Hotel Subway stop.

Before we headed up to Purple Mountain we decided to find the metro stop next to the hotel. As not everything was in Pin Yin I found it easier just to take a picture rather than try to memorize the characters. One plus to Chinese subways is that each entrance/exit is numbered which makes getting out on the right street a breeze. Some of the stations will dump you out on to as many as 8 different locations depending on the exit.

Jumped in a cab to head up to Purple Mountain, this time we had an illiterate cab driver. The night before the concierge had written out the instructions for us in Chinese to show the cab driver. He looked at the paper and shook his head, then I showed him a picture from my travel book and he brightened pulling into traffic.

Unfortunately we didn’t understand the mountain and the cab driver didn’t understand what we wanted so he pleasantly dropped us off at the foot of the mountain and took off. We looked around and I panicked for a min. Not a single English sign and no big ticket office. Okay this is a big site with more than one HUGE historical attraction so where are all the people? There was a nice couple by the big wooden sign with the layout of the mountain, thanks to Victoria’s nifty guide book we were able to match up characters and point to where we wanted to get to. The one thing I do have down in Chinese is numbers. So after a lot of gestures and the number 20 二十 repeated a half a dozen time we figured out we could take bus 20 up to Sun Yet-Sen’s Memorial.

The bus ride up the hill was another adventure in itself. One sure trick I’ve learned, chant the name of the place you are trying to get to in the poorest Chinese possible (which is no challenge) and when you get to the right stop half the bus is happy enough to kick you off. We finally made it to the top and found our way to the clearly marked ticket office. We purchased the full park pass but were unable to figure out where to catch the shuttle between sites.

The first stop was the Sun Yet-sen Memorial. It was magnificent. Victoria told me the memorial is almost identical to the Memorial in Taiwan.

Entrance to Sun Yet Sen's Memorial

Brief History: Sun Yet-sen is considered to be the Father of China. He is revered and loved by both China Mainland and Taiwan as he was the first official President of China. He was the leader of the Nationalist party prior to the split of Chiang Kai-Shek and the Communist party. He was a great man who was a true visionary for what China could become.

View from the top.

The memorial and view was breathtaking, both visually and physically after the hike up the stairs. The hike provided plenty of time for a history lesson on the founding of China and the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty. After China I think I’ll just laugh at a StairMaster. As they love to say in China, “It’s good for your health”. They use that line as an excuse for just about everything, especially their lack of elevators and love for long walks UP stairs.

Memorial Room

As we entered the Coffin Chamber there was a guard reminding visitors to be quite. This was the first place I’ve been in China that has requested reverence. It was a beautiful tomb. (I was not able to take a picture at the tomb, this is a postcard) Victoria said it was the complete opposite of Mao Zedong’s tomb in Beijing years ago.

Field Trip!

On our way back down from the Tomb we came across school groups on their way up. Of course I had to take pictures, it is only fair right. I was asked to be in two photos on the way down. Oh the stardom of being a foreigner in China. After a small rant of having your picture taken oh so obviously by Chinese Victoria reminded me that I too take pictures of Chinese to catalogue my trip and they are just doing the same. Okay so then I felt bad and had to agree.

The grounds were just so peacful.

Just didn't really fit the overall mood in my opinion.

We contemplated walking to the next area of the mountain but as we could not accurately judge the distance we finally just decided to find the shuttle. It is horribly convenient speaking English because really there is always a student who can muddle through directions. We found a group of school girls who helped us locate the shuttle, which turned out to be a tram. Victoria and I think someone here visited Disneyland. What do you think?

Bought my Chinese Christmas tree ornaments.

Designed by an American as a memorial.

Climbed to the top of the 8-story Pagoda. I had debated whether to go all the way up and boy am I glad I did, I’d  hate to lose face with the elderly man with a cane coming down the top flight. The view from the top story was well worth the work out. Some of the leaves were beginning to turn purple. I wish the view of Nanjing was clearer but that is too much to ask in any Chinese city it seems.

View from the top of the Pagoda looking down on the entrance.

Temple Courtyard

Visited the Buddhist temple. The temple was moved to the present location to make way for  a tomb. There are three major tombs on Purple mountain dating back to the Ming. Learned more about Buddhism.

Last stop on the Mountain was the Ming Tomb Complex. We took the tram from the Temple. We were not informed that the tram dropped us off at the end of the complex. Half way through the self tour we figured out we were going through the complex backward. We just assumed the DIY tour book was horribly organized, whoops.

We started at the final stage of the tomb. This is the Entrance into the burial section.

Further down the processional. It was one long complex with numberous buildings along the way. Each held significance in the funeral process ensuring a prosperous afterlife for the decesased emperor.

Another stop along the way, China is a very hands on country regardless of what the signs say.

The final Gate House before the Burial Mound. You just got to love the incomplete guide book. If a half constructed picture in the guide book does scream replica I don't know what does.

The book said they don't clean the walls because the grim gives the "ruins" an ancient feeling.

Thr burial mound, There was a path leading up to the top. I couldn't help but think of the burial mounds from the Lord of the Rings, the first book not the movies.

 

Remember this is backwards... This is the end of the Sacared path before you reach the tomb complex.

After touring the complex backwards we stumbled into the back door of the museum and proceed through the exhibits backwards, no joke. So the Ming Tomb was great backwards. Hint for park transportation, drop non Chinese guests off at the front!!  or at least have clearly marked signs reading EXIT at the drop off point.

We caught the bus into town and were able to find a metro stop back to the hotel. We crashed for an hour and then headed out to find a restaurant that served the local speciality, Nanjing Duck. Turns out the local speciality is hard to find unless you want the flash freeze foil take home. Our hotel provided the flash freeze take home version but did not provide a meal, go figure. We ended up settling for chicken wings and breaded pork. We were both pleased with our stay in Nanjing. We were able to see everything on our list with time to spare. I was so excited to have extra time in Shanghai!

