Nanjing seemes to have a different air about it compared with the other Chinese places we have visited. Still lots of construction and modern high rise buildings but they have also done a lot to retain some of the the beautiful wide open spaces and lush green park land that gives a feeling of tranquility to the former capital city of China. Nanjing has played an important role in China's history; twice being the country's capital, once under the Ming dynasty in AD 1368-1644 and again in the early 20th century as the capital for the Republic of China after the Emperor was overthrown in 1911. During the period of the Ming dynasty a great deal of construction took place including the city walls, which at 33km long, remain the longest city wall ever built, although only two-thirds of them remain standing today. Accomodation in the principle cities is reknowned for being very expensive so we took some advice from our guidebook and tried our luck at the university halls for foreigners. We are not quite sure what the Chinese think the normal living standards for students are like at home, but they provided us with a newly decorated three-room suite which is the most luxurious accomodation we have had on the whole trip and all for 20 pounds a night - not at all reminiscent of the mouse infested rooms of our own university days. Whilst the accommodation was a pleasant surprise, we were completly underwhelmed by the help available for getting around the city. Again, there were no maps in English at the tourist office and trying to spot a road sign is almost an impossibility. Asking for directions is completely impossible as the Chinese seem to have no experience of maps. Each time we tried to show someone the map in our guidebook and ask where we were and they would look at the map with complete amazement, try to take the book off us and have a good look through - usually having a good laugh at the chinese translations. This was only to be followed with a general wave of the arm in a vague direction covering a 90 degree angle - in exasperation we decided to just continue walking until we came across something obvious. Japan invaded China in 1937 and Nanjing was the site of a massacre of 300,000 civilains by the Japanese Army. It is the watering down of Japan's role in the event in their school textbooks that has caused such bitterness between the two countries in recent months. China refers to the period of history as 'The War against Japanese Aggression'. This month is the anniversary and there has been a great deal of nationalism and anti-japanese sentiment on the TV. The nation is reminded of the 'glorious Chinese victory' over Japan (during the second world war). Strangely there is no mention of the decisive role played by the Allies and the fact that Japan only surrendered after Hiroshima and Nagasaki. News and history are very controlled here. Even going into the internet cafe requires you to log your passport details in case you write any 'subversive' material. All websites had to be registered and approved by the authorities by the end of June 2005 and internet search engines such as Yahoo and MSN (by agreement with the Chinese government) will not allow searches on such words as 'democracy' or 'tiananmen square massacre'. Xuanwuhu Park is an enormous area of greenery and parkland right in the centre of this modern metroplis, that serves as a sanctuary from the daily chaos of life, for foreigners and locals alike. Covering some 250 acres is has a lake as its centre piece with 5 interconnecting islands that each has its own theme in its design. It had taken us so long to find this jewel in the middle of the city that we decided we needed something a little more powerful to see anything of the park - so we hired a tandem bicycle. It is important to understand that everything made in China is made for the Chinese stature - 4' 2'' tall ! Therefore trying to get two westerners on a bike seats made for a 12 year old at home was a little difficult and made for hysterics as we tried to peddle in unison whilst Chris at the front attempted to steer us on a right course. It is true to say that we looked more akin to the clown act at the circus than sophisticated visitors on holiday - at least this time we really gave the locals something to stare at and had some fun into the bargain. By the time that we had got into our rhythm Chris announced to Carol that his pedals weren't working and she would have to pedal for both of them (doesn't this sound familiar? ) Note from Chris: The pedals actually were NOT working!!! Grateful for the sunshine and ability to walk in the fresh air without getting soaked, we decided to venture out to the botanical gardens on the edge of town. More than anything these seemed to be a tribute to Sun Yatsen, who is generally considered to be the founder of modern China. His mausoleum can be found here along with numerous large statues that act as shrines for people to come and pay their respects. The gardens themselves were uninspiring with the roses failing to bloom, trellisses needed a lot of repair and streams needed a good clean out. To take a better look at the city we took a ride on the nearby cable car which took us to the top of the Purple Mountain for a view over the whole city. It is one of the longest cable cars we have ever been on, taking a full 30 minutes to get to the top. The view was beautiful, if a little hazy but we could clearly see the enormity of Nanjing beneath us. Next we follow the flow of the Yangtze to it's conclusion at the city of Shanghai.