Nanjing (part 2)

Day Four

Since was disappointed with the room at Haichung hotel, therefore checked out early in the morning on the next day.

Nanjing Fuzimiao Youth hostel (南京夫子庙国际青年旅舍)

Initially wanted to get a room at Nanjing Egret Hotel, but all rooms there were fully booked. Thus tried my luck at Fuzimiao Youth Hostel (left photo below) and luckily managed to get a room for RMB 150 per night. What I liked was the cozy corner along the passage way leading to the rooms, where visitors could laze on the cushion seats (right photo below). As this is an international youth hostel, several travel guides could be borrowed from the reception counter for browsing.



Room and bathroom were clean and in relatively good condition (photos below).



Lai-Lai Yonghe (来来永和豆浆)

Went to this 'Lai-Lai Yonghe' (来来永和豆浆) eatery for my breakfast (left photo below), which was located besides the Youth hostel. Ordered some Onion pan-cakes and a bowl of soy milk at a total cost of only RMB 6 (right photo below); must comment that the food was cheap and good.



Zhong Shan Mountains National Park

Took a taxi from Fuzi temple area to Sun Yat-Sen Mausoleum which cost RMB 25. The taxi could only stopped outside the Mausoleum car park and had to walk for another 5 to 10-mins before reaching the main entrance of the Mausoleum.

Bought a combined ticket at RMB 140 (photo below) which allows visitor to enter all the five scenic spots at Zhong Shan Mountains National Park which include Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum Scenic Area (中山陵景区), Linggu Scenic Area (灵谷寺景区), Ming Tomb Scenic Area (明孝陵景区), Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Memorial Hall (孙中山纪念馆) and Music Stage (音乐台). Zhongshan Mountain is also known as Zijin Mountain (紫金山), literally 'Purple-Golden Mountain'.

Sun Yat-Sen Mausoleum (中山陵)

The majestic mausoleum blends the styles of traditional imperial tombs and modern architecture, which have architectural influence to the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taiwan. First building to pass through in the Mausoleum would be the 'Three-arched Memorial Gate' (陵門) (left photo below) where it was inscribed with "Tian Xia Wei Gong" (天下为公) written by Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, which means "What is under heaven is for all". Next architecture would be 'Bo Ai Memorial Archway' (博爱坊) (right photo below).



This is followed by a Tablet Pavilion (碑亭) (left photo below) where a 9-meter-high marble tablet was raised (right photo below). One might wonder why Dr Sun was addressed as Prime Minister (总理) instead of President on the marble tablet? The answer was found in the first sentence, which mentioned that '… Dr. Sun was buried by KMT'. When Dr. Sun died, his appointment in Kuomingtang (KMT) was Prime Minister.



Leading from the Tablet Pavilion were the 392 granite steps of stairway (left photo below). The number of steps was a symbolic representation on the number of population during that time; 392-million Chinese. Leading up from the stairway was the Sacrificial Hall (祭堂) located at the highest point (right photo below).



Great view of the National Park could be seen from the Sacrificial Hall (photo below).

Inside the sacrificial hall was a 4.6-meters tall white marble statue of Dr Sun (left photo below), and the hall ceiling was decorated with the flag of KMT (right photo below).



Behind the statue was the burial chamber where the marble coffin of Dr Sun laid (left photo below). This marble coffin was in fact empty; the real tomb was buried 5-meters below this coffin.

There was an outdoor exhibition outside the burial chamber, where visitors could see some of the old photographs showing how the mausoleum design was selected, its constuction stages and the burial ceremony (right photo below).



Opening hours of Sun Yat-Sen Mausoleum from 0630 to 1830 hrs daily. Recommended time to spend at the Mausoleum is about 1 to 2 hours. If time allows, do visit the Sun Yet-Sen Memorial Hall.

