Nanjing 3 Day Itinerary (No Tourist Traps)
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Three days is the city core plus a genuinely full third day, Purple Mountain in the morning, then a solemn afternoon at the Nanjing Massacre Memorial, not two lighter sights padded together. Short on time, the 2-day plan drops Purple Mountain and the memorial entirely. More time, the 4-day plan gives each its own full day instead of cramming both into one.
Book these before you go
- The Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum reservation (free, but timed and enforced), passport-ID, 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. Or 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 outside the temple, small portions and real markup versus an ordinary diner or a Da Pai Dang outlet a few streets over (roughly ¥50-80pp, verify current locations).
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 take one of the three free sections instead, the 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.
Day 3: Purple Mountain, tight, then the memorial
This day is genuinely full, not lazy. Book the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum’s free timed reservation before you arrive, passport-ID, via the official website or WeChat (07:00-22:00) or a same-day on-site machine (08:00-17:00). The climb is 392 stone steps over a 700m approach, start early. Next, Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum (¥70, or the ¥100 combo with Sun Yat-sen and Linggu Temple), walk the 1,800m Sacred Way, its 12 pairs of stone animals in six kinds. Skip Linggu Temple today to make the crossing, it’s an easy add-on if you come back another time. By early afternoon, take Metro Line 2 southwest to Yunjinlu Station for the Nanjing Massacre Memorial. This is different from the rest of the trip: a memorial to an estimated 300,000 victims of the 1937-38 Nanjing Massacre, free, open roughly 8:30am-4:30pm, closed Mondays. Sources conflict on whether a real-name reservation is currently required, check the official site, 19371213.com.cn , directly before you go, never through a tour operator. Go quiet, restrained photography, and budget extra time for the entrance line.
| 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 |
| 3 | Sun Yat-sen, Ming Xiaoling, the memorial | ¥100-180 |
Compare Nanjing hotel rates on Booking.com before you book, Xinjiekou keeps day 3’s cross-city trip roughly even in both directions. One concrete habit worth the three days: link Alipay or WeChat Pay to a foreign card before you land, and keep some RMB cash on you regardless, small stalls near Fuzimiao aren’t always smooth with a foreign wallet.