Time: 8:47pm
Weather: 9C, clear
From where I last left off last time, I ended up staying in Nanjing for 2.5 days, staying right by the Confucius Temple which has this massive touristy surrounding shopping area. With the Qinhuai River running through and older styled buildings on both banks, it is a beautiful area of town, and I was also lucky to get to enjoy the spectacular display of lights for the annual Lantern Festival.
On my first day I first went to the Gate of China, the best preserved part of Nanjing's old city wall. Unlike the walls in Xian, it's not a top tourist destination and I saw very few people at the top. From there I headed to the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall, a heavy-hearted place but very well done with detailed descriptions of the entire event. Then I went to the Ruins of the Ming Dynasty Imperial Palace, now just a park but I had no idea the Forbidden Palace in Beijing was based on its former structure, and then the Presidential Palace. In the evening I checked out the center of Nanjing which is Xinjiekou. Food wise Nanjing is known for its duck and I had everything from duck blood noodle soup to duck xiaolongbao.
I spent most of the second day at Purple Mountain, where there were the mausoleums of three famous people:
-Dr. Sun Yat-Sen
-Ming Xiaoling, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty
-Sun Quan
Each of these are very intricate structures with multiple gates and chambers. I can't count how many tombs I have visited in China but the one recurrent theme is that the elaborateness of the tomb reflects the status of the person. Other than the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Mausoleum, it wasn't very busy in the rest of the parks, perfect for enjoying the plum blossoms which are just beginning to bloom. Of course being in China (this can be said for most of Asia too), you can't have parks without temples and pagodas. Parks in China are one of the best places to people-watch and observe ordinary citizen life, as people like to gather in the somewhat rare pockets of greenery to take a break from the concrete jungle.
On my last morning, I went to Yuhuatai Memorial Park, which commemorates all those who died in fight for Liberation for the Communist Party. It can be said to be a "red" tourist destination, for the Red Party which is another name for the Communist Party of China. My last stop was Xuanwu Lake right in front of Nanjing Train/Bus Station. It is a massive area filled with many dikes connecting little islands, and I only walked a small way around the lake before running to catch my 4 hour bus to Huangshan.
I quite liked Nanjing for its slower pace of life but it also had this ominous feeling, perhaps it has something to do with the 300,000 plus people who were killed by the Japanese during World War II and the numerous tombs of famous people that are found around the city. It didn't help that it remained being grey skies the entire time I was there.
Before I start about Huangshan, I just want to say that my last stop will remain in my memory as one of most friendly places on this trip. From the owner of the hostel I was staying in in the small town of Tangkou at the base of Huangshan coming to pick me up himself, to the street vendors who didn't mind chatting with you even if you're not interested in buying their stuff, people there seemed more genuine, perhaps due to it being a more rural area. On the bus ride there (as well as the long 6 hour ride back to Shanghai), I saw for the first time a countryside part of China, in the mountains with many trees and relatively few people live.
Other than being a good base for Huangshan, there's not much to do in Tangkou, where every building is either a biscuit shop, hotel and/or restaurant. I started my day up Huangshan early, getting to one of the hiking trailheads around 8am. The stairs weren't as steep as Huashan but still a good burn on the legs, and I reached the Greeting Guest Pine, the first point of interest of summit area, in around 1.5 hours. The fog started to lift just as I got to the top, and I witnessed a live Chinese painting right in front of my eyes. Huangshan is a bit different looking to Huashan as there are more trees, mainly pines, on the giant slabs of granite. Some more climbing and I got to Bright Top Peak, from what I can see the highest point at 1860m, which started to get somewhat icy. I thought Yushan was very developed with the well-equipped Paiyun Lodge, but here was even more over the top with a few massive hotels to serve those who want to stay overnight to watch the sunset and sunrise. I realized that I had more than enough time to get to the other trail down to the mountain and walk down before the last bus back to town, so I walked more leisurely in the afternoon seeing all the interesting landmarks. One of my favourites was A (stone) Monkey Gazing at the Sea, but unfortunately the fog returned in the afternoon and the supposed sea of clouds didn't happen.
The last morning I had in Tangkou before returning to Shanghai I went to Hongcun, a UNESCO World Heritage town showcasing one of the best examples of Anhui-styled architecture. Although the admission was steep, I thought it was a very worthwhile place to visit and just walk around aimlessly seeing how the people who still lived there go about their lives. The village is very picturesque, such that I couldn't stop taking photos (in fact, many artists come to paint for an entire day), and is mapped out in the shape of a cow, filled with canals running alongside the narrow cobblestone lanes. The detailed carvings on some of the larger residences are absolutely beautiful.
With the 2 days I had left in Shanghai, I didn't do much sightseeing as I'd been to pretty much all the places prior, but went to see my grandparents and also met up with a friend who I'd met in Australia. Shanghai changes so much every time I come back to visit and I can never catch up.
With a much better understanding of some aspects of Chinese history and culture, that concludes my trip to China and puts an end to my nomadic travelling life for now!
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