A Taste of Nanjing, China

 Lodging
Sofitel Galaxy Nanjing
(Sofitel.com), is a 48-story high-rise, very modern, luxury hotel; Jon Jiang Hotel (JinJianghotels.com) has 24-hour check-in and budget-conscious rates.

Exchange Rate
$1 = 6.78 yuan (also called RMB)

Regional Delicacy
The city is nicknamed “Duck Capital” for all the waterfowl eaten here, whether it’s prepared as baked duck, duck’s blood soup, or Nanjing salty duck, which has been made here for more than 1,000 years.

Gay Hangout
Gay bar Ye Shan Teng (48 JianKang Lu) draws a more sophisticated 30-and-up crowd, while the patrons of Red Bar (2 Beijing Dong Lu, at Beijige Square), which features nightly performances, is typically younger.

Don’t Miss This

Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum. Often regarded as the father of modern China, he was instrumental in overthrowing the Qing dynasty—yet they still built him an imperial-scale tomb.

Ultimate People-Watching Spot
Gongyuan Street along the Qinhuai River was historically a spot for nobles and businessmen to visit the restaurants, dance halls, and brothels. Now it’s a popular destination lined with shopping, temples, and restaurants.

Best Splurge
Cloud-pattern brocade satin, named for the woven pattern as beautiful as clouds, is an ancient Nanjing specialty and was traditionally given as a reward or a gift to honored guests.

You Might Not Know
Nanjing has been China’s capital at various times. The first emperor of the Ming dynasty rebuilt the city as the capital in 1368 and ordered the building of the world’s longest city wall, which took 200,000 laborers 21 years to finish.