Things to do in Nanjing
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Nanjing
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Winter, cold and damp at 0 to 8C with occasional haze or snow. Lantern Fair season, plum blossom from mid February, and Tangshan springs at their best.
Spring, joint best season at 15 to 25C. Plum blossom tail in March, cherry blossom late March to early April, fresh green plane tree avenues.
Summer, the furnace at 30 to 38C with plum rain in June and early July. Lotus, crayfish season and long Qinhuai evenings, sights at opening only.
Autumn, joint best and arguably first. September stays hot, then mid October brings dry clear days, osmanthus, crab, ginkgo gold and Qixia maples.
What's on
- Qinhuai Lantern Festival / Lantern Fair Spring Festival through Lantern Festival, ~Jan-Feb, peak on the 15th day of the 1st lunar month
China's most famous lantern fair, centred on Fuzimiao, Qinhuai and Laomendong. Book hotels early and arrive before dusk.
- Plum Blossom Festival at Meihua Shan ~mid-Feb to mid-Mar
Plum blossom season on Purple Mountain. Nanjing is China's plum blossom capital.
- Cherry blossom at Jiming Temple Road and Xuanwu Lake late Mar-early Apr
One of China's famous blossom streets, at its best on weekday mornings before the crowds.
- Mid-Autumn Festival 15 Sep in 2027
Mid-Autumn in Qinhuai, in the run into Golden Week.
- Golden Week 1-7 Oct
The exception to avoid inside the autumn window. Every queue in the city transforms.
Best things to do in Nanjing
Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum
Climb 392 steps through cedar forest to Sun Yat-sen's hall for the city's defining historic ascent.
Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum
Walk the Sacred Way past stone animals under ginkgoes to the Ming founder's tomb, Nanjing's prettiest 600 metres.
Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders
A grave, restrained memorial on a mass grave site that every serious Nanjing visit should give its own half day.
Nanjing Museum
One of China's three great museums, with Jiangsu history, Ming and Qing porcelain and a recreated Republican street.
Presidential Palace
Six centuries of government in one compound, from Ming gardens to Sun Yat-sen's modest Republican office.
Ming City Wall Taicheng Section
Short scenic wall walk by Xuanwu Lake with Jiming pagoda and the skyline behind, the classic Nanjing sunset shot.
Zhonghua Gate
A fortress gate with four barbican courtyards and vaulted brick chambers you can explore inside the southern wall.
Nanjing Confucius Temple (Fuzimiao)
Touristy by day, but after dark the temple and Jiangnan Examination Hall light up and the district becomes Nanjing's best night.
Where to stay in Nanjing
Xinjiekou
first trip, all-round base
Metro Lines 1 and 2 cross here, with the densest hotels, restaurants and late night options and no transfer to most sights.
Daxinggong / Presidential Palace / Minggugong
character plus centrality balance
Plane tree streets by the Presidential Palace, Nanjing Museum and 1912 District, quieter at night and prettier by day.
Fuzimiao / Qinhuai River / Laomendong
nights, romance and food-led short trips
Walk out into lanterns and the river at night, with Zhonghua Gate and Laomendong as your neighbourhood.
Gulou / Xuanwu Lake
calm, views, universities and long stays
Leafy and local around Gulou Square, Nanjing University and the lake, good for runners who want the lake at dawn.
Purple Mountain foot (Xiaolingwei / Zhongshanling)
early starts, golf and quiet
Wake inside the scenic area for Purple Mountain days, and metro or taxi into town for dinners and nightlife.
Think twice about
- Nanjing South Railway Station / Yuhuatai station district
A transport interchange, not a neighbourhood, with thin evening food and a metro ride to everything. Fine only for a one night early train crash.
- Lukou Airport hotels
35 to 40 km out of the city. Transit only, never a sightseeing base.
- Hexi / Jianye (Olympic Sports Centre area)
A modern, clean new CBD across town from every historic sight. Base here for business or events, not for a first history trip.
- Immediate Fuzimiao pedestrian-street frontage
Not unsafe, just where noise, holiday crowds, inflated prices and touting concentrate. Two blocks away, nearer Laomendong, is fine.
Best restaurants in Nanjing
Han Fu Xing
The name locals give first for salted duck since 1866, a cold takeaway to eat the same day with duck fat shaobing.
Ya De Bao
The benchmark duck blood vermicelli soup, a mild breakfast bowl best with chilli oil, vinegar and a duck fat shaobing.
Nanjing Da Pai Dang
A lantern lit dining hall where one sitting covers salted duck, tangbao, gansi and osmanthus sweets competently.
Zhang Yun Ban Ya
Beloved takeaway roast duck chopped with its sweet red sauce, the roast side of Nanjing's great duck debate.
Wangjia Wonton
Slightly larger, chewier wontons boiled in huge batches in a shabby looking shop with a permanent queue.
Li Ji Qingzhen Guan
A Hui halal institution famous for crisp, juicy beef potstickers fried in big pans, plus beef wontons and noodles.
