Blog

Getaway Trip to Nanjing

Although Shanghai is undoubtedly one of the China’s most interesting and diverse cities that is always ready to offer new experiences, sometimes it’s nice to change atmosphere for a little while. This time for my getaway trip I picked Nanjing – the capital of Jiangsu province and one of the destinations offered by BRIC Language Summer Camp. Nanjing is known for its rich history and cultural and commercial importance. Name of the city means “southern capital’, Nanjing (previously known as Nankin and Nanking) was one of the earliest cities established in China and indeed was a capital for several times in the history of China.

A high-speed train brought us to Nanjing in 1.5 hours, and the adventure began! Nanjing has many interesting places to visit, so we had to pick three since we only had one day there. From the train station we took a metro Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall – a place aimed to preserve the historical truth regarding 300,000 people killed and tortured by Japanese Forces of Aggression in 1937. Personally I am very reluctant to go to war museums, just because they are always associated with violence. But visiting Nanjing Massacre Museum actually became a very informative and moving for me experience. Definitely worth it to see!!

Next we headed to the Presidential Palace – former residence of emperors and political leaders. Great place to learn more about the course of China’s political events and take some rest from Nanjing’s hot summer day in a shade of gardens, gardens and more gardens.

Nanjing appeared to be a very easy city to navigate and get around. From the Presidential Palace we took a bus that took 20 minutes to bring us to my favorite part of our trip – Zhongshan Mountain National Park. This is no doubt a place to go if you are a nature fan. Aside from getting yet a little bit more familiar with China’s history by visiting Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum and the Ming Tomb, Zhongshan Mountain National Park is a perfect spot for a hike or peaceful contemplation.

Overall, Nanjing became one of my favorite spots to go around Shanghai so far, it’s a city where you can get educated about China and enjoy nature without being smashed by enormous crowds of tourists.

Share: