Self-driving Tour Guide to Fun Places Around Nanjing

Now is the best time to travel and have fun. There are many tourist attractions around Nanjing that are highly recommended for friends to drive to. Here are some scenic spots where you can enjoy beautiful scenery and delicious food. Let me introduce them to you in detail!

1、Nanjing Lishui Fujíabiān

【Route】From Nanjing, take the Airport Expressway, then take the Ninggao Expressway. Get off at the first toll booth and turn left for 2 kilometers to reach Tiānshēngqiáo.

【Food】Specialty products are green plum products, Shiqiu dog meat, Honglan royal cake, Honglan beef, organic vegetables, black-bone chicken green-shelled eggs, etc.

【Tour】The Fujíabiān Agricultural Science and Technology Park has 10,000 mu of plum and peach blossoms. Strolling through the park, people will be intoxicated. Not only can people experience the charm of a paradise and the beautiful scenery of nature, they can also taste local farmhouse dishes. Now is the season for strawberries to ripen. Citizens can also go to the strawberry planting greenhouses to pick strawberries themselves and fully enjoy the fun of a farmhouse harvest. On the way back, you can also go to Lishui County Town to visit Wuxiang Temple, the “First Scenic Spot in the South of the Yangtze River”, on Wuxiang Mountain, visit Fengquan, and the rock carvings before going to Tiānshēngqiáo Scenic Area, known as “Little Three Gorges of the South”, to visit the Qinhuai River Source, Yānzhīhé and Fènghuángjǐng and other scenic spots.

2、Anhui Jiuhua Mountain

【Route】Nanjing – Ring Expressway – Ningma Expressway – Pass Ma’anshan – Wuhu – Fánchāng – Tongling – Qingyang – Guìchí Exit off the Expressway – Qingquanling – Wǔxī – Turn left to enter Jiuhua Mountain Scenic Area

【Itinerary】230 kilometers

【Food】Anhui local cuisine, authentic, bold flavor.

【Tour】Jiuhua Mountain has a blend of human and natural landscapes. It has 94 large and small temples, including the state-level key protected temples Huáchéng Temple, Jíyuán Temple, Gānlù Temple, and Baisuì Palace. It also has dozens of natural landscapes such as the natural Sleeping Buddha, Tíaotái Sunrise, Huā tái Wonderful Scenery, Dá Péng Listening to Scripture, Mǐn Yuán Bamboo Sea, Guānyīn Out to Sea, and so on, which are breathtaking.

Have some special vegetarian dishes of the Buddhist holy land in the scenic area for lunch. In the afternoon, start visiting Jíyuán Temple, Huáchéng Temple, Dá Bēi Diàn, Baisuì Palace, and Ròushēn Diàn. After dinner, sleep soundly in the peaceful and harmonious atmosphere of the Buddhist kingdom. Get up early the next day, offer a prayer for peace and happiness for your family in the morning light, and then you can take small transportation to visit Fènghuáng Sōng, Gǔ Jìng Bǎi Tái, Tíaotái Zhèngdǐng, and Yīxiàn Tiān.

3、Anhui Xiānyù Mountain

【Route】Nanjing – Ring Expressway – Ningma Expressway – Pass Ma’anshan – Wuhu – Nánlíng – Qingyang – Arrive at Shítái County

【Itinerary】350 kilometers

【Food】Mainly farmhouse meals, specialty dishes include one-pot dish, chicken soup, uniquely made pickled peppers, etc. This place also has various wild vegetables, small fish and crabs, etc. The famous Shítái County Xiānyù name tea is also produced here.

【Tour】Xiānyù Mountain is in the same mountain range as Mount Huangshan and is known for its grandeur, wonder, danger, and beauty. It is a “fairyland on earth” with a strong fairy-like atmosphere. Here, the trees are lush and cover the sky; the streams in the valleys flow, and the pools are like jade; what is more unique is that the stones at the bottom of the valley are mostly red and green colored strange stones. Such ecological beauty can be best described by the two ancient poems, “Birds sing in the forest and the silence deepens, springs chime in the mountains and the quietness grows.” Xiānyù Mountain is not only beautiful in natural scenery, but also an ecological paradise where various animals and plant communities coexist harmoniously. There are many national-level protected plants in the abundant forests, which are also a paradise for birds and beasts, such as rare birds and beasts like clouded leopards, black muntjac, macaques, short-tailed macaques, pangolins, golden pheasants, and long-tailed pheasants. The ancient and profound cultural heritage is also a characteristic of this place. There are the ancient Huí Dào built in the Tang Dynasty, the temple ruins of the “Cáo Dòng Zhèngzōng” of one of the five sects of Buddhist Zen, as well as imperial inscriptions bestowed by the emperor, the “Qìng’ān Tǎ Míng” inscription in the handwriting of Wāng Dàokūn, the Minister of War of the Ming Dynasty… There is also one of the three richest selenium villages in the country, “Tiānfāng Fùxī Village”, where the selenium content is between that of Ziyang, Shaanxi and Enshi, Hubei, ranking second in the country, which can enhance human immunity and is quite magical.

Friends who are interested can also go rafting on the Qiūpǔ River. This Qiūpǔ River, which originates in Shítái County, is known as the “River of Poetry” and is nearly 10 li long, with nine twists and turns, quiet and magical. It has many waterfalls, the most spectacular of which is Huángyán Waterfall, which is over 70 meters high and over 20 meters wide. It is like a giant white ribbon, cascading down from the cliff into the green pool in the mountains, with bursts of white mist rising, majestic and awe-inspiring. In addition, you will pass through Wuhu on the way home in the evening. You can taste the local drunk shrimp and Yangtze River flower fish, which will definitely make you feel that your trip was worthwhile.

4、Zhènjiāng Jīnshān

【Route】Get off at Zhènjiāng on the Shanghai-Nanjing Expressway

【Itinerary】About 90 kilometers

【Food】Zhènjiāng braised pork, Zhènjiāng pot lid noodles

【Tour】Jīnshān is located in the northwest of Zhènjiāng City, with an elevation of 43.7 meters and a total area of 41.6 hectares. Jīnshān has a secluded scenery and natural beauty. It has been one of China’s tourist attractions since ancient times. The ancient Jīnshān was originally an island standing in the middle of the Yangtze River, known as “a beautiful lotus in the middle of the river”. Zhang Hù of the Tang Dynasty described it as “the shadow of the tree is seen in the middle of the river, and the bell sound is heard on both sides of the river”; Shěn Guò of the Northern Song Dynasty praised it as “the buildings on both sides of the river are connected by water, the north and south of the Yangtze River are like a mirror in the sky”. Originally an island in the Yangtze River, due to the “Eastward Flow of the Great River”, it merged with the mainland around the end of the Qing Dynasty (1903).