Sweat Pouring and Crowds Streaming

This morning, we tried once again to reserve tickets for the Memorial Hall of the Victims in the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders. However, just like yesterday, we were unsuccessful. Since it isn't possible to obtain tickets by joining a tour group or paying extra, we had no choice but to give up on visiting. I'll probably come back here in the future, especially because Jiabin has never been here either—preferably when it's not quite so hot! Instead, we stayed in bed until 1 p.m., which felt great. On the other hand, I still wanted to do something in Nanjing, so at 1:30 p.m. we finally headed out.

Since we had only eaten a little fruit the previous evening, our stomachs were starting to rumble. We headed for a vegetarian restaurant, only to find that it was closed in the afternoon until 5 p.m. We could easily have checked that online. So we returned to the metro station and came up with a new plan: visit the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum and the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum instead. Surely we'd be able to find something to eat once we got there.

From the nearest metro station, we each took an electric scooter with a driver, first through the city and then through a beautiful, pleasantly cool forest until we reached the foot of the hill we had to climb. There we found some snacks and drinks before setting off for the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum. It was extremely hot again, and sweat soon started pouring off us. The visitors were also streaming in endlessly, even though entry to the mausoleum requires a reservation, albeit a free one. Our reserved time slot had already passed, so when I held my phone against the barcode scanner, a red X immediately appeared. However, the staff member managing the entrance was busy with other visitors, so I simply walked through—and Wenxin followed right behind me. Fortunately, people here don't take these things too strictly.

Next came the long climb up countless steps. By the time we reached the top, we were completely soaked in sweat. The reward, however, was not only the mausoleum itself but also an excellent view over the city—or at least over part of this metropolis of nearly ten million people.

Next, I visited the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum, the burial site of the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, during which Nanjing served as China's capital for a time. Wenxin waited outside because his feet, which have been troubling him for quite a while, were hurting. Fortunately, the problem doesn't affect his cycling. He didn't miss much, though. Even though admission cost nearly 10 Swiss francs, there wasn't actually all that much to see, nor was there any scenic viewpoint. So he didn't have to wait long before renting a small electric scooter, and we rode it back to the metro station together.

On our second attempt, the restaurant was finally open, and we enjoyed a delicious meal. It was a little expensive by Chinese standards, but you have to treat yourself once in a while. Compared with Swiss prices, though, it was still only about half as expensive, so why not?

Back at the hotel, I finally took the time to have a video call with my parents again. It had been a long time since our last conversation, and being so close to the finish of my journey, it made me very happy to catch up with them once more.