Arriving at the train station at 7:20 am on what turned out to be a gorgeous spring day made for a fun, long day touring around Nanjing. After breakfast and dropping our bags at the hotel, we headed for Purple Mountain, the huge park on the NE corner of the city where many of the main sights are located. Skirting along Nanjing’s still-intact city wall (dating from the Ming dynasty, and apparently the longest city wall in the world), we found our way to the mausoleum of Sun Yatsen, “Father of Modern China.” It’s an impressive complex, the long walk to the top offering plenty of opportunities for children to be educated on the intricacies of modern Chinese history! The girls were very popular tourist sights in their own right; by the end of the day, they had been photographed by Chinese tourists at least ten times -- which they took very much in stride.

 

The top right picture gives you a sense of the sculpture-bracketed road leading up to our next destination, the tomb of the founder of the Ming dynasty (he died around 1400). There’s a great sense of serenity throughout the complex, especially as one gazes at the lush greenery covering the un-excavated artificial mountain in which he is buried -- which you can see behind Debbie in the top left.

 

Serenity would not describe the third highlight of the day: after a break for some relaxation (and a game of Killer Bunnies) at the hotel, we headed to the south of town and a large pedestrian-only quarter. We spent a bit of time at the Confucian Temple that sits incongruously amidst the tumult, but mostly shopped and snacked and shopped and snacked and.... Eventually we headed home for sleep.