Do I need to book Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum (Nanjing) in advance?
Yes — advance booking is required. The climb is 392 steps in the open; go early in summer. The surrounding Purple Mountain park absorbs the rest of the day easily.
Can foreigners book Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum with a passport?
Reserve real-name with your passport through the official 'Nanjing Zhongshan Scenic Spot' WeChat account/mini-program; free but capped. Online booking often fails for foreigners, so the widely reported workaround is to bring your passport and get in at the gate. No valid ID, no entry.
How much does Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum cost?
Entry is free, but booking is still required.
Do I need to book Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall (Nanjing) in advance?
Yes — advance booking is required. Tickets released daily at 08:00; book 1-7 days ahead; closed Mondays. Booking window: 1-7 days. Plan a quiet half day, not a quick stop. Photography is restricted in parts and the tone inside is solemn. Open 08:30-17:30, last entry 16:30.
When do Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall tickets get released and how far ahead can I book?
Tickets released daily at 08:00; book 1-7 days ahead; closed Mondays. Booking window: 1-7 days.
Where do I buy Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall tickets?
Use the official channel only: http://www.19371213.com.cn/en/guide/how/. There are no authorized third-party resellers — anything else is markup or worse.
Official booking →Can I buy Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall tickets from a third-party app or OTA?
No — only the official channel works. Book at http://www.19371213.com.cn/en/guide/how/. Third-party listings are markup or scams.
Can foreigners book Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall with a passport?
Free, mandatory real-name reservation via the official WeChat public account. Accepted documents explicitly include a passport and the Foreigner's Permanent Residence ID card. The three exhibition halls are booked separately. No third party is authorized to reserve.
How much does Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall cost?
Entry is free, but booking is still required.
Do I need to book Presidential Palace (China Modern History Museum) (Nanjing) in advance?
Yes — advance booking is required. No third party is authorized to sell tickets or guiding services, online or offline. Open Tue-Sun (closed Mondays except public holidays); peak season Mar 1-Oct 14 08:30-18:00, off-season 08:30-17:00.
Can I buy Presidential Palace (China Modern History Museum) tickets from a third-party app or OTA?
No — only the official channel works. Third-party listings are markup or scams.
Can foreigners book Presidential Palace (China Modern History Museum) with a passport?
Official booking is ONLY through the 'Nanjing Zongtongfu' WeChat mini-program; you enter by scanning the booked ID/passport at the gate. Passport is accepted as valid ID, but completing the online purchase usually needs a Chinese WeChat/phone number. Full price 35 RMB.
How much does Presidential Palace (China Modern History Museum) cost?
¥35 RMB in peak season. Verify on the official site before you go.
Do I need to book Nanjing Museum (Nanjing Bowuyuan) (Nanjing) in advance?
Yes — advance booking is required. Free admission, advance real-name reservation required. The /en path soft-redirects to the Chinese homepage and has no genuine English content.
Where do I buy Nanjing Museum (Nanjing Bowuyuan) tickets?
Use the official channel only: https://www.njmuseum.com/.
Official booking →Can foreigners book Nanjing Museum (Nanjing Bowuyuan) with a passport?
Free timed ticket, reserved real-name with passport on the official site/WeChat. The Chinese-version online system is awkward for foreigners; multiple sources confirm you can collect a same-day ticket in person at the ticket office with your passport. There is no official English booking page.
How much does Nanjing Museum (Nanjing Bowuyuan) cost?
Entry is free, but booking is still required.
Do I need to book Nanjing City Wall (Ming City Wall / Zhonghua Gate) (Nanjing) in advance?
No reservation wall here — walk-up works. Free for under-18, 70+, disabled and active servicemen. Open ~08:30-17:00; the Zhonghua Gate north section stays open to 22:00 for the night view.
Where do I buy Nanjing City Wall (Ming City Wall / Zhonghua Gate) tickets?
Use the official channel only: https://english.njcitywall.cn/.
Official booking →Can foreigners book Nanjing City Wall (Ming City Wall / Zhonghua Gate) with a passport?
Paid ticket, no advance reservation strictly required. Per the Nanjing government foreigner service guide, register your passport on the official site to book online, or just buy at the gate with your passport. A working official English site exists at english.njcitywall.cn.
How much does Nanjing City Wall (Ming City Wall / Zhonghua Gate) cost?
¥Zhonghua Gate section 50 RMB; Shence-Taiping Gate 30 RMB; minor sections 5 RMB in peak season. Verify on the official site before you go.
Do I need to book Xuanwu Lake Park (Xuanwuhu) (Nanjing) in advance?
