//
Photo: 螺钉, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
A small museum focusing on the Taiping Rebellion (1843-1868), a piece of history not well known in the West. This was one of the bloodiest conflicts in recorded history — some estimates put the death toll higher than for World War I, and it was certainly much worse than the American Civil War at about the same time, even though the Chinese used more primitive weapons. It was a crucial moment in China's relationship with the West, modernity, and its relationship to its own imperial history. It was partly a religious movement (see Christianity#Taiping_Heavenly_Kingdom); the leader claimed to be God's second son, Jesus' younger brother. The quasi-Christian, peasant-led rebellion overran an area greater than Texas with Nanjing as its capital. At different times it threatened both the foreign settlements in Shanghai and the Qing government in Beijing, though it did not take either. On exhibit are documents relating to Taiping history and the grinding reduction of their movement by enterprising Qing generals and their European auxiliaries, culminating in the siege of Nanjing. Most documents and artifacts are replicas. Item descriptions are in Chinese and English, but only the Chinese text gives historical context and transcription of some of the handwritten documents. Next door are the beautiful Zhanyuan Gardens.
The Taiping Kingdom History Museum is a museum dedicated to artifacts from the Taiping Rebellion (1851–1864). It is located on the grounds of the Zhan Yuan Garden, a historical garden in Nanjing, China.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
净觉寺
The mosque traced its origin during the Hongwu Emperor of Ming Dynasty in 1388.
Fuzimiao (夫子庙)
Once an imperial examination testing center for the entire Jiangsu region, this museum comprises a tiny fraction of the once-massive original buildings. The rest of the site is a massive, labyrinthine market; a top tourist draw in Nanjing and a place where you can get all your haggling out of your system. Get your picture taken with the Confucius sculpture and grab some tea on one of the gondolas on the canal. On the southern side of town next to Zhonghua Gate and the Taiping Museum.
Gan's Grand Courtyard, 甘家大院, 甘熙宅第, 甘熙故居 Gan Xi's former residence
Built during the reign of the Jiaqing Emperor (1796-1820), this is the former residence of Gan Xi, a famous scholar and civil servant. It is said to be the largest traditional private residence in Nanjing and has over 300 rooms. The residence is administered by the Nanjing Folk Museum (南京市民俗博物馆) and has many exhibits on traditional Chinese culture.
草桥清真寺
The mosque traced its origin during Qianlong Emperor of Qing Dynasty.
金陵美术馆
中华门
The southern gate of Nanjing's city wall; this massive gate is one of the best preserved parts of Nanjing's city wall, and one of the best remaining examples of early Ming defensive architecture extant anywhere. The wooden castle at top was destroyed by fire, but the immense masonry (each complete with the mason's name and home province by order of the emperor) substructure remains. Two courtyards contain an archery range and vegetable gardens. The main gate has three immense depots within where, long emptied of provisions, you can find some scale models and exhibits about the gate. In one depot you can find an air raid siren used during the Japanese attack on the city.