Bars & Nightspots

Nanjing's nightlife is nowhere near as varied as Shanghai's, but you can still find a mix of everything from karaoke joints to discos.

The Answer Bar / Blowing in the Wind
The hang-out of choice for foreign students. Small, intimate bar with frequent live music performances from the affable owner and foreign students.
Address: Jinying Lu, near the Nanjing University Foreign Students' Residence.
Open: 5:00 p.m.- 2:00 a.m.
Tel: 83232486

Huaxia Karaoke
A popular karaoke place, with an extensive English song list to choose from.
Add: corner of Guanjia Qiao and Huaqiao Lu just north of Xinjiekou.
Tel: 84722719

Friends Club
Unique rooftop bar
Add: 7/F Nanjing Arts and Culture Centre, 101 Changjiang Rd.
Open: 8:00 p.m. - 2:00 a.m.
Tel: 84714046

Yes Club
Live music after 21:00 every night, disco, private room
Add: 158 Hanzhou Road, opposite to the Provincial Chinese Medicine Hospital
Open: 7.00 p.m. – 1.00 a.m.
Tel: 86791818

Restaurants

Haitian Ge
Reasonable prices and very popular with locals; packed from 5.00 p.m. onwards. Jiangsu and Beijing fare, especially salted duck, are the specialties, but the kitchen also makes several Macanese (from Macau) dishes that are well worth trying.
Add: 179 Zhongyang Lu, just north of the Hunan Lu intersection and opposite Xuanwu Hu.

Hefeng
Wonderfully presented and deliciously inexpensive Japanese food.
Add: 75 Zhongshan Lu, in the Central Hotel.
Tel: 84733888

Swede and Kraut
Expensive but excellent pasta, salads and breads in an intimate setting. The pasta and bread are all homemade - the lasagna and fettucini especially are scrumptious. Run by a genteel European couple.
Add: 14 Nanxiu Cun
Tel: 86638798

Punjabi Restaurant
If India food is what you are after, you have to try this resturant, whose chef is well known and very good. They also do home delivery within a radius of 3km.
Add: Western Food Street, King Long Palace at Lion Bridge, Hunan Rd.
Open: 10:30 a.m. -11:00 p.m.
Tel: 83245421

Golden Harvest Thai Opera Café
Authentic Thai cuisine. Beautifully decorated restaurant with a gold Buddha statue outside.
Open: 10:30 a.m. – 2.30 p.m.; 5.00 p.m. – 2.30 a.m.
Add: Lion Bridge, Hunan Road
Tel: 83241823

Golden Eagle Restaurant
Large restaurant specialising in Jiangsu cuisine. Gets good reviews in local press
Open: 5.30 p.m. – 10.00 p.m.
Add: 9 Wangfu Road. Opposite to Golden Eagle Shopping Centre (Jin Ying Da Jiu Dian) across the street to the south.
Tel: 84707995

Arts & Culture

Nanjing Massacre Memorial and Museum
The site of the Memorial of the Nanjing Massacre (datusha jinianguan) is the location of the massacre by Japanese invaders in 1937, and the mass grave of the Chinese who were killed during the atrocities. The Memorial, built in 1985, is an imposing and solemn construction. The Museum documents the Japanese invasion via graphic pictures, a viewing hall and a display of the furniture that was used during the signing of the Japanese surrender.
The Museum is a somber and depressing place but also provides an insight into the atrocities of 1937. The exhibition ends on a more positive note, documenting the Sino-Japanese reconciliation talks in 1945.
Opening hours : 8.00 a.m. – 5.00 p.m

Scenic Spots

Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum
The mausoleum was built for Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the great pioneer of the Chinese revolution. Dr. Sun was born in 1866 in Xiangshan County (modern Zhongshan City), Guangdong province and died on March 12, 1925, in Beijing. He was buried here on June 1, 1929. The mausoleum is enclosed by green pines and verdant cypresses, and is composed of an archway, a 339-flagstone stairway, a pavilion with a stone tablet under its roof, a memorial hall and the tomb. The whole structure model of the tombs for ancient empires.
Opening hours: 7.00 a.m. – 6.00 p.m.
Entrance fee: Yn60

Confucius Temple
The Confucius Temple (Fuzimiao) was originally built during the Song Dynasty and is situated on the north bank of the Qinhuai river. Today, the entire area around the temple consists of a series of tourist shops, snack bars, restaurants and entertainment arcades all done up in "Ming" and "Qing" style architecture. There is a vaguely kitsch feeling about the area and the Temple itself is a bit of a disappointment, but the area is great fun and a very pleasant part of the city to walk around (the only pedestrianised area in the city). It is particularly interesting in the evenings when a lively street market sets up in the district, and locals and tourists take part in the bargain hunting.
The Song Dynasty was a period of great Confucian revivalism and the temple here is considered to be one of the best preserved of its type in China. During the Ming Dynasty the temple was expanded and became a school for children of the imperial court. The buildings on both sides of the temple which are now small tourist shops were once individual study rooms for Confucian scholars. The Qinhuai river flows in front of the temple and there is also a 110-metre-long screen stonewall (the largest in the nation) nearby, which can be viewed from the bridge crossing the river in front of the Temple.
Entry fee: Yn10 to enter the temple

Yangtze River Bridge
The Yangtze River Bridge, 4.6km long, is an impressive construction in the northwest of the city. The bridge was built in 1968 in honour of the capture of Nanjing from the Guomingdang by the Communists. The Chinese are particularly proud of the fact that they managed to complete the bridge after the Soviet Union withdrew their promise of assistance. The structure and design of the bridge are particularly impressive. There are two decks; the upper level carries vehicles and passengers and the lower carries trains over the huge Yangtse River.
The bridge is uniquely Chinese in style and on the sides of the top deck are statues of soldiers involved in the crossing of the river. Visitors can access the bridge from the Great Bridge Park to the north of Zhongshan Bei Lu.There are lifts taking tourists up to the decks which afford a great view not just of the murky and gargantuan river, but also of the bridge's structure and architecture.
Opening hours: Daily 6.30 a.m. – 8.00 p.m.
Entry fee: Yn7 for the grounds and and additional Yn2 to go up in the left.

Shopping

Shopping
Gold Eagle International Shopping Centre
This centre is a huge mall and has all manner of goods on sale.
Add: 89 Hanzhong Rd.
Tel: 4708899

Central Mall
Central Mall is an enterprise with a long history and is a centre for shopping, sightseeing, catering, amusement and leisure. In addition to general merchandise, it handles production means, advertising, amusement and processing. It also has the business right to import and export goods.
Add: 79 Zhongshan S. Rd.
Tel:4718288