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About Six Dynasties Museum
The Six Dynasties Museum (六朝博物馆) is a Nanjing (南京) museum covering the Six Dynasties, which ruled from the city between the 3rd and 6th centuries AD, at 302 Changjiang Road (长江路) in Xuanwu District (玄武区). It stands on part of the site of Jiankang (建康), the capital of those dynasties, and belongs to the Nanjing Municipal Museum Administration (南京市博物总馆).
The Nanjing Municipal Museum Administration describes it as the largest museum in the city devoted to the history, culture and relics of the Six Dynasties. The building, of more than 23,000 square metres, was designed by the American firm Pei Partnership Architects, with a design team led by Pei Chien Chung (贝建中), a son of I. M. Pei (贝聿铭). The firm used its own module system, geometry and handling of light throughout. The museum opened on 11 August 2014, and its displays were named among the country's ten best museum exhibitions in 2015.
The lowest level, called Imperial Capital of the Six Dynasties (六朝帝都), is built around what archaeologists found on the spot. A stretch of rammed-earth wall from the Jiankang palace city, 25 metres long and uncovered in 2008, is shown where it was found. Beside it are the remains of a large drainage works discovered at Dengfu Lane (邓府巷) in 2007, together with objects from daily life. The museum also has a display case on what the people of Jiankang ate.
The three floors above carry the galleries Six Dynasties Elegance (六朝风采), Notable Figures of the Six Dynasties (六朝人杰) and Looking Back at the Six Dynasties (回望六朝). Their shared theme is Nanjing as an 'Oriental Metropolis' (东方大都会), the name also used for the museum in English, and they approach its culture largely from an aesthetic angle.
What to look for
- The 25 m section of rammed-earth Jiankang palace-city wall, found in 2008 and shown in place
- Remains of a large drainage works found at Dengfu Lane (邓府巷) in 2007
- A display case on the food of Jiankang's residents
- The galleries Six Dynasties Elegance (六朝风采) and Notable Figures of the Six Dynasties (六朝人杰)
- The Pei Partnership building, with its geometric spaces and use of light
Location & getting there
Getting to Six Dynasties Museum
- Search for 六朝博物馆 with 南京市 and 玄武区.
Find Six Dynasties Museum
六朝博物馆 · 玄武区
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Sources & visit information
Written from the linked sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer on 2026-09-23. Opening hours, admission and access arrangements are not covered; confirm current visitor information with the site.
Some facts checked against Wikipedia contributors, "六朝博物馆" · CC BY-SA 4.0.