Presidential Building (Nanjing)

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Front gate of the Palace, taken in 2005, displays the sign "Office of the President" (總統府). Prior to 1947, the sign read "National Government" (國民政府).

Sun Yat-sen Provisional President Office

Presidential Palace (Traditional Chinese: 總統府; Simplified Chinese: 总统府) in Nanjing, now China Modern History Museum, housed the Office of the President of the Republic of China before moving to Taiwan in 1949.

[edit] History

In Qing Dynasty, the location was a government office. After Xinhai Revolution, Sun Yat-sen sworn in the building as the provisional President of the Republic of China.

However, China soon fell into Warlord era and the Palace was not officially used until 1927 when the Kuomintang's Northern Expedition captured Nanjing and was made into the Headquarters of the Nationalist Government. During Second Sino-Japanese War, Chiang Kai-shek's government fled to Chongqing and the building was occupied by the Wang Jingwei. Following the Japanese surrender in 1945, Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist Government reoccupied the the building. In 1947, the Constitution of the Republic of China was promulgated and the Headquarters of the Nationalist Government was renamed the Office of the President.

The People's Republic of China, after capturing Nanjing after the civil war, used the building as a government building. In late 1980s the building was eventually emptied and the Palace was transformed into a museum detailing China modern history. It is now one of the few places in mainland China where it displays Flag of the Republic of China.