This month, I've been quite lazy due to my knee not feeling its best and the inconvenient location where I live. To reach the southern part of the city, I need to take two light rail trains, which takes at least 1.5 hours. I reside in Gaochun, situated south of the airport, so I take the local rail to the airport and then switch to the airport train to finally arrive at the southern end of the city. My tourist card only allows me to visit destinations in the northern part of the city, and I lack the motivation to visit more than one place each weekend. Without further delay, here are the photos I took during my December weekends. Tang Shan is known for the discovery of the famous Nanjing Man. Since my move here in March, I have been on the lookout for the authentic fossils of Nanjing Man (and Woman) on display. I finally found them at a museum built in 2014 on the mountainside where they were discovered. Here are some children playing around large silver human skulls. This is how Nanjing Woman might have looked... TADAAAAA... and finally, the skulls of Nanjing Man (and Woman)! I also visited another tourist site in the area for free—a pavilion featuring an interesting rotating lamp in the center. I'm not sure what this pavilion signifies, but it was intriguing to see. On December 7, 2024, I went to see some Buddha caves. There's a story that Buddha visited this place and realized the people weren't ready for his teachings, so he hopped onto a single reed of bamboo and was transported to Luoyang in Henan, where the renowned Longman grottoes were established instead. There were some grottoes here, but they were clearly constructed in modern times, along with a cave filled with colorful lights where one could sit inside a light tunnel and ponder existence, I suppose. On December 1, 2024, I visited on a Monday, so the museum was closed; however, it didn't matter because there was a variety of military equipment outside to look at, making me reflect on how many lives they took. Fantastic. Prior to that, I tried to visit a temple, but it was closed. Afterward, I waited for the bus, but the driver refused to let me on. Some Chinese individuals inquired about the issue, and when I explained the situation, they flagged down a police officer who helped me get to the subway. That was kind of nice, but it felt like a waste of time. Another day, I managed to visit four sites off my list by exploring some heritage buildings in downtown Nanjing. One of the buildings even displayed the small shoes worn by prostitutes who had bound feet and were unable to walk normally. Unbelievable.
If China can provide rapid and efficient rail service throughout its extensive territory, there's no reason the US can't do the same! Oh, I forgot! US automobile and gas companies hire lobbyists to influence our congress and politicians to persuade the public that it's not feasible or cost-effective.
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Historic town and caverns.
Along the Yangtze River, there are several caves featuring Guanyin, but since most of them are inaccessible, I simply walked along the cliff.
We spent two weeks in Changde. It rained nearly every day, which limited our exploration more than we had hoped. We enjoyed playing at arcades, engaged in Township (a game on our phones and tablets), and went go-karting three times. The go-karts were fully electric and located inside a mall. Logan and Lizzy have been playing Township for over three years and taught Jenny how to play during a two-day stretch of continuous rain. She enjoys the game because it allows her to garden digitally while we travel. They also introduced Lutao to the game, so now the entire family plays Township together.
16.11.2024 - 16.11.2024 20 degrees Celsius
We spent two weeks in Beijing. The day after our arrival, we visited Chao Yang Park (Sun Park) and rented a duck boat. It was quite slow, but we enjoyed navigating it around the lake.
This month, I've been extremely lazy due to my knee not feeling completely right and the inconvenient location I reside in. Traveling to the south end of the city requires me to take two light rail trains, which takes at least 1.5 hours. I live in Gaochun, south of the airport, so I first take the local rail to the airport, then switch to the airport train to finally reach the south end of the city. My tourist card now only has destinations on the north end of the city left, and I lack the motivation to visit more than one each weekend. Without further delay, here are the photos I took during the weekends in December.