Which of Nanjing's Four "Nanjing" Stations?
Work out which 'Nanjing' station your ticket actually means before planning the transfer. The active passenger hubs are far apart, while the other familiar names are historical or future stations rather than alternative boarding points.
The short answer
Read the station name, not the word 'Nanjing'. 南京 (Nanjing) means the lakeside station at 111 Longpan Road; 南京南 (Nanjing South) means the high-speed station at 98 Yulan Road in Yuhuatai District. They are 12.85 km apart in a straight line — get the wrong one and you are crossing the city.
You will most likely arrive at Nanjing South — and it is in Yuhuatai District, not Jiangning. Metro Line 1 north takes you to Xinjiekou and Line 3 to Fuzimiao, both without changing; S1 from the same station goes to Lukou airport. Line 6 has no official opening notice yet, so do not plan on it.
It is a place to photograph, not a place to board: no passenger trains since 2004. Take the 2-yuan ferry from Zhongshan Wharf; the station is about 150 m from Pukou Wharf. Check the last boat back — 19:00 from 1 October.
There is nothing to board there yet. Before 13 May 2026 the name meant today's Pukou Station, which has had no passenger service since 2004; from now on it belongs to a new high-speed station that opens in 2027. Until then, trains to Nanjing use Nanjing or Nanjing South.
Treat it as a trip across the city, not a transfer: 12.85 km in a straight line. Metro Lines 1 and 3 link the two, but no official source gives the journey time, so do not cut a connection fine; if you take a taxi, insist on the meter.
Side by sideEach cell ends with the date of the notice it was checked against
Swipe sideways; the first column stays put
Nanjing Station
南京站- Where it goes
- Conventional trains and part of the Shanghai-Nanjing intercity: the transport bureau says most departures are Shanghai-Nanjing route and domestic trains numbered T, K and Z; the station has a conventional yard and a Shanghai-Nanjing intercity yard · 2024-05-08
- Getting there (metro & entrances)
- 111 Longpan Road, Xuanwu District, on the north shore of Xuanwu Lake. Metro Lines 1 and 3 both serve it, with an interchange passage between them. Two buildings: the south one faces the lake, the north one is across the tracks. Exit numbers not published · 2024-05-08
- Passport: buying & getting in
- 12306 website or app — since 28 November 2023 a foreign passport can be verified online (name, nationality and document number checked automatically, or upload the photo page for a manual check) — or at a station window. Verification must pass before you can buy or travel. Window location and whether the gates read passports: not published · 2026-09-24
- How early to arrive
- Not published — no station hours or security times. Watch for works: the city railway office said in March 2025 the station will be rebuilt alongside the Shangyuanmen river crossing over two to three years; we could not find out whether work has started · 2025-03-14
- To the centre (Xinjiekou)
- Metro Line 1 runs through here and through Xinjiekou, so it is one ride with no change; distance and point-to-point fare not published (metro fares go by distance, from 2 yuan). Metered taxi: 11 yuan for the first 3 km in a standard car · 2026-01-07
- Don't mix it up with
- Nanjing South (南京南), the high-speed station 12.85 km south in a straight line in Yuhuatai District; and Nanjing West (南京西) in Xiaguan, an older station you may still see on maps · 2026-09-23
Nanjing South Station
南京南站Open the place →- Where it goes
- The high-speed hub: Beijing-Shanghai, Shanghai-Wuhan-Chengdu, Nanjing-Hangzhou, Nanjing-Anhui and Nanjing-Hefei high-speed lines, plus the Shanghai-Nanjing intercity railway. Coming by high-speed train from Beijing, Hefei or Hangzhou, you most likely arrive here · 2024-05-08
- Getting there (metro & entrances)
- 98 Yulan Road, Yuhuatai District — not Jiangning. Metro Lines 1 and 3 serve it, and it is the end of metro S1 to Lukou airport. No official notice says Line 6 is open (late September 2026) — do not count on it. Exit numbers not published · 2025-12-05
- Passport: buying & getting in
- Verify the passport first — online on 12306 or at a station window — then buy on 12306 or at a window; verification must pass before you can buy or travel. E-tickets need no collection: bring the original passport and use the staffed lane. Whether the self-service gates or ticket machines here take passports is unconfirmed; window location not published · 2023-11-30
- How early to arrive
- Not published — no station hours or security times. The time to allow is for the passport check: allow a day, not an hour. On busy nights the metro has held Lines 1 and 3 open for rail arrivals here, last train from Nanjing South at 01:00 (3 January 2026) · 2025-12-29
