The Buddhist Holy Land and White House... PHOTOS

This is our last day in Nanjing. Tomorrow we will be flying to Guangzhou to complete the last leg of our Chinese adventure. Kelly outdid herself today with the sights that she took us to visit. We were all completely worn out by the end of our trip. We began with a tour of the Ji Ming Si Buddhist Temple. It was explained to us that this temple (still working today) is much like the Holy Land for Buddhists. It was first constructed in 527 AD and later rebuilt following a fire. It was very peaceful.

Patiently waiting to release the crossing arm for the train

After walking through the lower gardens, the bell tower, and the drum tower, we trekked to the top of the pagoda for some breathtaking views of Xuan Wu Lake. This pagoda was not built for individuals over six foot with BIG feet! Troy had to duck most of the way and walk sideways as the steps are very narrow. I was able to reach the top with Adam comfortably hanging on in his Snuggli. It was much like being pregnant and unable to see my feet!

This is the pagoda from the BOTTOM!

This is the view from the TOP!

We made our way back to the bus via a walk along the ancient city wall. It was hard not to imagine this wall during its early days, with the thousands of people who had walked the same path. The wall's construction began in 1366 and was completed twenty years later. It is one of the sources of pride for the people of Nanjing.

With the new little man in her life atop the Ancient City Wall (viewing XuanWu Lake)

Yet one more flight of stairs down the City Wall...can you say "spaghetti legs?"

Our next stop was the White House...actually the Presidential Palace. One of its well known residents was Dr. Sun Yat Sen, the Father of Modern China. We were able to tour the reception rooms for dignitaries, the gardens, and the air raid shelter. What presidential palace is complete without it?

The entrance to the Presidential Palace

We ended our tour with yet another fine lunch at a local restaurant. The food just keeps getting better and better! I think that the most favorite dish of our group is the fried green beans with peppers. It is always one of the firsts to go!

I can't believe that our time in Nanjing is over. This is truly a beautiful city. Yes, it has thousands of bicycles, scooters, and its share of smog; however, it also has its share of history, beautiful trees, parks and waterways. I look forward to the day that we can come back to visit when Adam is older.

Adam's personality continues to explode. He spent nearly two hours this afternoon playing on the floor with his sisters, smiling and kicking happily the entire time. He is sitting quite well and has even begun to reach out farther than before to get a handful of JieJie's hair or his Rattle Bug. He doesn't really react to noises as much as we expected. We're praying that this is actually normal and not a sign that he has lost some of his hearing as a result of his cleft. We've been watching the other two little boys in our group to see how they react. We have an appointment set up with his surgeon shortly after we return home. That is, if Ike lets us return home. It's definitely a little too close for our comfort! We're praying that our flight into Orlando won't be affected and that she'll stay far away from our house. Maybe if we join together, we can all blow him back into the Atlantic!

We're going to call it an early night...following packing up all of our belongings into these tiny suitcases we have! Next stop... White Swan!


For my COLTS...

Today's Question of the Day involves Xuan Wu Lake

The history of Xuanwu Lake can be traced back to the Pre-Qin period (21century BC-221 BC). The name of the lake has changed several times during the long history. The lake gained the name Xuanwu because a black dragon was said to be in the lake. Geological studies show that the lake was actually formed by the movements of the geological plates when Mount Yanshan was formed. Refer to the activity in Ms. Adams' folder involving plate tectonics. :-)