Here we are on the train in the morning:
And everyone boarding the train:
It took us a while to find our way from the Nanjing train station to our hotel (thanks in no small part to the city map which seemed to tell us that there are two subway lines in the city, when in fact there is only one). Thanks to a group of very friendly guys we consulted, we found out which public bus would get us there and we then relied on that route the entire time we were there.
And everyone boarding the train:
It took us a while to find our way from the Nanjing train station to our hotel (thanks in no small part to the city map which seemed to tell us that there are two subway lines in the city, when in fact there is only one). Thanks to a group of very friendly guys we consulted, we found out which public bus would get us there and we then relied on that route the entire time we were there.We first went to a small restaurant for lunch:
We ordered a meal of 皮肚肉丝面 which was very delicious:
Then we walked towards a bus stop to get to our next destination. On the way we saw this cute, funny baby sitting on its mom's shoulders. The baby is wearing split pants, which a lot of kids here wear, so that's why its bum is bare.
We first went to the Nanjing Massacre Memorial. It was an interesting and at times sad experience. Here's a note of paper cranes left by students from a Shanghai middle school. The first line says, "The lessons from the past can be a guide for the future."
Here is an altar where people can burn incense in memory of those of were killed.
There is a wall with a list of name of people who were killed:
On the day we went, there were huge numbers of tour groups and also lots of students on class trips. Here's a picture of the huge line-up to get into the museum portion of the memorial.
At the end of the museum section there was a gift shop. It was selling books and other information, but it was also selling DVDs of TV series...I was a bit offended by the covers on the TV series, as they were pictures of Japanese soldiers with their chests exposed towering over Chinese women in their underwear. Given that the museum is intended to honor and foster respect for the victims of the massacre, I was really disturbed to see such casual eroticization of an incredibly devastating and traumatic event.
We ordered a meal of 皮肚肉丝面 which was very delicious:
Then we walked towards a bus stop to get to our next destination. On the way we saw this cute, funny baby sitting on its mom's shoulders. The baby is wearing split pants, which a lot of kids here wear, so that's why its bum is bare.
We first went to the Nanjing Massacre Memorial. It was an interesting and at times sad experience. Here's a note of paper cranes left by students from a Shanghai middle school. The first line says, "The lessons from the past can be a guide for the future."
Here is an altar where people can burn incense in memory of those of were killed.
There is a wall with a list of name of people who were killed:
On the day we went, there were huge numbers of tour groups and also lots of students on class trips. Here's a picture of the huge line-up to get into the museum portion of the memorial.
At the end of the museum section there was a gift shop. It was selling books and other information, but it was also selling DVDs of TV series...I was a bit offended by the covers on the TV series, as they were pictures of Japanese soldiers with their chests exposed towering over Chinese women in their underwear. Given that the museum is intended to honor and foster respect for the victims of the massacre, I was really disturbed to see such casual eroticization of an incredibly devastating and traumatic event. I found it very interesting to visit the memorial, but the gift shop and a few other things bothered me and I hope that at some point they'll be changed and improved.
After the memorial it was already late in the afternoon, so we just spent the rest of the time walking around the city (as well as making a trip back up to the train station to buy a return ticket to Shanghai...we had forgotten to do so immediately upon our arrival).
Here's a couple of sweet doggies:
Some pictures from Nanjing's old town:
The dragons are obviously not old, they are new decorations:
I liked these guys sitting around waiting for customers:
On our way back to the hotel we spotted this kind of cute Chinglish sign:
The next morning we went to meet with the director. I was rather terrified. First we stopped by a lake to take a few more scenic pictures.
The meeting/interview was a bit awkward at first, given how nervous we both were, but in the end it went really well. I was so grateful to him for taking time out of his schedule to meet with us. He is a fascinating and accomplished person and I admire him very much. Here we are with him (you can see bits of his artwork in the background):
After the meeting we went to the Nanjing Museum where I took tons of photos, but I didn't always note the context of the image. The following two guys were on stone posts that apparently were used to tie animals to.
