October 30
After a western breakfast of an omelet and fresh fruit (there were several non western choices) our driver and tour guide were at the door ready to begin our day of sight seeing.
Our first stop was at the First Presidents House and gardens. Our tour guide, Esther, is a history buff and gives us many details on some of the symbolism that abounds in China. The First Presidents House had been perviously occupied by the Qing Dynasty.
In 1912 the First President of China used these buildings to run the affairs of the country.
A room built over the water in the Gardens:
Our next stop was at the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge. It is the worlds longest bridge with dual functions of highway and railway, also the first bridge designed and constructed by the Chinese, completed in 1960.
The upper deck (highway) spans 4589 meters, the lower deck holds a twin track railway spanning 7406 meters. It was the first bridge in Nanjing built across the river (there are now 5) and reduced a 2 hour ferry crossing to minutes.
The bridge was built during the Mao leadership and his larger than life statue stands in the tower area of the bridge.
In the bridge tower we visited an area where the ancient art of inside painting crystal balls is displayed. The Grand Master himself was hard at work. The glass ball (very heavy) is hollow in the center and the painter manipulates the brush through a small hole at the base of the ball and paints the scene in reverse.
There were also inside painted bottles - which were originally used as snuff bottles.
It was about 2:00 by the time we finished at the bridge and headed off to lunch. Our tour guide chose a restaurant that specializes in local Chinese food.
The food is very good and we eat alot of it. We try stuffed lotus root (good), salted duck (remember the photo from yesterday?) several bean dishes, dumpling soup and other surprise dishes.
After lunch our driver takes us to the Nanjing City Wall, a masterpiece of China's ancient architecture.
The original perimeter was 35 km and a width of 14 meters. The building of the wall began in 1366 and was completed 21 years later!
When we return to the parking lot we see a fellow out walking his bird cages..with the birds in them of course!
We return to the hotel and Jyl and I agree that we are both so full we could not possibly entertain the thought of eating ever again. BUT Gerald calls (he has been working) with an invite to dinner - so off we go! Our driver takes us to the Century Hotel. We are ushered into a room that has an even larger round table than yesterday with seating for 18.
I am pretty sure this event is at the top of my lifetime dining experiences. Everything is very beautiful. The food is placed on a (glass) lazy susan in the center of the table and slowly rotates the selections to all guests.
Some of the new things we try are deep fried pigs ear, different kinds of mushrooms, fish, vegetables and again several surprise dishes. Sunny is sitting next to Sid and she is able to tell us the contents of most dishes.
The presentation of the food was incredible. Below is a picture of a chicken broth that was served in a teapot placed on a tray with dry ice, giving the effect of steam coming off the tray.
The broth is poured into tiny the cup. It was very tasty.
At one point I selected what looked like quite an ordinary and harmless green bean, but it tasted EXACTLY like fire with tabasco sauce on it. Holy cow. I nearly spit it out (how rude) somehow managed to swallow it, and thought I would die. (I didn't)
Once again the people are so kind and want to be sure that we are enjoying their country. We most certainly are.
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