Presidential Palace (Site Museum of Modern Chinese History)

Six hundred years condensed into one compound: in the early Ming it was a Han prince's palace, in the Qing the office of the Liangjiang Viceroy, under the Taiping the Heavenly King's palace; in 1912 Sun Yat-sen was sworn in here as provisional president, from 1948 it served as the presidential palace of the Nationalist Government, and in the 1980s it became the Site Museum of Modern Chinese History. The Zichao Building on the central axis preserves Chiang Kai-shek's office exactly as it was; Xu Garden (the west garden of the Ming Jiajing era) and Fu Garden set water and rocks in counterpoint, with Jiangnan gardens and government-office architecture coexisting in one compound. The "Historical Exhibition of the Liangjiang Viceroy's Office" systematically presents successive viceroys such as Lin Zexu and Zeng Guofan and the key junctures of the Taiping episode and the 1911 Revolution; a must-visit for getting your bearings in modern Chinese history—crowds are heavy on holidays, so come early.

Getting there: Metro Line 2/3, Daxinggong Station