Nanjing
the southern capital, six dynasties deep
Nanjing has been a Chinese capital across six dynasties. Sun Yat-sen lies on Purple Mountain, 25 kilometres of Ming city wall still stand, and the painted boats still drift the Qinhuai canal past the Confucius Temple after dark.
Why people
come to Nanjing.
What to see
Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum(Zhongshan Ling, the 1929 burial)
Nestled on the slopes of Purple Mountain, the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum is one of China's most revered historical landmarks, dedicated to the founding father of modern China.
A grand staircase leads visitors through magnificent architecture to sweeping views of Nanjing, while the peaceful surroundings reflect the nation's respect for Dr. Sun's enduring legacy.
For the best experience, we recommend visiting in the morning when the weather is cooler and the crowds are lighter. The climb to the summit is well worth the effort, rewarding you with spectacular panoramic views.
Meiling Palace(Xiaohongshan, the 1934 residence)
Hidden among the forests of Purple Mountain, Meiling Palace was once the elegant residence of Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Mei-ling.
Surrounded by lush greenery, this beautifully preserved villa combines traditional Chinese design with Western influences, offering visitors a fascinating glimpse into one of China's most influential historical periods.
For the best experience, we recommend taking your time to explore both the palace and its peaceful gardens. The surrounding woodland provides a tranquil setting that perfectly complements the palace's rich history.
Music Stage(Yinyue Tai, 1933, semi-circular open-air theatre)
Tucked within the scenic Zhongshan Scenic Area, the Music Stage is an elegant open-air amphitheatre surrounded by towering cedar trees.
Originally built for performances and ceremonies, it remains one of Nanjing's most picturesque landmarks. The peaceful atmosphere, graceful architecture and flocks of white doves create a truly memorable experience for every visitor.
For the best experience, we recommend visiting during the quieter hours to fully appreciate the peaceful surroundings. Don't miss the chance to watch the doves gather around the stage, creating a beautiful scene for photographs.
The plane-tree avenues(Wutong dadao, the 1929 canopy)
Lining many of Nanjing's historic streets, the iconic plane-tree avenues form beautiful green tunnels that have become one of the city's most recognisable sights.
Planted decades ago, these towering trees provide welcome shade while creating a picturesque landscape that changes beautifully with every season, especially during autumn.
For the best experience, we recommend enjoying a leisurely drive or walk beneath the trees in the early morning or late afternoon. The changing light and seasonal colours make this one of Nanjing's most photogenic experiences.
Presidential Palace(the Republican seat, 1912 to 1949)
Once the centre of China's modern political history, the Presidential Palace combines elegant classical gardens with grand government buildings that witnessed some of the nation's most significant events.
Rich in history and beautifully preserved, it offers visitors a fascinating journey through China's transformation from the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China.
For the best experience, we recommend allowing ample time to explore both the historic buildings and tranquil gardens. An expert guide will help bring the stories behind this remarkable landmark to life.
Nanjing Museum(Nanjing Bowuyuan, one of China's three big museums)
As one of China's largest and finest museums, the Nanjing Museum showcases an extraordinary collection of ancient treasures, priceless artworks and cultural relics spanning thousands of years.
From exquisite jade and porcelain to traditional calligraphy and historical artefacts, every gallery offers a deeper appreciation of China's remarkable civilisation.
For the best experience, we recommend setting aside several hours to explore the museum's extensive exhibitions. Each gallery reveals a different chapter of China's rich cultural heritage, making every visit rewarding.
Xuanwu Lake(Xuanwu Hu, the imperial pleasure lake)
Surrounded by ancient city walls and lush gardens, Xuanwu Lake is one of Nanjing's most beautiful natural attractions.
Scenic walking paths, elegant bridges and charming islands create the perfect setting for a relaxing escape. Whether enjoying a boat ride or simply taking in the peaceful views, the lake offers a refreshing contrast to the bustling city.
For the best experience, we recommend visiting in the morning or around sunset when the lake is at its most tranquil. A leisurely walk along the shoreline provides stunning views in every direction.
Jiming Temple(the cherry-blossom nunnery under the Taicheng wall)
With a history spanning more than 1,700 years, Jiming Temple is one of Nanjing's oldest and most celebrated Buddhist temples.
Beautiful halls, peaceful courtyards and panoramic views over Xuanwu Lake make it a place of both spiritual significance and architectural beauty. During spring, blooming cherry blossoms add even more charm to this historic sanctuary.
