If you're staying more than a few days it's worth buying a Jinlingtong also known as IC-tong. These are available from any metro station, most bus termini and from any branch of Huaxia Bank look for an information window displaying the letters 'IC'. The card costs Y75 and contains Y25 refundable deposit and Y50 credit, and can be topped up at the aformentioned locations. The card can be used on the metro, all city buses but not all suburban buses, cross-river ferries, taxis although drivers are reluctant to accept them and may tell you the scanner is broken and in some Suguo convenience stores.
By Subway
The Subway is a clean, cheap, safe and fast way of getting from A to B quickly - the system has 2 lines and covers most of the central city. The lines are as follows:Line 1 runs from Maigaoqiao in the north, via the railway station and along the length of Zhongshan Lu through the city centre to Andemen - from there the line splits with alternate services going to the Olympic New Town area around the Olympic Sports Centre and to the south towards China Pharmaceutical University via the new South High-Speed train station. Services between Maigaoqiao and Andemen run every 3 minutes, and every 6 minutes on each branch line.Line 2 runs from the new town area in the west and follows Hanzhong Lu and Zhongshan Donglu to the east, terminating nearby the Purple Mountain scenic area. Trains run every 6 to 8 minutes. There are interchanges to Line 1 at Yuantong and Xinjiekou stations.
Trains run from approx. 5am to 11pm. Single-journey tokens cost between 2 and 4 yuan depending on distance and can be purchased from vending machines in the station. Stored-value tickets are also available see above and give a 5% discount.
By bike
Nanjing is fairly cycle-friendly with segregated bike lanes on most busy roads - however there are a lot of bikes on the road so care should be taken. Generally, the pace is quite slow, and some of the hills in the central-west part of the city can be tiring to climb but fun and a little scary to descend. Although it's possible to cycle up the Purple Mountain, it should be tackled in the early morning as the roads will be crammed with fast-moving bus and taxi traffic for most of the day, and the roads are narrow with no bike lanes. The bike/pedestrian path around the edge of Xuanwu Lake is a popular place for cyclists, as well as a popular racing ground for local motorcyclists - take care on the many blind corners.
Bikes can be rented from most youth hostels - ensure that the tires are pumped up and the brakes work before setting off though.
Buying a bike is relatively easy and cheap - the best option is to get a good quality used possibly stolen bike from the bike markets around Tangzi Jie behind the Sheraton hotel for ¥100-200. The cheap bikes sold in department stores and supermarkets are very poor quality and shouldn't be relied upon. For higher-quality, higher-performance bikes; Giant, Trek and Specialized all have stores in Nanjing. Rembember to carry a strong lock - bike theft is common.
By bus
Buses are handy for getting around - particularly places that are inaccessible by subway, although Nanjing's bus system feels a little aged compared to Hangzhou and Shanghai and has no English information. However, Google Maps displays bus services for Nanjing and some tourist maps such as those sold around the train station will have bus routes.
Buses running within the city proper will carry a route number displayed on a red placard below the front windscreen next to the entrance door. Low-numbered routes 1-100 follow major thoroughfares and link major shopping, residential and transportation hubs. 3-figure route numbers follow indirect routes and run around quieter residential streets and are less handy for travellers, but can be an interesting way of seeing Nanjing's ordinary working class neighbourhoods. Routes displaying the Chinese character for 'you' travel are primarily aimed at tourists and link all the major tourist sights. Routes numbered '8XX' e.g. 801, 806, 813 etc are night buses which run approximately twice an hour between 11pm and 5am when the regular service ends. Buses heading to surrounding suburban towns depart from hubs on the edge of downtown such as Nanjing Train Station North/East, Changjiang Daqiao Yangtze River No.1 Bridge - going north-west, Hanzhongmen West and Zhonghuamen South/East. These services display the name of the suburb/town that they serve in Chinese characters and have no route number.
Fares are a flat 2 yuan on numbered services except for some routes which run older non-airconditioned buses which charge 1 yuan - no change is given so have some coins ready. For suburban routes, fares are charged by distance and a conductor collects the fares. There's a discount of 20% for IC card users. Note that many bus stops are some distance apart often 3-4 blocks so keep an eye out for your stop and an ear out for the stop's name on the PA announcements which are only in Chinese. If the bus is quiet then press the buzzer next to the door to signal to the driver that you want to alight.