Sharing the honor of being one of the traditional "Four Great Ancient Capitals of China" with Beijing, Luoyang and Xi'an, Nanjing (Nánjīng, 南京) has a wealth of historical sights and attractions to offer, from the Nanjing City Walls and the Ming Xiaoling Tomb of its early Ming Dynasty heyday, to the Sun Yat-Sen Mausoleum and tragic Nanjing Massacre Memorial Museum from China's Republican period.

A major university town, Nanjing is home to a large student population, including many foreign students, and the city's youthful population fuels a lively nightlife scene. With an ever-expanding subway, an easy-to-use bus system and cheap taxis, transportation within the city is easy, and it is well connected to Shanghai, Beijing and other major cities throughout China.

You can "do" Nanjing in a few days, but with enough going on to sustain a longer trip, it's worth visiting even if it doesn't rank with cities like Shanghai, Beijing and Xi'an on most peoples' "must-see" list. All told, Nanjing is a very pleasant city, with tree-lined streets, lakes, parks and its own mountain, Zijin Shan (Purple Gold Mountain) balancing the inevitable ranks of new skyscrapers and increasingly congested streets.

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History

Nanjing has a colorful and tumultuous history full of romantic characters, epic battles and several of the darker moments in China's—and the world's—history. Nanjing's present location on the Yangtze River was the site of ancient cities going back to the rival Wu and Yue Kingdoms of the volatile Spring and Autumn Period and the fifth century BC. Under a variety of names, the city now known as Nanjing served as capital of the Wu and several other southern regional powers until the Sui Dynasty reunited China in 581 AD, destroying Nanjing (then known as Jiankang) in the process.

After a period of recovery, Nanjing returned to the center stage of Chinese history as capital of the southern Tang Kingdom (937-975) that formed after the collapse of the Tang Dynasty and quickly fell to the ascendant Song Dynasty. It was the first Ming emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang, who first made Nanjing capital of all China in 1368. He spent 21 years directing the construction of the Nanjing City Wall, much of which stands to this day. Subsequent Ming rulers returned the capital to Beijing, leaving Nanjing to thrive as a center of commerce and industry without the honor of hosting the imperial court. A very different bunch would return Nanjing to capital status: the zealous long-haired pseudo-Christian rebels of the Taiping Rebellion, who seized Nanjing in 1853, slaughtering tens of thousands and renaming it Tianjing ("Heavenly Capital"). They waged a surprisingly successful campaign against the beleaguered Qing Dynasty—who, in 1842, had signed the first of several "unequal treaties" with England in Nanjing, ceding control of Hong Kong and creating a number of treaty ports as a result of the first Opium War—conquering much of southern China before falling before the united forces of the Qing and Western forces, including the famous "Ever Victorious Army" led by Charles "Chinese" Gordon. This period is well represented by Nanjing's excellent Taiping Kingdom History Museum.

Nanjing was proposed as the capital after the 1912 rebellion disposed of the Qing and established the Republic of China under the leadership of Sun Yat-sen. However, it wasn't until 1927 when the Nationalist government under Chiang Kai-shek made it their capital. The honor turned into tragedy when, in the run-up to World War II, the Japanese, after taking Shanghai and many other parts of China, brutally assaulted the Kuomintang capital, killing somewhere between 200,000 and 350,000 civilians. This dark episode, known as the "Rape of Nanking" has gained increasing attention in recent years; the recently expanded Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre bears witness to the tragedy.

After the war, the Nationalists returned to their capital, only to fall to the People's Liberation Army in 1949. In the 1950s, Mao Zedong's government made Nanjing a major component of its drive to industrialize, and the city remains a major industrial center today, drawing major international investment thanks to its infrastructure and location. A major testament to the efforts of the early PRC is the Yangtze River Bridge, which was completed in 1968 by Chinese engineers and laborers after the Soviet Union withdrew its assistance following the historic split between the USSR and PRC. The bridge is a late addition to the wealth of historical attractions in Nanjing, many of which have been spared the worst vagaries of the Cultural Revolution and China's recent economic boom times.

