Nanjing: Day 2

Woke up pretty early and grabbed a buffet breakfast at the restaurant in the hotel lobby. Ended up seeing two one-star generals in the Chinese Navy (based on their blue attire), which I thought was pretty cool. Tour bus came to our hotel and picked us up...apparently there was another family from the US on the tour too haha.

Anyways, our first stop was the former palace of a "self-proclaimed king" who led farmers in a rebellion against the government (he ended up winning). Inside, many relics from his "dynasty" were preserved...including, but not limited to, urns, bowls, statues, monetary coinage, etc. As usual, I ended up taking lots of pictures (which will eventually be uploaded...).

Next, we headed to yet another famous imperial garden, complete with pagodas, a lake, fake mountains, and a Buddhist Temple. Went through the usual tour of famous sights/ locations on the complex, then our tour group ended up watching a Chinese Ensemble play some traditional Chinese songs. Afterwards, we were treated to a brief opera performance. Apparently, lots of elderly people come to the park everyday with their birds, instruments, and "equipment" to practice Taiqi, fly kites, and relax.

As we passed by the souvenir shop, my dad ended up buying this huge scroll of a replica of "Wu" (on the scroll, there are actually five separate words embedded in this one modified chinese character)...there's also a complex story about its meaning. if you ever come by my house, make sure to see it! Next, the tour group ate together at a local restaurant. We ended up buying tomatoes (with sugar), cucumbers, Nanjing duck (a specialty, too salty for my taste though), a stir-fried dish, and rice.

Our next stop was one of the main entrance gates to the city of Nanjing. Nanjing is completed surrounded by walls and water (it was a capital way back in the day), so there are limited entrances. The gate was composed of four separate giant doors, and in a sense was a mini-castle. (Think Helm's Deep in Lord of the Rings) Even if the enemy breached the first gate...they had three more to go, and would be instantly owned by a rain of arrows (a small enclosure separates each gate). In total, this gate had 29 separate "enclosures" that could be used to house over 3000+ soldiers.

Next, we took a brief road tour of famous landmarks around Nanjing (there were lots!) before we headed to Dr. Sun Yat-sen's memorial/ grave. (Tour buses/ all visitors can only park for a max of 1 hour at a time...) Climbed all the way up, and then hiked all the way back then (wasn't too much to see). While we were waiting for the bus to leave, we perused a Jade Shop. Inside the store, I saw this huge sculpture that I tried to take a picture of, but apparently photography isn't allowed...? Being crafty, I went outside the store and then took a picture :D. Oh, I forgot to mention, this jade sculpture is priced at $288,888 (Yuan).

Next, we were taken to a cutlery store (all asian tours do this :/), and were given a demonstration on their "fine" knives. I'll admit, there knives really were sharp...and extremely durable. For a little over $100 (Yuan), my dad bought a six piece set...(the retail price was 550, but we were at the factory...complete with warranty and refund if broken). There was even a 10x refund if you couldn't bring it past customs, security checkpoints...etc.

Finally, we headed back to our hotel to pack and check out in time for our train. The train we took was once again a sleeping train (we bought four beds, which equals one personal room). Ended up sleeping quite well before we arrived in Zhengzhou (where I was born) at around 6AM.

Note: Facebook is currently blocked. Thanks Chinese Govt...(proxy time!)

PS Asian bread = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_tou ^^ (fried man tou and bing are also really good!)