinhua River flanked by the traditional style of houses

The Qinhuai River is the biggest river in Nanjing It’s also the birthplace of the age-old Nanjing culture. As such, it’s called “Nanjing’s mother river”. Qinhuai River is a branch of the Yangtze River, running about 110 kilometers, a major watercourse around Nanjing City.

How to get there: It is most convenient to take subway line – take subway line 1 and get off at the station of Sanshan Jie (三山街), and exit from Exit 3 (Jinshanjing 金沙井) and walk a few steps to get to the site of the Confucius Temple area.

Take Nanjing Metro Line 3 to Fuzimiao Station, get off at Exit 2 or 3, walk south along Pingjiangfu Road, you can reach Qinhuai Archway, Imperial Examination Museum in the scenic area

3. Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum

Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum is the tomb of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming Dynasty. It lies at the southern foot of Purple Mountain, the east of the historical center of Nanjing.

The construction of the mausoleum began during the Hongwu Emperor’s life in 1381 and ended in 1405, during the reign of his son the Yongle Emperor, with a huge expenditure of resources involving 100,000 laborers.

Check out How to Visit Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum for more information.

The original wall of the mausoleum was more than 22.5 kilometers long. The mausoleum was built under heavy guard of 5,000 military troops. Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum has a grand scale with stately buildings.

Entrance Fee: CNY 70
Opening Hours: 09:00-21:00
How to get there: take Buses Y 2, Y3 or 20 to Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum

4. Presidential Palace

The Presidential Palace is located at 292 Changjiang Road, in the Xuanwu District of Nanjing. It is now a museum, the China Modern History Museum.

The Presidential Palace is currently serving as the Nanjing museum of Chinese contemporary history. The gate of the Presidential Palace is western style with meters-long guard stations in two sides, while the second gate is typical Chinese style.

Check out How to Visit Nanjing Presidential Palace for more information.

Through the gate there is a long corridor, along which are hall, foreign guests reception room, lobby of president and some offices.

Entrance Fee: CNY 40
Opening Hours: 08:00-17:30
How to get there: take Buses No. 2, 3, 5, 29 or 65 from the downtown area to Presidential Palace

5. Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge

The Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge is the first bridge to be built across the Yangtze River in Nanjing, China. It was completed in 1968 and is the first double-deck, double-track highway and railway bridge.

Check out How to Visit Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge for more information.

The Yangtze bridge is a double-decked road-rail truss bridge with 9 bridge piers.

It includes a bus stop and a museum. On the western side of the bridge, a new city is currently being developed. It is 6,772 meters long and has a span of 160 meters—it can take up to 15 minutes to cross during regular traffic periods. Supporters of the Cultural Revolution within China have cited the construction of the bridge as one of the positive legacies of the Revolution.

Entrance Fee: Free of Charge
Opening Hours: the whole day
How to get there: take Buses No. 12, 15, 67, 69 or 307 to Daqiao Garden, the Suburb Buses to Pukou and Dachang pass Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge

6. Linggu Temple Scenic Area

Linggu Temple Scenic Area is named after the namesake temple – Linggu Temple. Now the scenic area is mainly composed of Linggu Temple, Linggu Pagoda (also Linggu Tower), the Beamless Hall, the Entrance Gate, the Paifang and a large screen wall.

From 1928 to 1935 during the Kuomintang Government, the Linggu Temple was gradually built into a cemetery dedicated to the the National Revolutionary Army’s martyrs who gave their lives during the Northern Expedition against the northern warlords and the Anti-Japanese Wall.

Check out How to Visit Linggu Temple Scenic Area for more information.

Linggu Pagoda in the Linggu Temple Scenic Area

1.Take Nanjing Metro Line 2 and get off at “Zhongling Street” station (钟灵街站) and walk along Linggusi Road for about 15 minutes;
2. Take Bus Line 202 and get off at the stop of “Linggu Temple Park” (灵谷寺公园站)
3. Take the sightseeing bus within the park: 1) Take the sightseeing Bus 5 from “Ming Xiaoling (Zixia Lake)”; s or Sightseeing Bus 4 from “Sun Yat-sen’s mausoleum east” and stop at Linggu Tower. This is the tour bus inside Zhongshan Scenic spot, where there are two kinds, the red train and the blue electric car, the ticket price is 5 yuan.

