Nanjing #1: Fuzi Miao

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The train was pretty quick and comfortable, getting me to Nanjing in about two and a half hours. I headed straight to my hostel to drop off my bag. The instructions were pretty straightforward, but some better signage would have made it easier to find. Even though I was there before check-in time, my bed was ready so I was able to head straight to my room. That was a relief as my phone desperately needed to be charged for a bit. I also looked up online what I should see and do. I had looked up some places ages ago, but only had vague memories. I decided to head to the Fuzi Miao area today and to go to the Nanjing Massacre Memorial the next day as it wasn't open today. I took the subway to one of the stations near Fuzi Miao. Nanjing seems to be a quite compact city, with all the main sites pretty near to subway stations, which I find great. The subway was pretty quick not too many stops. It was a short walk from the station to what I felt was the proper start of the Fuzi Miao area.

I entered the Fuzi Miao area under a big, traditional Chinese gate. There were plenty of people about but the streets didn't feel crowded. I wandered along the streets passing all the shops. I went over a bridge and was greeted with a gorgeous sight of the river and the traditional houses lining the waterway. It was really beautiful and what I imagine China looked like in the past. I wandered the streets for a while, some the signage looked really old school, too, and kind of reminded me of Hong Kong for some reason. I spent a while walking around the streets and taking some photos. I came to a point, where there was an alleyway, Wuyi Lane, leading to an old house open to the public, so I decided to head in there. I paid the entrance fee and headed into the Wang and Xie families' former residence. Both of these men were famous statesmen, renowned scholars and calligraphers. The house was really pretty.when you walk in, you enter into a small courtyard garden, with rooms leading off it. Just across the way, there is another courtyard. I preferred the second one as the trees had a gorgeous autumnal hue to them. I had a walk around the house taking in the different things to see over the two floors.

As I walking down one of the main shopping streets, I saw a Starbucks. I decided to go for a coffee and a bite to eat as I hadn't had anything since breakfast. I have gained quite a Starbucks addiction when I am travelling in China. It is a nice place to take a time out in, especially as China can be a bit much at times. They had their Christmas menu out, so I decided to have a Christmassy coffee and Christmassy chicken pastry thing. I don't really know what was festive about the chicken pastry but it was tasty. I also enjoyed my very sweet, milky coffee. It is so different to what I normally drink, but I was tired and needed the ht of sugar to keep me going. I chilled there for a while, reading my book before heading back out.

I wandered the streets some more, trying to find the Confucius Temple. It either wasn't well sign-posted or I am just blind, but I stumbled across it eventually. I paid the entrance fee, which was about 30 kuai if I remember correctly. Then went into what I thought was the temple. It was right next to the ticket office and people were going in and out, but it was actually a very small museum, which housed some parade/lantern/dragon boat stuff. It turned out that the temple's entrance was across the square in front of the ticket booth. I wandered into the first part of the temple and looked at some of the artwork on the walls. From there, I followed the path outside. There was a pretty big square n what I felt was the centre of the temple. There were lots of people sitting relaxing there and there was also a big bell and a drum that people could strike and ring for luck. since there were staff manning these I presume that you have to pay for the pleasure. There were some rooms off the courtyard/square that houses a museum. This museum recounted the history of the Confucius education in the area. Since most of it was only in Chinese I had to guess what it was on about most of the time. I then headed to the main temple building and had a look round in there. I then headed outside to what must be the main entrance way to the temple. I must have come in the back way, as this was way more impressive. In front of the main temple building there were giant pots, which had lit lotus like candles in them. They looked gorgeous and since it was starting to get dark, the colours in them were really coming out. In front of the temple, there was a statue of Confucius that was beautifully lit. I think coming in the early evening was a good choice as the darkness and lights made everything look even prettier. I loved all the statues that lined the path to the main entrance/exit.

There was one more place I wanted to visit, an old house that I had passed earlier, but was feeling too hungry to go into. So I headed back there. I paid the entrance fee and headed into Li Xiangjun's former residence, Meixing Mansion. Li Xiangjun was a famous geisha during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. It was nice looking around the house. It wasn't massive, but was well cared for and showed how it would have been when Li Xiangjun lived there. The downstairs part of the mansion had been turned into a tea house and photographic studio, whereas the upstairs was preserved to show the original rooms.It must have been lovely to sit out by the river and watch life go by. I have to say that it felt a bit spooky being in the upstairs part of the house as it was dark and I was the only person about. I would have quite liked to have seen a ghost.

After resting up for a bit in the hostel, I headed back out. I wandered the streets for a bit, seeing what was in the area. I headed in the opposite direction to earlier. I came across a big shopping street, but it was all high street stuff, so I took a turn and walked in a big circle. I finally came across a proper convenience store and was able to buy a big bottle of water. Finally, I could quench the thirst that had been bugging me all day. Also, I was really hungry by this point and on my circuit I came to the McDonald's that was near the subway station. Feck it, I decided to just eat there. After never having McDonald's for ages I'd had it for breakfast and dinner. It definitely wasn't my healthiest day of eating, but at least all the walking I had done would be able to counteract it. I love that this store had a self-service machine, no human interaction is always a bonus when you don't speak the local language and sometimes even if you do. I wandered back to the hostel and spent the evening reading and doing some planning for the next day. I felt sorry for the girl on the bunk underneath me, she must have thought I was trying to kill her, as I kept dropping stuff from my bunk.

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Photos

Battle of the Fei River
Wang Dao and Xie An's Residence