Betty and I checked out the metro stations from our Bestay hotel to the Nanjing Train station to be sure we could use either an elevator or escalator with all our luggage. I couldn’t face lugging up or down staircases with two backpacks and my heavy suitcase. Looked good!
So off we set and arrived (I think there was ONE place where I had to go down a staircase - certainly better than UP! ) We had already bought our tickets. We went up to McDonalds on the balcony overlooking the station gates to have breakfast and observe how the system worked. There was a woman working at the gates and she would call out on a microphone the trains to line up for and slap a number of the train on a board where people should line up. The lighted board turned green when passengers should head out to the track. So another number would go up by the gate. The station was PACKED! with people going everywhere.
Things went smoothly and we went through the gate when called and boarded our train for Yangzhou. I didn’t recognize the station when we got there. It had been newly built when I was teaching (2004-2005) and I frequently used it to take the overnight sleeper train to Beijing! I remember it being $50 or so round trip and taking 12 hours. But this station was much larger and buildings all around! There was nothing but countryside around in 2005.
Lily was right at the gate when we exited. She called a cab and we headed into town (I didn’t recognize anything!) passing her college where she teaches English on the way in. When we arrived at Ding’s apartment, Wei Yuan his wife was there waiting for us. She carried Betty’s suitcase up the 6 flights (9 x 9 steps plus the first 14 steps = 95 steps!!) up to their top floor apartment. I had packed what I needed into my backpack so left my suitcase in their bicycle storage area at the bottom. Ding carried it up later!! Strong guy!!
After Wei Yuan showed us around the apartment, we headed off with Lily on our bicycles to GeYuan - the Bamboo gardens nearby. I remember this from my visit in 2011 when she took us. This was the home of a wealthy merchant and had 4 gardens, one for each season. The winter one had stones/rocks with lots of white streaks, representing ice and snow, on them. There was a study building up high on the rocks with a steep stairway; she said that was to represent the hard road to knowledge. There were a lot of cats roaming around in and out of the rocks.
Our exit out the back was onto Dongguan Street, a street with many shops for tourists. Saw an artist making/painting rectangular wall hangings with people’s name and other symbols (happiness, wealth, etc.) on them. I wanted to go back and get one but missed the opportunity. Maybe I can find a similar guy in Shanghai. We’ll have lots of days there at the end.
We went back for our bicycles and headed through crazy traffic down towards HuaHai Lu (the road my former school is on; I recognized it when we got near) and turned right to a mall near the Metropole Hotel where I remember Jack hosting a banquet with Ding’s parents and others when he visited mid-year. I was so delighted to finally see Qin Hong - after 6 years. We had a lovely dinner and then biked back to our apartment (Ding’s - he doesn’t live there; it was bought for his son so he will be able to go to school in Yangzhou. It’s brand new! He just finished completely renovating it in the fall after he came home. But they all live in the other 4th floor apartment (where I stayed in 2011) with his parents, wife and son. We nestled in this great place for the night!!
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