Zhenjiang in a day: a ferry street, pot-lid noodles, and two hills above the Yangtze

Zhenjiang sits on the south bank of the Yangtze, about twenty minutes by high-speed train from Nanjing, and most travellers know it only as a name on the departure board. A day here moves at the pace of a river town: an old ferry street, noodles cooked under a floating lid, and two hills that look out over the water.

Morning on the old ferry street

Start at Xijindu (西津渡), a ferry landing that sent boats to the north bank for more than a thousand years. The river has since moved away. What remains are stone lanes on the slope of Yuntai Hill and the Zhaoguan stone pagoda (昭关石塔), a small Yuan-dynasty stupa built over the lane, so everyone walking up passes beneath it.

Arrive before nine, when residents are still carrying breakfast home. By late morning the shops open and the lanes fill, which is your cue to go and eat.

Noodles cooked under a floating lid

Breakfast is guogai mian (锅盖面), pot-lid noodles. A small wooden lid floats on the water inside a much larger pot, and the cook lifts the noodles out around its edge. Add a spoon of Zhenjiang xiangcu (镇江香醋), the black vinegar that sits on every table in the city.

Order yaorou (肴肉) on the side, pork pressed and set in its own clear jelly. It comes with shredded ginger and, almost always, more vinegar.

一碗锅盖面，一碟香醋，就是镇江的早晨。

Two hills above the river by dusk

Take a taxi west to Jinshan Temple (金山寺), whose pagoda once stood on an island in the river before silt joined it to the land. The temple is the setting for a well-known scene in the Legend of the White Snake, and the steps up to the pagoda terrace are steady rather than steep.

Finish at Beigu Hill (北固山) as the light goes. From the Ganlu Temple terrace the Yangtze runs directly below, and a stone inscription calls the view tianxia diyi jiangshan (天下第一江山), the finest river and mountain under heaven.