Mei Yuan
Composed Jinling cooking at hotel standard, with gansi, squirrel shaped Mandarin fish and banquet level salted duck.
Pin Ning Fu
Refined Huaiyang and Nanjing private dining at the Ritz-Carlton, the tasting menu way to reach the cuisine's ceiling.
Outdoor things to do in Nanjing
Purple Mountain (Zijin Shan)
Forest trails and a cableway link the mausoleums, Linggu Temple and the observatory across Nanjing's in city mountain.
Zhongshan International Golf Club
A 27 hole Gary Player course on China's first golf site from 1929, at the foot of Purple Mountain.
Tangshan Hot Springs
Historic hot springs east of the city, from public bathhouse day tickets to private villa soaking at resorts.
Qixia Mountain
Nanjing's autumn mountain, with maple hillsides that peak from mid November to early December.
Qixia Temple
A working Buddhist temple from the Southern Dynasties, with a Sui relic pagoda and the Thousand Buddha cliffs.
Xuanwu Lake
Ride the island causeways, rent a boat or join locals on the lake loop run at dawn for skyline and wall views.
Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge
See the 1968 Yangtze bridge at scale from Daqiao Park, then pair it with Fish Mouth Wetland at sunset.
Fish Mouth Wetland Park
Lighthouse, wetlands and the new skyline at sunset in Hexi, with a local crowd and no tour groups.
Best hotels in Nanjing
The Ritz-Carlton, Nanjing
Rooms above Deji Plaza from floor 42 with lake and Purple Mountain views, and the city's default luxury answer.
Jinling Hotel
Nanjing's grand dame since 1983, a landmark full service tower 200 metres from the Xinjiekou metro.
InterContinental Nanjing
Rooms from the 49th floor of Zifeng Tower with panoramic views over Purple Mountain, Xuanwu Lake and the old city.
Suning Zhongshan Golf Resort
A resort stay beside China's first golf course, inside the Purple Mountain scenic area rather than a city base.
Banyan Tree Nanjing Garden Expo
A luxury splurge near the Garden Expo and Tangshan springs, too far out to work as a sightseeing base.
Kayumanis Nanjing Private Villa & Spa
Private pool villas built around the Tangshan springs, for soaking and spa days without day tripper crowds.
Novotel Nanjing Central Suning
Modern, central and predictable, the sensible mid range default in the Xinjiekou cluster.
JI Hotel
A new generation Chinese chain branch by the Presidential Palace, clean and quiet at half international chain prices.
Is Nanjing expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | CN¥375 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | CN¥750 a person |
| Splurge | CN¥1,500 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum: a few days ahead
- Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders: a few days ahead
- Nanjing Museum: a few days ahead
- Qinhuai River: a few days ahead
- Niushoushan Cultural Tourism Zone: a few days ahead
- Zhongshan International Golf Club: weeks ahead
- Tangshan Hot Springs: a few days ahead
- Suzhou: a few days ahead
- Reserve Nanjing Museum, Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum and the Massacre Memorial Hall ahead with your passport. All three are timed and closed Mondays.
- Book the Qinhuai night boat, Niushoushan, Tangshan resorts and Ritz-Carlton restaurants ahead in peak season and on weekends.
- Set up Alipay and WeChat Pay with a foreign card before you arrive, and carry 200 to 400 yuan cash as backup only.
Is Nanjing safe?
- Nanjing is very safe for visitors, and walking in central districts at night is normal. There is no central neighbourhood that needs a safety warning as a base.
- Watch bags in crush crowds at Nanjing South, Fuzimiao on holidays and metro transfers.
- E-bikes and right turning cars are the real daily hazard. Look both ways even on a green pedestrian light.
- Summer heat and humidity ruin more trips than anything else. Hydrate, use shade and put museums at midday.
- Drink bottled or hotel filtered water, and check air quality and pack masks on winter haze days in December and January.
Nanjing travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Fuzimiao main street by day, with souvenir markups and mediocre snacks. Go at night, take the boat, and eat one or two blocks away.
- Private day tours at US$200 to 360 for sights that are free and on the metro. Hire a guide for history depth, not for transport.
- Niushoushan on a short trip, and Zifeng Tower on a hazy day when the view is grey soup.
- Far suburb add-ons like Gaochun sold as half days. They are a time sink on a first trip.
- Golden Week, 1 to 7 October, and Spring Festival week transform every queue. Reserve everything and start at opening.
Getting around Nanjing: public transport and more
- Metro answers almost everything, 10 plus lines signed in English at 2 to 7 yuan a ride, Lines 1 and 2 cross at Xinjiekou.
- Nanjing South is the main high speed hub and airport line station, Nanjing Station is the older central station on Xuanwu Lake. Check which one your ticket uses.
- From Shanghai, high speed trains take about 1 hour to 1.5 hours. Your passport is your ticket, carry it.
- Use Didi or the official taxi rank, and avoid unlicensed drivers touting at Nanjing South and the airport.
- The old city inside the wall is flat and walkable in clusters, with shared bikes for the last kilometre.
Who Nanjing suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Nanjing your trip
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