In the print dialog pick “Save as PDF” to keep it on your phone. A5 makes a pocket booklet; A4 suits a desk printer.
Voykit pocket guide · China
Nanjing
南京
Give Nanjing 2 nights: one full day for the Ming tomb and city wall, one for the massacre memorial and the old Qinhuai quarter.
Nanjing was capital of six dynasties and of the Republic of China, so its sights are historical rather than scenic: the Ming Xiaoling tomb, the city wall, the 1937 massacre memorial and the Qinhuai riverfront. Two nights covers the core; three lets you add Purple Mountain properly. It sits 75 minutes from Shanghai by high-speed rail, which makes it an easy add-on to a Jiangsu or Yangtze delta route.
- Country
- China
- Local name
- 南京
- Best months
- Mar–May, Sep–Nov
- Avoid
- Jul–Aug (hot, humid, heavy rain), Chinese New Year week
- Stay
- 2 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- CNY
- Money
- Alipay and WeChat Pay accept Visa, Mastercard, JCB and Amex cards; single payments over ¥200 carry a fee of about 3% on a foreign card (smaller ones are free), and per-payment and yearly caps apply — check the app. Keep a second way to pay.
- Daily spend
- Budget ¥250–450 excl. bed · Mid ¥450–900 excl. bed · High ¥900+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- A roaming eSIM from outside China routes traffic through its home network, so Google, WhatsApp and Instagram work without a VPN — the simplest setup.
- Emergency
- Police 110 · Fire 119 · Ambulance 120
- Plugs
- Types A, C, I · 220 V · 50 Hz · Many sockets take flat two-pin (A), round two-pin (C) and angled three-pin (I) plugs; UK plugs need an adapter.
- Tipping
- Restaurants: No tip; upmarket hotels add 10–15% service.; Taxis and DiDi: No tip.; Tour guides and drivers: Expected on organised tours: about ¥100–200 a day for a guide, ¥50–100 for a driver.; Hotel porters: Not expected; ¥10–20 in luxury hotels.
- Water
- Not for drinking from the tap; bottled water ¥2–5, and kettles and free bottles in hotel rooms. Restaurants serve hot water or tea.
- Toilets
- Public toilets are frequent and free; squat toilets outside hotels and malls. Carry tissues — many have no paper.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee | ¥20–40 |
| Noodle soup (duck-blood vermicelli or xiaomian) | ¥15–35 |
| Beer: draught in a bar / can at a convenience store | ¥15–30 / ¥5–10 |
| 5 km taxi3.1 mi taxi | ¥20–30 |
| Metro ride | ¥2–9 |
| eSIM or data SIM, about a week | ¥80–200 |
| Museum or tomb entry | ¥0–70 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- NKG · Nanjing Lukou International Airport
- Metro Line S1 to Nanjing South Railway Station, about 30 min, ¥6; taxi to the centre about ¥100
Typical fares
- Metro S1, airport → Nanjing South
- ¥6, about 30 min (check)
- Taxi airport → downtown
- about ¥100
- High-speed rail Nanjing → Shanghai
- about ¥140 second class, 75 min (check)
Get around
The metro is clean, cheap and the fastest way across town: single tokens ¥2–9 by distance, trains roughly 05:00–23:00. Lines 1, 2 and 3 cover the centre and both main rail stations; Line S1 links the airport. Buses are ¥2 flat but have no English signage. Taxis start at ¥9 plus a ¥2 fuel fee and most central trips stay under ¥25 — insist the meter runs and take the printed receipt.The metro is clean, cheap and the fastest way across town: single tokens ¥2–9 by distance, trains roughly 5:00 AM–11:00 PM. Lines 1, 2 and 3 cover the centre and both main rail stations; Line S1 links the airport. Buses are ¥2 flat but have no English signage. Taxis start at ¥9 plus a ¥2 fuel fee and most central trips stay under ¥25 — insist the meter runs and take the printed receipt.
See and do
Known for
- Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum (UNESCO)
- City wall and Zhonghua Gate
- Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre
- Confucius Temple and Qinhuai River
- Purple Mountain (Zijin Shan)
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Suzhou | High-speed G train from Nanjing South, about 1 h 15 min | About 2 h |
| Yangzhou | High-speed rail from Nanjing Station, about 1 h | About 1.5 h |
| Wuxi | High-speed G train from Nanjing South, about 1 h | About 1.5 h |
| Changzhou | High-speed rail from Nanjing Station, about 45 min | About 1 h 15 min |
| Jiangyin | High-speed rail, about 1 h 30 min | About 2 h |
| Huai'an | High-speed rail from Nanjing South, about 2 h | About 2.5 h |
Sleep
- Xinjiekou
- City-centre interchange of metro lines 1 and 2; most hotel choice, walk to shops and restaurants.
- Confucius Temple / Qinhuai
- Old-quarter lanes, riverfront at night; good for one or two nights, noisier.
- Nanjing South Railway Station
- For early high-speed departures; functional, few sights within walking distance.
- Xuanwu Lake / Nanjing Station
- Quiet, lakeside, close to Purple Mountain and the north-shore train station.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Hello | 你好nǐ hǎo |
| Thank you | 谢谢xiè xie |
| How much is it? | 多少钱？duō shao qián |
| Please use the meter | 请打表qǐng dǎ biǎo |
| I don't understand | 我不懂wǒ bù dǒng |
| Where is the toilet? | 洗手间在哪里？xǐ shǒu jiān zài nǎ lǐ |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake and a nod; use surnames with a title; avoid: Hugs and cheek kisses
- Face: Disagree privately and indirectly; avoid: Correcting or embarrassing someone in front of others
- Gifts: Give with two hands; expect the gift to be refused once or twice and opened later; avoid: Clocks, umbrellas, white flowers, sets of four
- Business cards: Present and receive with both hands, read it, keep it on the table; avoid: Writing on it or pocketing it at once
- Queues and crowds: Hold your ground politely in scrums at buses and lifts; avoid: Taking pushing personally
- Temples: Walk clockwise around Tibetan stupas and prayer wheels; remove hats; avoid: Touching statues or photographing where signs forbid
- Politics: Listen; follow your host's lead; avoid: Raising Tibet, Taiwan, Xinjiang, 1989 or the party leadership
- Numbers and colour: Red and 8 are lucky; red envelopes carry money gifts; avoid: Writing names in red; the number 4
Scams and watch-outs
- Summer is genuinely punishing: July and August combine 32 °C+ highs with the year's heaviest rain.
- Bags go through X-ray at every metro station; allow a few extra minutes.
- Bike theft is common — use a strong lock on any rental or shared bike.
- Taxi drivers rarely speak English: have your hotel write the destination in Chinese.
- The massacre memorial is a solemn site; behave accordingly and expect queues.
Nanjing is a safe big city by day and night; the real risks are summer heat, metro bag checks slowing you down, and unmetered taxis — ask for the meter and the receipt.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Nanjing yet. Suggested stay: 2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum (UNESCO)
- City wall and Zhonghua Gate
- Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre
- Confucius Temple and Qinhuai River
- Purple Mountain (Zijin Shan)
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Nanjing municipal government: www.nanjing.gov.cn/
- Wikivoyage: Nanjing, revision 5260275 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5260275
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Nanjing南京
请到这个地址
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
The US has a consulate-general in Shanghai covering Jiangsu (check the address); most other countries keep embassies in Beijing and consulates in Shanghai.
Metro runs roughly 05:00–23:00; last trains are earlier on some suburban lines.Metro runs roughly 5:00 AM–11:00 PM; last trains are earlier on some suburban lines.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/nanjing). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.