At the Nanjing Wall

Well, I've decided not to get worked up about the bladder stones until we get home. Any day that does not involve a Chinese hospital is a wonderful day! Although my coordinator, Mr Li who accompanied us to the hospital, is one of the best people I've ever met. He told me that the Plum Blossom Festival would begin next week in Nanjing. The Plum Blossom is the flower of Nanjing. He said that Nan was a true Nanjing girl because like the Plum Blossom, she is the only flower capable of blooming in the most adverse of conditions. Not many flowers can bloom in the freezing Nanjing winter. Today at the Nanjing Museum I bought a silk brocade of a Plum Blossom tree for her.

Today we got a tour of the Nanjing city wall. It was built 700 years ago. It's was ordered by the founder of the Ming dynasty. It's 5 stories tall and each brick used to build it is numbered and has the name of the brick maker on it for "quality control" purposes. There are actually two walls, the one in front is lower and easier to breach. If an enemy army broke through the the wooden gate, a stone one was dropped via mechanical wench behind them and on each side so they would be trapped. It was a strategy called "beating dogs behind a bolted door." Chinese people really know how to name things. The picture above is Nan on top of the wall.