Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum

Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum rests at the foot of Purple Mountain's second peak in Nanjing. It blends traditional imperial tomb design with modern architecture, featuring a long stairway of 392 steps leading to the vault. The site is the burial place of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, considered the 'Father of Modern China.'

Don't miss

• The paifang (memorial arch) at the entrance, inscribed with Sun's motto 'Tian Xia Wei Gong' (What is under heaven is for all).
• A 480-meter stairway with 392 steps, flanked by pine, cypress, and ginkgo trees.
• A 9-meter stele inside a pavilion, a memorial monument set by the Kuomintang.
• The sacrificial hall, featuring a 4.6-meter statue of Sun carved from Italian white marble and a ceiling bearing the Kuomintang flag.
• The bell-shaped vault containing a marble false sarcophagus; Sun's body lies in a bronze coffin 5 meters below.
• A pair of huabiao (ornamental columns) 12.6 meters high in front of the sacrificial hall.

Tickets & tours

Ways to visit Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum

Cheapest way inFlexible Private Nanjing City Highlights Day Tour5★ · 64 travelers6-8 hoursFree cancellationFrom$150 per personSee dates →Best full dayAll Inclusive Nanjing City Private Day Tour with Tailor-Made Highlights4.9★ · 18 travelers7-8 hoursFree cancellationFrom$218 per personSee dates →

Getting there

Know before you go

• The mausoleum is part of the larger Zhongshan Scenic Area on Purple Mountain.
• The horizontal distance from the archway to the tomb chamber is 700 meters, with a height difference of 70 meters.
• The complex is symmetrical along a central axis, built with white granite and reinforced concrete, and covered with blue glass tiles.

A bit of history

Sun Yat-sen died of gallbladder cancer in Beijing in 1925. On his deathbed, he requested to be preserved like Lenin and buried in Nanjing. Construction began in January 1926 and finished in spring 1929. Architect Lü Yanzhi won a design competition; his proposal was chosen from over 40 entries. Sun was interred on 1 June 1929. During the Battle of Nanking, Japanese shelling left two bullet holes in a bronze tripod on the western steps.