Nanjing
Nanjing is the capital of Jiangsu, East China.
The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of 6,600 square kilometres (2,500 sq mi), and as of 2021 a population of 9,423,400.
Situated in the Yangtze River Delta, Nanjing has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having served as the capital of various Chinese dynasties, kingdoms and republican governments dating from the 3rd century to 1949, and has thus long been a major center of culture, education, research, politics, economy, transport networks and tourism, being home to one of the world's largest inland ports. The city is also one of the fifteen sub-provincial cities in the People's Republic of China's administrative structure, enjoying jurisdictional and economic autonomy only slightly less than that of a province. It has also been awarded the title of 2008 Habitat Scroll of Honor of China, Special UN Habitat Scroll of Honor Award and National Civilized City. Nanjing is also considered a Beta city classification, together with Chongqing, Hangzhou and Tianjin by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, and ranked as one of the world's top 100 cities in the Global Financial Centres Index.
Getting to Nanjing
- 01Lukou International Airport
- 02Nanjing South Station
Both are very large and look more like modern airports, serving many destinations with high-speed rail links.
Worth seeing
The city pass can be bought for ¥100 at the entrance to any of the big parks in the city, such as the zoo or Yuhuatai Memorial Park and provides you with free entry to 21 different locations. You need to provide a passport photo for each pass and they are valid for one calendar year.
- 01Xuanwu Lake
1, Xuanwu Lane, Xuanwu District, Nanjing, office@xuanwuhu.net.
- 02Hongshan Forest Zoo
- 03Qinhuai River
- 04Xuanwu Lake Park
- 05Yuhuatai Scenic Area
Where to eat
Local specialties include xiaolongbao (小笼包), thin skinned dumplings filled with soup and meat, that are served steaming hot in baskets and tangbao (汤包), which are similar, but much larger and filled with crab meat and soup. The soup in these is drank with a straw. Another local specialty is salted duck (盐水鸭 yán shuǐ yā), which is a whole duck that is pickled, boiled and then served cold.
Getting around Nanjing the local way
- Get inThere are also frequent ferry services across the river, in particular from Zhongshan Wharf (near Nanjing West Railway Station) to Pukou.
- Get aroundThe card can be used on the subway, all city buses (but not all suburban buses), cross-river ferries, taxis (although drivers are reluctant to accept them and may tell you the scanner is broken) and in some Suguo convenience stores.
- Get aroundFor higher-quality, higher-performance bikes: Giant, Trek and Specialized all have stores in Nanjing.
From Wikivoyage: Nanjing, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.