Connection to blogger itself is now also on an on/off basis, still can't actually see blog itself - must be the infamous Great Firewall of China in action. Anyway, I'm in Nanjing, at times the capital of China, right now, about to continue my travels. Heading towards Beijing tomorrow. Train travel here is really excellent, I'm quite happy about it so far. There are a number of high speed lines -all bullet trains - connecting the major cities. A world of difference when compared to India. I can still remember their hard sleepers the overcrowded compartments and the windows that couldn't close....
I came to Nanjing because I was really curious to learn more about and quite excited to see see some of sites dedicated to
Zheng He, the Chinese naval explorer. The discovery of some of his shipyards a few years ago caused quite some commotion, as some of the ships - the so-called treasure ships- were several times larger than the ships of Columbus. They were said to have made voyages from China to as far as Kenya and Somalia in the 1420s. However, Nanjing is also situated along the grand canal that Chinese build to further develop trade as well as one of their major rivers. It is now thought that although his expeditions did in fact took place, that the ships used were not "treasure ships", these were most likely used either by the emperor or for internal trade.
Nanjing is also the site of the infamous
Nanjing Massacre. It used to be an old, historic city - now it reminds me of the South of Rotterdam - well, the way it was some 20 years ago. Concrete, old, somber buildings with here and there some modern architecture popping up, but little left in terms of history. The city suffered terribly during the invasion by the Japanese in the late thirties, by their bombardment and also by the atrocities that followed afterwards. I visited the memorial that is built over one of the mass graves. Very impressive and also disturbing. There was also something there that I did not expect to see: the Nazi Swastika as sign of shelter and hope. It seemed that the international community and the red cross created an international safe zone during the invasion, to protect the local Chinese population. It was only partially effective. A German was elected to oversee the operations to shelter and protect the citizens of Nanjing in this zone. As a result, there are a number of photos of Germans standing with the Nazi flag trying to keep the Japanese out and protect the local Chinese. Strange in retrospect, no? Perhaps just a case of individuals trying the best they can given the circumstances.
Connection to blogger itself is now also on an on/off basis, still can't actually see blog itself - must be the infamous Great Firewall of China in action. Anyway, I'm in Nanjing, at times the capital of China, right now, about to continue my travels. Heading towards Beijing tomorrow. Train travel here is really excellent, I'm quite happy about it so far. There are a number of high speed lines -all bullet trains - connecting the major cities. A world of difference when compared to India. I can still remember their hard sleepers the overcrowded compartments and the windows that couldn't close....
I came to Nanjing because I was really curious to learn more about and quite excited to see see some of sites dedicated to Zheng He, the Chinese naval explorer. The discovery of some of his shipyards a few years ago caused quite some commotion, as some of the ships - the so-called treasure ships- were several times larger than the ships of Columbus. They were said to have made voyages from China to as far as Kenya and Somalia in the 1420s. However, Nanjing is also situated along the grand canal that Chinese build to further develop trade as well as one of their major rivers. It is now thought that although his expeditions did in fact took place, that the ships used were not "treasure ships", these were most likely used either by the emperor or for internal trade. 
Nanjing is also the site of the infamous Nanjing Massacre. It used to be an old, historic city - now it reminds me of the South of Rotterdam - well, the way it was some 20 years ago. Concrete, old, somber buildings with here and there some modern architecture popping up, but little left in terms of history. The city suffered terribly during the invasion by the Japanese in the late thirties, by their bombardment and also by the atrocities that followed afterwards. I visited the memorial that is built over one of the mass graves. Very impressive and also disturbing. There was also something there that I did not expect to see: the Nazi Swastika as sign of shelter and hope. It seemed that the international community and the red cross created an international safe zone during the invasion, to protect the local Chinese population. It was only partially effective. A German was elected to oversee the operations to shelter and protect the citizens of Nanjing in this zone. As a result, there are a number of photos of Germans standing with the Nazi flag trying to keep the Japanese out and protect the local Chinese. Strange in retrospect, no? Perhaps just a case of individuals trying the best they can given the circumstances.