We left Victoria’s at 6:00am to catch our flight. She had arranged for a cab to pick us up and he was waiting just out side the building. When we got to the airport we found our ticket counter and were thrilled at the short lines, then out of nowhere a Chinese tour group saddles up next to us and we realize the first customer in line is the tour guide who is getting tickets individually for each member. Needless to say all the foreigners in line were ticked, there was a group of Russians in front of us.  After a few min a kind Chinese women tapped us on the shoulder and pointed to the other side of the counter to open lines. Thank you, check-in was a breeze from there.

Plane Food! and in China wet-naps get handed out at every meal.

The great thing about airports is the fact that check-in is pretty universal. You just hand the person your reservation and your passport, when they point to you bags you shake your head and make a carry-on motion and you are good to go. All relevant information is in numbers and letters and tickets are bilingual with English as the second language. The flight to Nanjing was only an hour and they gave you an entire package of crackers with a beverage. Do they even serve snacks on 1hour flights in the US?

Quick history Lesson:

• Nanjing literally means ‘Southern Capital’. It plays a prominent role in Chinese history as the seat of many of the dynasties. Beijing was actually only established as the main capital for the last two Dynasties, Ming and Qing. Nanjing as the power house of Ancient China became the headquarters for many of the riots and revolutions that have taken place in the last two hundred years. Many of the sites we visited reflected these historical ties. With Victoria as my guide I got a walk through of Chinese history as we visited each site.

Took a bus into the city easy enough. Most people have a background in English and with a combination of horrible Chinese, basic English and exaggerated hand motions things are fairly simple to figure out. Having all our reservations in Chinese was helpful too of course. Once at the hotel we asked directions to the first site and hopped on the bus hoping for the best.

Map of Nanjing, I'm pretty proud of myself for getting around with only a Chinese map!

We started with the Heavenly Palace also known as the Presidential Place in later years. It was a large complex with few English signs, and those were sent through google translate it seems. (not to diss google, Dad can attest how much I’ve come to love Google, but really you can NOT just translate Chinese word for word it just DOESN’T make any sense.)

Originally built as two successive ducal palaces in the early Ming Dynasty. It really saw its hay day as the headquarters for the Taiping Rebellion in the late 1800’s, Sun Yet-Sen was sworn in as President in the Early 1900’s and finally as the headquarters for the Chiang Kai-Shek and the Nationalist Party before fleeing to Taiwan.

The Chinese love models! So here is the first model of the trip. The Heavenly Kingdom Palace

The decorations throughout the rooms were phenomenal.

The Gardens were beautiful, I have fallen in love with the moon gates

the gardens were extensive so this is one pavilion of many throughout

The ancestor worship hall within the complex

More gardens

A modern picture of Sun Yet-Sen and the Nationalists

Chiang Kai-Shek's office

Next we took the bus to the South Gate. It was huge, well preserved and unlike most of the historical sites in China, original. Built in 1368-1386 by the first Ming Emperor Hongwu, it was the most extensive in the world at the time. (DK-China)

 okay can you tell what college drilled into me? Mom how do you site a guide book?

Zhonghua Gate -  On the south side of Nanjing, this is the city side of the Gate complex.

 

Side view of the Gate complex, there is a ramp on the side that leads to the Gate house area on the very top.View from the entrance

Ramp to the Gate house. Got to love the Cheesy Soldiers.

View from the top of the inner stairs looking towards the city

Some of the blocks contain the signatures of the brick maker and crew with the date.

View of the city wall extending out from the Gate

We decided to risk the walk to the Temple and set out with our Chinese map to find the Confucius Temple. Originally built in 1045 it was the seat of Confucius teaching the area for hundreds of years. Rebuilt in the 1900’s.

The entrance to the walking street on which the Temple was located. We just stumbled across it.

It was a pleasant walk and to be perfectly honest we just lucked out in finding it because I took a turn and was lost on the map for a second. The temple was tucked away down walking streets.

The Fuzi Miao Temple

Burning Incense in the temple courtyard

The stone inlay was spectacular. They represented various stages in Confucius Life.

Scenes of Confucius Life, all in stone

The dragons were my favorite

one of the many structures with in the temple compound

 

Prayer tree in front of the temple.

Market Stalls around the temple, great finds!

Went shopping in the market stalls. Found some beautiful fans, wasn’t sure if I really like the first few so I decided to wait, yeah should’ve gone back but oh well. I did find my NANJING piece of jewelry though. A beautiful jade pendent. (I collect a piece of Jewelry from each city I visit. Light weight non dusty collecting souvenirs, that are functional and bring back memories each time I wear them.)

China towns look like Chinatowns in the states!

 

A good taco pot-sticker! Yumm.

I have to admit I was dissapointed in the lack of enthusiasum by the person who lit this monument.

 We walked back to the South Gate hoping it would be all lit up in true Chinese fashion (aka completely tacky) but were disappointed to find it rather dull. I had the map and was the designated navigator. I still say according to the map the closer metro was to head south for what looked like three blocks. Well China maps seem to say one thing when reality says another. We ended up along a shady street that just made the wrong side of the tracks look pleasant. Finally we saw a metro sign but couldn’t find the entrance when we asked the shop keeper about the metro we just got confused looks. So when all else fails hail a cab and hand over the hotel business card!

Now for the part, a cab driver with a bad optometrist! He couldn’t read the business card, he even held his lighter up to it before finally giving up and asking a teenager on the sidewalk to read it to him. We did make it back to our hotel and turned in for an early morning!