When I was 10, I needed a girlfriend. I didn’t get one.
When I was 20, I needed the love of my life. I didn’t get one.
When I was 30, I needed a fuck. I didn’t get one.
Now I’m 40, I need nothing. Nothing in life is free.
Remember this.
Year: 2013
Nanjing – General Impressions
Site of the Nanjing massacre and home to the Ming Dynasty. The mighty Nanjing has undergone some tumultuous times… It was once capital and carried out all the administrative duties of the empire named Nanking.
The city is like Chengdu. It’s got large tree lined boulevards. Elms competing with the high-rise for sky space. It’s a like parts of Rio, leafy but built up.
I travel into town in the metro. I take a look around some of the main sights. I won’t go into them in any vast detail, but just to give you a general overview of what the city is about.
Attractions around Nanjing
Here is a map of the main sights around Nanjing.
Dai pai dang restaurant
Authentic Chinese restaurant
The Nanjing Massacre Memorial
The Zhonghua East Gate
Purple Mountain Observatory
The Blue Frog Café
Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum
Linggu Gate
Xuanzang Temple
Nanjing city walls
Gujiming Temple
Of all of them, I’d say I liked the Mausoleum the most, it was free to get in and had the best views of the city. Very nice experience.
Zhonghua gate was good also.
Nanjing recommendation
I’d like to go again. Nanjing is a nice place to hang out.
It’s less of a work in progress than this Shanghai area, which is preparing itself for the opening up of a free-trade zone in the next couple of weeks.
This means that Shanghai and the surrounding area, (of which we’re part), will be the subject of some extensive growth.
The Chinese are trying to cash in on this by throwing up all number of buildings and developments in the hope that the economy will explode. Nanjing is not subject to that level of growth and it shows.
It’s nice not to be surrounded by cranes and live on a constant building site, which is what it sometimes feels like here.
Nanjing Dai pai dang Restuarant
Situated at the top of the Deji Plaza, the Nanjing Dapaidang Restaurant serves food of the locality.
It’s said that the restaurant offers street market food in the style of a restaurant. Some people have a thing about street food, i.e., they won’t eat it.
In China, if you don’t eat street food, you’re never going to taste any of the local delicacies.
Luckily, Nanjing has the Dapaidang.
You’re given a ticket at the door, as the queue is quite large, even at 8.20, when I arrived.
They have little benches at the door and pass you a menu so you can be mulling things over as you wait.
The menu is in English.
The service was in English…
The food was a sweet and sour river fish (fresh from the Yangtze), Nanjing Noodles, Doughy Jiaozi, and sticky dumpling and bean soup.
This was a delicious meal of four courses which cost me 58 yuan, or £6.
Nice.
Kunshan Nanjing Express
Had the advantage of standing next to French bloke in queue yesterday.
He spoke Chinese fluently. This was lucky as the girl was refusing to understand my requests.
As I gave the information each bit was thouroughly scrutinised and highlighted for wrongness, which was duly corrected.
This is a moment when French piquant was used to good effect.
I avoided the seatless trains.
Thanked my French friend.
Am now waiting at the station.
Here’s a picture.
The journey takes about 2.5 hours.
Mid autumn festival
So.
We have a little two or three day holiday at the end of this week.
I may take this time to have a look around Nanjing which is a short distance away.
Mo0oncake Investigation
I’ve been planning to sample this Chinese dish.
During the mid autumn festivals, Chinese are overcome by thoughts of mooncake!
Both giving and receiving, it is very important part of the Chinese culture and celebration.
The mooncake comes in all different boxes. There are many fillings, which traditionally, are wrapped in a pastry baked in an oven. With elaborate designs on the top, the cake is of a heavy, doughy consistency.
Pretty filing, the cake should be enjoyed all over the mid-autumn festival.
The box shown, was dedicated by one of the children’s parents at kindergarten.
Gasping at the Mooncake!
Such an exiting thing! Have been looking at these stands in the supermarket!
They’ve been here for the past 3 months or so…
The favor of the mooncake knows no bounds here! Fer sure….
Many happy returns!
Fill yer boots