East China · 5 days
Nanjing & Shanghai in 5 Days: Ming Capital to the Bund
Nanjing is the imperial capital that most first trips skip: the Mausoleum avenue under plane trees, a Ming emperor’s tomb in the purple hills, a Ming city wall you can walk, and a museum quarter the size of a small town. Five days runs Nanjing at three nights — the right count for the wall, the tomb and the Confucian quarter without rushing — then puts you on the 80-minute high-speed train to Shanghai for the Bund and the French Concession lanes.
The route
What this trip actually feels like
- The Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum and its 392-step marble ascent through plane trees
- Ming Xiaoling — the Ming founder’s tomb and the Stone Elephant Road, a UNESCO site
- Walking the Ming city wall above Xuanwu Lake at Zhongshan Gate
- The Nanjing Museum’s Republic-of-China street, recreated indoors at full scale
- 80 minutes on the Beijing–Shanghai line from Nanjing South to Shanghai Hongqiao
Best for
- Second-time visitors who have done Beijing and want the other imperial capital
- Autumn leaf photographers — the Stone Elephant Road is one of China’s best
- Anyone who wants one trip to hold both the dynasty side and the modern side of China
Along the way
The places this route passes through
Day by day
The plan, as it would actually run
Arrive Nanjing; the Ming wall at dusk
Land at Lukou, and the airport express has you at Nanjing South in half an hour. The Banyan Tree sits east of the old city by the Garden Expo park — check in, drop bags, and go straight to Zhongshan Gate, where the Ming wall still stands its full height above Xuanwu Lake. Walk the parapet as the light drops over the lake and the purple hills behind it. Dinner is Nanjing duck — the city’s salted, slow-roasted answer to Beijing’s.
- Morning
- Arrival at Nanjing Lukou (NKG), airport express to the hotel
- Afternoon
- Check in and rest at the Garden Expo park
- Evening
- Ming city wall walk at Zhongshan Gate over Xuanwu Lake
- Meals
- Dinner included
Night 1 Banyan Tree Nanjing Garden Expo
Note. The wall at Zhongshan Gate is 15 minutes from the hotel and stays open until the rangers finish at dusk; go late, when the tour groups have gone.
The Mausoleum avenue, the Ming tomb and the Stone Elephant Road
The whole day is the Purple Mountain park east of the old city. Walk the 392 steps of the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in the morning cool, then take the park shuttle to Ming Xiaoling — the Ming founder’s hillside tomb, reached down the Sacred Way. The Stone Elephant Road, the last stretch, is six hundred-year-old stone animals under ginkgo and maple: in November it is the most photographed lane in the city. Lunch on the mountain, then down to the Nanjing Museum for the afternoon, where a full Republic-of-China street runs indoors at street scale.
- Morning
- Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum at opening, before the coaches
- Afternoon
- Ming Xiaoling and the Stone Elephant Road, then the Nanjing Museum
- Evening
- Quiet dinner near the museum quarter
- Meals
- Breakfast included · Lunch included
Night 2 Banyan Tree Nanjing Garden Expo
Note. Buy the Purple Mountain combined shuttle ticket at the park gate — the distances between the Mausoleum, Xiaoling and the museum gate are not walking distances.
Presidential Palace, the wall’s south face, and the night at the Confucian quarter
The morning is the Presidential Palace — the compound where the Ming princes, the Qing governors, the Republic and the modern era all left a floor plan — then the surviving wall bastion at Zhonghua Gate, the largest city-wall gate left anywhere in China. Afternoon is free: the hotel’s spa, or the Jiming Temple hill above the lake. At night the group moves to the Confucius Temple quarter on the Qinhuai River — the lantern-lit lanes, the snack courts, and the boat loop past the painted eaves.
- Morning
- Presidential Palace and its five eras of floor plans
- Afternoon
- Zhonghua Gate wall bastion, then free time
- Evening
- Qinhuai River lantern quarter and the boat loop
- Meals
- Breakfast included · Dinner included
Night 3 Banyan Tree Nanjing Garden Expo
Note. The Presidential Palace lines move fastest before 10am; the Qinhuai boats are best after full dark, when the lanterns are lit on both banks.
80 minutes to Shanghai; the Bund at night
A morning train from Nanjing South — the Beijing–Shanghai line covers the 300 kilometres in 80 to 95 minutes, and you step off at Shanghai Hongqiao with the afternoon intact. Check in at the Peace Hotel on the Bund itself, then walk the waterfront promenade as the skyscraper lights come up across the river. Dinner is classic Shanghainese — the sweet, slow-braised reds the city is known for.
