A62-002. Family Trip in China – Summer 2012 East China Tour (Days 1-3)
Time: July 15–22, 2012
People: Dad, with wife and daughter
Dad originally settled on a 15-day itinerary covering the two places mentioned in the classic line 'My old friend bids farewell at Yellow Crane Tower, in misty March he goes down to Yangzhou.' To make scheduling easier, he split the trip into two parts—one in July and one in August—with the July destination in East China.
Day 1 (July 15)
A. Guangzhou – Nanjing (3:10 pm China Southern Airlines flight, booked through GZL Travel, 30% off ticket).
B. Nanjing Lukou Airport – Nanjing Railway Station (airport bus fare 20 yuan/person).
C. Check in at hotel (Home Inn Nanjing Railway Station branch, located on Dongmen Street in the Zhongyangmen area; the main road outside is Heyan Road. Walking from Nanjing Railway Station to the hotel takes about 30 minutes; a ride on a 'wild chicken' electric tricycle usually costs around 15 yuan. Hotel booked online, 180 yuan/night).
Day 2 (July 16)
Hired a university student working a summer job as a guide through a travel agency to visit several Nanjing sights that typical group tours don't cover; guide fee 300 yuan.
A. Visited Yuejiang Tower (Heyan Road has buses to Yuejiang Tower).
B. Visited Xuanwu Lake.
C. Lunch at Pizza Hut near Xinjiekou metro station.
D. Visited Presidential Palace (passing by Nanjing Library).
E. Visited Zhonghua Gate Castle.
F. Visited Mochou Lake Park.
Yuejiang Tower stands by the Yangtze River atop Lion Mountain, 78 m high; the tower itself is 52 m tall. Its main structure covers about 4,000 m², with an exterior appearance of 4 floors and a hidden 3 floors, making 7 stories. Along with Wuhan's Yellow Crane Tower, Yueyang's Yueyang Tower, and Nanchang's Tengwang Pavilion, it is known as one of the four famous towers of Jiangnan.
In AD 1360, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, commanded 80,000 ambush troops at Mount Lulong and decisively defeated Chen Youliang's 400,000-strong army, laying the foundation for establishing Nanjing as the capital. After ascending the throne, in 1374 he renamed Mount Lulong as Lion Mountain, ordered the construction of Yuejiang Tower, and personally wrote 'Record of Yuejiang Tower,' instructing all civil officials to each compose a piece. The finest was by Grand Academician Song Lian, later selected for the ancient anthology Guwen Guanzhi. Over 600 years, although two 'Records of Yuejiang Tower' survive, for various reasons the tower itself was never built until modern times.
Admission to Yuejiang Tower scenic area: 40 yuan/person.
Yuejiang Tower – Zheng He's Voyages Porcelain Mural
The great hall on the third floor houses a giant porcelain mural of Zheng He's voyages, 12.8 m high and 8 m wide, composed of twelve sections. Brilliantly colored and spectacular, it panoramically depicts the glorious history of Zheng He's maritime expeditions from 1405 to 1433, featuring shipbuilding, navigation, conquest of the seas, peaceful diplomacy, cultural exchange, trade, and the customs of foreign lands.
Xuanwu Lake, anciently called Sangpo, lies within Nanjing city. It is China's largest imperial garden lake, the only preserved imperial garden from the Southern Dynasties, one of Jiangnan's three great lakes, and the largest inner-city park in Jiangnan, hailed as the 'Pearl of Jinling.'
Xuanwu Lake is a large open park with no entrance fee; there are lakeside electric carts (10 yuan/person).
Xuanwu Lake – Ming City Wall
Xuanwu Lake – Xuanwu Gate
The Xuanwu Gate is a landmark of the park.
After lunch, the young guide led us across a street to Nanjing Library, whose exterior is quite impressive. She explained that in Nanjing, provincial-level institutions are often called 'Nanjing XXX,' while municipal institutions are usually 'Jinling XXX'—Nanjing Library is actually the Jiangsu Provincial Library.
The Presidential Palace at 292 Changjiang Road is now China's largest museum of modern history. The site has over 600 years of history: in the early Ming it housed noble mansions; in the Qing it was the Jiangning Imperial Silk Manufacturing Office, then the Governor of Jiangnan and later the Viceroy of Liangjiang. Emperors Kangxi and Qianlong used it as a temporary palace during their southern tours. On January 1, 1912, Dr. Sun Yat-sen was sworn in here as the provisional president of the Republic of China and established the provisional government. On April 23, 1949, the People's Liberation Army liberated Nanjing and captured the Presidential Palace.
The museum covers about 90,000 m² and has three zones: the central axis features the Nationalist Government, Presidential Palace, and affiliated agencies; the western zone houses Sun Yat-sen's provisional presidential office, secretariat, West Garden, and the general staff headquarters; the eastern zone contains the old Executive Yuan, stables, and the East Garden.
Mom and Dad visited the Presidential Palace back in the summer of 1998, when part of the compound was still used as government offices; those have since moved out. Admission: 40 yuan/person.
Presidential Palace – 'The World for All' Plaque
Presidential Palace – Zichao Building
The Zichao Building is the main structure of the Presidential Palace, at the north end of the central axis. It was built during the tenure of Lin Sen, Chairman of the Nationalist Government. Lin Sen's courtesy name was Zichao, and because he served the longest as chairman, people called it 'Zichao Building.' Construction began in 1934 and was completed in December 1935. It has five stories plus a partial sixth; the second floor housed the president's and vice president's offices, and the third floor the Nationalist Government conference room.