Tram Rides within the National Park

Mini-tram (left photo below) could be taken from Sun Yat-Sen Mausoleum to Linggu temple, and to Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum as well. There are 3 different tram routes; between Sun Yat-Sen Mausoleum and Linggu temple, between Linggu temple and Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum, and lastly between Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum and Sun Yat-Sen Mausoleum (right photo below). Departure time is every 20-mins, and waiting time could be longer especially when all the seats were taken by visitors from tour groups. Tram rides are free; just need to show the admission ticket when checked.

Linggu Scenic Area (灵谷寺景区)

Linggu Scenic Area is located on the southeast slope of Zhongshan Mountain, about 1.5-km east of Sun Yat-Sen Mausoleum. There are less visitors compared to the other two popular scenic spots.

Main Entrance and Archway

Visitors first have to pass through the main entrance (left photo below) where tickets would be checked. Next is the 10-meters high archway roofed with green glazed tiles built in Nationalist style (right photo below).


Wuliang Hall (无梁殿)

One amazing architecture was the Wuliang Hall, or literally "Beamless" Hall, within the Linggu Scenic Area (left photo below). Constructed in 1831, this hall was built with bricks entirely, therefore does not require any wood or nail (right photo below). Later in 1928, the hall was turned into a memorial hall for soldiers who lost their lives in the Northern Expedition (1926–1928). More than 30,000 soldiers were enshrined there.



Now part of the hall is opened as the wax museum of the Xinhai Revolution (辛亥革命腊像馆), showing dozens of famous figures before and after the Revolution. Scenes displaying the stories of Emperor Guangxu of late Qing Dynasty (left photo below) to Sun Yat-Sen revolution (right photo below) inside this hall.
Linggu Temple (灵谷寺)

Linggu temple used to occupy at the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum site from year 515 (during Liang Dynasty) until Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang decided to build his mausoleum there. Since then the temple was moved to present site. The temple was destroyed during Emperor Xianfeng reign of Qing Dynasty and was rebuilt during the reign of Emperor Tongzhi (photos below).



Additional admission of RMB 2 is required to enter this temple. Opening hours from 0800 to 1700 hrs daily.

Linggu Pagoda (灵谷塔)

Behind the Wuliang Hall was the Linggu Pagoda (left photo below). This 60.5-meters high pagoda was built in 1929 in memory of victims during the war between the warlords and Nationalists. It could be a challenge to climb up 9 storey of the pagoda, but the view of the surrounding landscape and Nanjing city is guaranteed to be magnificent (right photo below).


Do prepare to walk some distance as each scenic spot could be located relatively far (about 15-mins walk) from each other. However sufficient signs could be found at each junction. Recommended time to spend at Linggu Scenic Area is about 1 to 2 hours.

Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum (明孝陵)

This is the mausoleum of the first Emperor of Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang (朱元璋). Construction began from 1381 till 1405. The tomb used to be lavishly built with many sacrificial buildings and protected by 20-meters of brick wall. During the Taiping civil war in mid-19th century most of the buildings were destroyed but was restored during the Tongzhi era thereafter.

In 2003, the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum was listed as World Heritage Sites along with the Ming Dynasty Tombs north of Beijing by UNESCO.

The Sacred Path

The 'Sacred Path' generally can be identified as Elephant Road (left photo below) and Wengzhong Road (right photo below):



• The Elepant Road is lined by 12 pairs (6 kinds) of animals (lions, xiezhi, camels, elephants, qilin, and horses) guarding the tomb. Among the animals, two are legendary namely 'Qilin' (麒麟) – to guard solely the Emperor's tomb and 'Xiezhi' (獬豸) or unicon – able to identify and hitting evil person with its single horn.


• Before the Wengzhong Road is a pair of columns called 'Huabiao' in Chinese. Four pairs of ministers and generals or warrior guardian figures (Wengzhong) of stone have been standing there for centuries to guard the journey to the after life.
  
