Things to Do Alone in Nanjing

Nanjing suits a solo visit because so much of it is built to be walked through slowly: big museums that are free to enter, a Ming-dynasty city wall, and old gardens and lanes along the Qinhuai River that stay open into the evening. Most of it is reachable by metro, and nobody expects you to bring company.

Checked 2026-11-01 against the Nanjing government's English portal and the Memorial Hall's own site. The portal pages date from May 2024, so confirm hours and prices before you travel.

The museum day

The Nanjing Museum (Zhongshan East Road, Xuanwu District) is the obvious first stop. The city portal lists its halls as History, Art, Special Exhibition, Digital, Republic of China and Intangible Cultural Heritage, with free admission and hours of 09:00 to 17:00, closed on Monday mornings. It gives a 600-metre walk from Exit 1 of Minggugong Station on Line 2 (city portal, museums). With several halls, you can stop after one or two. See our guide to visiting museums alone for pacing.

Around Daxinggong Station (Lines 2 and 3) several smaller options sit close together on Changjiang Road. The Museum of Modern Chinese History, housed in the Presidential Palace, has Chinese-style gardens beside western office buildings. The portal lists a 40 CNY ticket, 08:30 to 17:00 from 1 March to 15 November, and 08:30 to 16:00 from 16 November to the end of February. The Jiangsu Art Museum was established in 1936 as China's first national art museum of the modern era. It is listed as free but ticketed, 09:00 to 17:00, closed on Mondays. Both are on the same portal page as above.

Brocade and silk

Textiles give Nanjing a theme you can follow alone. The Nanjing Silk Brocade Museum at 240 Chatingdong Street in Jianye District says it is the only brocade museum in China and shows Chinese brocade art represented by Nanjing brocade. The portal lists free entry and 09:00 to 17:00, with a 340-metre walk from Exit 2 of Yunjinlu Station on Line 2. In the Daxinggong area, the Jiangning Imperial Silk Manufacturing Museum covers the Qing-dynasty silk workshop site, with a Yunjin hall and a gallery themed on A Dream of Red Mansions. It is listed at 30 CNY, 09:00 to 17:30, closed on Mondays (city portal, museums).

Both make a quiet, low-pressure mission: pick one piece of woven cloth and work out what makes it different.

The Memorial Hall

The Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders stands on the site of a mass grave in Jianye District. The city portal describes three parts: the square display, the historical material display and the display of remains. It is a place for quiet and attention.

The hall's own visitor notice sets out the practical rules. Opening hours are 8:30 to 17:30 with last admission at 16:30, closed every Monday except national statutory holidays. All visitors need a real-name reservation through the hall's WeChat official account, one to seven days ahead, with tickets released daily at 8:00. Valid documents include passports, and the three exhibition halls need separate reservations. Admission is listed as free on the portal. Strollers and wheelchairs can be borrowed free of charge, and large luggage must be stored. By metro, take Line 2 to Yunjinlu Station and use Exit 2 (Memorial Hall visitor notice, Memorial Hall home page).

Because reservations are required, book before you travel and keep a flexible half day around it. Check the notice for any one-off closures.

Walls, lake and lanes

The Ming city wall runs along Xuanwu Lake Park (1 Xuanwu Alley). The portal calls it the longest, largest and best-preserved ancient city wall in the world, lists it as open all day and free, with fees for some attractions, and suggests walking it at sunset with views of Jiming Temple and the lake. The nearest metro stop is Jimingsi on Line 3. Jiming Temple itself is listed at 10 CNY, 07:00 to 17:30 (city portal, scenic spots).

Further out, the Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum scenic area at Muxuyuan Station is listed as free, 08:30 to 17:00, with the ancestral hall and tomb chamber closed on Mondays. The Ming Xiaoling mausoleum nearby is listed at 70 CNY with winter hours of 07:00 to 17:30 from December to February. The portal calls Xiaoling the one world cultural heritage site within Nanjing (city portal, scenic spots, city portal, scenic spot overview).

Evenings on the Qinhuai

The area around Fuzimiao (Confucius Temple) is where Nanjing stays lit. Two venues list opening until 21:00:

• Imperial Examination Museum (Jiang Nan Gong Yuan), 95 Gongyuan Road, 50 CNY, 09:00 to 21:00, closed on Mondays, about 500 metres from Exit 2 of Fuzimiao Station on Line 3. It describes itself as a place to feel what candidates went through, sitting where they sat (city portal, museums).
• Zhanyuan Garden, 128 Zhanyuan Road, which the portal calls the only Ming-dynasty palace open to the public and especially good for a night visit. It lists 30 CNY by day, 60 CNY at night, 09:00 to 21:00, closed on Mondays, and a walk from Exit 4 of Sanshanjie Station on Line 1.

The Confucius Temple scenic area is listed as open all day and free, with fees for some attractions. A painted-boat night cruise from Fuzimiao is listed at 100 CNY for the night tour, 18:30 to 22:00. The Laomendong historic district and Wuyi Alley (free, 09:00 to 21:00) are good for wandering without a plan, since the portal describes them as a place to slow down and eat Nanjing food (city portal, scenic spots).

Eating alone

The portal's snack-bar list names 27 traditional Nanjing places, among them Jiming Steamed Dumplings, Li Ji Pan-fried Dumplings, Zhanyuan Noodle Restaurant, Huiwei Duck Blood and Vermicelli Soup Shop and Nanjing Chenxiang Duck Restaurant, whose name includes salted duck. The list gives names only, with no hours or prices, so look up the one nearest you (city portal, snack bars). For tips on sitting down alone, see how to eat alone in public.

Getting around

The Nanjing Municipal Transport Bureau's guide says stations have ticket vending machines that take banknotes and coins, and the Jinlingtong transportation card is available at all stations. The metro helpline is listed as +86 25 51899999 (city portal, metro tickets). Most venues above are given with a distance from a named station and exit, so plan by metro line. Suzhou, Shanghai and Hangzhou are the nearest city guides on this site: see Suzhou, Shanghai and Hangzhou.

First solo outings

1. Easy: The Nanjing Museum for a morning, then lunch at a dumpling or noodle place.
2. Medium: An evening at Fuzimiao, with the Imperial Examination Museum or Zhanyuan Garden before 21:00.
3. Bold: Reserve the Memorial Hall in advance and visit on your own, with quiet time afterwards.

Solo Era for iPhone

Visit a public costume exhibition.

Solo Era has a culture mission at level 2: "Visit a public costume exhibition." The Nanjing Silk Brocade Museum is a natural place to try it: explore the textile displays and choose one piece whose construction interests you. Free to download. A subscription is required to start missions. Prices and any free trial are shown in the app and depend on the offer and eligibility.

More cities are in the cities hub. For planning, see the new-city guide and the first solo trip tips.

Details change; check the venue before you go.

Sources (checked 2026-11-01)

• Nanjing government portal: Museums and Galleries
• Nanjing government portal: Scenic Spots
• Nanjing government portal: Scenic spot overview
• Nanjing government portal: Special Snack Bars
• Nanjing government portal: How to buy tickets for Nanjing Metro
• Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre: visitor notice
• Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre: home page

Solo Era for iPhone

Try it with Solo Era

Solo Era gives you one realistic mission a week, records how nervous you felt before and after, and keeps a photo journal of what you did. An iPhone app. A subscription is required to start missions; any free trial depends on the offer and eligibility shown in the app.