Off Again from Beijing: A Super Condensed 16 Hours in Nanjing (No Insta-Famous Spots, No Queues, Still Soaking Up Jinling’s Charm)

I grew up in Shanghai and am absolutely no stranger to Nanjing. My key label for this city could be summed up in four words: tough and gritty. From its overall style, dialect, to its cuisine – everything fits. But somewhere along the way, Nanjing gradually became an internet-famous city pursuing a soft, graceful Jiangnan aesthetic. Countless influencer spots drew hordes of people rushing to check in, and viral foods made diners queue like crazy... These were a far cry from my memories. With curiosity and questions, I set off for Nanjing once again. Although the itinerary was short, since I didn’t need to revisit most traditional sights or foods, the time was just enough.

I took a high-speed sleeper train from Beijing Station, saving both on accommodation costs and time. Arriving at 7 a.m., I headed straight to the food street by metro – no beating around the bush, it was straight into eating and strolling!

【Part One – Eating】

The first thing to do upon arriving in Nanjing was to dive into the food, so this travelogue starts with eating. Though my husband and I usually stick to a healthy diet, this time we followed the principle of skipping the classics and only trying things we hadn’t eaten before, eating as much as we could manage. The order here is ranked by how much I enjoyed them.

Top 1: Master Zuo’s Plum Blossom Cake

Years ago, a classmate recommended I try Master Zuo’s plum blossom cake, and it remains the one Nanjing food I crave whenever I think of the city. On a Friday afternoon, there were no – queues – at all! Leisurely, I bought two of the classic red bean paste ones and enjoyed them as I walked. The familiar taste – nothing can replace this absolute favorite of mine, bar none! The top was chewy, bouncy glutinous rice pearls, the middle a layer of glutinous rice cake, and at the bottom was an incredibly smooth but not overly sweet red bean paste. A mouthful of that abundant bean paste instantly filled me with bliss!

Top 2: Xuanwu Hotel – Wanghu Xuan Palace Buffet

This was our only proper sit-down meal in Nanjing. The internet was full of guides to all sorts of trendy restaurants, but the mixed reviews left us paralyzed by choice, scared that our one real meal might be a total letdown. Based on my travel experience in recent years, when you can’t decide, a five-star hotel buffet is almost always a safe bet. First, top hotel chefs are highly skilled, so the cooking quality is assured. Second, the variety is huge, leaving no regrets. Third, it brings together many local specialties, saving you from running around and queuing everywhere. And if that restaurant happens to have unbeatable views, then – like our choice – it’s perfect! Probably because it isn’t a flashy internet sensation, we could still book the best view seats just a few hours in advance. The restaurant had two seating areas: fixed window tables on the outer ring and rotating seats on the inner ring. We chose the outer ring, facing Xuanwu Lake directly.

The very first thing you see after sitting down is Xuanwu Lake right in front of you.

I casually snapped a few shots of some food stations, though not comprehensive. In fact, the variety of dishes far exceeded my expectations – from Chinese and Western cold plates, hot dishes, and barbecue, to Nanjing specialties, drinks, desserts, and fruit, everything was available. Most importantly, the ingredients were high-quality, the preparation was refined, and the flavors were superb. Each person also got a complimentary shark fin soup, and the lovely group-buying price made it feel like exceptional value. No wonder so many locals come with their entire families.

We ate from bright daylight until the evening lights began to glow. It was a wonderful night, a dual feast for the eyes and taste buds.

Top 3: Jiming Soup Dumplings

The famous Jiming Soup Dumplings, a chain snack shop, was our first breakfast after arriving in Nanjing. Two of us ordered a portion of chicken broth soup dumplings, a bowl of red bean glutinous rice balls, and a bowl of chicken soup.

A clean and tidy shop.

The pleats of the soup dumplings were folded underneath. The taste was similar to most soup dumplings and xiaolongbao, nothing special. The filling, seasoned with soy sauce, was quite firm, suggesting more lean meat than fat.

The little glutinous rice balls were disappointing. It was a bowl of thickened brown sugar syrup with red beans and balls, and the strong brown sugar taste completely overpowered the red beans.

Though called chicken soup, it was actually a bowl of chicken giblet soup, with intestines, blood, and gizzards mixed with a few pieces of chicken breast.

Top 4: Li Ji Muslim Restaurant

The locals' love for beef-filled snacks draws out-of-towners to this must-visit Muslim eatery. It’s large-scale with an extensive menu, but the most popular items are beef potstickers, pan-fried buns, and wontons.

The dining hall has a distinctive, characterful style.

It's the traditional self-service model where you buy tickets first. The longest queue was for the beef wontons.

The cooked-food section was very popular with local residents.

The famous potstickers: the beef and scallion filling was a bit loose.

My husband ordered a noodle soup with shredded pork and pickled vegetables.