Climate

Known as one of the four "furnaces of China," Nanjing, situated in the Yangtze River Valley, experiences famously hot and humid summers, with temperatures running well into the 30sºC (90sºF) between June and early September. The high humidity means sweat doesn't evaporate easily (thus fails to cool the body), raising the risk of heatstroke and other heat-related conditions. Keep an eye on daily temperatures in summer. For the hottest days, drink plenty of fluids, stick to traveling by cab and Metro and spend some time in air conditioned buildings. Some areas of Nanjing offer some respite, like Zijin Shan (Purple-Gold Mountain) and Xuanwu Lake, which benefit from cool, relieving breezes.

Winters remain damp, making temperatures that occasionally dip below freezing feel colder. Spring and fall are the most pleasant times to visit, especially April and May and September and October, when temperatures require the occasional sweater or jacket after sunrise and in the early morning, but usually warm to perfect shirtsleeve weather by midday. June through August can be quite rainy, as it is part of the East Asia Monsoon weather system. Air quality suffers from automobiles and industry, often adding a thick haze to the humidity during days with little wind.

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Most of the best Nanjing attractions are located within or just outside remaining parts of Nanjing City Wall. Staying near the city's subway or within walking distance of some of the tourist sites on your agenda is a good way to best make use of your time on a trip to Nanjing. It's a convenient subway ride away for travelers coming in and out of the Nanjing Railway Station to the north of Xuanwu Lake.

Gu Lou district hotels

Nanjing's north-central Gu Lou district takes its name from the Nanjing Drum Tower—accompanied in Gu Lou by attractions like Xuanwu Lake, the Taicheng City Wall and Jiming Temple—and is a convenient jumping off point for touring Nanjing. After a day of traipsing about Nanjing, drop into one of Nanjing's best dives, Castle Bar.

The Jasmine International Youth Hostel offers cheap rooms and dorms a few blocks walk from the metro and close to Behind the Wall, a bar and restaurant on the south side of Gu Lou (see Restaurants for more information). Budget conscious travelers can also check out the Orange Hotel located alongside Xuanwu Lake between two metro stops. This China-wide chain offers good bang for your buck, featuring amenities like flatscreen TVs and complimentary Wi-Fi. North of the Orange Hotel past the subway station, the Nanjing City Leisure Hotel offers standard budget/business hotel rooms, some with nice views of the lake.

A little ways west over Beijing Lu from the Gu Lou Metro Station, the Jingli Hotel offers more middle-of-the-road prices and offers breakfast and dinner buffets. For those with the money to spend, the InterContinental Nanjing is easily the highest place to stay (and wine and dine) in the city, with luxury rooms in the 49th to 71st floors and presidential suites on the 80th and 81st floors of the 88-story Zifeng Tower. It's located very close to the Gu Lou Metro Station.

Confucius Temple area hotels

Located in south-central Nanjing, the Confucius Temple and surrounding Fuzi Miao Pedestrian Street are near the Zhonghua Gate and not far from the Rain Flower Terrance (Yuehua Tai).

Budget travelers can get a great deal at the Nanjing Financial Apartment Hotel, where the serviced apartments come with kitchenettes and a washer/dryer. The riverside Qinhuairenjia Hotel is built in traditional style and offers low to middle priced accommodation.

Also located along the river, the Regalia Resort & Spa provides a luxurious spa getaway just south of the Nanjing City Wall.

Zijin Shan (Purple-Gold Mountain) hotels

Having Zijin Shan (Purple-Gold Mountain) just to the northwest of the city walls gives the impression that Nanjing is not the big city it actually is—an escape into nature is just a walk or cab ride away. Xuanwu Lake, the Sun Yat-sen Memorial and Ming Xiaoling Tomb are located at the foot of the mountain.

Some of the cheaper rooms around Zijin Shan can be found at the Orange Hotel at Donghuamen and the Lijin Garden Hotel, while those looking for an upgrade without breaking into luxury prices can check out Siya Garden Hotel.

The luxury Nanjing Purple Palace sits beside a serene reservoir along the northeast foot of the mountain with a number of golf courses nearby.

Tang Shan Hot Springs hotels

Those coming to Nanjing to indulge in the city's famous Tang Shan Hot Springs can find mid-level and luxury accommodation, but little for the budget traveler. Hotels like the mid-level Shengquan Hot Spring Hotel offer a number of pools filled with hot spring water, while some, like the Easpring Resort, offer private hot spring rooms as well.

