A Nanjing Lad’s 50-Yuan Food Tour Through Old Chengnan

When it comes to travel, for me, food comes first. Food is the paramount necessity. No matter where you go, eating is a vital part of travel: Yangrou Paomo in Xi’an, hot pot in Chengdu, stinky tofu in Changsha, lamb skewers in Xinjiang, and so on. Speaking of Nanjing, there’s a saying: ‘No duck can swim across the Yangtze River alive’ – you can see how obsessed Nanjing people are with duck. Salted duck, roast duck, osmanthus duck, and even duck intestines, duck liver, duck blood are all turned into the delicious duck blood vermicelli soup. Do you think I’m going to recommend these? Wrong!

Since ancient times, Nanjing has been a land of good feng shui and is known as the ‘Ancient Capital of Six Dynasties’. Nanjing’s food culture has a long history. Besides duck blood vermicelli soup and soup dumplings, there are many delicious treats that outsiders don’t know about. As a native Nanjing xiaoganzi (local lad), today I’ll introduce some must-try foods and must-see spots in Old Chengnan, specifically around Fuzimiao and Laomendong.

Laomendong gets its name from being east of Zhonghua Gate (Zhonghuamen), opposite Laomenxi. It’s a gathering place of traditional Nanjing houses, so you’ll hardly see high-rises here—just rows of low houses. You can take Metro Line 3 or Line 1 from the city center. Walking along Jianzi Alley, you’ll see the huge stone archway of Laomendong, which is 17 meters high and carved with exquisite cloud patterns. The couplet on both sides reads: ‘The marketplace is steeped in the misty atmosphere of the Six Dynasties; commoners and officials have together written a grand chapter of history.’ This vividly portrays a scene of old Nanjing’s street life.

Personally, I prefer Laomendong over Fuzimiao. Although it’s less famous, it’s not as commercialized and feels more comfortable to stroll around. Most importantly, the food in Laomendong is cheaper, tastier, and more authentically local. I recommend visiting in the evening when it’s bustling and looks even more dazzling under the lights. Now, let’s get to the highlights—take notes!

1. Wood-Fired Wontons: 10 yuan per bowl. This wood-fired wonton stall has been around for 30 years. The owners are an elderly couple in their seventies. The old man looks a lot like the Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki, with his grey beard and hair, full of kindness. He wraps the wontons, and his wife cooks them. Ten yuan gets you a bowl of thin-skinned, generously filled wontons, served in a fresh bone broth. Each one is cooked over a wood fire, and a drizzle of chili oil makes it absolutely divine!

2. Lu’s Plum Blossom Cake: 8 yuan each. Plum blossom cake is one of the most classic street snacks in Nanjing—you simply must try it! Lu’s Plum Blossom Cake in Laomendong is especially famous. They have two main flavors: red bean paste and fruit. I recommend the red bean paste one, and be sure to eat it while it’s hot!

3. Xiao Zheng’s Crispy Sesame Cakes: 1.5–4 yuan. I’ve been eating these sesame cakes since I was a kid. They come in savory and sweet varieties. There’s always a queue here from morning till night! But if you’re reading this, consider yourself lucky—I’ll let you in on a secret: you can buy them without queuing at the wood-fired wonton grandpa’s stall. They’re delivered from the same shop, though they cost 0.5 yuan more. Still, it’s better than waiting in line for half an hour, right?

4. Tofu Dynasty: 10–20 yuan. This shop takes stinky tofu to the extreme. They have durian stinky tofu, blizzard stinky tofu—deep-fried until crispy, one bite is super satisfying! Beyond that, there’s also Yalaida’s secret recipe duck intestines, Miaodong Spare Ribs, Jiang Youji’s beef potstickers, and more...

After all that food, wander through the alleys of Laomendong to walk it off, and you might stumble upon this internet-famous bookstore: Librairie Avant-Garde (Junhui Bookstore). There are many Avant-Garde bookstores in Nanjing, the most famous being the Wutaishan main store, but this branch in Laomendong is well worth a visit. This bookstore was originally a place where Anhui students would study and rest before taking the imperial exams in Nanjing. The entire building is mainly constructed from wood, imitating the old Huizhou guildhall style. The Hui-style wood carvings on the doors and windows are incredibly lifelike. The interior retains the architectural style and structure of the time. While you’re unwinding, why not also recharge your mind here?

Fuzimiao is an iconic attraction in Nanjing—anyone who’s been to Nanjing has surely visited. It’s only about a 10-minute walk from Laomendong. In response to national policies, Nanjing is also vigorously developing its nightlife and night economy, so Fuzimiao is livelier than ever. Along the Fuzimiao pedestrian street, you’ll find not only stalls selling Yuhua stones and folding fans, but also the former residence of Li Xiangjun, one of the celebrated ‘Eight Beauties of Qinhuai,’ and the Memorial Hall of Wang Dao and Xie An. The famous Wuyi Lane is also on this street. ‘By Zhuque Bridge wild grasses and flowers bloom; At the entrance to Wuyi Lane the setting sun slants. The swallows that once nested in the halls of Wang and Xie, Now fly into the homes of ordinary people.’ This poem ‘Wuyi Lane’ by Liu Yuxi undoubtedly adds a layer of poetic imagination for visitors here.

Having not visited Fuzimiao for a long time, I was pleasantly surprised to find a new internet-famous Longmen Market. Purple wisteria cascades from above, and in the middle of the street stands a bronze statue group depicting a parade of someone who just passed the imperial exam, returning home in full glory. Amid the lively cries of vendors on both sides, it feels as if the scene has come to life—so vibrant and bustling.

As the largest and most influential imperial examination venue in Chinese history, Jiangnan Examination Hall produced over 800 zhuangyuan (top scorers), more than 100,000 jinshi, and millions of juren. The renowned Tang Bohu, foremost of the ‘Four Great Talents of Jiangnan,’ and Zheng Banqiao, one of the ‘Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou,’ both emerged from here.

The China Imperial Examination Museum is the only underground museum in the country, expanded from the Jiangnan Examination Hall. It includes three underground exhibition floors and above-ground structures such as the court, examination cells, and Kuiguang Pavilion. Among them, the Mingyuan Tower is undoubtedly the most eye-catching. It’s three stories high, with walls on all four sides of the ground floor, each with an arched door, and windows on all sides at the top. From there, you can take in the entire Jiangnan Examination Hall at a glance, which is why it served as the command post for ancient examiners. Today, Mingyuan Tower sits quietly on the water, looking dignified and elegant under the lights, as if telling the stories of the past.