Train Trip to Nanjing

One of the main things we wanted to do in China was visit the Law Library at the University in Nanjing that is named after my father. He donated hundreds of books to BYU which in turn were used to establish a law library in Nanjing. After a brief discussion, we decided that a 2 hour train ride going 120 miles an hour was preferable to a 5 hour ride in a car. Here Steve and Taylor stand in front of the train station in Shanghai. 50 trains each day travel between Shanghai and Nanjing. Each train carries thousands of people. It was unbelievable!

The building housing the law school and library is behind us. There were many interesting statues on the university grounds.

It was the last day of the holiday week. The doors were locked and neither the guard nor a German professor we visited with had a key. Better luck next time.

Steve and I pose in front of the entrance to the university. The red banners in the background celebrate the "goodness" of the government. These propaganda banners decorated much of the city.

The streets of Nanjing were very crowded with lots of buses and taxis. Note the mirrors on the bus. The vehicles move along within inches of each other hence the mirrors are on the front because they would be knocked off if they were on the sides.

This busy intersection had sky walkways that hung above the streets. That way people could cross the streets without interrupting the flow of traffic. This intersection was near the train station in Shanghai. We walked around in a big square to check it out before we left for Nanjing.

This is the old wall that surrounded Nanjing. It was damaged by the Japanese when they invaded Nanjing during World War II. The holes in the walls were caused by artillery and bullets.

This is the line for people to board buses after they got off the train in Nanjing

This is the memorial museum in honor of the 300,000 Chinese people brutally killed by the Japanese in just 6 weeks in Nanjing during WWII. Most of the display is under the ground. It is referrred to as the Chinese Holacaust.

This plaza is in front of the train station in Nanjing. Across the river you can see the highrise buildings of the city. A flower show had just ended and the flowers behind us were starting to wilt. The flowers were not permanently planted in the ground. There were just thousands of free standing pots placed to make various patterns and designs. I don't know how they watered them or if they watered them.

We are in the crowded train station waiting to board our train. You couldn't get back out and the train was delayed so you couldn't move forward either. Steve did not care much for this situation. So many people came on and off the trains.

The taxis took us where we wanted to go around the city for a couple of dollars. We ate lunch at McDonalds. They serve a few extra items like shrimp sandwiches but they still had big mac's and fries. McDonalds took back ownership of all of the Chinese outlets because the local owners kept substituting inferior products. Now the food tasted just like at home, says Taylor. Although I must say I really don't know since I don't eat at McDonalds at home.