  

Mausoleum Complex

The Lingxing Gate (棂星门), or 'Gate on Threshold of Stars' in English, marked the boundary of "Living" and "Dead". This gate was destroyed long ago, but rebuilt in 2006 (left photo below). The Civil and Military Gate (文武方门) marks the entrance to the Mausoleum Complex (right photo below).
Next is the Imperial Tablet Hall (碑殿) in which 5 steles stand (left photo below). The one in the middle, mounted on a stone tortoise, is inscribed with 4 Chinese characters "治隆唐宋", which were written by Emperor Kangxi of Qing dynasty on his third South Inspection tour in 1699 (right photo below). The characters are interpreted as alluding to the greatness of the Ming dynasty founder Zhu Yuanzhang for matching (or surpassing) that of the founders of the Tang and Song Dynasties.


The Sacrificial Hall (享殿) is where the succeeding Emperor would come to pay respect at this hall during the death anniversary. Surface building was long destroyed, and traces of its original glory could still be found in some of the remaining relics of 3-tier stone terrace (photos below).



A stone wall with a terrace on top, known as Ming Tower (明楼), or the Soul Tower, is half-embedded into the front face of the clay tumulus where the Emperor and his Empress were buried. Currently there are projects to re-build the buildings on top of the Ming Tower to restore its former splendor (left photo below).

The past glory of this mausoleum complex with all the buildings could be seem from the illustration (right photo below).



Opening hours from 0800 to 1700 hrs and recommended time to spend in this mausoleum is about 1 to 2 hours.

Tourist bus (游 2)

Took the tourist bus '游2' from the Ming Xiaoling stop「明孝陵东」站 located outside the mausoleum to the Ming Palace Relics stop「明故宫」站. The bus notice is clear with one side showing the Bus number and its next stop (left photo below) while the other side showing the its route and operating hours (right photo below).
Cost for each trip was only RMB 2. This is the cheapest form of transportation to travel around the tourist spots in Nanjing, and there was even announcement made in Chinese before each stop. However the waiting time was long and the bus was very crowded. Operating time for these tour buses is 0810 to 1830 hrs daily.

Palace remnant of Ming Dynasty (明故宫)

Took tourist bus '游2' and alighted at the Ming Palace Relics stop「明故宫」站.



The Ming Palace, also known as the "Forbidden City of Nanjing", was the 14th-century Imperial Palace built by the first Emperor of Ming Dynasty when Nanjing was the capital of China. It was destroyed by war to few scattered relics. Currently only some marble bridges and ancient Wu Gate still survived. From these relics, traces of the former splendor of Ming Palace could still be found. The layout of this Ming Palace had a significant influence to the design of the Forbidden city in Beijing (which was built later by the third Emperor).

The naming of the main palace gate (South Gate) was called 'Wumen' Gate (午门) which was the same name used in Beijing Forbidden city (photos below).



The 'Golden-water' river and bridge (金水河/金水桥) behind the Wumen Gate was the same design as in the Forbidden city (left photo below). A number of isolated column bases and stone carvings still survive (right photo below).



Admission to the Ming Palace Remnant, or Wuchaomen gongyuan (午朝门公园), was only RMB 1. Recommended time to spend is about 20-mins to one hour.

Presidential Palace (总统府)

Tourist buses '游1' or '游2' can be taken from the Ming Palace Relics stop「明故宫」站 to the Presidential Palace stop「总统府」站.



History of Presidential Palace

In 1404 during Ming Dynasty, this site was the residential place of King of Han, son of Emperor Yongle. Till now, the Xu Garden (煦园) still use the same name. During Qing Dynasty, the site was converted to the Office of Viceroy of Liangjiang (两江总督衙署) which is the chief government official of Jiangsu, Anhui and Jiangxi. During Taiping uprising, the site was converted to the palace for Hong Xiuquan, and named as Palace of the Heavenly King (天朝宫殿). After the failure of the Taiping rising, the palace buildings were razed and a new office was built for the Liangjiang Governor.

After the Xinhai Revolution in 1911, Sun Yat-sen was sworn in at the Presidential Palace as the provisional President of the Republic of China. During the Japanese Occupation, the buildings were occupied by traitor Wang Jingwei. After the Japanese had surrendered, the buildings were once again occupied by Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist Government until 1949 where the Nationalist Government fled to Taiwan. It was converted into a museum in late 1980s to display the development of modern China.

