Nanjing Nature Spots on a Budget: 5 Cheap Picks
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Nanjing nature spots: what’s free and what costs
Nanjing’s best nature isn’t hidden behind a ticket booth. Xuanwu Lake and most of the Ming City Wall’s lake-facing stretch cost nothing, and even Purple Mountain, the city’s big green space, is free to walk if you skip the paid mausoleums inside it. Here are 5 picks, cheapest first, with real RMB costs where one applies.
| Spot | What it costs | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Xuanwu Lake | Free | Lake walking, five connected isles |
| Purple Mountain (paths only) | Free (paid sights inside extra) | A half-day loop through forest and history |
| Mochou Lake Park | Little to nothing (confirm) | Lotus ponds, quieter than Xuanwu Lake |
| Meihua Shan (Plum Blossom Hill) | Confirm current price | Plum blossom season, late Feb-March |
| Qixia Mountain | ¥25, ¥40 in peak maple season | Autumn foliage, temple, Mirror Lake |
- Xuanwu Lake. Free, always open along the Huanhu Road perimeter, five connected isles (Huan, Ying, Liang, Cui, Ling) inside the largest surviving imperial-era city lake in China, backed by the Ming wall and Purple Mountain. Ying Isle is best for spring cherry blossoms, Liang Isle for autumn chrysanthemums. Boat rental is pay-on-site if you want it, but the shoreline walk alone costs nothing.
- Purple Mountain (Zijin Shan). Nanjing’s highest point at 448.2m, roughly 20km² holding Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, Ming Xiaoling, Linggu Temple, Meiling Palace, and the Purple Mountain Observatory. The paved, stepped paths connecting these sights cost nothing to walk; you only pay if you enter one of the ticketed sites along the way (Section further down has the prices). A free reservation applies somewhere in the scenic area, via WeChat or passport at info centers, though whether it’s enforced park-wide or just at Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum specifically isn’t fully confirmed, so check before you go.
- Mochou Lake Park. A 47-hectare, 5km-circumference Ming-dynasty garden in Jianya District, named for the legendary Lady Mochou. Lotus ponds with boat access, Shengqi Pavilion, and a Duanwu Festival dragon-boat race tradition. Costs little to nothing to wander, confirm the current gate price before you go.
- Meihua Shan (Plum Blossom Hill). Sits just south of Ming Xiaoling on Purple Mountain, actually Sun Quan’s tomb mound and older than the Ming tomb beside it by a millennium. Roughly 13,000 plum trees peak in the plum blossom festival window, typically late February to March. Current admission wasn’t confirmed for this guide, check before you go.
- Qixia Mountain. About 22km northeast, ¥25 most of the year, rising to ¥40 during peak autumn maple season (roughly November into early December). Highlights include the Thousand Buddha Cliff’s 294 rock-cut shrines and Mirror Lake with its Nine-Bend Bridge. See our Nanjing day trips guide for bus routes.
Is Purple Mountain worth a full day if you’re on a budget?
Yes, if you pick one or two paid sights rather than all of them. The paths themselves, plus the Aviation Martyrs’ Cemetery and the Observatory grounds, cost nothing to walk. Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum is free but needs a timed passport-ID reservation; Ming Xiaoling is ¥70 standalone or included in the ¥100 combo ticket that also covers Linggu Temple and Meiling Palace. Pick the combo only if you genuinely want all three, otherwise Sun Yat-sen’s free grounds plus a walk to Meihua Shan covers the highlights for nothing.
If you’d rather have the walking route and the reservation handled for you, book a Purple Mountain tour .
When should you visit for the blossoms without the crowds?
Go on a weekday, and go early morning. Plum blossom season at Meihua Shan and cherry blossom season around Jiming Temple and Xuanwu Lake both draw weekend crowds once word of peak bloom spreads locally, and exact 2026 peak weeks for both aren’t confirmed this far out, so build in a two or three day window rather than one exact date.
Pair a free-nature day with a walk along a free stretch of the Ming City Wall , and check Nanjing travel tips for current metro fares to Purple Mountain or Qixia. One habit worth keeping: bring your own water, none of these five spots has reliable paid vendors once you’re away from the main gates.