The outside of the museum:
They had lots of gorgeous lacquerware, but because we couldn't use a flash most of my pictures were too blurry.
They also had a jade burial suit, which was pretty cool to see. It is from the Han Dynasty (206BC-221AD). It was found in the city of Xuzhou in northern Jiangsu Province in 1970. I was pretty excited to see it:
The museum also had some clothing...mostly from the Qing dynasty, but a couple pieces of fabric from the Ming. Here's a child's top from the Qing dynasty.
I learned that I love Ming Dynasty porcelain...I much prefer the simple solid glazes to the more fancy designs of the Qing Dynasty.
Also, Tang Dynasty earthenware is really amazing and I love the mixture of Chinese and Indian/Middle Eastern influences.
Here's one of a foreigner (well, non-Han ethnicity) from the Tang Dynasty.
This one was of a musician:
Gary was excited to see this part of the exhibit. Here's the description:
And here's one part of it:
In one room there was a display of sculptures by Wu Weishan. They were all historically or culturally important figures. Here's Laozi:
And here's Confucius:
And here's a view of the room:
Gary and I took pictures of most of them with the idea of looking up who everyone is, since we definitely didn't recognize everyone.
After the museum we had to start heading back to the train station. On the way we saw this lovely old couple walking hand-in-hand:
Unfortunately the air was rather hazy in Nanjing, so this picture of Zijin Mountain (Purple Mountain) isn't too clear.
And here we are back at the train station:
Where we were definitely not qualified to sit in the soldiers, babies and mothers waiting room. What an unusual combo.
Some pictures from Nanjing's old town:
The dragons are obviously not old, they are new decorations:
I liked these guys sitting around waiting for customers:
On our way back to the hotel we spotted this kind of cute Chinglish sign:
The next morning we went to meet with the director. I was rather terrified. First we stopped by a lake to take a few more scenic pictures.
The meeting/interview was a bit awkward at first, given how nervous we both were, but in the end it went really well. I was so grateful to him for taking time out of his schedule to meet with us. He is a fascinating and accomplished person and I admire him very much. Here we are with him (you can see bits of his artwork in the background):
After the meeting we went to the Nanjing Museum where I took tons of photos, but I didn't always note the context of the image. The following two guys were on stone posts that apparently were used to tie animals to.
The outside of the museum:
They had lots of gorgeous lacquerware, but because we couldn't use a flash most of my pictures were too blurry. 
They also had a jade burial suit, which was pretty cool to see. It is from the Han Dynasty (206BC-221AD). It was found in the city of Xuzhou in northern Jiangsu Province in 1970. I was pretty excited to see it:
The museum also had some clothing...mostly from the Qing dynasty, but a couple pieces of fabric from the Ming. Here's a child's top from the Qing dynasty.
I learned that I love Ming Dynasty porcelain...I much prefer the simple solid glazes to the more fancy designs of the Qing Dynasty.
Also, Tang Dynasty earthenware is really amazing and I love the mixture of Chinese and Indian/Middle Eastern influences.
Here's one of a foreigner (well, non-Han ethnicity) from the Tang Dynasty.
This one was of a musician:
Gary was excited to see this part of the exhibit. Here's the description:
And here's one part of it:
In one room there was a display of sculptures by Wu Weishan. They were all historically or culturally important figures. Here's Laozi:
And here's Confucius:
And here's a view of the room:
Gary and I took pictures of most of them with the idea of looking up who everyone is, since we definitely didn't recognize everyone.
After the museum we had to start heading back to the train station. On the way we saw this lovely old couple walking hand-in-hand:
Unfortunately the air was rather hazy in Nanjing, so this picture of Zijin Mountain (Purple Mountain) isn't too clear.
And here we are back at the train station:
Where we were definitely not qualified to sit in the soldiers, babies and mothers waiting room. What an unusual combo.
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