Nanjing Imperial Examination Museum of China

Nanjing Imperial Examination Museum of China
南京中国科举博物馆

Address: 1 Jinling Road, Qinhuai, Haidian district, Nanjing
Hours: 9am - 9:30pm
General admission: 50 yuan ($7.67)
Tel: (+86-025)52236971
Email: njkjbwg@126.com

The predecessor of the Nanjing Imperial Examination Museum, Jiangnan Gongyuan was originally built in 1168. It reached its zenith during the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368-1911), when it incorporated over 20,000 examination cells and could accommodate 20,644 candidates at one time.Therefore, it is known as the largest imperial examination room in imperial China.

In the 1980s, the Imperial Examination Museum of China was set up on the original site of the Jiangnan Examination Hall to commemorate the history of the imperial exam culture in China that had spanned more than 1,300 years.

The museum possesses over 10,000 cultural relics collected from all over the country, and has selected about 700 exhibits for permanent exhibitions.

Currently, it has exhibition areas for Imperial Examination History, Imperial Examination Regulations, Passers of the Imperial Examination, and Great Discoveries of the Imperial Examination. It has further areas for celebrities and a World Influence Area. It also displays test papers of Number One Scholars.

You can find almost anything related to the imperial museum from examination questions and answers to candidates’ supplies, as well as many special treasures such as Zhao Wenkai's first place examination paper, letters written by Zeng Guofan and the Grand Golden List (the list of the highest-level imperial examination results) of 1894.