- To the centre (Xinjiekou)
- Lines 1 and 3 both call here: Line 1 north to Xinjiekou, Line 3 north to Fuzimiao, no change; point-to-point fare not published (metro fares go by distance, from 2 yuan). Metered taxi: 11 yuan for the first 3 km in a standard car — insist on the meter · 2026-01-07
- Don't mix it up with
- Nanjing Station at 111 Longpan Road in Xuanwu District, 12.85 km north in a straight line on the same Lines 1 and 3 — a ride across the city. And it is in Yuhuatai District, not Jiangning · 2026-09-23
Pukou Station (heritage quarter)
浦口站（旧址街区）- Where it goes
- Nowhere: passenger services stopped in 2004, and since the name 'Pukou Station' came back on 13 May 2026 we have found no sign of passenger trains returning. Do not book a train to 'Pukou' · 2026-07-23
- Getting there (metro & entrances)
- Near 3 Jinpu Road, Pukou District, on the north bank of the Yangtze. No metro to the door: take the Ningpu ferry (2 yuan) from Zhongshan Wharf — about a 10-minute walk from Metro Line 5 Xiaguan station — and the station is about 150 m from Pukou Wharf · 2026-01-07
- Passport: buying & getting in
- Not needed — no train tickets are sold. An open street quarter with no ticketing; the platform gate is closed to visitors, and whether the main building can be entered is not published · 2024-10-14
- How early to arrive
- No train to catch; the street is open all day (platform listing), shop hours vary. What to watch is the boat back: summer sailings 06:00-19:30, last boat 19:00 from 1 October, and a queue for the return ferry at weekends · 2026-05-27
- To the centre (Xinjiekou)
- Ferry back across the river to Zhongshan Wharf, then Metro Line 5 from Xiaguan, about a 10-minute walk away; miss the last boat and you are going back by metro or taxi · 2026-05-27
- Don't mix it up with
- 'Nanjing North': this station carried that name until 13 May 2026, when it was freed for a new high-speed station opening in 2027. Nor is it the newly renamed 'Pukou South', the old Pukou station on the Shanghai-Chengdu line · 2026-05-13
| Compare | Nanjing Station | Nanjing South Station | Pukou Station (heritage quarter) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where it goes | Conventional trains and part of the Shanghai-Nanjing intercity: the transport bureau says most departures are Shanghai-Nanjing route and domestic trains numbered T, K and Z; the station has a conventional yard and a Shanghai-Nanjing intercity yard · 2024-05-08 | The high-speed hub: Beijing-Shanghai, Shanghai-Wuhan-Chengdu, Nanjing-Hangzhou, Nanjing-Anhui and Nanjing-Hefei high-speed lines, plus the Shanghai-Nanjing intercity railway. Coming by high-speed train from Beijing, Hefei or Hangzhou, you most likely arrive here · 2024-05-08 | Nowhere: passenger services stopped in 2004, and since the name 'Pukou Station' came back on 13 May 2026 we have found no sign of passenger trains returning. Do not book a train to 'Pukou' · 2026-07-23 |
| Getting there (metro & entrances) | 111 Longpan Road, Xuanwu District, on the north shore of Xuanwu Lake. Metro Lines 1 and 3 both serve it, with an interchange passage between them. Two buildings: the south one faces the lake, the north one is across the tracks. Exit numbers not published · 2024-05-08 | 98 Yulan Road, Yuhuatai District — not Jiangning. Metro Lines 1 and 3 serve it, and it is the end of metro S1 to Lukou airport. No official notice says Line 6 is open (late September 2026) — do not count on it. Exit numbers not published · 2025-12-05 | Near 3 Jinpu Road, Pukou District, on the north bank of the Yangtze. No metro to the door: take the Ningpu ferry (2 yuan) from Zhongshan Wharf — about a 10-minute walk from Metro Line 5 Xiaguan station — and the station is about 150 m from Pukou Wharf · 2026-01-07 |
| Passport: buying & getting in | 12306 website or app — since 28 November 2023 a foreign passport can be verified online (name, nationality and document number checked automatically, or upload the photo page for a manual check) — or at a station window. Verification must pass before you can buy or travel. Window location and whether the gates read passports: not published · 2026-09-24 | Verify the passport first — online on 12306 or at a station window — then buy on 12306 or at a window; verification must pass before you can buy or travel. E-tickets need no collection: bring the original passport and use the staffed lane. Whether the self-service gates or ticket machines here take passports is unconfirmed; window location not published · 2023-11-30 | Not needed — no train tickets are sold. An open street quarter with no ticketing; the platform gate is closed to visitors, and whether the main building can be entered is not published · 2024-10-14 |
