On Nanjing

My first visit to Nanjing was a little over a year ago, on a business trip. I arrived at Nanjing Railroad Station after a day and a half long journey from Chengdu. I spent the next few days suffering in a room being trained. Between these suffer sessions, mostly at night, but sometimes at lunch, I'd go out and explore Nanjing. In my few days, I managed to see some of the old city walls, walk past the Confucius Temple, and find a Burger King. In short, it proved an uneventful trip.

I went back to Nanjing Railway Station by subway and went back to Chengdu. And all that really was a shame.

This time around, things were different. For starters, instead of taking the subway, we decided to take a cab. The nice thing about Nanjing Station is it overlooks a long stretch of the old city walls and the lakes and parks, Xuan Wuhu. We'd later visit Xuan Wuhu. I have to say, it was one of the better parks I've been to in China. It was certainly the greenest. It is also large, probably larger than Beihai in Beijing, but not overwhelming.

The parks provided pleasant paths for promenading. And boating on the lake was peaceful for hour. We lingered though, and in the second hour it became something like a game of bumper cars.

The only other sight visited was Zongtongfu. This used to be the official residence of the Qing Governors. I think the complex dates back to the Ming. During the Taiping, it was occupied by the Heavenly King. During the Republic of China's stint running the country, it served as the presidential palace.

It was interesting looking at the house Zhongshan once lived in. It was rather small. In fact, it was all rather small. So much so, that it seemed the smallness of it all had been a statement of sorts, a deliberate distancing from Qing excess.

While in Nanjing, we decided to try some Duck Blood Soup. I was expecting a cup of blood. In fact, Duck Blood Soup is no different from most noodles. It just has cubes of cooked blood in it along with a helping of offal. It was delicious. It also had a very nice warming effect, which was appreciated as the day was brisk.

The trip back to Wuhu, ours was just a one night stay, was awful. Two hours standing.

In any case, we plan on making the trip again.