For the best experience, we recommend visiting in the morning to enjoy the temple's peaceful atmosphere. If travelling in spring, the surrounding cherry blossoms create one of Nanjing's most breathtaking seasonal displays.
Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre(a place of remembrance, not a sight)
The Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre stands as a powerful tribute to the victims of one of the darkest chapters in modern history.
Through moving exhibitions, historical artefacts and thoughtful memorial spaces, it honours those who suffered while promoting peace, remembrance and understanding for future generations.
For the best experience, we recommend allowing sufficient time to thoughtfully explore the exhibitions and memorial grounds. Visiting with a guide can provide valuable historical context and a deeper understanding of this profoundly important site.
What to eat
Nanjing roast duck(kao ya, the closed-oven version)
Nanjing roast duck is the dish Beijing duck split off from in the Ming, and the older method is still on the table here.
The cavity is brined with soy, spices, and rice wine, then the duck cooks in a closed wood-fired chamber by radiant heat rather than over flame. Skin is dark and lacquered, meat moist from the brine, the brine itself the savoury-sweet dipping sauce at the end.
We book at an old-line house that still fires its ducks in the closed wood chamber rather than over flame, and ask for half a roast duck and a quarter of salted duck on the same plate, so the two endpoints of Nanjing duck culture sit there in one comparison. Your guide opens with how to read the brine sauce against the lacquered skin before the chopsticks come up.
Nanjing salted duck(yan shui ya, the autumn osmanthus version)
Nanjing salted duck is the other half of the city's duck table, and the autumn version is the one to plan a meal around.
The duck is dry-cured, brine-soaked, then simmered, never roasted, so the skin sets ivory-pale and the meat tightens into a clean, cool, ham-like bite. The finish reads saline-savoury with a faint floral lift when osmanthus is in season.
We book at an old-line house that still works the simmered method, and time the visit to the autumn osmanthus window when the brine reads at its most floral. Your guide brings out what to listen for in the first bite, the cool, clean saline-savoury that comes from simmer rather than roast, so the dish reads on its own terms rather than as a softer cousin of the roasted version.
Qijiawan beef potstickers(niurou guotie, the Hui-Muslim lane snack)
Qijiawan is the old south-city lane that has been frying beef potstickers since the early Ming, settled then by seven Hui-Muslim families as the cattle-slaughtering quarter.
The filling is hand-chopped beef bound with rendered beef-fat, never pork. The pan is flooded with oil so the underside sets into a lacquer-crisp glaze that shatters at the first bite, while the top stays soft and the beef juice runs hot.
We pick the busy cooking window when the pans are turning over fast, and your guide briefs the Hui-Muslim back-story on the walk over from the Confucius Temple. A small order is split across two of the named lane houses, so the difference in filling and glaze reads side by side rather than blurring at one stall.
Shows and experiences
Qinhuai painted-boat cruise(Hua Fang, from Panchi Wharf)
The Qinhuai painted-boat cruise is the way the Confucius Temple precinct has been seen for as long as the canal has been lit.
A 50-minute loop carries the boat from Panchi Wharf past Bailuzhou, the East Water Gate, the Zhonghua Gate, and back. Both banks burn with red lanterns through the run, and the canal stays calm enough for the painted hull to read in the water.
We book a chartered painted boat rather than the public ticket, so the route runs at your pace, with a guqin or sheng player set in the centre cabin on the premium option. The departure is timed for the dusk window when the lanterns first switch on. A quiet riverside terrace is set for an after-cruise tea.
Zhonghua Gate after dark(an immersive walk-through inside the Ming barbican)
The Zhonghua Gate barbican carries a 25-minute walk-through after dark, inside the largest extant city gate in China.
Live actors in costume, 3D projection mapped onto the brick of the four nested gates, and Nanjing Baiju folk-song interludes carry three thematic zones: origin, reverence, light. The night run has been a fixture since 2023, ticketed separately from daytime wall admission.
We walk the barbican by daylight first, so your guide can point out the four enclosures, the troop tunnels, and the brick-makers' stamps before the projection animates the same stones after dark. The night ticket is booked for a mid-evening slot, and the car waits at the south gate so the return is short.
NIU Beer World Craft Beer Museum(Jianye, the 270° beer wall)
NIU Beer is the craft-beer museum in Jianye's Wuyue Plaza, built around a 270-degree wall of 1,400 bottles lit gold from within.
The collection runs over 1,000 labels from more than 300 countries, with a working bar that pours what the tasting flights are built around.
