Changzhou Dinosaur Park + Nanjing 4-Day 3-Night Family Trip

This National Day we chose to travel for 4 days, then head home with two days left to rest. Personally I thought this itinerary was just right – no time wasted, high value for money, and it kept the little one in mind so it wasn’t too tiring. (The only thing I didn’t count on was the south hitting over 35°C this October.) Here’s the practical info, not many photos.

Because our kid is crazy about dinosaurs and had always wanted to visit this dinosaur park, and looking at the map I saw Changzhou is close to Nanjing, Wuxi and Suzhou, plus I’d previously spotted the popular Hongshan Forest Zoo online, I added Nanjing as a destination.

Our child is 4½ years old. Favorite thing: dinosaurs.

Departure city: Beijing. Destinations: Changzhou, Nanjing.

Accommodation: First night near Changzhou Dinosaur Park; second and third nights by the Qinhuai River in Nanjing’s Fuzimiao area (highly recommend the Junting Hotel, we stayed in the cheapest street-view room at around 800 yuan). Originally we wanted to book the official dinosaur-themed hotel in the park, but a room that usually costs five or six hundred shot up to two thousand during the holiday – I didn’t think it was worth it. So we booked the Marco Polo Hotel about a 15-minute walk from the park at around 800 yuan a night. In the hotel we were probably awake for about an hour; the rest was just sleeping, so I can’t say it was particularly good or bad. I thought there’d be a shuttle to the park but there wasn’t. In Nanjing we stayed at the Junting Jinling Calligraphy Hotel, which I loved because it faced the Qinhuai River – highly recommended. From the butler service we added on WeChat before the trip (they helped with pandemic policies, travel reminders, directions, breakfast booking) to the meals, the views, the front desk greetings and the lobby design – I really enjoyed everything.

Food: We hardly had any proper sit-down meals and nothing truly wowed me – just some that were decent and some that were awful. Decent: Jiming Soup Dumplings (small eatery, pretty good) > Hong Mansion (nice ambiance, food was okay). Terrible: Yongheyuan Restaurant’s duck blood vermicelli soup.

In Changzhou we just grabbed snacks inside the park and didn’t try anything distinctive. In Nanjing I personally highly recommend Jiming Soup Dumplings and duck blood vermicelli soup. (Though you probably don’t need my recommendation – of course not every place does it well, so avoid the traps. The duck blood soup at the hotel breakfast was especially good. I love duck blood vermicelli soup and had about five bowls; one time at a 4-star rated place on Dianping it was awful, with bloody-smelly duck blood. My tip: don’t rely entirely on online ratings – check if there are plenty of people inside, especially outside peak meal times.)

Day 1 Beijing – Changzhou by overnight sleeper train, departing after 9pm and arriving around 8am in Changzhou.

The day before, I bought two-day multi-entry tickets for the dinosaur park on Ctrip, about 400 yuan per person, children under 1.2m free. Definitely use the park’s mini-program to check show times, attraction introductions and all kinds of practical info.

Must-try attractions: Dino DNA Research Center, Through the Jurassic (we missed this one – by just after 9am the wait was already 4½ hours and fast passes were sold out, so the 5-yuan raincoats we bought at the gate went unused), Dream Town (a kiddie zone, I’d say best for under-7s), China Dinosaur Park (the museum part, with lots of knowledge talks and educational activities – we joined the paid “Bone-Detective Dino Search” and there were also free mini-lectures; the whole hall is similar to the Beijing Natural History Museum, highly recommended), Wild Explorer (a paid activity, suitable for under-7s who haven’t done outdoor adventure before; older kids might find it too tame), Magic Show (our child loved it, but the queuing system is crazy – everyone waits in an indoor holding area for half an hour before entering), the daytime water motorcycle stunt show, and the evening parade and light show.

We went straight to the dinosaur park with our luggage (arrived by taxi after 9am). At the visitor centre at the gate we used the free oversized luggage storage (smaller items require a paid locker further in, but if you have at least one large suitcase you can store all your bags for free at the gate).

Once inside, Dad went to queue for the Dino DNA Research Center while I took the kid to rent a stroller (120 yuan/day without lock, 20 yuan more with lock, plus a deposit).