Entrance Fee: CNY 15
Opening Hours: 08:00-17:00
How to get there: take Buses Y3 or No. 9 to Linggu Temple; or take a taxi to get there

7. Zhonghua Gate Nanjing

China Gate was a ceremonial gateway in Nanjing, China. It is a renowned ancient city gate in China and the city gate with the most complex structure in the world.

Check out How to Visit Zhonghua Gate Nanjing for more information.

The Bird’s-eye view of the Gate of China ( Image credit: sina.com.cn)

As the gate looks like an urn, it was also initially called Urn Gate. It is the largest of 13 gates measuring 21.45 meters in height, 118 meters in length from east to west and 129 meters from north to south. The Zhonghua Gate records the dynastic cycle of this city. It shows both the prosperity and decadence of Chinese history.

Entrance Fee: CNY 50
Opening Hours: 08:00-17:30

8. Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum Music Stage

The Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum Music Stage was designed by the well-known artchitects Guan Songsheng and Yang Tingbao.

Its construction was completed in 1933 with the donations from the oversea Chinese in San Francisco and the Liaoning Branch of Kuomintang. The music platform is a supporting project of The Mausoleum of Sun Yat-sen, mainly used for the musical performance and assembly speech during the ceremony to commemorate Dr. Sun Yat-sen.

Check out Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum Music Stage for more information.

The semi-circle lawn can accommodate the audience of 3,000.

The music stage features the Chinese and Western architectural style in the use of natural environment, as well as the layout and facade, fully absorbing the characteristics of ancient Greek architecture, and the use of Chinese jiangnan classical garden form as well.

9. Nanjing Museum

Nanjing Museum is located inside the Zhongshan Gate of Nanjing City. The complex of buildings represents an amalgamation of east and west, with the great hall copying the style of a Liao-dynasty palace.

With an area of 70,000 square meters, Nanjing Museum is one of the largest museums in China. The Museum currently holds some 400,000 objects in its collections, among which are some of the most famous objects in China. The Museum applies modern scientific methods of conservation, and is active in displaying its holdings, having mounted some 236 exhibitions.

Entrance Fee: Free ( but need to book your free ticket in advance)
Opening Hours: 08:00-18:00
How to get there: take Buses Y1, Y2, No. 59, 29, 5, 9, 51 or 55 and get off at Zhongshanmen Station

10. Xuanwu Lake Park

Situated at the foot of Mt. Zhongshan in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, Xuanwu Lake is a beautiful scenic spot protected by China. It is also one of the three most famous lakes in Nanjing.

The history of Xuanwu Lake can be traced back to the Pre-Qin period. The lake covers an area of 444 hectares with a coastline of 15 kilometers in circumferences.

Xuanwu Lake is best seen in combination with the Ming city wall bordering the park to its east and south and the Ji Ming Temple just outside Jie Fang Men at Xuanwu Lake’s southwestern edge. There are five isles in the lake: Huan Isle, Ying Isle, Liang Isle, Cui Isle and Ling Isle. |

Entrance Fee: Free
Opening Hours: 07:00-21:00
How to get there: take a boat at the opposite of Nanjing Train Station; or take Buses Y1, No. 3, 25, 30, 35 or 38 to Xuanwu Lake Park

Tip: Hassle-free Jiangsu Guided Tours

If you don’t want to do a self-guided tour and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours, here are some options for organized tours to Jiangsu Province:

Nanjing Tour
Suzhou Tour
Jiangsu Tour

Archive for the ‘Jiangsu Travel’ Category

How to Visit Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall (Tips, Photos & Map)

We are thankful for Iris Chang

How to Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall

China Nanjing Yunjin Museum

Virtual Tour of Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall

Tip: Hassle-free Jiangsu Guided Tours

Further Readings

How to Visit Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum (Tips, Photos & Map)

How to get to Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum

How to Visit Ming Xiaoling Tomb

Virtual Tour of Ming Xiaoling Tomb

Tip: Hassle-free Jiangsu Guided Tours

Further Readings

Top 10 Attractions in Nanjing (Tips, Photos & Map)

No. 01: Dr Sun Yat-Sen Mausoleum

2. Nanjing Confucius Temple-The Qinhuai River Scenic Area

3. Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum

4. Presidential Palace

5. Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge

6. Linggu Temple Scenic Area

7. Zhonghua Gate Nanjing

8. Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum Music Stage

9. Nanjing Museum

10. Xuanwu Lake Park

Tip: Hassle-free Jiangsu Guided Tours

Further Readings

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