29th November: Shanghai, China to Nanjing, China

It was time to leave Shanghai! Our journey to Nanjing began at lunchtime from the old station just one metro stop from our accommodation. I seem to have strained something in my abdomen, which made walking with heavy bags a little bit of a strain. Still, we made it with plenty of time to spare for coffee and lunch. This station was another of the confusing pre-high-speed stations, similar to Changsha. There were 14 different waiting rooms and the two for our train were bizarrely not above the same platform. After a bit of confusion, the train appeared, and everyone seemed to be funnelled the correct direction!

Heading west up the Yangtze valley, we stopped at cities I’ve never heard of, but which have skylines as impressive as most European capitals. After an hour and 40 minutes, we arrived in Nanjing (literally ‘south capital’) where it was a couple of degrees warmer (yay!) than Shanghai. A very pleasant 16C sunny afternoon, causing me to delayer the various merino wool garments I’d taken to wearing this past week.

After crossing town to check in, we were bemused by having to unlock the room door using Bluetooth through a WeChat mini app! Considering that the mini app to order coffee wouldn’t work this morning, that doesn’t seem the most reliable method. WeChat still doesn’t work properly on Kaja’s phone, so she can’t get in without me. The staff seemed utterly shocked by someone not having a working WeChat account and none of their solutions worked. It’s a bit of a bizarre place next to an old shopping centre which feels very removed from the hermetically clean marble affairs of Shanghai. This is smoky, dusty, and well lived in. There is also, somehow, a giant ancient looking ship between the buildings. We’ll investigate tomorrow!

Before the sun dropped, we thought it would be a good plan to get to the east side of Xianwu Lake as this looked like it would give a good view back over the city. We were right, although it was hardly a secret spot! It was still a relaxing stroll, as the setting sun silhouetted the city skyline gorgeously across the water. It seems that we’ve definitely found autumn now.

Two stops away from our accommodation on the metro we’d found another vegan buffet on the vegetarian WeChat mini-app (they have one for everything!). It was only £2.50 each and had a slightly different selection to what we’ve been used to, which was fun. I’m not a fan of the stinky tofu, but the roast potatoes with a sweet coating and various aromatic vegetable and tofu casseroles were delicious on what had now become a chilly late autumn evening.

It’s good to be on the move again, even if we are still mentally exhausted. We’re learning what works as we go and looking after each other. We’ve got nearly a week left on the banks of the Yangtze before heading south to warmer weather and some slightly slower travel.