Zhenjiang in a day: vinegar, a ferry street, and the river that moved

Zhenjiang sits on the south bank of the Yangtze, about twenty minutes from Nanjing by fast train, and most travellers pass it at speed. A day on foot here covers a breakfast, a ferry street with no ferry, and a hill above the water.

Start with noodles and vinegar

Breakfast is guōgài miàn (锅盖面), pot-lid noodles, named for the small wooden lid that floats in the boiling pot. Order a plate of yáoròu (肴肉), pressed cured pork, and dip it in the city's black vinegar with shredded ginger. The vinegar bottle is already on the table.

Walk the ferry street that lost its river

Xijin Ferry (西津渡, Xījīn Dù) was the crossing to the north bank for more than a thousand years. The Yangtze has since shifted north, and the stone lane now ends well short of the water. Partway along, a stone pagoda from the Yuan dynasty stands on a gateway over the path, and people walk under it. Nearby, a glass-covered pit shows older pavements stacked beneath the present one, signed yī yǎn kàn qiān nián, a thousand years at a glance.

一眼看千年，脚下的路一层压着一层。

The red-brick former British consulate beside the lane is now part of the Zhenjiang Museum. Allow an hour, and check which day it closes, since many Chinese museums shut on Mondays.

End on Beigu Hill

Beigu Hill (北固山, Běigù Shān) lies a few kilometres east along the riverfront, and is low enough to climb in about fifteen minutes. Ganlu Temple sits at the top with the river below it, wide and brown and busy with barges. Go in the late afternoon, when the light comes low across the water.