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Nanjing's brand of Jiangsu cuisine favors freshwater fish and shrimp as well as duck and various types of tofu. A fine range of vegetables, fruits and mushrooms are used to create light, clear soups and delicately flavored fish dishes. The emphasis is on letting flavors through, with seasoning serving to enhance main ingredients; accents tend toward the salty and sweet.

Nanjing specialties include salted duck (yánshuǐ yā, 盐水鸭), prepared in a way that makes for a surprisingly light bird, less greasy than usual; shredded tofu skin (dòufu gānsī, 豆腐干丝), a cold dish in which sheets of slightly chewy dofu are finely chopped with vegetables, bamboo shoots, mushrooms and chicken or pork; and "eight delicacies soup" (qīngtāng bā zhēn, 清汤八珍), a delightful blend that includes fish, water chestnuts, lotus root, arrowroot and lotus seeds. Nanjing's most famous tea, Yuehua Tea (Yǔhuā Chá, 雨花茶), takes its name from Rain Flower Terrace (Yuehua Tai) and can be found in shops around town as well as near its namesake.

The Shizi Qiao (Shīzi Qiáo, 狮子桥) pedestrian zone just west of Xuanwu Park is a great place to find a wide variety of cuisines, as is the area between Nanjing University and Nanjing Normal University (Nánjīng Shīfàn Dàxué, 南京师范大学) just west of the Zhujiong Lu metro station. Other good hunting grounds are in the center of the city around the Xinjiekou metro stop and to the south near the Fuzi Miao Pedestrian Street.

Nanjing is also home to a number of reputable international restaurants, from pizzerias and burger joints to Italian, Japanese, Indian and Mexican restaurants. A few are located in the 1912 Bar Street area.

A common recommendation from those who've lived in Nanjing is a bar and restaurant serving up solid Mexican food and pub grub called Behind the Wall.

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Getting Around

Nanjing is a relatively easy city to get around with a well-developed two-line Metro system and decent number of taxis. Most everything, including natural sites like Zijin Shan and Xuanwu Lake are located close to the center of the city, most even within the old Nanjing City Wall.

Taxis

Flagfall on Nanjing's taxis start at RMB 9 for the first 3 km (1.8 mi) and add an additional RMB 2.40 per kilometer (0.6 mi). For several attractions and areas a bit far from the Metro, taxis are the way to go, especially when Nanjing's famous heat and humidity make walking unbearable.

Metro

A cheap, efficient way to navigate the city, Nanjing's subway consists of two lines with a spiderweb of future lines planned in the coming decades. At present, Metro Line 1 runs north-south through the city center and hits (or gets close to) several tourist attractions such as the Confucius Temple, Xuanwu Lake, and the Nanjing Drum Tower. Metro Line 2 runs east-west and hits sites like Mochou Lake, the Presidential Palace, and the Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre. Purchase an IC card (yuèpiào, 月票) at any Huaxia Bank branch or in the metro station ticket machines. IC cards allow entrance to both the subway and bus systems, and provides a small discount for individual fares.

To and from Nanjing

Air

Nanjing Lukou International Airport, 35 km (22 mi) from downtown, operates a daily range of national and international Nanjing flights. Frequent shuttle buses take passengers into the city, departing/arriving every half an hour from Zhonghuamen Long-distance Bus Station. Several major hotels also provide airport bus service.

Train

Nanjing's three major train stations service both provincial and national destinations, like Shanghai (4 hours), Suzhou (2 hours), Hangzhou (5 1/2 hours), Anhui and Beijing. High speed rail connects Nanjing with Shanghai; with Suzhou and Wuxi inbetween, shortening the trip to roughly 75 minutes.

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Nanjing provides a wide selection of shopping for people from all walks of life. The best places for modern amenities are Hunan Lu (Húnán Lù, 湖南路), a pedestrian street with numerous exclusive stores, Xinjiekou (Xīnjiēkǒu, 新街口), the downtown area in Nanjing, with many mid-to-high range department stores such as Gold Eagle Shopping Centre (Jīnyīng Guójì Gòuwùzhōngxīn, 金鹰国际购物中心), Jinling Department Store (Jīnlíng Bǎihuò, 金陵百货), and Zhujiang Lu (Zhūjiāng Lù, 珠江路) for electrical and electronic products. The most famous local crafts and arts are Nanjing cloud brocade, Yuhua pebbles and Jinling gold foils, wood carvings, etc. Sausage and boiled duck with salt (Guìhuā Yánshuǐ Yā, 桂花盐水鸭) are famous local snacks that are worth a bite or two.

