Nanjing Day Trip from Shanghai: Bullet Train & Sun Yat-Sen Mausoleum

★★★★★★★★★★ 5.00 (12 reviews)

Instant confirmation

1/14

Duration10h

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN · CM

PickupAt your hotel

Your guide meets you at dawn to catch the bullet train—then Nanjing's 600 years unfold in a single day

You get picked up from your Shanghai hotel, ride the bullet train to Nanjing with your guide, then spend the day visiting Sun Yat-Sen Mausoleum, ancient gates, Ming tombs, and temples—customizing stops based on what interests you. Lunch is included, and you choose between famous sites or lesser-known alternatives depending on how your energy and curiosity flow. The return train gets you back to Shanghai by evening, where your driver meets you at the station.

10h

Step-by-step itinerary

Nanjing city full-day sightseeing tour

Meet Shanghai guide at hotel lobby
Take bullet train to Nanjing
Meet Nanjing guide at train station
Visit Sun Yat-Sen Mausoleum
Hike Purple Mountain and view city
Visit Zhonghua Gate ancient city wall
Enjoy lunch at local restaurant
Visit Xiaoling Tomb of Ming Dynasty
Walk along animal statue paths
Visit Confucius Temple and old street
Optional boat ride on Qinhuai River
Return bullet train to Shanghai
Driver transfers back to hotel

The Experience

"You want to see the real Nanjing, or just the postcard version?" That's what your Shanghai guide asks in the hotel lobby before 8am, and it sets the tone for the whole day. The 1.5-hour bullet train ride gives you time to talk through what matters—whether that's the mausoleum of Sun Yat-Sen, the Ming tombs, the old Confucius Temple, or the Qinhuai River. Your guide isn't reading from a script; they're listening to what you actually want to see, then building the day around it. When you arrive in Nanjing, a local guide is waiting at the station to take over.

The first stop is usually the Sun Yat-Sen Mausoleum, and there's a reason it's the anchor of most itineraries. You hike up Purple Mountain—it's not brutal, but your legs know you've climbed—and the mausoleum sits at the top like a statement. The architecture is elegant, almost austere, and the views of Nanjing spread out below make the climb worth it. After that, Zhonghua Gate hits differently. It's a castle-style ancient gate with massive stone walls, deep arches, and courtyards that show you how the city defended itself centuries ago. Lunch happens at a local restaurant, not a tourist trap, and then you move on to Xiaoling Tomb, where Ming Dynasty history lives in the stone animal statues lining the paths and the trees that have been there for 500 years.

If you've seen some of those spots before, or if the day has room, your guide can pivot. The Confucius Temple lets you taste local snacks on the old street and watch how people still worship there. The Nanjing Massacre Memorial is heavy but necessary. The Presidential Palace, the museum, Xuanwu Lake, Jiming Temple—the flexibility is real, not just marketing language. A 50-minute boat ride on the Qinhuai River, the "mother river," threads through old buildings and feels like stepping into another century. By late afternoon, you're back on the bullet train heading to Shanghai, your driver waiting at the station to take you to your hotel.

The whole day is private—your guide, your car, your pace—which means you're not herding with 30 other people or stopping for souvenir shops. You need your passport details when you book (for the bullet train tickets), and comfortable shoes are non-negotiable because you will walk. The train fare is second class, which is still smooth and fast, and everything from pickup to drop-off in Shanghai is handled. Weather doesn't stop this tour, so dress for the season.

What’s included

Round-trip bullet train tickets in second class.
hotel pickup and drop-off in Shanghai.
English-speaking guide in Shanghai for train boarding assistance.
private air-conditioned car in Nanjing.
private local guide in Nanjing for the full day.
lunch at a local restaurant.
entry to attractions based on your customized itinerary.

Good to know

Easy physical level

Operated by Amazing Shanghai Trip

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to see Nanjing's major sites—the mausoleum, ancient gates, Ming tombs—without arranging train tickets, transfers, or timing yourself, and you'd rather spend the day with a guide who adjusts the route to what actually interests you instead of following a fixed schedule.