Nanjing (1-4 Jul 15)

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July 3rd 2015

Published: July 3rd 2015

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piranha27

Nanjing Massacre Memorial Museum

Apparently those are the bones of victims unearthed.

Moving on from Yichang, it was another high speed rail ride eastwards towards the coast, this time 6h from Yichang to Nanjing, the capital of the province of Jiangsu. Nanjing is also known as Nanking, and is probably most well known amongst foreigners as the city that was subjected to some horrendous rape and pillaging by Japanese soldiers just prior to WWII. The Rape of Nanking, which saw hundreds of thousands of civilians brutally murdered, continues to deeply rankle Chinese sentiments, and is a highly sensitive topic, especially in view of Japan's sometimes indignant revisionist-leaning tendencies. Distrust, indeed even hatred, of the Japanese runs deeper in no other country, especially amongst the older generation, and continues to be a very prickly thorn in the relations between both countries.

Alas, fortunately the history of Nanjing is more than just about its victimisation to modern atrocities. Nanjing was once the capital of the Ming Dynasty, and indeed served as the country's capital even as late as its Republic of China days just years prior to the communist revolution. This is one of the few places in China where the Taiwanese/Republic of China flag is openly displayed, having been the seat of government

Presidential Palace Grounds

for the Kuomintang under the leadership of Sun Yat-sen. Nanjing was definitely a bit of a revision of some lessons that I'd had in high school, especially about the modern post-dynastic history of China leading up to 1949!

Stayed at Qinglv Yuan Hotel.

Additional photos below

Photos: 19, Displayed: 19

Confucius Temple

Lotsa tightwads like me who refused to pay the RMB30 entrance fee, reduced to snapping shots from the outside.

Yichang-Nanjing

What I saw from the train en route, passing by Wuhan. That skyscraper in construction completely towers over the other already tall buildings around it. I later searched online, and believe it's the Wuhan Greenland Tower, slated to be the fourth tallest in the world upon completion soon.