Dr. Sun Yat-sen, forefather of the Chinese revolutions, led the Chinese people against the Qing Dynasty in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. He was is remembered as a national hero who brought China from a feudal, semi-colonial society in to a republican one. He devoted more than 40 years of his life to the cause of the liberation of the Chinese people. In his last years, his policy of uniting the Soviet Communists and the Chinese Communists proved his dedication to the sake of the country, not just simply for personal consideration. Because of which he had winning won world-wide praise and support. He was greatly respected by Chinese people of different parties and nationalities and was honored as "Father of the Country" by the Nationalist Party. The site where he is buried has become a famous tourist attraction in terms of historical significance and natural beauty. The mausoleum has been one of the key sites under national protection since the early 1960s.

Dr. Sun Yat-sen died in Beijing in 1925, and was buried in 1929 in Nanjing at the southern foot of Mao Mountain, the second highest peak of the Zijin Mountain. The Mausoleum leans against blue Mountains and opens to the a flat area. The designing of the mausoleum attracted many architects and after extensive and intensive studies of all the designs, the present one was selected. The construction of the mausoleum finished was completed in 1929 and it covers an area of 80,000 sq.m. The coffin chamber stands at an elevation of 164.7metres above seal level and 73 meters above the entrance archway with a totally of 292 stone steps from the memorial archway leading to the coffin chamber. The designer, Lv Yanzhi, put the main constructions such as the Memorial Arch, Tablet Pavilion, Sacrificing Hall and Coffin Chamber on the central axis and shaped the whole mausoleum as like a bell which symbolized symbolizing the spirit of Dr. Sun who contributed himself to wake up the Chines Chinese people against oppression and aggressions.

Across the square is a big stone arch with two characters "Universal Fraternity", which was the philosophy Dr. Sun promoted. Passing through the arch, there is the tomb passage with a length of 375 meters in length and a width of 40meters wide. The main entrance of the mausoleum is a three arched gate, on which Sun-Yat-sen's calligraphy is carved. It ,reads reading "the whole world as one community". Behind the gate is a Tablet Pavilion. A tablet with "Burial Site of Prime Minister Dr. Sun by the Nationalist Party of China" stands inside the pavilion. The tablet is 9 meters in height and 5 meters in widthwide. Going Looking upward, you can see the Sacrificing Hall. On the lintel of the three arched gates, is engraved "Nationalism, Democracy and the People's livelihood" which stands for the quintessence of Dr. Sun's spirit. Above the hall is a dome-shaped roof, and in the middle of the hall is the stone-sculpture statue of Dr. Sun Yat-sen in a sitting position. Relief carvings are found around the hall on the walls. The content of the relief is about Dr. Sun's biographical experiences. The last part is the coffin chamber, which is 18 meters in diameter and 11meters in height. In the middle is a white marble coffin on which a marble likeness is lying on the its back sculpted by a well known Japanese sculptor. The coffin was located in the coffin pit, which is 1.6 meters below the marble floor. As soon as the person who calls to pay respects enters the coffin chamber, he will lean towards the Dr. Sun's statue spontaneously. This kind of architectural lay-out is the first one of its kind in China.

Beside the Mausoleum there are other memorial constructions, such as Cuanghua Pavilion, an octagonal stone pavilion, Musical Platform built in 1932, Yangzi Pavilion and so onand others.

After your visit of this mausoleum, you will have learned a lot about the Chinese modern history in the late 19^th century and early 20th century, a drastic transitional period in Chinese history.