Nanjing 3-Day Autumn Viewing Guide – This One Article Is Enough

Come to Nanjing to see autumn! Golden phoenix trees, ginkgo-lined paths, The colorful autumn of the Six Dynasties ancient capital Is a dream you don’t want to wake from. Here’s a 3-day roaming guide, Let’s fall into the autumn of Jinling together. - ▪️ About Transportation In Nanjing, it’s crowded everywhere, driving is inconvenient, high-speed rail is more convenient. Direct trains to Nanjing South Station, the city metro covers widely, just take the metro or a taxi. - ▪️ About the Itinerary Day❶: Depart from Ningbo by high-speed rail → Nanjing South → Check in at Niushou Mountain guesthouse → Niushou Mountain → Jinling Small Town night tour Day❷: Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum → Music Stage → Phoenix Tree Avenue → Muxuyuan Metro Station Day❸: 1865 Creative Park → Laomendong → Dabaoen Temple → Night tour of Qinhuai River - ✔️ Niushou Mountain Scenic Area + Jinling Small Town The Buddha Summit Palace and autumn leaves create a picturesque scene, the Bodhi Path gradually dyes in autumn colors. In the evening, head to Jinling Small Town, when the blue hour lights come on, it feels like a dream back to the Six Dynasties. Recommended to spend 4 hours. ⏱️ Opening Hours: 08:30-17:30 (Niushou Mountain) 13:30-21:00 (Jinling Small Town) 🚇 Metro: Line 3 Tianyuan West Road → 15 mins by taxi ✔️ Zhongshan Scenic Area Enter Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum from Gate 3 → Shixiang Road “Most Beautiful 600m” → Ming Xiaoling red walls and ginkgo → Exit from Gate 7 and take the scenic shuttle bus → Music Stage to feed pigeons → Take shuttle bus to Meiling Palace → 15 mins walk to Muxuyuan Metro Station (along Phoenix Tree Avenue) ⏱️ Opening Hours: 06:30-18:00 (Free before 06:30, half price 06:30-8:30) 🚇 Metro: Line 2 Muxuyuan Station (Internet-famous pedestrian bridge on Phoenix Tree Avenue for directions: after seeing the bridge, on the sidewalk side there is a small iron gate → go straight then turn right → pass through the stone tablet hall → stairs up to the bridge) ✔️ Laomendong The Chinese tallow trees in Laomendong (location: Yinxing Film City Laomendong store) have already turned red, trumpet creepers climbing the walls dance with the autumn sun. Check in at the “Nanjing,” “Laomendong,” and “Jinling” large character walls, the blue bricks and black tiles hide the most Jinling autumn. ⏱️ Open all day 🚇 Metro: Line 3 Wudingmen Station Exit 2 ❹ Dabaoen Temple Ruins Museum A Zen space blending ancient and modern, ginkgo under the glazed tile pagoda turning yellow. The ruins park collides with autumn colors, every snapshot is a masterpiece. Lights turn on at 18:30, watch the lighting before leaving. ⏱️ Opening Hours: 09:00-20:00 🚇 Metro: Line 1 Zhonghuamen Station Line 3 to “Yuhuamen” Station, walk through “1865 Creative Park” → Dabaoen Temple South Alley “check in at the super beautiful Phoenix Tree Alley” → Dabaoen Temple West Gate - ▪️ About Where to Stay You can stay near Zhongshan and Confucius Temple areas. Autumn is peak season, book at least 1 week in advance, and watch out for traffic congestion on weekends! This time I chose to stay inside the Niushou Mountain Scenic Area. This ancient-style guesthouse under the ginkgo tree — Huazhu Luxury Niushou Yinlan Guesthouse — suits my taste. The room is spacious and bright, with a sweet osmanthus tree right outside the window, the breeze leaves a fragrance. The big ginkgo tree in the courtyard will turn golden in about half a month. Sitting under the tree drinking tea and listening to the wind will be the leisurely enjoyment of autumn. (You can also see the Buddha Summit Pagoda of Niushou Mountain from the third-floor terrace)