Nanjing 2 Day Itinerary (No Tourist Traps)
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Two days is the honest city core, Fuzimiao and the Qinhuai lanes, then the Presidential Palace and a free stretch of Ming wall, not Purple Mountain squeezed in as an afterthought. More time, the 3-day plan adds a proper Purple Mountain day and a solemn half-day at the Nanjing Massacre Memorial; the 4 through 7-day plans build further from there.
Book these before you go
- The Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum reservation (free, but timed and enforced) if you’re extending this trip, via the official website or WeChat.
- The Nanjing Massacre Memorial’s current reservation policy, check 19371213.com.cn directly, sources disagree on whether walk-up entry still works.
- A VPN, tested before you land, Google, WhatsApp, and Instagram are all blocked.
- Hotels anywhere near Golden Week (1-7 October, 1-5 May 2026): book weeks ahead or find everything sold out.
Day 1: Fuzimiao and the Qinhuai lanes, on foot
Start at the Confucius Temple (Fuzimiao), Dacheng Hall ¥30, open until 21:30, deliberately late so you can pair it with the night river scene. Next door, the Jiangnan Examination Hall and Museum (¥50, open until 22:00) is a highlight most tourists skip, cramped 1.33m-wide exam-cell replicas from what was the largest imperial civil-exam venue in China, producing 58 of the nation’s “Number One Scholars.” Or skip the planning entirely and book a Nanjing old-town walking tour that covers both in one guided afternoon. Walk the lantern-lit Qinhuai riverside after dark, free, and skip the ¥60 day or ¥80 night boat tour, the same view is right there from the banks and bridges. Eat away from the snack-street stalls directly outside the temple, small portions and real markup on salted duck and dumplings versus an ordinary diner or a Da Pai Dang outlet a few streets over (roughly ¥50-80pp, verify current locations). If there’s time, the Taiping Museum at Zhan Yuan, a Ming-dynasty garden built by general Xu Da, is a quiet add-on nearby.
Day 2: Presidential Palace and the free stretch of wall
The Presidential Palace (¥40, closed Mondays) now enters from a new west entrance, the historic gatehouse everyone’s guidebook photo shows has been closed since 10 December 2024. Budget 2-3 hours, it spans a Ming garden layout through a Qing viceroy’s office to the Republic-era buildings where Sun Yat-sen took his 1911-12 inauguration oath. Afterward, walk the Shence Gate-Taiping Gate stretch of the Ming City Wall (¥30) along Xuanwu Lake, or skip the ticket entirely and take one of the three free sections instead, the 14th-century wall doesn’t change, only the view does. Xuanwu Lake’s shoreline is free and walkable, five isles set against the wall with Purple Mountain as backdrop. Jiming Temple (¥10) sits right beside the lake if there’s time for one more stop before heading back to Xinjiekou for the evening.
| Day | Focus | Rough cost, excl. hotel |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fuzimiao, exam hall, Qinhuai lanes at night | ¥150-250 |
| 2 | Presidential Palace, Ming wall, Xuanwu Lake | ¥100-200 |
Compare Nanjing hotel rates on Booking.com before you book, Xinjiekou is the most convenient base for both these days. One concrete habit worth the trip: link Alipay or WeChat Pay to a foreign card before you land, small stalls near Fuzimiao aren’t always smooth with a foreign wallet even when the big sights are.