Which Nanjing Museum First?
Choose the Nanjing museum that matches both your historical interest and your ability to get in. Collections, booking barriers and visit length vary enough that 'the main museum' is not always the best first stop.
The short answer
Book on its WeChat mini-program the evening you arrive: tickets open at 18:00 for the next seven days. No WeChat? Ask a companion or your hotel to book, or ring 025-84807923 first; Trip.com's international site lists a paid third-party booking service for this free ticket. Either way, the passport check at the window still applies.
There are two slots a day: morning 9:00-13:00, which you must enter by 13:00, and afternoon 12:00-16:00. Miss your half-day slot and you are turned away; the same document gets one entry that day.
The Six Dynasties Museum (30 yuan) and the Jiangsu Art Museum (free) are a few minutes apart on Changjiang Road at Daxinggong; Chaotian Palace (25 yuan) sells at its window. All three close on Mondays.
Most of Nanjing's museums are shut unless it is a public holiday. The Deji Art Museum at Xinjiekou is open every day, 10:00-24:00, and sells tickets at its desk; otherwise make Monday an outdoor day.
It is free and needs no booking, but the gate does not list an ordinary foreign passport among the cards it reads. The published fallback is to scan a code at the door or register on the 'Nanjing City Wall' WeChat official account (up to 5 people per account); ring 025-83217710 before you go.
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Nanjing Museum
南京博物院Open the place →- What to see
- The provincial museum: 430,000-odd objects from the Old Stone Age to the present in 'one museum, six halls' — history, art, special exhibitions, the Republican hall (a restored street inside), digital and intangible heritage — behind a 1930s hall in Liao-dynasty style · 2026-09-24
- Ticket
- Permanent galleries free; some commercial temporary shows may charge. Audio guide in Chinese, English, Japanese and Korean, 20 yuan · 2026-09-24
- Hours & closed days
- Tuesday-Sunday 9:00-17:00, last entry 16:00. Closed Mondays (except public holidays), Chinese New Year's Eve and New Year's Day; holiday hours are announced separately · 2026-09-24
- Booking & ticket release
- Everyone books, concessions included, on the museum's WeChat mini-program only: tickets released at 18:00 daily for the next seven days. Two slots a day — morning 9:00-13:00 (enter by 13:00) and afternoon 12:00-16:00 · 2026-09-24
- Getting in with a passport
- Book yourself, then on the day take the original passport and the booking to the green-channel window by the main gate for a manual check — no face-scan gate. Whether the mini-program lists 'foreign passport' as a document type is not stated; enquiries 025-84807923 · 2026-09-24
- Getting there
- 321 Zhongshan East Road, Xuanwu District: Metro Line 2 Minggugong station exit 1, then 300 m east. Large-luggage storage to the right of the main gate · 2026-01-16
- How long
- No visit length published; your booked half-day slot is the practical limit — the morning slot must enter by 13:00 · 2026-09-24
- Don't get this wrong
- Not the Nanjing Municipal Museum at Chaotian Palace. The Republican hall is a street inside the museum, not the Presidential Palace in town. The museum's own pages give the window as both east of the main gate and the service centre west of it — ask at both · 2026-09-24
Six Dynasties Museum
六朝博物馆Open the place →- What to see
- Built over part of the site of Jiankang, the capital of six southern dynasties in the 3rd-6th centuries; three permanent galleries on the imperial capital, its style and its people, in a 23,000 sq m building by the Pei practice · 2026-09-24
- Ticket
- 30 yuan, half 15 — not free, whatever some guides say. Free on International Museum Day, 18 May 2026 · 2026-01-07
- Hours & closed days
- Tuesday-Sunday 9:00-17:30, tickets until 17:00; closed Mondays, open on public holidays. Platforms say it also opens on summer Mondays, but the museum has not published that · 2026-09-24
- Booking & ticket release
