Zhang Jian 張謇 (1853-1926) was a pioneer in the modernization of China, beginning in the late nineteenth century. His motto, ‘Education is the father and industry is the mother,’ had a major impact on the economic development of China during the early twentieth century. In 1903, he traveled to Japan, and this trip was his first and only foreign visit. Two years later, he established the first museum run by the Chinese: the Nantong Museum. The trip to Japan inspired him and provided him with the practical experience of establishing a museum. By comparing the early designs of the Nantong Museum and the Tokyo Imperial Household Museum, this study examines the early development of the Nantong Museum and uncovers some of the people and places Zhang Jian encountered in Japan and how they influenced his own thinking and the development of the Nantong Museum.