南京
Nanjing
Nanjing was the capital six times and keeps the scale of one: a thirty-kilometre city wall, boulevards under plane trees, and Purple Mountain rising at the east gate. An hour from Shanghai, and a different tempo.
At a glance
- Stay
- 2–3 days
- Best seasons
- Mar–May, Oct–Nov
- Airports
- Rail or road access
- Region
- East China
China Unhurried editorial team · Owner-authored
Places to begin
Make the city tangible.
中华门城墙
City Wall at Zhonghua Gate
The largest gate of the Ming wall, with three courtyards to trap an enemy. Walk the wall from here.
明孝陵
Ming Xiaoling
The first Ming emperor's tomb: a spirit path of stone animals under plane trees.
侵华日军南京大屠杀遇难同胞纪念馆
Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall
The memorial to 1937. Sober, well done and free. Allow two hours.
玄武湖
Xuanwu Lake
The big lake under the north wall, with lotus in summer and islands to walk.
颐和路
Yihe Road
Republican-era villas behind walls, under plane trees. An evening stroll.
中山陵
Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum
A blue-tiled hall at the top of 392 steps, with the city below. Free, but book.
南京城墙与中华门
Nanjing City Wall and Zhonghua Gate
Nanjing's Ming wall follows hills, rivers and former palace boundaries rather than a simple rectangle, making it one of the most ambitious surviving brick defensive systems. Zhonghua Gate contains layered gate courts and troop-storage spaces, while other open sections reveal different relationships with lakes and neighbourhoods. Visit one section deeply instead of assuming the wall is a continuous public walkway.
南京博物院
Nanjing Museum
Nanjing Museum presents Jiangsu and Chinese history through archaeology, painting, decorative arts, intangible heritage and specialised galleries. Its republican-era main hall and later extensions form a museum campus rather than one linear exhibition. Collections provide essential context for the many capital periods visible across Nanjing, especially when visitors select themes instead of rushing every building.
南京中国近代史遗址博物馆（总统府）
Nanjing Presidential Palace
The Presidential Palace complex contains overlapping layers from Ming princely grounds and Qing administration to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the provisional republic and the Nationalist government. Offices, gardens and exhibition halls explain why this address repeatedly became a political centre. The site should be read as a reused architectural landscape, not only the story of one administration.
Local snacks
Taste the city, one dish at a time.
These cards describe dishes, not restaurants. Images are added only after their license and attribution are verified.
Clean, savoury and delicately aromatic
Nanjing Salted Duck
南京盐水鸭
Duck is dry-salted, lightly brined and gently cooked so the meat stays tender and clean-tasting. It is normally cooled and chopped into bone-in pieces as a shared cold dish.
Order by portion and expect bones; check production and refrigeration dates for takeaway packs.
Savoury, peppery and rich
Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup
鸭血粉丝汤
Sweet-potato vermicelli is served in duck broth with cubes of duck blood and optional offal, tofu puff and herbs. The bowl is warming and savoury but ingredients vary widely by shop.
Specify whether you want offal and chilli; this dish is unsuitable for vegetarian diets and may contain several organ meats.
Juicy, savoury and crisp-bottomed
Nanjing Beef Potstickers
牛肉锅贴
Crescent dumplings filled with seasoned beef are pan-fried until crisp underneath while the upper wrapper remains tender and the filling juicy. Halal-associated shops are common around older Muslim neighbourhoods, but certification should be confirmed directly.
Let the filling cool before biting and ask about cooking fat or shared pans when dietary rules matter.
Warm, sweet, soft-centred and crisp-edged
Plum-blossom Cake
梅花糕
A flower-shaped mould holds a soft wheat batter and sweet filling, commonly red bean paste, topped with small dried fruits, seeds or colourful garnish before cooking until the edges turn crisp.
Eat warm and ask about nut, seed and artificial-colour toppings if allergies matter.
City essentials
The practical details, when you need them.
Places and local food come first. Open these notes for context, arrival and neighbourhood advice.
Overview+
SHANDONGNanjing
The Ming built their first capital here in the fourteenth century and the wall they raised is still mostly standing, the longest city wall in the world. Inside it the city is green and low, its avenues planted with plane trees by the Republican government in the 1920s, and the old villa quarter around Yihe Road is one of the pleasantest places to walk in China.
Purple Mountain holds the Ming tombs, Sun Yat-sen's mausoleum and a forest of paths between them. Give it a full day and take the cable car or a bus back down.
Nanjing is also where the 1937 massacre happened, and the memorial is a serious, well-made place that most visitors should see. Summers are famously hot; spring and autumn are the seasons.
Getting there+
**Nanjing South** is the high-speed hub on metro lines 1, 3 and S1: Shanghai in about an hour and a quarter, Suzhou under an hour, Hangzhou about an hour and a quarter, Beijing three and a half to four hours. The older **Nanjing** station on Xuanwu Lake also takes some fast trains. **Lukou (NKG)** airport is 40 kilometres south; metro line S1 to South station takes about 35 minutes.
**Rail tip.** Your passport is your ticket. Book on 12306 or [Trip.com](/go/trip?to=trains&from=city-rail), then go straight to the gate. See [Getting around](/guides/getting-around). The Trip.com link earns us a small commission at no cost to you ([how that works](/about#affiliate)).
**Stay online.** Google, WhatsApp and Instagram are blocked on Chinese networks; a travel eSIM that roams gets around it. Install one before you fly — [Saily](/go/saily?from=city-esim) takes US$5 off a first plan with the code **CHINA**. See [Staying online](/guides/staying-online). The code earns us the same amount in Saily credits, at no cost to you ([how that works](/about#affiliate)).
Where to stay+
Gulou and Yihe Road
鼓楼·颐和路
Republican villas, plane trees, cafés. The quiet choice.
The 1930s embassy and villa quarter north-west of the centre. Boutique hotels in old houses, small restaurants, and metro lines 1 and 4 a few streets away.
first visitwalkingquiet
Xinjiekou
新街口
The commercial centre. Every metro line, every hotel chain.
Busy, central and practical. Walking distance to the Presidential Palace and a short ride to the Confucius Temple.
convenienceshopping
Confucius Temple and Qinhuai
夫子庙·秦淮
Lantern-lit canals and the old south city. Lively at night, touristy by day.
The old pleasure quarter along the Qinhuai River. Guesthouses in the lanes of Laomendong, the restored south-city district, are the nicest here.
atmospherenight walks
**Booking.** Compare hotels in Nanjing on [Trip.com](/go/trip?to=hotels&city=nanjing&from=city-stay), filtered to its China travel essentials list: English-speaking staff, foreign cards, guest rating 8 or higher. See [Where to stay](/guides/where-to-stay). Booking through this link earns us a small commission at no cost to you ([how that works](/about#affiliate)).