In the Qing dynasty, it became the Office of the Viceroy of Two Lower Yangtze Provinces, the chief government official in charge of what is today Jiangsu, Shanghai, Anhui and Jiangxi.

When Qianlong visited the Lower Yangtze, he chose this office to be the detached palace together with the Imperial Silk House.

He had a new palatial residence in 1870 and later imposing government buildings for the Qing Governor-General erected in the Neoclassical style, and in accordance with contemporary protocol.

During the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945), Chiang Kai-shek's government fled to Chongqing, and the Headquarters was occupied by Wang Jingwei, who collaborated with the invading Japanese.

In April 1949, near the end of the Chinese Civil War, the Communist forces captured Nanjing and the Presidential Palace.

Chiang Kai-shek's government fled to Guangzhou, Guangdong and Chairman Mao Zedong declared the establishment of the People's Republic of China with capital in Beijing on 1 October 1949.

Located in the capital city of the Republic of China, Presidential Palace is an important historical landmark in Nanjing and one of the largest surviving complex of modern Chinese (1840-1949) buildings.

Nowadays, it is not only a significant symbol in downtown Nanjing, but also served as the main entrance to the Presidential Palace.

In January 1912, the inauguration ceremony of the Provisional President was held in the "Warm Pavilion" just on the northwest side of the main hall.

After the Northern Expedition of the National Revolutionary Army, it became the reception rooms for the civil and foreign guests of the Nationalist Government.

In addition, Chiang Kai-shek, Lin Sen and Li Zongren also rested here before the ceremonies began frequently.

The Ministry of the Government Affairs mainly dealt with the works of writing articles and checking confidential documents.

Situated on the northernmost part in the palace, the six-storey house with the structure of reinforced concrete was one of the tallest buildings in Nanjing in the 1930s.

Lin Sen used this house as the office of Chairman of the Nationalist Government until the Japanese troops captured Nanjing.

In Mainland China, Zhongnanhai became the seat of the central government and the official residence of the Leader of the Chinese Communist Party since October 1949.

Two cedars were planted in 1934 by Chairman Lin Sen on both sides of the courtyard in the front of the Presidential Building.

[1] The building was designed by Yu Binglie, who was the head of the department of architecture, National Central University.

Although President Chiang Kai-shek wasn't working here all the time, this office is still one of the most popular sites for the visitors in the Presidential Palace.

In the northern wall of this room, a horizontal board inscribed with "fidelity, filialness, benevolence, kindness, good faith, calm and peace" written by Lin Sen, the chairman of the Nationalist Government in 1935.

According to the relevant record, the bottle belonged to Chiang Kai-shek because unlike others' habit, he liked drinking water rather than tea.

The Marble Boat is the oldest surviving structure in the Presidential Palace complex, which was built when Qianlong visited Jiangning (the former name of Nanjing).

To please the emperor, the official told him that the name of the structure was called the "unmoored boat", as the metaphor of the firmness of the Qing dynasty's regime.

In the 1930s, this attic once served as one of the offices of the Military Affairs Commission, one of the most powerful organizations in Nationalist China.

The Commission House, variously called the West Garden Hall and the Office of the Provisional President, was built in 1909 by Duanfang, the 80th Viceroy of Liangjiang, who visited Europe just before the construction started.

From 1 January 1912, the house was used as the office of the provisional president by Sun Yat-sen, thus becoming one of the birthplace of the Republic of China.

Since 1927, the house was served as the seat of the Military Affairs Commission, which grasped the real power of the Nationalist Government.

When the Nationalist Government came to Nanjing, some minor office buildings attached to the Executive Yuan were built on the site, which were all demolished in the 2000s.