Dr. Sun Yat Sen Mausoleum
Nanjing..a.k.a. "The Stone City" / " Purple-Gold Mtn" or ZijinMtn"
The city that spawned the famous classic novel - "Dream of the Red Chamber"
Each of these bricks made by hand over 700 years ago were grouted together by rice paste and ash. Each family had carved their insignia and date. We were told by our guide that the emperor apparently allowed the people two chances to construct a strong enough brick. If the bricks were dropped by a sentinel over his head and it cracked, the entire family would be beheaded!
Old Stone wall made in the 1300s surrounding the capital of Nanjing. Likely the longest city wall in the world Constructed during the Yuan and Ming Dynasties ( 1365 & 1386) it originally stretched 35km or 22 miles. At present, the remains have a length of 21km or 13 miles.
Later in the day we were taken to the Nanjing Jade Institute to learn how to appreciate the multi-faceted criterieas which goes into the appraising of a jade or jadeite piece.
Famous Nanjing bridge built by the citizens of China. Started in 1959 completed 1968. This bridge epitomized the spirit of the communist ideal at the time - to be self-reliant and erect a bridge that would allow ppl to cross the Yangtze which divided Nanjing at the time of the Japanese invasion of 1935. Tens of thousands of Chinese citizens fleeing the Japanese rape of Nanjing (1937) were dead-ended by the Yangtze river and unable to escape the invading Japanese army. The river was especially difficult to span since its water level is deep and rises dramatically and it currents swift. Foreign (Russian) engineers were consulted but all declined to take it on as there was no confidence it could successfully be built.
