Mr. & Mrs. Vandebilt + kids

I can safely say that this weekend is one I will never forget. We had
the absolute pleasure of spending it with the parents of our friends
John and Linda from home. For the entire weekend we were treated as
well as royalty starting both mornings as we were picked up from our
hotel until we were dropped back off at night.

The first stop on our personalized tour with John’s family was Zijin
Shan the mountain just at the edge of Nanjing. It’s a beautiful nature
filled place with lovely trees, grass and tranquility. On the mountain
is the mausoleum of China’s first president Dr Sun Yatsen. We climbed
the 392 steps to the top where we had a stunning view of the complex.

After the mausoleum we took a stroll through the outdoor music hall
and the scenic path of the mountain. We were treated to a delicious
feast for lunch in the temple at Linggu Si. Enough food for twice as
many people was ordered and it was all quite tasty.

After leaving the mountain our chauffeur and tour guides took us
downtown to the Presidential Palace. A place of obvious history that
is set in beautiful gardens. We learned some more about the Taiping
Uprising that took place in Nanjing and enjoyed the scenery.

We rounded off the day in Fuzi Miao. It’s a rather vibrant area with
traditional style buildings along the canal. It’s definitely touristy
but worth taking a look at. We were treated to another fabulous meal
of many dishes there were probably about 20 different kinds of food
to sample. Some were definitely better than others the yanshui ya –
duck meat soaked in salt water and then baked was delicious majiang
yaopian (pig’s intestine) not so much

Sunday began much the same way as Saturday. At 9 o’clock we were again
greeted at our hotel this time by Linda’s parents. We first went to
the Nanjing museum. The museum highlights artifacts that have been
discovered around China. Among the treasures were old pottery copper
jade and silk pieces some dating back to 2000 BC.

For lunch we went to a very fancy place in the west of the city. It
was a huge restaurant with a great atmosphere and decoration. You were
able to watch all of the chefs preparing the many different dishes.
The food was delicious especially the lamb chops.

The Nanjing Massacre Memorial was our next stop. In the second world
war Nanjing was more or less slaughtered by Japanese soldiers with an
estimated 300,000 people killed in a matter of days. Now there is a
beautiful park at the site where the bodies were left. The memorial
does an excellent job of recounting the story complete with an open
tomb of some of the bodies uncovered. While a little bit dark it was
still interesting.

To wrap up the day and the weekend we took a walk around Xuanwu Hu
Park. A huge lake in the north of the city with 4 islands connected by
bridges and causeways so you can walk around them. Saving the best for
last we were then invited back to their home where John’s parents were
preparing dinner. We sat down to an amazing feast and ate until we
were more than full.

We were treated with more kindness, generosity and hospitality this
past weekend than I’ve ever experienced. Especially considering these
people were strangers to us before arriving in Nanjing. Now it feels
as if we have a Chinese family. They made Nanjing a city we will
always think of fondly with great memories. We owe all of them as well
as John and Linda a tremendous thank you for all of their efforts. We
appreciate it more than we are able to express.