​​First stop: Nanjing Massacre Memorial

We woke up a bit earlier today since we would be leaving in the afternoon. When we arrived at the metro stop, we saw a line that has already started curving around; there were also many tour groups on the line. We quickly jumped into the line, which moved quite fast, so we walked past security in five minutes. Once we stepped inside, I realized the whole site was spacious enough to fit thousands of people but the memorial itself was not. Therefore, it was crammed with curious tourists and made it difficult to emotionally form a connection to the events and facts. But I still end up feeling emotional especially seeing photos of victims from the Rape of Nanjing. It was particularly interesting that the information was translated into English and Japanese --- most likely to allow Japanese tourists to understand the wrong their country has committed.

​Final stop: Xuanwu Lake at Xuanwu Gate

​​After leaving the memorial, we went back to our hostel to pick up our belongings. We have decided that our final stop would be Xuanwu Lake; since the part of the lake closest to our railway station stop was near Xuanwu Gate, we took the metro to there. I thought this was where the Tang dynasty’s Xuanwu Gate Incident happened but I soon realized there was multiple Xuanwu Gates.

We wanted to ride on the boats but we were running tight on time. So we simply sat near the water and talked.