The Gulou district, centred on the Drum Tower and the campuses of Nanjing University and Southeast University, is the most interesting neighbourhood to walk in the city. The streets around the universities — especially Hankou Lu, Changjiang Lu, and the lanes around the Drum Tower — are lined with independent cafes, bookshops, art spaces, and affordable restaurants. The neighbourhood has the energy of a college town combined with the historical weight of one of China's most storied cities.
Librairie Avant-Garde's main branch is here, as is the Drum Tower. Evening is the best time to explore — tables spill onto pavements, students and young professionals fill the cafes, and the streets have the kind of low-key urban vitality that Nanjing's newer commercial districts lack.