China Pictures (Nanjing - 南京) (Friday 2005-04-22/23)

Highway from Wuxi to Nanjing. Brand new.

Tourist place in Nanjing, like the one in Shanghai, but bigger, meaner.

Magazine stand within that tourist place.

A police box on the tourist street.

Later, after we were done with all the shopping, we went to visit the bowels of the bridge in Nanjing crossing that river I forgot the name of...

Me and Mao Zedong. <3 I'm a sucker for Communist memorabillia, and an article from the SCMP's Sunday Magazine on the following day made me want one of those Sun Yat-sen outfits worn by Mao and everyone else. Communist wares is our (overseas Chinese or Chinese culture enthusiasts) new sort of cool.

The next morning, they took us to the ultimate shopping center for tourists... It's like revisiting the bosses at the last level of a video game...

I bet it was jade they'd sell us, and I was right... until seeing the rest of the floor, plus second floor of building. >_> Furniture, books, crystal balls, lions, buddhas, and other luxury goods.

Books about Chiang Kai-shek?

Our tour leader, Pat-Pat, reading the guide's evaluation sheet. :D

Our bus driver (Chen "sifu"), who hails from Wuxi.

Mister Chan, roomate I was assigned to (for the snoring competition >_>).

Easiest-to-take immigration post (although there wasn't much to be seen), at the Nanjing airport.