Visiting the Presidential Palace in Nanjing? This travel guide video takes you on a single route through 600 years of history

Set aside half a day when visiting Nanjing, and you'll have plenty of time to explore the Presidential Palace. Start at the west entrance, where the plaque reading "The World Belongs to All" greets you in the main hall, and giant oil paintings bring Nanjing's history to life. Pass through the second hall, where Chinese-style beams support Western arched windows—a striking blend of East and West. Continue along the central axis to Zichao Building, where Chiang Kai-shek's office still holds the warmth of the Republic era. The Executive Yuan building is solid and stately in style. Turn a corner and you reach the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom section, where stone pillar bases lie silently embedded in the ground, and the Viceroy of Liangjiang's memorials and official robes are displayed quietly behind glass. Next comes a small ancestral hall—the Tao-Lin Ancestral Hall—modest in size but rich with the achievements of Tao Shu and Lin Zexu. In the stables, you can see old saddles and other relics. Xu Garden inside the Presidential Palace is the most scenic spot: a stone boat sits half-submerged in the water while weeping willows brush the rockeries. Inside Sun Yat-sen's Western-style building, the meeting room and reception room remain exactly as they were, and the General Staff Headquarters displays its original appearance. Finally, rest your feet in the library before exiting through the west gate. Half a day isn't long, but 600 years of history will stay with you for a long time.