- No booking on any published source: not on the city's list of sites that kept real-name booking in 2024, and the museum's page mentions none · 2026-09-24
- Getting in with a passport
- No ID rule published, so carry your passport; for anything the pages do not answer, ring 025-52326032 · 2026-09-24
- Getting there
- 302 Changjiang Road: Metro Line 2 or 3 to Daxinggong, then east along Changjiang Road; the Presidential Palace gate is about 200 m west · 2026-09-24
- How long
- About an hour: the 'Six Dynasties capital' hall, then a quick walk through the rest if the period is new to you · 2026-09-24
- Don't get this wrong
- Not the Nanjing Museum on Zhongshan East Road — that is the free provincial one that needs booking · 2026-09-24
Chaotian Palace (Nanjing Municipal Museum)
朝天宫（南京市博物馆）Open the place →- What to see
- A Ming-Qing official building complex on a hill inside the old Shuixi Gate, housing the city museum: the award-winning 'Nanjing city history' show, a gallery of treasures around the 'Xiao He chasing Han Xin' blue-and-white vase, and Song-Ming costume in the Chongsheng Hall · 2026-09-24
- Ticket
- 25 yuan, half 12.5, for the inner courtyard area — a museum ticket, not a temple one · 2026-09-24
- Hours & closed days
- 9:00-18:00, tickets until 17:00; closed Mondays, open on public holidays · 2026-09-24
- Booking & ticket release
- No booking — buy at the ticket window at the gate · 2026-09-24
- Getting in with a passport
- No ID requirement published; carry your passport. No English guide on the museum's site; enquiries 025-84466460 · 2026-09-24
- Getting there
- 4 Chaotiangong, Qinhuai District, inside the old Shuixi Gate; the museum's pages give no metro directions. About 3 km from the massacre memorial hall · 2026-09-24
- How long
- No visit length published; leave real time for the city-history show, and arrive before 17:00, when the ticket window shuts an hour before the halls · 2026-09-24
- Don't get this wrong
- Not a working temple, and not the Confucius Temple (Fuzimiao) on the Qinhuai, 2 km-plus to the south-east · 2026-09-24
Jiangsu Art Museum
江苏省美术馆Open the place →- What to see
- A free provincial art museum with two buildings under 500 m apart: the 2010 main building at 333 Changjiang Road (contemporary Jiangsu), and the 1936 National Art Gallery at No. 266, a national heritage building (classical and historical shows) · 2026-09-24
- Ticket
- Free, both buildings — a free-ticket system: you pick up a ticket at the door · 2026-09-24
- Hours & closed days
- Tuesday-Sunday 9:00-17:00, last entry 16:30; closed Mondays except public holidays. Closures for events are announced on its WeChat official account · 2026-09-24
- Booking & ticket release
- No booking for individuals; groups book on 025-89610810. The museum may limit entry when it is busy · 2026-09-24
- Getting in with a passport
- The rules say swipe an ID card or social-security card; the English version says 'any other valid certificates' but never names a passport — ring 025-89610810 first if it matters · 2026-09-24
- Getting there
- 333 Changjiang Road: Metro Line 2 or 3 to Daxinggong, or buses 5, 9, 25, 29, 34; five minutes' walk from the Presidential Palace · 2026-09-24
- How long
- About an hour — 'the easiest hour in central Nanjing' · 2026-09-24
- Don't get this wrong
- No. 333 is the 2010 building; the 1936 landmark is No. 266 to the west. And it is not the Deji Art Museum, a private museum on the 8th floor of a Xinjiekou mall with paid shows · 2026-09-24
| Compare | Nanjing Museum | Six Dynasties Museum | Chaotian Palace (Nanjing Municipal Museum) | Jiangsu Art Museum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What to see | The provincial museum: 430,000-odd objects from the Old Stone Age to the present in 'one museum, six halls' — history, art, special exhibitions, the Republican hall (a restored street inside), digital and intangible heritage — behind a 1930s hall in Liao-dynasty style · 2026-09-24 | Built over part of the site of Jiankang, the capital of six southern dynasties in the 3rd-6th centuries; three permanent galleries on the imperial capital, its style and its people, in a 23,000 sq m building by the Pei practice · 2026-09-24 | A Ming-Qing official building complex on a hill inside the old Shuixi Gate, housing the city museum: the award-winning 'Nanjing city history' show, a gallery of treasures around the 'Xiao He chasing Han Xin' blue-and-white vase, and Song-Ming costume in the Chongsheng Hall · 2026-09-24 | A free provincial art museum with two buildings under 500 m apart: the 2010 main building at 333 Changjiang Road (contemporary Jiangsu), and the 1936 National Art Gallery at No. 266, a national heritage building (classical and historical shows) · 2026-09-24 |