We stayed until about 1pm, then went back to the hotel to rest. At 3:30pm we headed back to the park and stayed until the 8pm light show finished.

The first day was mostly outdoor rides plus the sea lion show. Meals were just bits of snacks (sausages, meat skewers, meatballs, not expensive). We brought some snacks for the child. You can also eat after you leave the park in the commercial street outside – restaurants there aren’t priced like inside a scenic area, with KFC, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and other Chinese eateries.

Day 2 After breakfast at the hotel, entered the park after 9am; took a train to Nanjing at 7pm.

The second day focused on the museum’s educational activities + Wild Explorer + elephant show + magic show. Our child wasn’t too tired. We left the park after 6pm for the train station. (We checked out in the morning and stored our luggage at the hotel. When it was time to leave, Dad dashed to the hotel a few minutes early to grab the bags – it’s easier to catch a taxi from the hotel than from the dinosaur park.)

In the evening we strolled the pedestrian street and bought a fox mask, which our child absolutely loved (you can bargain for trinkets here – I didn’t haggle too hard, it being a holiday, and getting about 1/3 off was fine).

Day 3 During the day, Hongshan Forest Zoo, tickets 40 yuan/person. At 5:30pm we went to Zhan Garden, tickets 95 yuan/person, to explore the evening program, including a Huangmei opera performance. The whole day was quite tiring.

Hongshan Forest Zoo comes highly recommended by many. Compared with Beijing Zoo, the animals’ living conditions are so much better – it’s on a hillside, with animal facts posted along the way. After entering, we took the shuttle to the end point at the hilltop hippo house, then slowly walked downhill, finally feeding animals at the small petting zoo near the entrance. This route makes good sense. Obviously it can’t compare with a 100-200 yuan safari park. Shops inside the zoo are very pricey (a popsicle 6 yuan – probably the most expensive scenic spot I’ve encountered; just my personal view. Other things like petting zoo feed and tram tickets were quite cheap).

We chose Zhan Garden because it had a Huangmei opera performance (even though we didn’t quite understand it) and it features classic Jiangnan garden aesthetics (which I personally like) – all things you don’t find in Beijing. I wanted our child to experience some different culture and compare it with the Peking opera she’s learning (though she may not understand it, my parenting approach is just to expose her to lots of things; understanding isn’t necessary). The garden has rockeries, little caves, pavilions, small ponds, long corridors – our kid had a blast. The evening performance was quite distinctive, though by then the little one was tired and the singing nearly lulled her to sleep.

Day 4 Fuzimiao scenic area; Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum; Qinhuai River painted boat ride; high-speed train back to Beijing at 8pm, arriving around 11:30pm (so cold~).

The previous two days at the dinosaur park we’d got up quite early. For the last day we took it easier. We got to Fuzimiao’s entrance around 10am and were incredibly lucky to catch the 10:05 free guided tour – there’s only one per day. We followed the guide for nearly half an hour to get an overview of the site’s outer areas. She recommended the free Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum – it’s wonderful, especially for kids to learn about traditions like kite-making, micro-carving, festive lanterns, paper-cutting, dough figurines and more. You can pay a few dozen yuan to try making something yourself. It was amazing to watch an elderly gentleman drawing and carving right there. There was also an area to rent hanfu for photos, but it was too hot so we skipped it.

Afterwards we doubled back to visit the Jiangnan Examination Hall. Our child wasn’t very interested overall, only remembering that you shouldn’t take the 9-day-6-night exam – maybe more suitable for school-age kids.

We came out around 4:30pm as the sun was weakening. Perfect timing for the Qinhuai River painted boat ride. There are two routes: one includes the city wall tickets, and one doesn’t. Due to time and energy, we chose the route without the city wall, about 40-odd minutes, with commentary – highly recommended. My daughter said she wished we could move our home to the Qinhuai riverside. We passed Bailuzhou Park, which looked lovely. If I come again, I’ll choose the route with the city wall and also visit Bailuzhou Park.

Finally, in Fuzimiao we had a proper sit-down meal. The earlier-mentioned Hong Mansion serves Huaiyang cuisine. Only the braised pork was truly delicious; the other dishes were just passable. Lovely ambiance.