Antiques or not..who knows what you get here for real..DONGTAI road

This famous street is as antique as the things displayed here and to note that it is just located off Xizang nanlu,been on the fringe of the former french concession area at Huai Hai middle road is easily assessible.It is also a stone throw away from sparking modern highrises and hopefully you could visit it before the bulldozers do one day.Its a three lanes shopping among old shophouses with a center intersection in the middle.
The nearest metro to it is by Laoximen lines 8 and 10.
Well it is true ,who knows what you get here is authentic or not as everything here looks old and dusty .I always have the urge to rub off the layer of dust to see if its yesterdays productions.
Unless you are a Sotheby expert it could be very challenging and it would be wiser not to buy anything too expensive as the prices are widely bargainable.
Most vendors would be delighted to make a sale especially early in the day so take your time to bargain.Among the stacks you could be surprised to really see some really handed down antiques which are not for sale.
Prices for most items could be slash ed as much as 80percent .Most vendors are rather friendly and old too and not too pushy.
Tactics like walking away and a look of disinteres and can do without it always help.
There are varied assortments of antiques like big vases and statues to small items like ying yang crystal balls,small porcelain figurines,saxo and gammaphones,and the etrnal longlasting little mao red books.Mao statues are abundant with jewelleries,beads,brollies etc.Something im very sure it is not antique is statues of the wide grinning Obama.Swords like LiMuBai "s,rice baskets,cookie jars,ancient suitcases,amoker pipes,ash trays,sunglasses,lanterns,brushes,watches,pocket watches,calligraphy,jades and old buttons at dirt cheap prices.
It is also fun to just browse around without buying anything.

 

 

 

 

 

 

NANJING -A CITY RICH IN CULTURE AND DEEP IN HISTORY

NANJING means Southern City but in past many years ago its name has changed many times.it was indeed such a good place that it was the capital city of a few dynasties.The most prominent one that i could remember is SunQuan,a legendary general made it the capital of his kingdom during the three Kingdoms period in year 229.
Another famous emperor of the Ming dynasty ZhuYuanZhang also made Nanjing as its capital but it as never known as Nanjing then.Its capital as Nanking during the rule of the KMT as Republic of China was shortlived with the defeat of the KMT and exodus to Taiwan.
Nanjing was even made more famous when Sun Yat Sen made it his base while overthrowing the Qing empire.SunYatSen mausoleum is a must see attraction here.
During the dark days of China when it was weak the Nanjing treaty was signed here when HongKong was placed under the british rule.
While in year 1937 the darkest moment in the history of China when the Nanjing massacre happened with the brutality of the invasion of the Japanese when more than 300000 chinese including women and children were killed in a space of 6 weeks.
There is a memorial hall to commemorate this strocities.
Confucius temple,Qinhuai river,Purple mountain observatory and the friendship bridge make up a long list of must sees in Nanjing.

Ultramodern G trains running at top speed of 350km/hr makes this 300kms journey a breeze in just under 11/2 to 2 hours.Cosy and spacious ,well maintained and clean.

 G trains can be taken from Shanghai main station or the Shanghai Hongqiao station to Nanjing South station or the Nanjing main station.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Due to the G trains it is even possible to do a day trip but it might be too much in a haste as Nanjing has much more to offer .An overnight stay would be more relaxed and enjoyable.