We book a table in the bar section ahead of time and time the visit for the late afternoon before the dinner crowd. A tasting flight is arranged across four or five labels chosen against your palate, so the wall reads as a museum first and the bar opens up after.
What three days
might look like.
- Day 01
Purple Mountain, the Republican lens.
Begin the morning at Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, climbing the 392 granite steps in the soft mid-morning shade. Continue across the scenic area to Music Stage for the doves, then to Meiling Palace and the famous halo of plane trees on the approach. After a leisurely Jiangsu lunch on the slope, the afternoon eases down Chengxian Street under the city's densest canopy. As evening falls, the Zhonghua Gate barbican walk-through brings the brick of the Ming gate alive under projection.
- Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum
- Music Stage (Yinyue Tai)
- Meiling Palace
- Chengxian Street plane-tree walk
- Zhonghua Gate barbican (evening walk-through)
- Late dinner near the wall
- Day 02
A morning of remembrance, the Republican seat, the painted boats.
Spend the morning at the Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre, with a quieter entry slot booked and the rest of the day kept light to follow. A simple lunch follows away from the memorial grounds. The afternoon walks the Presidential Palace in chronological order, Taiping at the front, Sun in the middle, Chiang at the back, with the lake garden at the rear as the day's softening close. As dusk falls, a chartered painted boat from Panchi Wharf carries the evening down the Qinhuai canal, dinner waiting on a quiet riverside terrace after.
- Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre
- Documentary archive (Memory of the World)
- Presidential Palace
- Republican-era offices
- Qinhuai painted-boat cruise
- Confucius Temple precinct
- Day 03
Lake, temple, museum, craft beer.
Begin the day at Jiming Temple as the morning chanting fills the rear hall, then walk the Taicheng wall above for the aerial view down onto Xuanwu Lake. Continue along the rampart and come off at Liangzhou for a slow loop through the islets, with a small rowing boat arranged when the weather suits. After lunch, spend the afternoon at the Nanjing Museum, beginning in the Republic-era hall and finishing among the Tang and Han treasures. As evening falls, a short drive west closes the day at the NIU Beer World Craft Beer Museum in Jianye, with a tasting flight set on arrival.
- Jiming Temple
- Taicheng wall walk
- Xuanwu Lake (Liangzhou and Huanzhou)
- Nanjing Museum (Republic-era hall first)
- Han silver-thread jade burial suit
- NIU Beer World Craft Beer Museum
Best time
Mid-March to early April; late October to mid-November
Days needed
3 days; 2 with a short stop
Where it sits
Shanghai 75 minutes by rail; Beijing 3 hours 13 minutes; Xi'an under 5 hours
Questions worth
answering early.
Three full days is the right shape for a first Nanjing stop. One day for Purple Mountain, the plane-tree avenues, and an evening walk-through at the Zhonghua Gate barbican. One day for the Massacre Memorial, the Presidential Palace, and the Qinhuai painted-boat. One day for Jiming Temple, Xuanwu Lake, and the Nanjing Museum, with a craft-beer hall to close the evening. Two days work if Nanjing is sitting between Shanghai and a longer Beijing leg.
You enjoy the trip,
we do the rest.
From your first enquiry to your last airport pickup, our specialists design your trip and stay in contact every step of the way. The guides, drivers and hotels you'll meet are part of our trusted network we've worked with for years, briefed to the same standards.
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Stretch the trip. Stitch in another.
Shanghai
East seventy-five minutes by rail. The Republican capital pairs cleanly with the modern city across the river.
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Suzhou
East just over an hour by rail. Classical gardens and the canal towns on the Jiangnan circuit.
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Hangzhou
South an hour by rail. West Lake closes the lower-Yangtze loop with a calmer day or two.
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Useful before
you enquire.
China tourist visa for US travellers
American passports still need a tourist visa for China under current rules. How the L-visa works, what we handle as part of your booking, and what is on you.
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When to visit China, month by month
Mid-March for cherry blossom, late October for autumn canopy. The whole year in Nanjing, read by climate and crowd.
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How many days do you need in China
Nanjing slots between Shanghai and Beijing on the eastern route. What those days hold, and how the legs connect.
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Payments and connectivity in China
Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay before you fly. Cards work widely after binding, but limits and small merchants need planning.
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How our pricing works
What sits inside the figure on your quote, and what sits outside it. The structure, written out.
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Jack Guo
Your travel specialist
Jack has spent ten years working with the guides, drivers and hoteliers across China. He'll be your contact from first enquiry to final airport pickup.
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