I really liked the lunch place today. I felt like I was in an old inn where you can run into a Kung Fu Master who is having a meal at the corner of the restaurant with a dark robe & a hat after being descended from the mountain after many years of meditation & training. It was very authentic.
After lunch, we climbed the Swallow Rock Cliff which is situated at the one of the massacre sites along the Yangtze River. People were waiting for a rescue ship at the river bank which was a false promise to these people and they eventually became an easy target of Japanese army. I can only imagine the desperation of these people as I climbed up the cliff in a drizzling rain.
Our next destination was the Private Nanking Massacre Memorial Exhibition Centre. I wasn't too enthusiastic about going to this museum especially after visiting amazing Nanjing Massacre Museum yesterday. I thought this might be an overkill. But this small exhibition centre & the curator/owner, Mr. Wu Xian-Bin left an everlasting impression to me.
This exhibition hall was located at the 2nd and 3rd floor of his own wood processing factory. The photos & relics of his collections are displayed incredibly tastefully on the 2nd floor & the books/references were displayed on library setting shelves on the 3rd floor. We asked him a question what made him to have private museum of Nanjing Massacre when we got together in a meeting room later. He told us that not many people know about Nanjing massacre & even the ones who know about it don't know how beautiful the city was before the atrocities happened. He wanted to preserve the behind story of Nanjing city.
It was amazing to see how one person's passion can create such an incredible private exhibition centre. Yet again, this is another proof that one person's passion can make the world of difference.
After dinner, we had a chance to stroll at the Confucius night market. I bought a couple of $1.50 CAD shirt & tried local crayfish which was cooked in a very spicy cajun style sauce. When we order the food & purchase the shirts, our communication was all done through body languages. I don't know why Chinese people assume that I am one of them. It was a bit frustrating because wherever we go, they direct the conversation towards me. I guess attending 10 days of Mandarin lessons don't cut it to pretend I am one of the locals..
It was an another action packed day but I am glad that I had a chance to explore the real side of the city.
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