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Nanjing is a far older city than its glamorous neighbor Shanghai, a fact that is reflected in its relatively relaxed pace, calm atmosphere and wealth of historic sights and attractions. Though thoroughly modern in many aspects, Nanjing is more conservative in many respects than Shanghai or Beijing, which for travelers means that the A&E scene can be a bit elusive relative to showboating Shanghai or big bad Beijing. The city's festivals and events calendar is also well worth noting—give Nanjing a chance and you'll find its people know how to have a good time as well as anyone in China.

Bars & Clubs

There are plenty of good nightspots scattered about town—and, thanks in part to a large student population, many of them are quite affordable. The students and a young workforce form a natural population of partiers in Nanjing, though it may sometimes seem most of them are studying or working overtime—Nanjing doesn't have the 24-hour party mindset of nearby Shanghai. That said, weekends can be happening and there's always something going on somewhere.

Much of Nanjing's bar and club scene radiates from the area around Nanjing University in Gu Lou district. If you're craving beats and a dance floor, "Big" Scarlett (乱世佳人; 34-1 Hubei Lu near Fuhougang, 湖北路34-1号 进傅厚岗) is a Nanjing favorite with cheap drinks located a few blocks north of the Metro Line 1 Gu Lou Station. Next to the Gu Lou Metro Station, Castle Bar makes for a good dive and also features live music. Behind the Wall and Blowing in the Wind (答案吧; 13 Jīnyín Jiē, Shànghǎi Lù, 上海路金银街13号) are good for low-key drinks and conversation, and the area west of the Drum Tower between Nanjing University and Nanjing Normal University makes for pleasant bar hopping.

1912 Bar Street is worth a visit, too. It's the city's take on Shanghai's Xintiandi—a sort of renovated historical-commercial food and beverage district with a host of Chinese discos, a few international restaurants and the usual chains like KFC and Starbucks. For a nice change of pace and taste of local culture, check out the riverside teahouses along Fuzi Miao Pedestrian Street.

Performing Arts

The performing arts scene is surprisingly slack given the city’s size, history and proximity to Shanghai, but things appear to be picking up. Jiangsu Province's Kun Opera (Kūnqǔ, 崑曲) remains popular and well supported in Nanjing, with the Jiangsu Province Kun Opera Company and others keeping the tradition alive with performances at Fuzi Miao Pedestrian Street. The universities and Nanjing College of Art often sponsor visiting performers. Large pop concerts are staged at Wutaishan Stadium (Wǔtáishān Tǐyùchǎng, 五台山体育场), though at present they're generally limited to Chinese, Korean and Taiwanese acts.

Museums & Galleries

Nanjing is a great city for history buffs, boasting a fine ensemble of museums that complement the city's rich store of historical sights. The Nanjing Museum is a great place to start, featuring a fine collection of Chinese artifacts going back some 3,000 years. Two of Nanjing's most violent and destructive periods have their own museums. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom History Museum relates the events of the bloody and bizarre mid-nineteenth century uprising of the Taiping who claimed Nanjing as the capital of their Heavenly Kingdom for nearly a dozen years; the Nanjing Massacre Memorial and Museum commemorates the brutal Japanese occupation during World War II. As for the arts scene, a number of small galleries and the presence of the Nanjing College of Art promise a bright future though the present scene pales alongside Beijing or Shanghai. Nanjing's conservative side is on display at galleries like the huge Yilanzhai Art Gallery, which distinctly favors the traditional over the contemporary.

Festivals & Events

If you're in town at the right time, it's worth checking out some of Nanjing's traditional festivals. Try the Jinling Lantern Show and mass City Wall Walk just after the Chinese New Year, the Plum Blossom Festival held at nearby Meihua Shan (Méihuā Shān, 梅花山) at the end of February, or the springtime Shangsi Festival (on the lunar calendar) or late March Cherry Blossom Festival in Xuanwu Park. And don't forget traditional pan-China festivals as well: the spring's Spring Festival (aka Chinese New Year), to summer's Dragon Boat Festival, and the Moon Festival in fall.

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