Nanjing, known as the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties, is very famous in China. As a historical city with a long history, Nanjing has too many stories. It also suffered from the massacre by the Japanese invaders in modern times. Moreover, Nanjing is famous for its delicious food and beautiful women. Below, we will share with you the best itinerary for a 3-day trip to Nanjing.
May 9th, a plain day, with no special reason. I just wanted to go out for a walk.
The reason for choosing Nanjing is that it is close and the ticket is cheap.
It’s not necessary to make any preparations for a trip from Wuhan. It’s the off-season for tourism, and the tickets were bought the night before. I just packed my things temporarily, had a good sleep, and set off with a small bag the next day.
Along the way, I also passed Hefei Station. Maybe I can go to Hefei for a tour next time?
Hefei Station on the way
(Arrival Day)
Before going to Nanjing, I did some research. Most tourists either stay at the Confucius Temple to enjoy the scenery of the Qinhuai River, or stay at the Xinjiekou, which is the most prosperous center of Nanjing, with many commercial areas. I booked the Confucius Temple International Youth Hostel online in advance. It is located by the Qinhuai River. From the Starry Sky Bar on the fourth floor, you can see the unique Qinhuai River and surrounding residences. It is very beautiful at night.
I arrived in Nanjing in the afternoon. After putting down my bag at the youth hostel, I started to visit the Confucius Temple. There are many unique local snacks here, such as red bean soup dumplings from Lianhu Soup Dumpling Shop. The soup dumplings are very soft and glutinous, and the red beans are large red beans, not the small beans we usually eat. They are a bit sweet. It is a perfect match with the duck oil flatbread from Qifang Pavilion next door. Sweet snacks like red bean soup dumplings are Nanjing specialties, and they are worth trying.
Many people recommend the cakes and dumplings from Lianhu Cake and Dumpling Shop, but they don’t sell them separately now. I can’t eat too much by myself, so I had to give up. This is the disadvantage of traveling alone, you can’t try many kinds of food with many people. Of course, there are also many advantages to traveling alone. You can go wherever you want and don’t have to worry about anything if you are tired. You can just lie down in the hotel for half a day. It is more free and casual.
Lianhu Cake and Dumpling Shop
The night view of the Qinhuai River is very beautiful. After eating and drinking, I listened to music and watched the night view at the Starry Sky Bar on the fourth floor of the youth hostel. I felt a kind of indescribable feeling in my heart. I was quiet and didn’t need to think hard about how to answer other people’s questions. I enjoyed the freedom of being alone and let my thoughts fly.
Qinhuai River
In the bar, the female singer’s songs were mellow and casual, floating on the long river…
(Day 1)
I used the credit voucher of the youth hostel to have a hearty breakfast on the fourth floor. I don’t know what the filling of the buns was, but it was sweet and green vegetables. The yellow cake was said to be a new product made by the auntie, but it was hard and difficult to chew. Auntie, your new product is a mistake. Haha.
The morning sun shone on the white plates, I really felt like I was on vacation.
Youth hostel breakfast
After breakfast, I went to the must-visit place in Nanjing, the Zhongshan Scenic Area. There are a series of attractions inside, including the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum, the Meiling Palace, the Plum Mountain, and the Purple Mountain Observatory.
The Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum is free, so I saw many uncles and aunts led by tour guides walking and laughing, constantly asking the tour guide various questions. Many elderly uncles and aunts came here to cherish the memory of Dr. Sun Yat-sen and recall the war years they lived in, feeling sentimental.
The Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum is very high, you need to climb a steep staircase. It is said that the stairs become steeper as you go up, proving that the revolution became more and more difficult. The whole mausoleum is designed like a clock to serve as a warning. Looking up from the bottom, you can’t see the steps, only a vertical surface. Looking down from the top, you can only see a platform. If I hadn’t done some research in advance, I wouldn’t have seen these little details at all. The cleverness of the designer is in the details.
View from the top of the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum
In comparison, the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum is inferior in terms of sightseeing value. When you reach the end of the mausoleum, you find it is blocked, and you can’t see the tomb behind it. When I saw the Ming Tomb in Zhongxiang, it was completely open. After walking to the end, the joint tomb of the father and mother of Emperor Jiajing was revealed before my eyes. The red gate and the square city were also well preserved. I guess the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum had to close more areas because there were too many tourists.
The spirit way of the Xiaoling Mausoleum is very long. The statues of civil and military officials and various divine beasts lined up one after another, each with different meanings. They have stood for hundreds of years, silently carrying out their mission and guarding the emperor’s mausoleum.
Divine beasts
In the afternoon, I started to eat, eat, eat.
There are several classic small shops in Shuangtang, although they have opened branches in other places, the original shops still retain the original flavor.
The braised fish noodles from Laozhan Garden Noodle Shop is recommended by many people. When I arrived there, it was only around 4:00 pm, and there weren’t many people. The aunties were chatting in groups of three or two, and there were also locals chatting there. The noodles served had a huge piece of smoked fish on top. The auntie specifically picked the fish belly for me. The fish is deep-fried and sweet, which is my favorite taste.
Braised fish noodles
Across the street from the noodle shop is Xu’s Duck Shop. Many locals are lining up, it is most famous for its roast duck. People buy half a roast duck or the front part of a small half duck. The roast duck is mainly flavored with sauce, the duck is cut and put in a box, and the sauce is poured on top when you eat it. The sauce is also a bit sweet, it is a taste I have never had before. The duck is very fresh, the skin is crispy, it is delicious with the sauce. It’s delicious, but I’m only alone, and it’s a bit greasy if I eat too much.