With such a rich history, there are several exhibitions spanning a period from Ming Dynasty (Xu Garden) to Nationalist Government period in the Presidential Palace.

Gate Tower of the Palace

This is the main gate of the Palace, with inscription of "Presidential Palace" (總統府), was built in 1929 in a western-style gate with ionic columns (left photo below). Suggestive route in a brochure recommended visiting time to be 1 to 1.5 hours starting from the Gate Tower (right photo below).

Xu Garden (煦园)

Xu Garden is a classical Chinese garden located on the west side of the Presidential Palace. The garden has an artificial hillock called "South Rockery" made of rocks resembling 12 Chinese zodiac animals. Among these hillock is a Hexagonal Pavilion (六角亭) (left photo below). "Bu Ji Zhou" (不系舟), or Unmoored Boat in English, is a 14.5-meter long timber-mimic stony boat built by gray stones (right photo below).



The Yi Yan Ge Pavilion (漪澜阁) stands in the middle, the Xia Jia Lou (夕佳楼) is a double storey building stands on the left side of pond while the exquisitely carved pavilion called Wangfei Pavilion (忘飞亭) stands on the right side of pond (photo below).

Taiping Revolution exhibition

Exhibition of 'Taiping Revolution' where there was a statue of Hong Xiuquan (left photo below) and re-creation of the throne based on historical records (right photo below).

Former Government buildings

Exhibition of former settings during the period by Nationalist Government (left photo below) and Administration of Nationalist Government (right photo below). After visiting then I knew why there is a government ministry in Taiwan called Executive Department (行政院).

Admission to this palace was RMB 40 (photo below) and opening time from 0730 till 1800 hrs (1st Apr to 31st Oct) and 0800 till 1700 hrs (1st Nov to 31st Mar). Recommended time to spend is about 2 to 3 hours as the museum is huge with many exhibitions.


Xinjiekou area (新街口)

Xinjiekou is the central business district of Nanjing. Four main roads of 40-meters width met: Zhongshan Eastern Road, Zhongzheng Road (Zhongshan Southern Road), Hanzhong Road and Zhongshan Road, with a traffic circle in the center.



Many modern shopping malls are located in this area where several international and local brands could be found inside these malls (photos below).



Was searching for my dinner in 'The Central' (中央商场) shopping mall (left photo below). Decided to have fast food in KFC restaurant (right photo below). The menu in China was definitely a different from what Singapore had, especially the Mandarin orange drink.




Day Five

Had breakfast again at 'Lai-Lai Yonghe' (来来永和豆浆) eatery (left photo below). Total cost of 'You Char Kway' and 'Tau Huay' was RMB 7 (right photo below). Simply loved the taste of this combination.



Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders
(侵华日军南京大屠杀遇难同胞纪念馆)

Took a cab from the youth hostel to Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders which cost RMB 16.



Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders is dedicated to the Nanjing Massacre committed by Japanese military on their occupation in Nanjing during 1937. Built in 1985, it is located in the southwestern corner of downtown Nanjing known as Jiangdongmen (江东门) near to a site where thousands of bodies were buried.

Outdoor Exhibits

As arrived slightly earlier before its opening, I had the chance to look at the sculptures located outside the Memorial hall. Felt depressed as I read the description on the sculptures, which one said "My mother in the eighties, hurry up! Run away from the bloody hands" (left photo below), the other said "A thirteen year old boy carrying his grandmother who has died in a bomb, flee, flee, flee!" (right photo below).



The outdoor exhibit include statues, sculptures, relief carvings, tablets, and a large wall listing the names of victims, as well as an atonement tablet and memorial walkway. A wall at the entrance of the Memorial Hall, with the words "Victims 300,000" carved in stone (left photo below). The spacious main plaza of the Memorial Hall is open with sculpture depicting "Peace" (right photo below).

