Day 30 – Shanghai to Nanjing

For the first time on this trip we have a train journey that is less than 10 hours, so in a mere 3 hours we are whisked from the skyscrapers  of Shanghai to Nanjing a city that, on first impressions, could well be the armpit of China – and quite possibly the world. If banks, smog and 6 lanes of traffic are your thing – this could be the place for you.

Unfazed we head to the subtlety titled Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre or as it is more commonly known by the locals The Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre by the FILTHY JAPANESE DEVIL INVADERS!

It was a simple matter of taking the Metro line South for a couple of stops, changing trains and then West for a couple more stops. The only way it could have been simpler than the map indicated is if they had actually built the Metro lines.Yes, in classic Asian style the city map included train lines that are not due to open for another 3 years. It only took in the region of an hour to discover this and stop looking for the station.

Pissed off beyond belief, we bought a load of booze and retreated to our hotel room which looked like it had been designed by the same planners who did most of the high-rise estates in Lewisham. You would think the 25th floor room would treat us to unparalleled views, it did, but only of the blanket of smog that covers the city.