A train ride lasting little more than two hours takes you from Shanghai into the city of Nanjing. Despite my belated start (got drunk night before and so missed the train that my friends took!) I made it into Nanjing Train Station at around 4pm. I was pleasantly surprised by the serenity of the lake a few metres away from the station. Couples, families and lonesome Chinese men wander around its perimeter, and I was especially lucky to be there when the colours of the sky began to warm before the sun set.

Some of the people I’ve spoken to before my trip, and after, weren’t that taken with the city… I can understand why the nightlife would fail to compare with that of Shanghai’s, but I really appreciated the national parks located just outside the main city centre. Before I discovered that area, I took a walk around the local neighbourhood of my youth hostel. The market was thriving, with bargain stores blockaded with people eager to get silky scarves for less than 30RMB (£3), and rows of pet shops. The pet shops moved me but for all the wrong reasons. The little puppies and rabbits were gorgeous, but the circumstances they were kept in were shocking to me. One crate had a batch of puppies all shivering with cold, and to top it off there was a used chocolate wrapper in the cage that one dog was sniffing at… I was the only person who stuck my arm in to get rid of it, because obviously chocolate can be poisonous to dogs!

Like other Chinese towns and cities I’ve visited, Nanjing had its usual array of street food and temples, and as me and my friends discovered when we went for drinks, there’s even a development similar to XinTandi in Shanghai. Western-style bars and nightclub dominate the 1912 bar street area. The bar we ended up at was in a sumptuous 20s style with velvet seating and one-off pieces such as gramophones and paintings set the atmosphere. Expect old-style ambience with live acts and the odd punter turning up in cocktail dresses and suits.

The next morning I left the hostel to see the sight of yet more Chinese locals dancing and exercising on the pavements of the town! The woman on your left is using either a fan or a pingpong paddle to add some drama to her dance!

After a bit of a mix-up with what bus to get, I went through the city walls and onwards through the valleys towards Zhongshan NP. By buying an all-inclusive ticket for 100RMB (about £10) I was able to visit all the sites, which included Plum Blossom Hill, Dr Sun Yat Sen’s Mausoleum, the Linggu pagoda, and the Xiaoling Tomb of the Ming Dynasty. Alongside general sightseeing, i was able to use the frequent connecting buses between the sites, and even allowed time to use one of the makeshift cable cars up the mountain (only to be ushered off and left alone in some sparse mountain area!).

+ I stayed at Nanjing Fuzimiao International Hostel which was adequate enough but next time I will remember to bring my own toilet roll! Also, it is in a convenient location but just make sure you memorise all directions to bus-stops etc to ensure you get around the city effectively.

+ I took a train from the main Shanghai train station to Nanjing; I bought it on the day but it is best to book in advance to get better fares.

+ Food can be done quite cheaply here if you are backpacking, but there also many restaurants here who offer all sorts of dishes for very reasonable prices. And of course, the street food is great here!

Below are some pictures of my stay – I would recommend this town to anyone who wants to really see how beautiful China is!