Memorial Hall

The Japanese army committed numerous atrocities, including rape, arson, and mass executions. Lots of photographs, films, statements from victims, and even Japanese Magazines / Newspaper could prove the existence of the Massacre. Disappointedly, until now the Japanese Government still deny this Massacre.

The memorial hall is truly of world-class exhibition with many multimedia displays (photos below).
There was even a corner of the hall where the actual files of the victims were displayed (left photo below). Another exhibit that left me with a deep impression was the excavated mass burial site, where victims' skeleton could be seen clearly (right photo below).

Admission is free and opening hours from 0830 to 1630 hrs (closed on Monday). Recommended time to spend in this memorial hall is about 2 to 3 hours.

Nanjing Municipal Museum (南京市博物馆)

Taxi ride from Memorial Hall to Chaotiangong cost RMB 13.



The Nanjing Municipal Museum, is a comprehensive museum of history and art formally established in 1978, located inside the Chaotian Palace (朝天宫). The Chaotiangong could date back to Song Dynasty, where the Lingxing Gate (棂星门) still stands till now (left photo below). During Ming Dynasty it was converted to an Imperial School, and now transformed into Nanjing Municipal Museum. Mazes of merchants selling antiques can be found at both sides after passing through the Lingxing Gate prior to the museum entrance (right photo below).



Three prominent buildings stand on the central axis, namely the Dachengmen Gate (大成门), Dachengdian Hall (大成殿) and Chongshengdian Hall (崇圣殿). The Dachengmen Gate is the main entrance of the museum (left photo below). The Dachengdian Hall (right photo below) and Chongshengdian Hall have been converted into exhibition halls.
There are currently 3 main exhibtions at the Municipal Museum, namely 'Zhenghe exhibition', 'Six-dynasty exhibition' and 'Nanjing municipal exhibition' (photos below).



Admission cost vary in the day: RMB 35 before 1100 hrs or RMB 25 after 1100 hrs (photo below). The difference in admission was due to the daily performance of 'Officials paying tribute to their Emperor' (朝拜天子礼仪表演) at 1030 hrs. Opening hours from 0800 till 1700 hrs and recommended time to spend is about 1 to 2 hours.


YiG Noodle

Took taxi from Chaotiangong back to Fuzi temple area, which cost only RMB 9. Had my late lunch at one of the restaurants "YiG Noodle" where I ordered some dumplings (煎饺) and a bowl of ramen (软骨拉面) (photos below). Total cost was RMB 34.50 and the taste was good.



Fuzi Temple Area

Saw an interesting poster outside a theater in Fuzi Temple area; it was the Singapore movie "I not stupid" (小孩不笨). Almost 6 years ago since it first launched and is still popular now in Nanjing as an educational movie (left photo below). Appearance of the theater did remind me of the old cinema in the 70s of Singapore (right photo below).



Nanjing-Shanghai Train (南京-上海火车)

Got my luggage from the youth hostel and took the Nanjing Metro to Nanjing Train station (南京火车站). The whole Metro train ride cost only RMB 2. Prior entering the waiting hall, I saw a stunning sight where the silhouette of city skyscrapers casting shadows over the Xuanwu Lake (玄武湖) in the evening (left photo below).

Boarded the express train D437 departing at 1632 hours from Nanjing train station and arrived at Shanghai train station at 1840 hrs (right photo below).



Nanjing hotel (南京饭店)

As I didn't make any prior reservation at Nanjing hotel, therefore had to get the Superior room at RMB 400 per night (right photo above) because the Standard rooms were fully booked. Not much of a choice since don't want to walk to another hotel for 10-mins with my luggage. No difference between Superior and Standard room, except room was much bigger and an addition of a fridge (photos below).


Babela's kitchen (巴贝拉)

Had dinner at this Babela's kitchen again. Ordered a spaghetti with spinach sauce (left photo below) and a matcha cake (right photo below). Taste was good and its total cost was close to the price I paid during my first visit.