The mighty Ming wall, the solemn Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, the lantern-lit Qinhuai River and the plane-tree streets of Republican-era architecture — Nanjing layers six dynasties of mist and modern history into a city of memory.
Three routes — from the Zhongshan tombs to Qinhuai nights and Ming-city traces — old Jinling.
Zhongshan Tombs
1 dayClimb the grand stairway of Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum, walk the stone-elephant Sacred Way at Ming Xiaoling, and see the 'necklace' of plane trees at Meiling Palace.
See full route →Qinhuai Nights
1 dayThe Confucius Temple and old imperial exam hall, a lantern-boat cruise on the Qinhuai River, and the lively lanes of Laomendong.
See full route →Ming City Traces
1 dayClimb the Zhonghua Gate barbican, trace Republican-era history at the Presidential Palace, and browse the artsy Librairie Avant-Garde.
See full route →The Jinling literary thread: Yunjin brocade, Baiju, the Qinhuai lantern festival and imperial-exam culture.
Refined Jinling flavours: salted duck, duck-blood soup, soup dumplings and plum-blossom cakes.