Nanjing's Zhonghua Gate is the city's southern main gate, on the north bank of the Qinhuai River, originally called Jubao Gate. The Zhonghua Gate Castle is China's largest existing barbican-style fortress gate and the world's best-preserved and most complex ancient castle.
Zhonghua Gate – Horseway
Zhonghua Gate – Soldier-Cave Barracks
Mochou Lake Park Archway
Mochou Lake lies west of the Qinhuai River in Nanjing. Its ancient name was Hengtang, and because it adjoins the Stone City, it was also called Stone City Lake. The name derives from a beautiful legend. The park covers about 58.36 hectares, with water about 32.36 hectares. During the Republic era, 'Mochou Mist and Rain' was ranked first among Jinling's 'Forty-Eight Scenic Spots.'
Shengqi Pavilion at Mochou Lake
Shengqi Pavilion is where Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang played chess with Xu Da, Prince of Zhongshan. Legend says that once, to please the emperor, Xu Da artfully arranged the chess pieces to form the characters 'Long Live.' The plaque reading 'Shengqi Pavilion' was written by Mei Qizhao, the top scholar in the tenth year of the Tongzhi reign. Inside, the chess table and wax figures are displayed.
Mochou Lady Statue
In a lotus pond beside the Shanghe Hall of the former residence of Lady Mochou stands a 2-meter-high white marble statue of the Mochou Maiden, one of Nanjing's iconic sights.
The Legend of Lady Mochou
Mochou was from Luoyang, Henan. She lost her mother young and depended on her father. Gentle and clever, she excelled at silkworm-raising, weaving, embroidery, and learned medicine from her father. At fifteen, her father died in a fall while gathering herbs; destitute, Mochou had to sell herself to bury him. A wealthy merchant surnamed Lu, doing business in Luoyang, pitied her and helped arrange the funeral, then brought her to Jiankang (ancient Nanjing). She married into the Lu household, became the daughter-in-law, and lived happily with her husband, soon giving birth to a plump son named Ahou. Despite her comfortable life, Mochou missed home and her father. Only while helping the poor did she feel joy and smile. The common people said, 'When we're sick or in pain, just seeing Mochou makes all our worries vanish!' Thus her name—'No Worry'—spread.
Day 3 (July 17)
Joined a local travel agency's Nanjing one-day pure-play (no shopping) tour, booked online. Adults 180 yuan/person, children 50 yuan/person (excluding meals), plus a unified lunch order of 25 yuan/person.
A. Visited Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge.
B. Visited Chaotian Palace.
C. Visited Zhan Garden.
D. Qinhuai River boat cruise.
E. Visited Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum.
F. Dissolved at Nanjing Railway Station.
Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge
Construction of the bridge began on January 18, 1960. The railway section opened in September 1968, and the roadway in December 1968. It is a double-decker road-rail bridge: the railway bridge is 6,772 m long, the road bridge 4,589 m, with clearance for 10,000-ton ships. It was the third bridge across the Yangtze, after Wuhan and Chongqing Baishatuo, and the largest of the three.
The bridge consists of approach spans, main spans, and two bridgehead towers. The upper deck is a 1,577-meter-long four-lane highway; the lower deck carries two railway tracks, each 14 m wide, allowing trains to pass simultaneously. The approach roads are 3,012 m long and 19.5 m wide, with 22 distinctive arch openings. At each end stands a pair of 70-meter-high bridgehead towers decorated with three red flags, symbolizing the People's Commune, Great Leap Forward, and General Line of the 1950s.
Along both sides, 150 pairs of magnolia-shaped lamps line the bridge. At night, thousands of lights outline its grandeur, creating the 'Rainbow over the Chasm,' one of Jinling's modern forty scenic spots.
The Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge carries memories for generations. Today, countless bridges span the river, but back then building any bridge across the mighty Yangtze was a monumental achievement. For an extra 2 yuan, you can climb to the observation deck.
Chaotian Palace – Lingxing Gate
Chaotian Palace now houses the Nanjing Museum; the central Confucian temple is Nanjing's Confucius Temple, whose layout is largely similar to Beijing's Confucius Temple Dad visited during winter break earlier that year.
Chaotian Palace – Dacheng Gate
Chaotian Palace – Dacheng Hall
Zhan Garden at 208 Zhanyuan Road is Nanjing's best-preserved and only open Ming-dynasty princely mansion, with over 600 years of history. It was granted by Zhu Yuanzhang to his top founding general, Xu Da, the Prince of Zhongshan. Later it served as a temporary palace for Emperor Qianlong, who personally inscribed the name 'Zhan Garden.' During the Taiping Rebellion, it was the mansion of Eastern King Yang Xiuqing and Junior Western King Xiao Youhe. The garden was also the filming location for the Bai family residence in the classic TV drama New Legend of Madame White Snake.
Boarding a painted boat at the bustling Confucius Temple dock, we cruised the Qinhuai River through the Confucius Temple–Bailuzhou Park section.
Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum – Bo'ai Archway
Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum is the tomb of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, built into the southern slope of Xiaomaoshan on the eastern peak of Purple Mountain in eastern Nanjing. The complex rises upward along a central axis from south to north, hugging the hillside with majestic grandeur.
Construction started in spring 1926 and finished in summer 1929. Covering about 80,000 m², the main structures include the archway, spirit way, gate, stele pavilion, memorial hall, and tomb chamber. Seen from above, the mausoleum resembles a 'Liberty Bell' resting on a green velvet blanket.
Although Dad is usually not interested in tomb sites, he couldn't help but admire the mausoleum's imposing scale. To reach the top, visitors walk a long approach path and climb 392 steps, with the stairs becoming steeper near the end. Our daughter climbed faster than Mom and Dad, but did she grasp the profound symbolism?
