Where should I stay in Nanjing?

Xinjiekou is where Nanjing Metro Lines 1 and 2 cross, and that intersection matters more than any hotel review score. From Xinjiekou station you're three stops to Fuzimiao, four stops to Nanjing South Railway Station, and a 12-minute walk east to the Presidential Palace on Changjiang Lu. The mid-range tier here runs ¥400-800 ($60-120) per night. Hotels along Zhongshan Lu tend to sit above shopping malls, so expect the hum of air conditioning and the faint smell of hotpot drifting up from the food floors below. The InterContinental Nanjing and Grand Metro Park Hotel both sit within 500 meters of the station exit. You might find the area loud on weekend evenings when the pedestrian streets fill up, but the trade-off is worth it. You can walk to dinner, a pharmacy, or a convenience store at midnight without needing a taxi.

Gulou, the old Drum Tower district 2km north of Xinjiekou, is the pick if you want Nanjing's university-quarter atmosphere. Nanjing University's main campus sits here, and the streets around Guangzhou Lu still fill with small noodle shops and secondhand bookstores. Budget ¥250-500 ($37-75) at a guesthouse or boutique hotel. Mornings smell like scallion oil and steamed buns from the breakfast carts that line the sidewalks. The pace slows down compared to Xinjiekou's retail corridors. Xuanwu Lake Park is a 10-minute walk northeast, and from Gulou station you're two stops south to Xinjiekou or four stops east toward the Zijin Shan scenic area entrance. The trade-off is fewer international-brand hotels, and English signage drops off once you leave the main roads.

Fuzimiao, the old Confucius Temple quarter along the Qinhuai River, looks best after dark when the wooden-fronted buildings glow along the canal. It is the most photogenic neighborhood in Nanjing. That said, it's also the most tourist-priced. Hotels here run ¥500-1000 ($75-150), and the restaurants facing the water tend to charge 30-50% more than equivalent spots two blocks inland. The duck blood and vermicelli soup (yaxue fensitang) at stalls on Gongyuan Jie costs about ¥15, a useful benchmark for whether you're overpaying. The area gets packed on national holidays and summer weekends, with foot traffic thick enough to turn a 200-meter walk along the main canal path into a 20-minute shuffle. If you book here, request a room facing away from the river. The waterfront rooms pick up amplified folk music from the tour boats until around 10pm.

Nanjing South Railway Station appears on booking sites at lower nightly rates, but the station sits 10km south of the city center with new-build apartments and chain restaurants filling the surrounding blocks. If your plan includes day trips to Shanghai (75 minutes by G-train) or Suzhou (90 minutes), staying near South Station saves a morning commute, but you'll taxi ¥30-40 into the city every evening for dinner. The Hexi New Town district west of the river looks modern on a map but lacks the walkable food streets that make Nanjing's older quarters worth staying in. Late September temperatures currently hover around 22°C with 95% humidity and light drizzle. That damp warmth makes a hotel with solid climate control feel less optional. Pack an umbrella and a light layer; Nanjing's autumn rain tends to arrive without warning.