| Ticket | Permanent galleries free; some commercial temporary shows may charge. Audio guide in Chinese, English, Japanese and Korean, 20 yuan · 2026-09-24 | 30 yuan, half 15 — not free, whatever some guides say. Free on International Museum Day, 18 May 2026 · 2026-01-07 | 25 yuan, half 12.5, for the inner courtyard area — a museum ticket, not a temple one · 2026-09-24 | Free, both buildings — a free-ticket system: you pick up a ticket at the door · 2026-09-24 |
| Hours & closed days | Tuesday-Sunday 9:00-17:00, last entry 16:00. Closed Mondays (except public holidays), Chinese New Year's Eve and New Year's Day; holiday hours are announced separately · 2026-09-24 | Tuesday-Sunday 9:00-17:30, tickets until 17:00; closed Mondays, open on public holidays. Platforms say it also opens on summer Mondays, but the museum has not published that · 2026-09-24 | 9:00-18:00, tickets until 17:00; closed Mondays, open on public holidays · 2026-09-24 | Tuesday-Sunday 9:00-17:00, last entry 16:30; closed Mondays except public holidays. Closures for events are announced on its WeChat official account · 2026-09-24 |
| Booking & ticket release | Everyone books, concessions included, on the museum's WeChat mini-program only: tickets released at 18:00 daily for the next seven days. Two slots a day — morning 9:00-13:00 (enter by 13:00) and afternoon 12:00-16:00 · 2026-09-24 | No booking on any published source: not on the city's list of sites that kept real-name booking in 2024, and the museum's page mentions none · 2026-09-24 | No booking — buy at the ticket window at the gate · 2026-09-24 | No booking for individuals; groups book on 025-89610810. The museum may limit entry when it is busy · 2026-09-24 |
| Getting in with a passport | Book yourself, then on the day take the original passport and the booking to the green-channel window by the main gate for a manual check — no face-scan gate. Whether the mini-program lists 'foreign passport' as a document type is not stated; enquiries 025-84807923 · 2026-09-24 | No ID rule published, so carry your passport; for anything the pages do not answer, ring 025-52326032 · 2026-09-24 | No ID requirement published; carry your passport. No English guide on the museum's site; enquiries 025-84466460 · 2026-09-24 | The rules say swipe an ID card or social-security card; the English version says 'any other valid certificates' but never names a passport — ring 025-89610810 first if it matters · 2026-09-24 |
| Getting there | 321 Zhongshan East Road, Xuanwu District: Metro Line 2 Minggugong station exit 1, then 300 m east. Large-luggage storage to the right of the main gate · 2026-01-16 | 302 Changjiang Road: Metro Line 2 or 3 to Daxinggong, then east along Changjiang Road; the Presidential Palace gate is about 200 m west · 2026-09-24 | 4 Chaotiangong, Qinhuai District, inside the old Shuixi Gate; the museum's pages give no metro directions. About 3 km from the massacre memorial hall · 2026-09-24 | 333 Changjiang Road: Metro Line 2 or 3 to Daxinggong, or buses 5, 9, 25, 29, 34; five minutes' walk from the Presidential Palace · 2026-09-24 |
| How long | No visit length published; your booked half-day slot is the practical limit — the morning slot must enter by 13:00 · 2026-09-24 | About an hour: the 'Six Dynasties capital' hall, then a quick walk through the rest if the period is new to you · 2026-09-24 | No visit length published; leave real time for the city-history show, and arrive before 17:00, when the ticket window shuts an hour before the halls · 2026-09-24 | About an hour — 'the easiest hour in central Nanjing' · 2026-09-24 |
