A Day Circumnavigating the Nanjing City Walls

Wide southern section of Top of Nanjing City Wall

In Nanjing I waited for the Goldilocks time, not too cold, not too hot – to walk the entire Nanjing City Walls. The winter had been miserable. Snow, ice, rain, puddles. With no heating in my office, I sat and shivered with my feet on a hot water bottle.  In the lab, beakers full of liquid… Continue reading A Day Circumnavigating the Nanjing City Walls

‘Woman with nails in both sides of skull’ – the Nanjing Massacre Memorial

Arguably, the most shocking part of Iris Chang’s book ‘The Rape Of Nanking’, comes in its Epilogue. During my 12 months living in Nanjing (sometimes written Nanking) , what struck me was a disturbing lack of even slightly old buildings. There are some old treasures – Nanjings famous city wall, is an almost entirely intact, 40 km… Continue reading ‘Woman with nails in both sides of skull’ – the Nanjing Massacre Memorial

Cheap Eats Nanjing 24 – the Mysterious Vanishing Sushi Shop

It happens so often. I chance across a place in a city – then fruitlessly search high and low for it again. Finally chance across it once more – only to lose it again. This little Nanjing sushi shop fell squarely into that category. It’s way down the southern end of Chiangxiang Road, about the… Continue reading Cheap Eats Nanjing 24 – the Mysterious Vanishing Sushi Shop

Cheap Eats Nanjing 22 – Danfeng St Bakery

Boring weekends, I’d sometimes head around the block to a little bakery in Danfeng St. I’d pick up a little selection of ‘cakes’. These are flaky pastry bounded nibbles, with a variety of soft filling inside. The cakes in the featured image cost me 12 RMB (c. $2.30). Not as healthy as basic noodles or… Continue reading Cheap Eats Nanjing 22 – Danfeng St Bakery

Cheap Eats Nanjing 21 – Cheese Time

Ah, the eternal quest for a kiwi in China to find …. cheese. I foraged far and wide, and finally, one evening, at my foraging limits, a place advertising itself with the words ‘CHEESE’! The fine print said it was ‘Cheese Time’ and a ‘Cheese Pub’. That’ll do me…. As a starter I got a… Continue reading Cheap Eats Nanjing 21 – Cheese Time

Cheap Eats Nanjing 20 – Yonheking Chicken and Rice

Everyone warned me about Chinese New Year in Nanjing. I listened, sure, but I guess I couldn’t believe that it would be That hard to find food. The reality is, that cometh the New Year break, for two weeks a city of several million turns into the proverbial post-nuclear ghost-town. Think ‘On the Beach’. Supermarkets… Continue reading Cheap Eats Nanjing 20 – Yonheking Chicken and Rice

Cheap Eats Nanjing 18 – noodles below the supermarket

I have an innate hatred of supermarkets. The faster I can get in and out of them, the better. But the big supermarket near me in Nanjing takes the cake with the  time and motion issues. Walking down the street you pass what were the main doors that opened right beside the escalator going up to… Continue reading Cheap Eats Nanjing 18 – noodles below the supermarket

Cheap Eats Nanjing 17 – Green tea and red bean ice-cream at Bellagio’s

The green tea and red bean ice-cream (see featured image) served by Bellagio’s became an absolute favourite of mine whenever I was passing through Beijing, going to and from Mongolia. Bellagio’s is a restaurant chain and there were two outlets I would go to there. When I came to Nanjing I was thrilled to see that there… Continue reading Cheap Eats Nanjing 17 – Green tea and red bean ice-cream at Bellagio’s

Cheap Eats Nanjing 15 – even better chicken curry and rice

I thought I was on to a pretty good Nanjing food deal at the place where I had a chicken curry and rice, and the chick who cooked would sneak iPhone shots of me. But if I can ignore the ego-boost and focus on the price, this place gives an even better deal.  It’s a sort of… Continue reading Cheap Eats Nanjing 15 – even better chicken curry and rice