Taiping Kingdom History Museum

太平天国历史博物馆

A small museum focusing on the Taiping Rebellion (1843-1868), a piece of history not well known in the West. This was one of the bloodiest conflicts in recorded history — some estimates put the death toll higher than for World War I, and it was certainly much worse than the American Civil War at about the same time, even though the Chinese used more primitive weapons. It was a crucial moment in China's relationship with the West, modernity, and its relationship to its own imperial history. It was partly a religious movement (see Christianity); the leader claimed to be God's second son, Jesus' younger brother. The quasi-Christian, peasant-led rebellion overran an area greater than Texas with Nanjing as its capital. At different times it threatened both the foreign settlements in Shanghai and the Qing government in Beijing, though it did not take either. On exhibit are documents relating to Taiping history and the grinding reduction of their movement by enterprising Qing generals and their European auxiliaries, culminating in the siege of Nanjing. Most documents and artifacts are replicas. Item descriptions are in Chinese and English, but only the Chinese text gives historical context and transcription of some of the handwritten documents. Next door are the beautiful Zhanyuan Gardens.

• museum
• outdoors
• history
• family

Address

Zhanyuan Garden, 128 Zhanyuan Road, Qinhuai District (秦淮区瞻园路128号瞻园内)

Getting there

about 400 m from Sanshanjie metro station on Line 1

Hours

Daily 08:00-17:30, 17:30-20:30

Price

¥30 (day time), ¥70 (night time, with tour guide). Fees are waived for children and persons over 70. Visitors aged between 60 and 69 pay half price

Website

tptgmuseum.com (opens in a new tab)