Nanjing layers 1,800 years of history — Ming city walls, Republic-era villas and memorials, and a lively food-and-riverside old quarter — all stitched together by fast metro and easy by high-speed rail from Shanghai.
Best time to visit
March–May and September–November are the sweet spot (spring blossoms, then Qixia’s red autumn maples). July–August is hot; winter is cold but atmospheric and uncrowded.
How many days
- 2 days — Purple Mountain, city wall and Fuzimiao.
- 3 days — add the museums, Presidential Palace and Yihe Road.
Getting there & around
High-speed rail: Shanghai ~1–1.5h, Beijing ~3.5h. Lukou Airport (NKG) connects by metro. The city metro reaches the main sights; the old lanes around Confucius Temple are best on foot.
Top things to do
- Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum on Purple Mountain, plus the Ming Xiaoling Sacred Way.
- The Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall (moving and essential).
- Fuzimiao (Confucius Temple) and a Qinhuai River night cruise.
- The Ming City Wall and majestic Zhonghua Gate.
- Nanjing Museum and the Presidential Palace.
- Jiming Temple and Xuanwu Lake; Yihe Road’s plane-tree villas.
A 2-day Nanjing itinerary
- Day 1 — Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum + Ming Xiaoling → city wall / Zhonghua Gate → Fuzimiao at night.
- Day 2 — Nanjing Museum → Presidential Palace → Laomendong and the Qinhuai.
What to eat
Nanjing salted duck, duck-blood-and-vermicelli soup, pan-fried soup dumplings and a deep street-snack culture around Fuzimiao and Laomendong.
FAQ
- How many days do you need in Nanjing? — Two days covers the mausoleum, city wall and Qinhuai old quarter; add a third for the excellent museums and Yihe Road’s tree-lined villas.
- When is the best time to visit Nanjing? — March–May for spring and September–November for autumn foliage (Qixia Mountain maples). Summer is one of China’s furnace-city heats; winters are cold.
- What is Nanjing famous for? — It was a dynastic capital and the Republic’s seat — Sun Yat-sen’s mausoleum, the longest city wall in the world, the Nanjing Massacre Memorial and the lantern-lit Qinhuai River.
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