Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum
392 marble steps up Purple Mountain to the father of modern China.
Visitor info
- Opening hours
- 08:30-17:00, closed Mon
- Ticket
- free (reserve online)
- Suggested visit
- 2-3 hours
Price is indicative — final quote on inquiry.
Why it's worth it
The tomb of the Republic's father, built 1926-29 on Purple Mountain's southern slope — 392 granite steps in ten flights, blue-tiled and white-walled, the colours of the flag he designed, the whole mountain as a processional.
Don't miss
- The 392-step climb and the view back over Nanjing from the tomb chamber
- The marble statue and the KMT emblem ceiling inside the chamber
- The plane-tree avenue drive up — planted for the 1929 entombment ceremony
Getting there
Metro Line 2 to Muxuyuan station, then the scenic-area shuttle or a 20-minute walk to the entrance.
Tips
- Free entry but reservation needed (passport); do it a few days ahead in peak season
- The steps disguise their number — from the top you can't see a single flight behind you, by design
- Combine downhill with Ming Xiaoling next door via the sacred-way path through the woods
Photos
More in Nanjing
- Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum
Sacred Way stone animals guarding the tomb of the Ming founder.
- Confucius Temple (Fuzimiao)
Qinhuai River lantern district; night cruise past painted boats.
- Zhonghua Gate
The world's largest castle-style city gate, 27 soldier hideouts inside.
- Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum
The mausoleum of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, begun in 1926 with his remains interred in 1929. The "Liberty Bell" ground plan by young architect Lü Yanzhi won a global design competition, a milestone of modern Chinese architectural history.
- Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum
The joint tomb of Ming founder Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma, begun in 1381. It pioneered the "court in front, resting quarters behind" mausoleum layout, the wellspring of the Ming-Qing imperial tomb system; in 2003 it was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the extension of the Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
- Linggu Temple
An ancient temple at the southern foot of Purple Mountain, descended from the Liang-dynasty Kaishan Temple; relocated and renamed Linggu Temple in the early Ming, its old view "Deep Pines of Linggu" was listed among the Forty-Eight Scenes of Jinling.