Route overview
Nanjing's difficulty is not deciding what to see. It is that almost everything worth seeing runs on its own reservation system, with its own release time, and holding one tells you nothing about the others. So the shape of these three days is driven by constraints rather than geography. Day 1 takes both great tombs in a single pass because they sit inside the same 31-square-kilometre scenic area and the shuttle links them โ but it can only be a Tuesday to Friday, because that is when the burial chamber at the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum is open, and it cannot be a Monday at all, because the whole area above the Tianxia Weigong gate closes for maintenance. Day 2 pairs the museum with the Qinhuai lanterns, in that order, because the lanterns only exist after dark and the museum needs a slot booked five days out. Day 3 is the recovery day: the Ming wall at Chenghua Gate, then Xuanwu Lake, neither of which needs anything booked โ which is also why it is the day to move if the weather turns. Two days works if you drop Day 3; one day does not work at all, because Day 1 alone is a full day.
| Length | 3 days, 2 nights |
|---|---|
| Best for | History-first travellers, Shanghai rail stopovers |
| Pace | Moderate โ one big scenic-area day, two easy ones |
| Getting around | Metro, plus the scenic-area shuttle on Day 1 |
| Must reserve ahead | Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum (7 days, 16:00); Nanjing Museum (5 days, 20:00) |
Day 1
Purple Mountain โ the Mausoleums
Both great tombs in one day, using the scenic-area shuttle.
- 08:30
Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum
Metro Line 2 to Muxuyuan, then the shuttle. A monumental memorial up 392 steps โ free, but you need a reservation slot booked about a week ahead, and the burial chamber is closed Mondays. Mornings are quietest. Allow 1.5-2h.
- 11:00
Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum
The first Ming emperor's tomb, with a stone-animal spirit way through old forest โ the city's most atmospheric site. Use the ยฅ100 Zhongshan combined ticket rather than the ยฅ68-70 single. Allow 2h.
- 13:00
Lunch: duck blood & vermicelli soup
Nanjing's comfort food โ rich duck broth with vermicelli, blood cubes and tofu puffs, ยฅ15-30.
- 15:00
Linggu Temple & Meiling Palace
Both are inside the combined ticket you already hold, and both are a short shuttle hop. Quiet, tree-shaded, and no extra cost.
- 18:00
Dinner: salted duck
The city's signature โ poached in brine, cooled and sliced. ยฅ40-80 a plate with a couple of cold dishes.
Day 2
Museum & Qinhuai Nights
One of China's best museums, then the lanterns after dark.
- 09:00
Nanjing Museum
Jade, porcelain, calligraphy and a reconstructed Republican-era street. Free, but book the slot about a week ahead โ they sell out in peak season. Allow 2-3h.
- 12:30
Lunch: soup dumplings
Smaller and lighter than Shanghai's, eaten with vinegar. ยฅ15-35.
- 14:00
Confucius Temple area
The old examination district turned riverside quarter. See the Jiangnan Examination Hall by day; the lanterns come alive at dusk.
- 17:00
Snacks: duck-oil pastry & osmanthus taro
One savoury, one sweet, ยฅ5-15 each. Eat one or two for the atmosphere โ this is the city's priciest area for a real meal, so dine elsewhere.
- 19:00
Qinhuai River night cruise
A painted-boat cruise is Nanjing's signature night view. ยฅ60-200; queues are long in season, so buy early, then walk the riverbank.
Day 3
City Wall & Xuanwu Lake
The Ming fortifications, then the calmest half-day in the city.
- 09:00
Zhonghua Gate city wall
A vast, well-preserved fortress gate you can walk through and climb, about ยฅ47. The wall-top views are wide. Allow 1.5h.
- 11:00
Presidential Palace (optional)
A major site of modern Chinese history, about ยฅ35. Worth it if the Republican era interests you โ book a couple of days ahead in season.
- 13:00
Lunch: more duck
Round out the duck theme at an old local shop โ salted duck or another bowl of duck blood soup.
- 15:00
Xuanwu Lake
A large lake beside the wall, ringed by willows, with Purple Mountain reflected in the water. Free; walk, take a boat, or ride the sightseeing car.
