Good morning from Guilin -
Wow was yesterday a busy one! We packed up our belongings in Nanjing in the morning, saying goodbye to our fourth hotel in five four days.  We headed for the museum commemorating the Nanjing Massacre. This was one of those experiences that I think we were all glad that we had, but that none of us would describe as fun. The story of the loss of over 300,000 Chinese lives was incredibly powerful and the images and artifacts that the museum uses to illustrate the history make it that much more real. A very moving morning. 

We continued from there to lunch at a local restaurant. Having travelled a few miles further I order to get to Nanjing, we noticed a few new dishes. One was a crispy rice "shell " covered in a savory sauce. Another highlight of lunch was learning that the mystery meat that many of us enjoyed at lunch turned out to be frog. Our meals are certainly part of the adventure. 

After lunch, we had an chance to drive near Margaret's old home in Nanjing where she lived as a child. Since in Nanjing, she's been sharing many stories of her childhood and her time in Nanjing. 

We then visited the memorial of Dr. Sun Yat Sen, who is often regarded as the George Washington of Modern China. In order to reach the memorial, though, we had to climb 392 steps! We made the trek, though, and were rewarded with spectacular views of the city. We also had the chance to enjoy Margaret leading a group of Breck students and Chinese teenagers in singing the Chinese national anthem together "qi lai, qi lai, qi lai..."

Though we'd already had a long day by that point, there was still more to come. We drove to the airport to prepare for our trip to Guilin. Our flight was delayed a bit, but we made it eventually.  We were even treated to a midnight snack of pizza, French fries, and some amazing fried and candied bananas after our arrival. 

Today we explore Guilin and then head to Yangshuo where we will spend two nights before heading to Xian.

China Day 5