NANJING BACKPACKING TRIP #1
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I wish Salam to everyone,
We were still in Shanghai. Rise and shine! have to clean-up, performed Prayer. Today plan was to go to Nanjing.
Left the hotel and walked to the nearest Metro Station.
6 am Get on subway line 10 at North Sichuan Subway station → Shanghai Hongqiao Station.
HONGQIAO TRAIN STATION
Tickets to get on board Bullet Train.
At the ticket counter. I said to the Shoupiaoyuan, "Liǎng zhāng èr děng piào qù Nánjīng Nán huǒchē zhàn" 两张二等票去南京南火车站. Two tickets please!
We then waited at the waiting area. Finally we got aboard →Train number G212 at 08:53 at Shanghai Hongqiao Train Station and got off at Nanjing South on 4th Train stop (295 km travel duration 1h 30min). Need to get off the train when it arrived in Nanjing Nan, otherwise this train will proceed to subsequent destinations until it reaches last stop in Beijing.
Fare was 134.5元 for second class seat, from Shanghai Hongqiao to Nanjing Nan.
NANJING NAN TRAIN STATION
10:23 Arrived in Nanjing
Exit from Train station and walked to nearby Nanjing Line 1 Subway (Metro) Station.
2.00 pm Get on subway Line 1 at Nanjing South Railway Station and get off at Hongshan Zoo Station
2.00 pm Hongshan Zoo Station use exit 2 and walked to Hóngshān Zhàn Bus Stop 红山站 that was located nearby
2.05 Waited at Hóngshān Zhàn Bus Stop. Got on Bus 54 and put the bus fare 2元 in the box. Similar system as rapidkl bus.
We got aboard →Bus 54.
I said to the bus driver the destination I was going, so that he could give me a yell once reached there, "Dào zhàn de shíhòu nín néng gàosù wǒ yīxià ma? " (到站的时候您能告诉我一下吗?)
"Quèqiè de shuō, dào de shíhòu wǒ huì dàshēng hǎn de. Qǐng wǎng qián zǒu, nín dǎngzhùle qítā de chéngkè." (确切的说，到的时候我会大声喊的。请往前走，您挡住了其他的乘客。 ), He replied and asked me to move along towards the back, in order to make room for other people on the bus .
The bus then moved on. Bus journey took quite a while until he looked at me and gave me the gesture with his hand as a signal that we have arrived. I got off at Xīngzhōngmén Bus Stop 兴中门 that was the 11th stop.
Onward by foot to Yuejiang Tower some 100m away from Bus Stop. We are able to see Yifengmen City Gate, nice view when we see the bus and other traffic went through the gate.
NANJING YUEJIANG TOWER 阅江楼 and YIFENGMEN 仪凤门
zakisawie.blog.com called this building "Menara Tinjau Nanjing" - lookout point for the best views of Nanjing City.
Nanjing Yuejiang top floor building was Nanjing Skyline Vista Point. This building was very near to an ancient city gate that was called Yifengmen. In year 1928, Yífèngmén was renamed to Xīngzhōngmén. 1928年，仪凤门改名兴中门。
Yifeng Men (仪凤门) was connected with Yuejiang Tower. on the North-West side of Nanjing city. There was an entrance that would enable tourist to walk on top of this gate wall.
Yifeng Men Nanjing City Wall entrance is in the vicinity of Yuejiang Tower. We would love to walk on the Nanjing City Wall but this would take quite long time, if we did this we are going to miss the 6 p.m. train to return to Shanghai.
I always want to see the Yangtze River. The sight of the big and long river would certainly lift my spirits. Many good spots to see it but on top of my head, the best view would be from the top floor of Yuejiang Tower.
No metro train directly go to Yuejiang Tower. Tourists can get there by bus or other means of transportation.
Why am I making such a big fuss about Yangtze River? This 6300 km long river is the longest river in Asia. Its upstream is in the Tibetan Plateau and finally flows to the East China Sea (passing through 10 provinces in China). This river witnesses the construction of a fleet of Admiral Cheng Ho whose expedition is known as Zheng He's Voyage to the West.
Took →metro train line 1 at Nanjing South Railway Station and got off at Hongshan Zoo Station. We then continued the journey by bus.
Getting down from the bus stop we still need to walk. Yuejiang Tower is located on Jianning Road. We reached the Yuejiang Park entrance, bought entrance tickets to Yuejiang Tower.
The struggle to get to the destination was still far from over. To get to Yuejiang Tower have to go uphill. Let not this stop you. Use the stairway - its wide, safe, clean and well maintained. Importantly the stairway is convenient and there are trees alongside the stairway. The walk will enable you to inhale fresh air and believe me it'll be a therapeutic experience.
Interesting sight as we climbed the stairs to the top of the hill. There many small lion statues on the left of the stairway.
Can you tell which one male and female? It turns out that the male holding the ball, the female holding its cub.
Once reach the entrance of the tower there are stairs again! Please come up. Once reached the top floor of this pagoda its worth it because it can see the Yangtze River, Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge, Nanjing City Wall, and of course the scenery of Nanjing City. Beautiful scenery!
“Yuejiang” meaning “viewing the Yangtze River”. This tower or pagoda is built on Lion Hill at the instruction of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang (Ming Dynasty, 1374) who wishes to have high-rise buildings on a hill to see far around to enjoy the scenery and monitor when there is enemy activity. Uniquely, the 52-meter-tall tower over an area of more than 5,000 square meters was only completed and opened to the public in 2001. Yuejiang Tower's development had failed to complete due to enduring the period of grief, war, disaster, etc.
The visit to Yuejiang Tower will give visitors a lot of information about the various dynasties that once existed in China, the map of his territory, Yuejiang Tower being the brainchild of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang. It also tells the story of Admiral Cheng Ho as depicted on the wall inside the tower.
