We managed to buy our own tickets and get on the correct train to Nanjing. We took one of the new bullet trains that went over 300 km/hr but capable of going even faster. However, due to a serious accident in 2010, the speeds have been limited to about 300.

We wee looking forward to Nanjing as we would meet up with two families. We were greeted by both the Chen Family - cousins of my mentor Amos Lu- who had visited us at The Shack last summer where we took them to Niagara Falls and the Anchor Bar! Although Mr & Mrs. Chen do not speak English, their daughter Weixuan is a graduate student in the US. In addition, one of my college roommates' son, Dillon Powers, has been living in Nanjing for the past year and was the designated interpreter for the "boy" car over the next two days. Our first stop was the Nanjing War Memorial which is a massive museum that traces the history of the Japanese invasion and occupation of Nanjing in 1937. In just 6 weeks, the Japanese killed over 300,000 civilians and over 20,000 women were raped. The museum traces the atrocities with personal stories, photos and the war crimes tribunal. It was an incredibly moving and educational experience for all of us. The Chen family took us for lunch where we enjoyed many local specialties that hardly resembled the "Western" Chinese cooking we are used to and was a prelude to many more terrific meals to follow. Following lunch we visited the city wall which dates to the Ming Dynasty in the 1300s when Nanjing was the capital of China and offered a panoramic view of Nanjing. Our last stop was the Confucius Temple before heading back to our hotel and getting ready for another terrific meal. We tried the local delicacies of salted duck and squirrel fish in addition to at least six other tasty items. The Chens picked us up Wednesday morning (July 4th)for the traditional independence day visit to the Sun Yat Sen memorial on Purple Mountain. Although we were facing the hottest temperature of the trip (100+ with matching humidity) we hiked to the mausoleum at the top as well as the Emperor's Path which featured sculptures of symbolic animals and individuals dating to the Ming Dynasty. We made a quick pitstop at Dillon's apartment before we were taken to the train station for our trip to Beijing. It was sad to say goodbye to the Chen family as they had been wonderful hosts over the past two days but we know we will see them again in the US or China. Dillon joined us at the station - cello and giant suitcase in tow as he moving to Beijing concurrent with our visit. We pulled into the station at 8:30 pm and headed to the Marriott City Wall.