Where to stay in Nanjing: Xinjiekou vs Fuzimiao
Stay at Xinjiekou if you want the metro under your hotel and a shopping district outside it; stay at Fuzimiao if the Qinhuai River at night is the reason you came; stay at Daxinggong if you want Xinjiekou's transport links without paying Xinjiekou's room rates. Those three stations cover almost every first trip, and all three sit on lines that reach the sights without a transfer.
The main bases compared
| Area | Metro | Choose it for | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xinjiekou | Lines 1 and 2, 24 exits | First trip, convenience, malls and food streets below the hotel | Loud, bright, commercial; no old-city atmosphere |
| Daxinggong | Lines 2 and 3 | Walking to the Presidential Palace and the 1912 bar street, one stop from Xinjiekou | Fewer rooms than Xinjiekou, thinner late-night food |
| Fuzimiao / Laomendong | Lines 3 and 5, interchange | Evening river walks, the temple lanes, photography | Crowds from morning to night; taxis struggle in the lanes |
| Xuanwu Lake / Gulou | Line 1, plus Line 4 at Gulou | Cheaper rooms, lake walks, university food streets | Quieter streets after 21:00; less English on menus |
| Nanjing South station | Lines 1 and 3, plus the S1 airport line | One night between trains, early flights | A rail hub, not a neighbourhood — nothing to see on foot |
Fuzimiao changed in August 2025
Line 5 opened along its full length on 6 August 2025, and Fuzimiao became an interchange between Lines 3 and 5. Exit 6 leads straight to the north archway of the Confucius Temple area — the difference between a five-minute walk and dragging luggage through the pedestrian lanes looking for the right corner.
What rooms cost
Four- and five-star rooms around Xinjiekou typically run ¥500–1,200 a night. Gulou and the streets around Nanjing University sit nearer ¥200–500. Fuzimiao river-view boutique rooms land between those two, and you are paying for the view and the lanes rather than for space.
Arriving from Lukou or the stations
The S1 airport line runs directly between Lukou Airport and Nanjing South Railway Station, with trains about every ten minutes; from there, Lines 1 or 3 take you into the centre. If you arrive at the older Nanjing Railway Station instead, Lines 1 and 3 serve it and Xuanwu Lake is next door. Both stations sit on Line 1, so a hotel at Xinjiekou keeps the arrival simple.
One booking trap
In May 2024 the police, commerce and immigration authorities restated that hotels may not refuse foreign guests on the grounds that they lack a foreign-related licence, and the hotel registers you with the police at check-in — you do nothing. Small guesthouses and apartment-style stays still turn people away in practice, so confirm in writing before you pay.
Check a few dates before you commit, because Nanjing rates swing hard between spring weekends and midweek winter.
Book hotels, flights & trains across China — all in one place
Once you have two or three candidate hotels, compare all the main booking sites — the same room is often priced differently on each.
Last checked: 2026-11-06
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