- Morning
- High-speed rail Nanjing South → Shanghai Hongqiao
- Afternoon
- Check in at the Peace Hotel; rest
- Evening
- Bund promenade after dark, then Shanghainese dinner
- Meals
- Breakfast included · Dinner included
Night 4 Fairmont Peace Hotel
Note. Sit on the left side of the train leaving Nanjing — the lake district and the canal country flash past in the first half hour.
Yu Garden lanes, the French Concession, and departure
The last morning holds the Yu Garden quarter — the Ming merchant garden and the bazaar lanes around it — then a short ride to the former French Concession for the plane-tree streets and the last coffee of the trip before the transfer to Pudong or Hongqiao. If your flight is late, the Maglev from Longyang Road covers the last 30 kilometres to Pudong in eight minutes.
- Morning
- Yu Garden and the bazaar lanes
- Afternoon
- French Concession stroll, then airport transfer
- Evening
- Departure
- Meals
- Breakfast included
Night 5 Fairmont Peace Hotel
Note. The Yu Garden lanes open at 9am and are genuinely empty for the first hour; the garden itself is the point, the bazaar is the souvenir run.
In pictures
Scenes from the Nanjing & Shanghai route
Where you sleep
Handpicked stays on this route
Banyan Tree · Luxury
Banyan Tree Nanjing Garden Expo
Inside the Garden Expo park with private hot spring pools in every room category, and a children’s club. The easiest family add-on to a Nanjing stop.
- Daily breakfast for two
- One 60-minute photo session
- Welcome fruit and minibar soft drinks
- Kids club, pool, gym and yoga room
From US$340 per night
Valid to 2026-12-31
Fairmont · Luxury
Fairmont Peace Hotel
The 1930s Sassoon House on the Bund, with the legendary Jazz Bar and a rooftop terrace facing the Pudong skyline. History is the selling point here, and it delivers.
- Stay 3, pay for 2
- Daily breakfast for two
- Room upgrade
- US$100 dining credit
From US$970 per night
Valid to 2026-12-31
Practicalities
The things to get right before departure
Visa and entry
Mainland China requires a visa or visa-free entry (around 50 countries, up to 30 days). Shanghai Pudong and Nanjing Lukou are both visa-free transit ports if the 240-hour rule fits your routing. We confirm your passport’s position before anything is booked.
Getting between the cities
Fly into Nanjing Lukou (NKG) — the airport express train reaches Nanjing South in 35 minutes. The intercity leg is Nanjing South to Shanghai Hongqiao, 80–95 minutes on the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed line. Depart from Shanghai Pudong (PVG) or Hongqiao (SHA).
Questions
Asked by travellers on this route
Is Nanjing worth it if I have already done Beijing?
Yes, and for a different reason. Beijing holds the Qing-era imperial set; Nanjing holds the earlier Ming story, a city wall you can actually walk above a lake, and the Republic-of-China layer that Beijing barely shows. Travellers who do both say Nanjing feels like the city Beijing was before the crowds.
How many days does Nanjing need?
Three nights, which is what this route runs. That covers the Purple Mountain set (Mausoleum, Ming tomb, museum), the wall gates and the Confucian quarter without the coach-group pace. Two nights works but drops the museum; four adds Yangzhou as a day trip.
How long is the train from Nanjing to Shanghai?
80 to 95 minutes on the fastest services from Nanjing South to Shanghai Hongqiao, with departures roughly every 20 minutes through the day. Tickets open 15 days out; we book the 9am bracket so Shanghai keeps a full afternoon.
When is the best time to go?
Late March to May for the plane-tree canopy on the Mausoleum avenue, and November for the Stone Elephant Road’s ginkgo and maple — the single best leaf shot in the city. July and August are hot and humid; the museum and temple interiors make it survivable but not pleasant.
Can I do this trip visa-free?
Most Western passports now enter mainland China visa-free for up to 30 days, which covers this route with room to spare. If your passport is not on that list, the 240-hour transit rule can work if you fly in through Nanjing Lukou or Shanghai Pudong and have an onward ticket to a third country — Hong Kong and Macau count.
Where exactly is the Banyan Tree?
By the Garden Expo park, 20–30 minutes east of the old city, in the Tangshan hot-spring district. The trade is space and spa against door-step proximity — the driver stays with the route, so the wall-and-museum days lose only minutes. Ask us for the downtown alternative if you would rather walk home from dinner.
Do I need to book the high-speed rail in advance?
Not for a seat in low season, but for the departure bracket that protects your afternoon in Shanghai, yes — the 9–10am services fill first, and tickets release 15 days out. We hold the booking as part of the itinerary, so you do not deal with the Chinese booking apps yourself.