【Part Two – Wandering】

Eating and strolling are the two main pillars of a relaxed city break. Although our stay was short, we managed to visit quite a few places because we didn’t waste time queuing or squeezing into overcrowded tourist spots.

That day we had three main destinations: first, wandering the little streets and alleys; second, the Purple Mountain cable car; third, Xuanwu Lake by day and by night.

Let’s start with the street wandering, which we combined with snacking. Walking and eating, we savored local treats while soaking up the city’s vibe.

Here are some casual shots of street scenes, food stalls, and shops along the way.

The forecast predicted heavy rain all day, so we kept wavering about whether to go up the mountain. The sky remained grey. Finally, we decisively hopped in a taxi to the Purple Mountain cable car entrance, determined to squeeze in one more sightseeing activity and not let our already short time go to waste.

When you’re pressed for time, you adapt your approach: we bought round-trip cable car tickets. Not being astronomy buffs, we didn’t get off at the intermediate stop for the observatory and went straight to the top station. After getting off, we did a big loop on the mountaintop, covering all the spots marked on the map, then returned by cable car.

On the way up, the sky was dark and heavy, visibility poor.

But once we reached the summit, the sky began to clear, the clouds parted, and a blue sky gradually revealed a sweeping view of the entire city of Nanjing.

The scenery on the mountain. If you have more time, you can hike up, which would surely be a different kind of fun.

The main event, where we spent the most time – Xuanwu Lake Park.

Since our hotel was opposite Xuanwu Gate, we basically spent the whole afternoon and evening in the park.

It was a stuffy weekday afternoon. The park wasn’t particularly crowded with tourists; there were plenty of locals enjoying their leisure time.

The city wall is one of Xuanwu Lake Park’s features. Although I knew these walls couldn’t be Ming dynasty relics, they still oozed a sense of historical vicissitude and age.

Vast groves of dawn redwoods, soaring skyward – known as living fossils of the plant world.

Nanjing people’s leisure activities were quite interesting. They love to gather in groups to play card games – I couldn’t tell exactly what game, but it’s clearly very popular locally.

Xuanwu Lake Park itself is free, but if you want to climb onto the city wall, you need to buy a 30-yuan ticket. Very few people bother; for example, just the two of us. Once up there, we had the wall practically to ourselves.

Though the ticket was a bit pricey, walking atop the wall felt completely different from strolling at its foot. You get a much deeper sense of the intersection between history and present, the blend of ancient and modern.

Sadly, before we could fully take it in, a downpour hit. We’d only been on the wall for five minutes and were forced to scramble down to find shelter. Just like that, the ticket went to waste.

Even a brief heavy rain couldn’t relieve Nanjing’s stuffiness. Come nightfall, the city became even more sultry and humid.

As people who love running in every city we visit, we had also penciled in a run around Xuanwu Lake into our 16-hour schedule. The constant threat of heavy rain made it impossible to settle on a time. Finally, after that deeply satisfying buffet, we decisively laced up for a night run around the lake.

At night, Xuanwu Lake Park was bustling with people, many residents walking or running along the lake. Joining them was a wonderful feeling. I’ve described this sensation in several travelogues, and I genuinely hope it inspires others to experience it for themselves.

Up close to Nanjing Station.

Dazzling lights adorned the scenery on both banks. Covering a loop of about 10 kilometres was a truly unique experience.

Excluding sleep, we spent a solid 16 hours in Nanjing, eating, exploring, exercising, trying a few hyped snacks for fun, and also immersing ourselves in the daily life of locals. Here are my reflections.

First, Nanjing is a city where history and modernity blend well. Expansive green spaces interweave with historical relics and famous sights, making you feel relaxed and happy just being there.

Second, Nanjing is a down-to-earth city. Most streets still retain their original buildings; narrow streets are lined with shops selling humble snacks or unique clothes and accessories, which have far more character than sprawling malls and commercial districts.

Third, Nanjing is very good at promoting and marketing itself. I used to only know about Xuanwu Lake and Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum; now they’ve focused on creating cherry blossom season at Jiming Temple, the food street along the Qinhuai River, and Laomendong beneath the Ming city wall, organically combining natural landscapes with cultural sentiment in vivid, picturesque ways. This gives visitors a richer, more multi-dimensional appreciation of that beauty and comfort. At the same time, starting with the first 'Nanjing Impressions' restaurant, they have worked hard to incorporate traditional snacks from the Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai region. Beyond local specialties like salted duck, pressed duck, roast duck, and duck blood vermicelli soup, they have also added glutinous rice cakes, smoked fish dishes, fried radish cakes, and other snacks into Nanjing’s city menu. So nowadays, many of Nanjing’s restaurants and viral snacks are not originally local; they’ve just been popularized and flourished here. This might be why Nanjing has surged ahead in the Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai free-shipping zone and become such a buzzy destination.