| Don't get this wrong | Not the Nanjing Municipal Museum at Chaotian Palace. The Republican hall is a street inside the museum, not the Presidential Palace in town. The museum's own pages give the window as both east of the main gate and the service centre west of it — ask at both · 2026-09-24 | Not the Nanjing Museum on Zhongshan East Road — that is the free provincial one that needs booking · 2026-09-24 | Not a working temple, and not the Confucius Temple (Fuzimiao) on the Qinhuai, 2 km-plus to the south-east · 2026-09-24 | No. 333 is the 2010 building; the 1936 landmark is No. 266 to the west. And it is not the Deji Art Museum, a private museum on the 8th floor of a Xinjiekou mall with paid shows · 2026-09-24 |
Nanjing City Wall Museum：Free and, since summer 2026, no booking — but the gate reads Chinese ID cards and the foreign permanent-residence card, not an ordinary passport; the published route for visitors without a readable card is to scan a code at the door or register on the 'Nanjing City Wall' WeChat official account, and whether that covers a passport is not stated (draft entry; ask 025-83217710). Under the wall just east of the Zhonghua Gate, Tuesday-Sunday 9:00-17:00. See it before climbing the Zhonghua Gate.
Jiangning Imperial Silk Manufacturing Museum：A modern museum on the site of the Qing imperial silk office, opposite the Presidential Palace at 123 Changjiang Road: 30 yuan, no booking, closed Mondays. Worth an hour for the Nanjing brocade halls, or if you know 'Dream of the Red Chamber'. Short on time, go straight to the brocade section.
Deji Art Museum：The Monday answer: open 10:00-24:00 every day, on the 8th floor of Deji Plaza phase 2 above Xinjiekou station exit 7. Shows are priced one by one and sold at the 8th-floor desk, which takes foreign cards, WeChat, Alipay and cash — no booking for a full-price ticket. Save it for an evening.
One by one
Nanjing Museum
南京博物院The one to try first, and the only one here that takes planning. It is free and it is the big one — the whole of Jiangsu's past in six halls, plus a Republican street you can walk down — but every visitor must book on the WeChat mini-program, which opens seven days of tickets at 18:00 each evening and fills fast in summer and on holidays. Book the evening you land, turn up inside your half-day slot, and take the passport you booked with to the green-channel window. For almost every first visit, if you can get a booking.
Open the place →Six Dynasties Museum
六朝博物馆The only place in Nanjing to see, indoors, the city that was the capital of six southern dynasties and left almost nothing above ground — a single-period museum, built over part of that capital's site. It costs 30 yuan and needs no booking, which makes it the easy alternative when the Nanjing Museum is full. Pair it with the Presidential Palace 200 m away; both close on Mondays. For a Nanjing Museum without the booking, or anyone curious about Jiankang.
Open the place →Chaotian Palace (Nanjing Municipal Museum)
朝天宫（南京市博物馆）The city's own museum, in what it calls the largest and best-preserved Ming-Qing official building complex in the Jiangnan region, and the best single account of Nanjing as a city — the 'Nanjing city history' show won a national exhibition award. It is 25 yuan at the window with no booking, quiet, and about 3 km from the massacre memorial, which makes it the natural calm afternoon after it. Get there before 17:00, when ticket sales stop an hour before the halls close. For Nanjing's own story in one afternoon, no booking needed.
Open the place →Jiangsu Art Museum
江苏省美术馆The easiest hour in central Nanjing: free, no booking, open Tuesday to Sunday, on the same stretch of Changjiang Road as the Six Dynasties Museum and the Presidential Palace. Two buildings, one museum — the 1936 National Art Gallery at No. 266 is the one worth seeing for the architecture — so check what is on before choosing a door. The one thing to confirm is the passport: the door rules name ID cards, and no page says either way whether a passport works on the reader. For a free hour on Changjiang Road.
Open the place →