Roast duck
Lan Lao Da’s sweet porridge lotus root is a piece of glutinous lotus root at the bottom, filled with sweet porridge on top. It is slightly sweet.
Sweet porridge lotus root
(Day 2)
I got up early in the morning and wanted to eat hot crispy cakes.
However, Qifang Pavilion doesn’t open until 9:00, so I went to Xiaozheng Crispy Flatbread nearby. I was very happy to eat freshly baked ones. The black sesame seeds are sweet filling, and the filling has not yet solidified. The crispy flatbread is more crispy than the cold one, it crumbles, while the savory one is not so amazing. As breakfast, I held it in my hand and ate it, so I didn’t have time to take pictures.
Today’s main goal is the Nanjing Museum. Nanjing, as an ancient capital and the location of the capital of twelve dynasties, naturally has a lot of history for us to learn about carefully. The Nanjing Museum is very large, divided into several exhibition halls, including the History Hall, the Republic of China Hall, the Special Exhibition Hall, the Intangible Cultural Heritage Hall, the Art Hall, and the Digital Hall.
Pseudo-official photo of the Nanjing Museum
The Nanjing Museum doesn’t open until 9:00. I arrived early and waited for half an hour before I was allowed to enter. I was lucky enough to be the first person to enter the Nanjing Museum that day and took a picture of the gate that looked like an official photo.
The History Hall is the exhibition hall I am most interested in. I rented an audio guide and looked at each artifact one by one. Unconsciously, I browsed this exhibition hall until 1:00 pm, forgetting to take pictures. The Republic of China Hall is decorated as a street during the Republic of China period, with the top scenery as the sky. Walking inside is like going back to the Republic of China, it is very immersive, suitable for taking pictures.
Republic of China Hall
Other exhibition halls, such as the Digital Hall, use projections on screens or other modern technologies to play some short films and introductions about the past. There are also exhibition halls that house more precious artifacts. The Clock Hall exhibits many unique clocks from the Ming and Qing dynasties, similar to those in the documentary “I Repair Cultural Relics at the Palace Museum”. They are decorated with flowers, birds, and people, with various shapes, both beautiful and elegant.
Leaving the museum, I went to the legendary ancient Jiming Temple, which is said to be very effective in making wishes, with my stomach growling. However, the truth disappointed me. The temple is very small, and I climbed up to the main hall in less than ten minutes. The highest tower is closed and tourists are not allowed to enter. I came out in about twenty minutes. I guess tourists shouldn’t come to a temple that should be a place of piety.
Finally, I was going to visit Nanjing University. On the way, I encountered a fake “Boss Bao” and bought three meat floss small cakes. I also came across Yiming Fresh Milk Bar, which has popped up all over Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, and bought a cup of yogurt. I took a break and filled my stomach.
The seaweed and meat floss are crispy, they must have been roasted. It has a rich seaweed flavor, combined with the soft cake body and salad dressing, it’s delicious.
Yiming Fresh Milk Bar doesn’t exist in Wuhan. It’s also a local specialty of Nanjing. It tastes no different from ordinary yogurt, but the shop assistant emphasized that it must be finished within three hours, otherwise it will go bad, which shows how fresh the milk is, healthy and no additives.
The words written on the yogurt lid are very interesting.
Seaweed and meat floss small cake
Yogurt
Nanjing University Gulou Campus has an ancient and elegant atmosphere. It is home to the tall sycamore trees that grow everywhere in Nanjing. The green leaves of the Boston ivy extend to the walls of the buildings. There are also students playing basketball next to it. The youthful vitality blends with the ancient atmosphere of the campus itself, not at all out of place, creating a unique feeling.
Nanjing University
(Day 3)
Considering the time it would take to return to school, I bought a ticket leaving Nanjing at 3:00 pm tomorrow. So I need to make good use of my time to visit Nanjing today. But there is one place that I must go to when I come to Nanjing—the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall.
Maybe heaven also wanted me to experience the bleak and solemn atmosphere of the massacre. It started raining the night before, and it was still drizzling when I arrived at the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall. Everyone lined up, holding umbrellas, and entered one by one, as if they were paying tribute to them.
People holding umbrellas
The three statues at the entrance are lifelike, making it unbearable to look at. Just looking at the statues, I felt a pain in my heart.
The rain they are under, like weeping.
Statues
Inside the hall are the remains of the skeletons of those who died during the massacre. There is also a special section for showing short films and introductions about Nazi fascism and China’s Anti-Japanese War, which are worth watching and thinking about carefully.
When I came out, it was sunny. What strange weather. For me, it was a magical experience.
I went back to the Confucius Temple. I had sesame dry silk and red bean soup dumplings at Qifang Pavilion. The dry silk was not as fine as I had imagined, and the soup dumplings were not as soft and glutinous as those from Lianhu Cake and Dumpling Shop, but the taste was good overall. I didn’t treat myself badly for the last meal in Nanjing.
I bought some souvenirs from Sugo supermarket for my friends and ended my three-day Nanjing trip. I went home.
The most profound impression of Nanjing is its sycamore trees that grow everywhere, with two large branches, and the fluttering cotton-like substances in the air. It is said that these cotton-like substances fall from the sycamore trees.
Also, the dialect of Nanjing that I can never learn.
You can never experience the culture of a city without going there. Although I only went for three days, I breathed its air, ate its food, and talked to its people. I am silently experiencing the charm of Nanjing. In the end, I came back with a hint of Nanjing’s atmosphere.
This is the charm of traveling. The roads you have walked will exist in your breath.
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