| How early to arrive | Not published — no station hours or security times. Watch for works: the city railway office said in March 2025 the station will be rebuilt alongside the Shangyuanmen river crossing over two to three years; we could not find out whether work has started · 2025-03-14 | Not published — no station hours or security times. The time to allow is for the passport check: allow a day, not an hour. On busy nights the metro has held Lines 1 and 3 open for rail arrivals here, last train from Nanjing South at 01:00 (3 January 2026) · 2025-12-29 | No train to catch; the street is open all day (platform listing), shop hours vary. What to watch is the boat back: summer sailings 06:00-19:30, last boat 19:00 from 1 October, and a queue for the return ferry at weekends · 2026-05-27 |
| To the centre (Xinjiekou) | Metro Line 1 runs through here and through Xinjiekou, so it is one ride with no change; distance and point-to-point fare not published (metro fares go by distance, from 2 yuan). Metered taxi: 11 yuan for the first 3 km in a standard car · 2026-01-07 | Lines 1 and 3 both call here: Line 1 north to Xinjiekou, Line 3 north to Fuzimiao, no change; point-to-point fare not published (metro fares go by distance, from 2 yuan). Metered taxi: 11 yuan for the first 3 km in a standard car — insist on the meter · 2026-01-07 | Ferry back across the river to Zhongshan Wharf, then Metro Line 5 from Xiaguan, about a 10-minute walk away; miss the last boat and you are going back by metro or taxi · 2026-05-27 |
| Don't mix it up with | Nanjing South (南京南), the high-speed station 12.85 km south in a straight line in Yuhuatai District; and Nanjing West (南京西) in Xiaguan, an older station you may still see on maps · 2026-09-23 | Nanjing Station at 111 Longpan Road in Xuanwu District, 12.85 km north in a straight line on the same Lines 1 and 3 — a ride across the city. And it is in Yuhuatai District, not Jiangning · 2026-09-23 | 'Nanjing North': this station carried that name until 13 May 2026, when it was freed for a new high-speed station opening in 2027. Nor is it the newly renamed 'Pukou South', the old Pukou station on the Shanghai-Chengdu line · 2026-05-13 |
Nanjing Lukou International Airport：Metro S1 from the airport ends at Nanjing South, where you change to Line 1 or 3 for the city; airport coaches also run from Nanjing Railway Station's east square, 04:30-21:00 every 30 minutes, fares not published. Neither railway station is a port of entry — on the 240-hour transit rule you enter at an airport such as Lukou. Worth knowing if you are flying in and going straight on by train.
Zhongshan Wharf - Pukou Ferry (Ningpu Line)：The way to Pukou Station: 2 yuan a crossing, 1 yuan on a Nanjing stored-value card; summer 2026 sailings 06:00-19:30, last boat back to 19:00 from 1 October. Pay by QR code, transit card or cash — nothing official mentions a foreign card. Bring small notes if you have no transit card.
One by one
Nanjing Station
南京站The lakeside station: step out of the south building, cross the road, and you are on the north shore of Xuanwu Lake. It is the one your ticket means when it says just 'Nanjing' — mostly conventional T, K and Z trains and part of the Shanghai-Nanjing intercity, while most long-distance high-speed trains, the Beijing-Shanghai line included, stop at Nanjing South instead. Metro Lines 1 and 3 both call here. The city railway office has said it will be rebuilt over two to three years, and we could not confirm whether that has begun, so look for works notices. For anyone whose ticket says just 'Nanjing' (南京), usually a conventional or Shanghai-Nanjing intercity train.
Nanjing South Station
南京南站The station most foreign visitors actually arrive at: the Beijing-Shanghai, Shanghai-Wuhan-Chengdu, Nanjing-Hangzhou, Nanjing-Anhui and Nanjing-Hefei high-speed lines all run through it. It is in Yuhuatai District, not Jiangning, Metro Lines 1 and 3 give you one ride to Xinjiekou or Fuzimiao, and it is the end of S1 to the airport. Do the passport verification days ahead: China Railway says in as many words that you cannot buy or travel until it has passed, and where the staffed window is inside this station is not published anywhere. For almost every high-speed trip in or out of Nanjing, and anyone heading on to the airport by S1.
Open the place →Pukou Station (heritage quarter)
浦口站（旧址街区）A place to photograph, not a place to board. This is the southern terminus of the 1914 Tianjin-Pukou railway, the station of Zhu Ziqing's 'The Sight of Father's Back', and since October 2024 a restored heritage quarter with cafés and bookshops. It stopped carrying passengers in 2004; the 2026 renaming from 'Nanjing North' back to 'Pukou' only freed the old name for a new station. Come by the 2-yuan ferry from Zhongshan Wharf and keep an eye on the last boat back. For a half-day by ferry for the history and the river view — not for catching a train.