After enjoying the view of Nanjing from the top floor of the tower (and of course the view of Yangtze River), we took a walk around the tower.
Once we crossed this off our itinerary list, we walked along Jianning Road to take a bus to the next venue.
NANJING YANGTZE RIVER BRIDGE
"A Bridge Too Far.......Book writer Richard Attenborough's 1977 retelling of the failed Operation Market Garden. Operation Market Garden was a daring attempt by allied forces to push into northern Germany in 1944. Led by Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, it planned to drop paratroopers in the German-occupied Netherlands, seize bridges behind enemy lines, and make way for a full invasion. In the event, the Germans managed to delay the allied advance by blowing up one bridge at Son, and defending another at Arnhem during a prolonged battle."
......Yangtze Bridge was nearby.
The third longest river in the world is the Yangtze – or as it's known in China, the Chang Jiang River.
3.05 pm Walk to Sìpíng lù guǎngchǎng nán Bus stop 四平路广场南 that is nearby and get on Bus 583. This Bus took us across Yangzi River via Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge, really nice view along the bridge.
Got off the Bus once arrived at Taishan Xincun Bus Stop.
3.20 pm walked to Taishan Xincun Subway Station. Get on Nanjing Subway Line S8 at Taishan Xincun Subway station and get off at Taifenglu Subway Station and to change to Subway Line 3 and get off at Nanjing Railway Station.
Got on Nanjing Subway Line 1 at Nanjing Railway station and got off at Sanshanjie Station.
QIFANGGE HALAL RESTAURANT
A lot of eating places nearby Mosque.
Qifangge Halal Restaurant, Qí fāng gé qīngzhēn cāntīng 奇芳阁, 清真餐厅
30 Shengzhou Rd, Nanjing
Today Qifangge Restaurant was closed.
RESTAURANT LANZHOU LAMIAN 兰州拉面
Restaurant Lanzhou Lamian was located at 16, Fuxi Street 府西街
正宗兰州拉面(府西街店)位于秦淮区府西街16号 Zhèngzōng lánzhōu lāmiàn (fǔ xī jiē diàn) wèiyú qínhuái qū fǔ xī jiē 16 hào.
We had lunch in this restaurant. A common meal was around 10元 to 15元 per person, had Molihua Tea for drink.
JINGJUE MOSQUE 净觉寺
The oldest mosque in Nanjing is on the travel itinerary of this visit. The Oldest Mosque in Nanjing City.
Jingjue Mosque located at 28 Shengzhou Road (升州路28号) very near to Sanshan Subway Station
Jingjue Mosque or Sanshan Street Mosque, also known as Zhenghe (Cheng Ho) Mosque. The Jingjue Mosque is the oldest and largest mosque in Nanjing even on the southeast coast. The mosque was first built in 1388 during the Ming Dynasty. In 1430 Admiral Cheng Ho ordered to rebuild this mosque which was destroyed by fire. The mosque was also destroyed in war and then rebuilt twice during the Qing Dynasty.
A lot of halal restaurant around the mosque display by halal logo on the shop sign.
The Jingjue Mosque has an area of 4000 square meters. This old mosque is a cultural heritage and the center of the activities of the Nanjing Islamic Association. At the great celebration, this mosque can accommodate more than 3000 people. Back in its ancient days, Jingjue mosque has indeed become the center of Islamic culture in Nanjing. There are many precious cultural remains in this mosque, including important epigraphs left by the emperor.
This is an opportunity for cleansing, especially its the most convenient for us to use the toilet. Mosque is comfortable for taking ablution, prayer and toilet break. We use water to cleanse. Just take note that toilets elsewhere aren’t comfortable since they don’t have water.
SHIZIQIAO PEDESTRIAN STREET
3.45 pm Got out using Exit 2 and wait by roadside at Bus stand "Fuqiao Xi Zhan" to board Bus no. 95路. Got off at Xuanwumen Subway Station at 7th stop.
4.00 pm Walk to Shiziqiao Pedestrian Street that is nearby.
A street named Shiziqiao Pedestrian Street 狮子桥步行街 which there are a lot of restaurants and food stalls represent all kind of food in China. Lucky we managed to find an Indian Cuisine Restaurant here.
4.45 pm Walked to Hunan Road towards Xuanwumen Subway Station
Hunan Road 湖南路 located near Xuanwu Lake Park. Hunan Road also one of attractions in Nanjing. If you are interested in fashion this is place where may describe as the latest fashion of China.
It was 5.30 pm that we started walking towards our next destination.
MING DYNASTY WALL PARK 明城墙遗址公园 (Xuanwu Lake Park)
6.00 pm Walk to Xuanwuhu Park that is nearby and get on the city wall and walk on the city wall towards south-east until reaching Taicheng Park. Here is Nanjing Taicheng City Wall, the part of the City Wall on the west side of Xuanwu Lake.
Xuanwu open daily from 6 am – 8 pm and the admission fee is free.
BACK TO NANJING NAN TRAIN STATION (ZÀIJIÀN NANJING - SEE YOU AGAIN)
6.45 pm Get on subway Line 3 at Kazimen Station and get off at Nanjing South Railway Station.
7.21 pm Get on Train G225 at Nanjing South Train Station 南京南 at 7.21 pm reach Shanghai Hongqiao Train Station 上海虹桥 at 8.45 pm evening.
Arrived in Shanghai and used the Metro Line 10 and got off at North Sichuan Road Station. Walked back to the hotel.
We packed our bags to get ready for tomorrow's departure. Make sure nothing was left behind. Zaijian Shanghai for now.
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Harbin Airport
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