Atlas of China
Beijing to Nanjing 北京 – 南京
Door to door, the high-speed train comes out ahead: about 3½ hours against about 4½ hours by flight, counting about 20 minutes to board a train and 2½ hours of airport time for a flight. Fares run ¥532 against about ¥580. The stations are in or near the city centres, which is what tips it.
| Way | Time | Door to door | Fare | A day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High-speed trainBeijing South 北京南 → Nanjing South 南京南 | 3 h 14 minG25, fastest | 3½ hours | ¥532standard class | 7406:18–21:22 |
| FlightBeijing Capital (PEK) → Nanjing Lukou (NKG) | 1 h 55 minin the air | 4½ hours | about ¥580varies by day | 808:00–21:40 |
By train
74 direct high-speed trains a day run from Beijing South to Nanjing South, between 06:18 and 21:22. The fastest, G25, takes 3 h 14 min, and a standard-class seat is ¥532. Coming back, 74 trains a day, the fastest 3 h 19 min (G30, 07:12 to 23:56).
Beijing: Several main stations: South (Shanghai), West (Xi'an, Wuhan), Chaoyang (north-east) and North or Qinghe (Datong, Hohhot); flights use Capital (PEK) or Daxing (PKX).
By air
8 nonstop flights a day from Beijing Capital (PEK) to Nanjing Lukou (NKG), 1 h 55 min in the air, 08:00 to 21:40, with Air China and China Eastern Airlines. 8 fly back. Door to door, with the airports at each end, count about 4½ hours; fares vary by day and are typically about ¥580.
Stops on the way
Cities between the two with direct trains from Beijing and on to Nanjing, so the trip can be broken there.
At the other end
Featured places around Nanjing.
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Purple Mountain & Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum 南京钟山风景区
A forested mountain on Nanjing's edge, crowned by a blue-roofed hilltop tomb
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Fuzimiao and the Qinhuai River 夫子庙—秦淮风光带
Nanjing's lantern-lit Confucius Temple quarter, beside painted boats on the Qinhuai
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City Wall of Nanjing 南京城墙
The Ming capital's brick ramparts, anchored by the vast fortress of Zhonghua Gate
Around Beijing: Forbidden City, Ming Tombs, Summer Palace, Fragrant Hills Park, Universal Beijing Resort.
On the map
Open either city on the illustrated map, or put both in a trip and let the planner lay out the days and the legs between them, with the same tables these numbers come from.
Book
About Beijing · About Nanjing · Where Beijing reaches in a day · Where Nanjing reaches in a day · All routes
Trains are every direct train on 2026-10-28 or 2026-11-11 in the 12306 timetable, with standard-class fares; one weekday, so weekend and holiday services differ, and the fastest train may not run every day. Flights are the airlines' schedules for 2026-10-28, plus routes Wikipedia lists for small airports. Drives are routed on OpenStreetMap roads (extract of 2026-10-21) where the pair was routed, else estimated from the distance. Door-to-door times add about 20 minutes to board a train and 2½ hours of airport time to a flight. How to book is in the guide to trains and 12306; the rail times are open data on the data page.