No reservation wall here — walk-up works. Lakeside circuit path open 24h; the Five Islands area runs roughly 06:00-22:00 in summer, 06:00-21:00 in winter.
Can foreigners book Xuanwu Lake Park (Xuanwuhu) with a passport?
Free public park, no ticket and no reservation; just walk in. Boat rentals and some island activities are paid on-site (boats around 140 RMB/hour).
How much does Xuanwu Lake Park (Xuanwuhu) cost?
Entry is free.
Do I need to book Niushou Mountain (Niushoushan) Cultural Tourism Area (Nanjing) in advance?
No reservation wall here — walk-up works. Buddhist mountain scenic area open 08:30-17:30 (ticket sales until 16:30); an internal shuttle bus is required and ticketed separately.
Can I pay with a foreign card (Visa/Mastercard) in Nanjing?
Yes — foreign Visa/Mastercard work in Nanjing, typically linked to Alipay or WeChat Pay for everyday spending. Carry a little cash as a backup.
Do hotels in Nanjing accept foreign passports?
It varies in Nanjing — mid-range and chain hotels usually register foreigners, while cheaper local guesthouses may not. Confirm foreign registration when booking.
What should foreigners know about hotels and registration in Nanjing?
Pick a hotel that registers foreign guests with the police; chains and mid-range places do it as routine. Register within 24 hours of arrival; hotels file it for you, but if you stay in a private home or Airbnb you must report to the local police station (paichusuo) yourself with passport and visa.
What's the main thing to know before visiting Nanjing?
Free does not mean walk-right-in. Nanjing's catch is that its best sights cost nothing yet still gate you at a real-name reservation. Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum and the Massacre Memorial are both free but require you to book in advance with ID before you show up. The Memorial is strict about it: tickets drop daily at 08:00, you book one to seven days ahead through its official WeChat account, and accepted documents explicitly include a passport and the Foreigner's Permanent Residence card, so foreigners are genuinely covered here. The Mausoleum's online system is clunkier for outsiders, and the standard workaround is to carry your passport and get in at the gate when the booking site won't cooperate. The Presidential Palace plays by its own rules: it is paid (35 RMB), it bans every third-party reseller, and the only official channel is the 'Nanjing Zongtongfu' WeChat mini-program, with entry by scanning your booked ID or passport at the turnstile. The practical lesson for any foreign visitor: treat 'free' as 'free but reserved', sort the bookings the day before, and keep your passport on you, because none of these places will let you in without the ID the reservation was made under.
Any tourist traps or surprises to watch for in Nanjing?
The memorial is not a checkbox. The Massacre Memorial is the most affecting museum in China and it will flatten your afternoon. Don't schedule anything cheerful right after, dress plainly, and keep the phone down. If you only have energy for one major sight, locals would tell you this is the one that matters.
What should I eat in Nanjing?
Duck, the Nanjing way. Forget roast duck; here it's salted duck (yanshuiya), sold by the half from shops with queues at dusk, and duck blood vermicelli soup, which tastes far better than it reads. Both run cheap; the famous chains are fine but the neighborhood shops are better.
Where do locals eat in Nanjing, and what else is worth trying?
Tangbao discipline. Nanjing's soup buns are bigger and soupier than Shanghai's. The straw is not a gimmick; drink first, then eat, or wear it. Confucius Temple area sells the photogenic version; the better ones hide in the lanes east of it.
Do Nanjing's main sights need booking?
The two big free ones (Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum and the Massacre Memorial) use real-name reservations and close on Mondays, so book those with your passport ahead. The Memorial releases tickets daily at 08:00 and lets you book one to seven days out, with passports and the Foreigner's Permanent Residence card accepted. Nanjing Museum is also free-but-reserved. Most paid sights, including the City Wall, sell at the gate.
How do foreigners book the Presidential Palace?
Only through the official 'Nanjing Zongtongfu' WeChat mini-program; no third-party reseller is authorized. It's paid (35 RMB), and you enter by scanning your booked ID or passport at the gate. Completing the online purchase usually needs a Chinese WeChat or phone number, so set that up in advance or ask your hotel for help.
How many days does Nanjing need?
Two full days: one for Purple Mountain, one for the memorial, the city wall and the Confucius Temple quarter at night. It pairs naturally with Suzhou or Shanghai by high-speed rail.
Is Nanjing doable without Chinese?
Yes. Metro and major sights have English; reservations are the main friction point, and hotel front desks will usually make them for you if you ask the day before.
Rules change. We re-check these facts on a schedule and date-stamp every page — but always confirm on the official channel before relying on a time.