Hey Hey and a Big G'Day toya,

Damn those Olympians!
Now they owe me a ticket to the Ming City Wall Gate!

Today I thought why not maze my way over to the Jiming Temple and take in the temple, walk the Ming Walls and then spend the rest of the day walking around Xuanwu Lake. After taking in the temple I grabbed my ticket to the gate and the walls and after walking the ramp I was met by Olympian Officials who grabbed their neck Olympics Passes and asked me if I had one. I then pointed out the grey patched in my James Dean hair style and said, Dude do I look like a Youth Olympian to you? One gave a somewhat girlish giggle and was just about to let me through when some Chinese Official stepped in and said;

No pass, you no go.
Hello, I have a ticket.
I just told you, No Pass, You No Go!
Sheeeezus Dude, who died and made you Sheeezus!

I said my Farkyou’s and did a few hair flips and went on my Wall Walk Adventure which was actually much more beautiful and enjoyable than the Zhonghua Gate and Wall Walk. For one it was empty and then there was the lake park scenery to take in. After the Wall I found a great little noodle bar and sat for one of the most awesome noodle soups I’ve ever eaten which consisted of stomach lining, arteries, ducks blood, tofu, liver, pork, bok choy and rice noodles.

The lake park was just as beautiful as I remembered from many years ago but;
It was the two amazing crepes that I ate for a late dinner that really made the day.

On my walk back to my hotel I found the Lions Gate Snack Street and after checking out the choices of the choosies I decided on the Beef and Vegetable crepe for dinner followed by the banana, kiwi fruit and ice cream crepe for dessert and by the time I had finished I could barely move, I mean these things are like half an arm in length and chockablock full! When I got home I started the 'Orange is the new Black’ series and spent the next many hours patting my stomach saying, Gawd, I promise I’ll never eat that much again if you take the pain in my stomach away.

So that’s it, the 2014 Summer ‘Walled City’ Beers N Noodles Adventure has ended!

Tomorrow I will have to find the right bus station here in Nanjing and then head north to Monkey Town to begin teaching on September 1^st which should be a whole lot of fun! As to when my next blog will be, I’d say at the end of September once everything has settled down and the students have shown who they really are in class.

Jiming Temple

Close to the Ming Walls and Xuanwu Lake is the Buddhist Jiming Temple which was built in AD 527 during the Three Kingdoms period. It has been rebuilt many times since, but has retained the same name (rooster crowing) since 1387. It is the most active temple in Nanjing and is packed with worshippers during the Lunar New Year.

Ming City Walls

Beijing will be forever haunted by the Communists destruction of its awe-inspiring city walls. Xian’s mighty Tang Dynasty walls, which were by far larger than its current walls are just a mere memory. Even Shanghai’s city Walls came down in 1912.

The same story is repeated all over China but Nanjing’s fabulous surviving city walls are a constant reminder of its former glories. The wall maybe overgrown but this neglect has helped its survival. Perhaps the most impressive remnant of Nanjing’s Ming Dynasty golden years, the impressive five storey Ming Bastion, measuring over thirty three kilometers is the longest city wall ever built in the world. Built between 1366 and 1386 by more than 200,000 laborers, the layout of the wall is irregular, an exception of the usual square format of those times. Some of the original thirteen city gates remain which are heavily fortified, built on the site of the old Tang Dynasty Walls and are almost impregnable.

Xuanwu Lake Park

Situated at the foot of Mt. Zhongshan, Xuanwu Lake is one of the three most famous lakes in Nanjing. Surrounding it are Circumvallation, Jiuhuashan Park and Jiming Temple. Its history can be traced back to the Pre-Qin period (21century BC-221 BC) and the name of the lake has changed several times during history. The lake gained the name Xuanwu because it is believed that a black dragon lives in the lake.

There are five islands in the lake;
Huan island, Ying island, Liang island, Cui island and Ling island.

It is said by the Chinese that when you are on Huan Isle, you can see that the leaves of willows wave gently with the wind and feel the mild wind from the lake that blows tenderly on your face. Ying Isle is famous for its cherry blossoms. When the cherry blossoms bloom in the early spring, the isle seems to be an ocean of flowers. Liang Isle is the one that was developed earlier than the other four. Annually, the grand traditional exhibition of chrysanthemums is held there. On Cui Isle, there are dark green pines, emerald green cypresses, tender willows, and light green bamboos. To the east of Ling Isle, you can see the beautiful clouds drifting across Zhong Mountain and that Wumiao Zha on Ling Isle has long history and of a reasonable design. Other places like the Lotus Garden on Ying Isle and the Hushen Miao on Liang Isle are also worth visiting.

Pick your choice, I did and it was the crepes!
Beers N Noodles toya…..shane
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The soundtrack to this entry was by Bolt Thrower
The album was ‘For Victory’
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