- 17:30
Finish: the plane-tree boulevards
Walk back through the centre under the plane trees โ golden in autumn. Then depart or move on.
Before you go
Day 1 cannot be a Monday, and should not be a weekend. The burial chamber at the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum opens Tuesday to Friday only, so a Saturday visit does not get you in either โ and on Mondays the entire area above the Tianxia Weigong gate closes for maintenance. Fix Day 1 to a TuesdayโFriday first and build the other two days around it.
Two booking systems, two different release times, and people routinely mix them up. The Zhongshan scenic area releases Sun Yat-sen slots seven days ahead at 16:00; Nanjing Museum releases five days ahead at 20:00 against a 12,000 daily cap. Free admission does not mean walk-in admission at either.
Non-mainland passports enter the museum through a different channel. The gates use mainland ID face-matching, which a foreign passport cannot use, so passport, Mainland Travel Permit and residence-permit holders complete formalities at the dedicated service-centre window first โ carrying the same original document used to make the booking.
Buy the Zhongshan combined ticket rather than four singles. Sun Yat-sen plus Ming Xiaoling, Linggu Temple and Meiling Palace comes to about ยฅ100 combined against roughly ยฅ145 separately, and Day 1 visits all four. Budget for the shuttle on top: about ยฅ10 a ride or ยฅ30 all day, and you will use it three times.
Put the Qinhuai cruise after dark, not in the afternoon. It is roughly ยฅ80 by day and ยฅ100โ120 at night, and the lanterns on the river houses are the entire reason to be on the water. Day 2's 19:00 line is not a suggestion.
Stops on this route
Open an individual guide for tickets, opening hours and how to get there.
Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum
392 granite steps up a forested slope to the tomb of modern China's founding figure โ free, but it needs a booked slot, closes Mondays, and the burial chamber opens only Tuesday to Friday.
Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum
The tomb of the Ming dynasty's founding emperor, approached by a curving spirit way of stone beasts through old forest โ a UNESCO site, ยฅ70 alone or inside the ยฅ100 combined ticket.
Nanjing Museum
One of China's great museums, free and reservation-only, with six halls including a walk-through reconstruction of a 1930s Nanjing street.
Zhonghua Gate
The largest surviving barbican gate in China: three successive courtyards, twenty-seven soldier tunnels inside the walls, and a ยฅ50 day ticket onto the Ming rampart.
Confucius Temple & Qinhuai River
The imperial examination quarter turned lantern-lit riverfront: the streets are free and open all hours, the halls and the painted boats are not.
Practical reading
The practical guides you will actually use on this trip.
FAQ
Is 3 days enough for Nanjing?
Yes. Three days covers both Purple Mountain tombs, one of China's best museums, the Qinhuai quarter at night and the Ming wall without a single rushed morning. A fourth day is only worth it if you want to add the Memorial Hall and the Presidential Palace properly rather than as the optional stop Day 3 makes of it.
Can I do Nanjing as a day trip from Shanghai?
The 1.5-hour rail link makes it tempting and it is a common attempt, but Day 1 of this route is a full day on its own and the burial chamber is Tuesday to Friday. A day trip realistically buys you the museum and the Qinhuai quarter, which is Day 2 โ a good day, but it skips the thing most people came for. Stay the night.
Why does a free museum need booking?
Because free and capped are different things. Nanjing Museum admits 12,000 a day and releases the newest day at 20:00 five days out, with five tickets per order and limits per account โ two bookings a day, three a week, six a month, with refunds and waitlisted orders counting against the quota and not returned. A family of six cannot be booked in one go.
Which day should I move if it rains?
Day 3. The wall and Xuanwu Lake are both entirely outdoor and neither needs a booking, so they are free to slide. Day 2 is the one to pull forward in bad weather โ the museum is indoors and the Qinhuai lanes have arcades. Day 1 is the day you cannot move, because it is pinned to a dated reservation.
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Our team of China travel researchers combines on-the-ground contributor insights, official government sources, and traveler community feedback to create the most detailed English-language China guides available. Every guide is fact-checked against primary sources (NIA, 12367, official attraction websites, Railway 12306) before publication.