Finally achieved my long cherished dream and set foot on the ground of Yangzhou and Nanjing. I also went to Zhenjiang in addition. I have realized another small dream. The 21st is the Xiaoman solar term, and my life is also somewhat fulfilling. ha-ha.

On May 14th, 2018, I took the Z29 train and arrived directly in Yangzhou at 7:35am on the 15th. After dropping off my luggage, I went to visit the famous Slender West Lake.

Figure 1: Slender West Lake

The hotel and scenic spots are very close, so I walked there for a walk. The admission fee is a bit expensive. You can see the Skinny West Lake on the road, which is the former flood control canal. During Emperor Qianlong's visit to Jiangnan, local officials carried out repairs and excavations to welcome the holy drivers, and built the Wuting Bridge. Salt merchants also built a white pagoda imitating Beijing's Beihai overnight.

Picture 2 is called the Thatched Cottage on the Lake. Backed by the mountain, with a lake at the entrance, you can see the Wuting Bridge and the White Pagoda from a chair. The cool breeze blowing from the lake is so enjoyable.

Figure 3 Wuting Bridge

In the afternoon, I visited the famous Dongguan Street in Yangzhou, with ancient stone paved roads and city walls that still leave traces of history.

Figure 4 Dongguan Street

Figure 5 Dongguan Street

Yangzhou is a livable city with few people on the road and good air quality. Taking a taxi starts at only 9 yuan, with low travel costs. It would be great if I had time to stay permanently.

Figure 6

Figure 7 Yangzhou snacks,

I tasted Yangzhou snacks and used a straw to eat buns.

The next day: I went to one of the four famous gardens in the country, which is a personal garden of the Salt Chamber. Built during the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty. There are many rooms inside

Figure 8 Garden

They all have 'left bottle, right mirror' or 'east bottle, west mirror'. The middle stone is called: Time comes to pass. Gardens include Spring Mountain, Summer Mountain, Autumn Mountain, and Winter Mountain

Figure 9 Autumn Mountain

Mountains, each mountain collects different stones and plants, for example, winter plums are planted in the mountains. Planting red maple trees in autumn mountains. There is a collection of books connected to the edge of the autumn mountain

Figure 10: A Corner of Winter Mountain

The room. Take the meaning of 'there is a path in the mountains of books, and diligence is the way'. Figure 9 is a corner of Dongshan. Looking out from Dongshan, you can see the bamboo forest of Chunshan, which means that winter has arrived, can spring be far away? The garden is very beautiful, and even after turning around for a day or half, I still feel unsatisfied.

In the afternoon, I took a tourist bus across the Jingyang Yangtze River Bridge and arrived in Zhenjiang, a place called Jingkou, within an hour. Xin Qiji memorized the poem 'Remembering the Ancient in Beigu Mountain' during his high school years. Zhenjiang is a key town guarding the Yangtze River, and I feel that the development efforts were relatively strong later, with high-rise buildings lining the city. I visited Xijin Ferry in the evening, the place where Emperor Qianlong landed during his trip to Jiangnan. I tasted the pot lid noodles that Qianlong had eaten.

On the third day, I climbed Beigu Mountain to reminisce about the past, looked at the rolling Yangtze River, and sighed at the grandeur of Xin Qiji's poetry. Look at the busy transport ships coming and going on the Yangtze River. Looking back to the past, how many heroes and heroines wrote history here.

Zhenjiang has three mountains: Jinshan, Beigu Mountain, and Jiaoshan. There is a mythological story about Jinshan: Bai Niangzi and Xu Xian, the monk Fahai flooding Jinshan. Beigu Mountain has poetry and songs, Ganlu Temple, and the Three Kingdoms stories of Liu Bei and Zhou Yu. In Jinshan, you can see two other mountains. There is a landscape with a panoramic view of the mountains and rivers, with Jinshan to the west of Beigu and Jiaoshan to the east.

The fourth day: I arrived in Nanjing more than an hour early by high-speed railway. Nanjing, the ancient capital, also has a rich history, experiencing the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom leader Hong Xiuquan as a king here. Sun Yat sen was sworn in here. Chiang Kai shek built the Presidential Palace in Nanjing. I visited the Presidential Palace and also went to the Zhongshan Mausoleum, which is a magnificent building that combines Chinese and Western cultures.

Take the high-speed train back to Beijing in the afternoon.