Culture Corner: Nanjing - Part II

This is a moped parking lot in the downtown shopping area of Nanjing.  Yes, a moped parking lot.  I want to know how people could find one in this sea.

An intersection near my apartment featuring many things typical of China: men gathered around a Chinese chess board, an abandoned fruit stand to watch said chess game, cyclists, and a dash of color to offset the gray that is urban China. 

A street scene on a rainy walk to school one day.

 The pinball machine that is shopping in Nanjing at night.  Some of the most delicious food in the world can be found amongst this glittering chaos.

A nice Sunday morning near my apartment.  On either side of the street are makeshift restaurants, bicycle repair shops, people’s homes, fruit sellers, dumpling makers, and all other manner of Chinese city life.

This is a broader street towards the downtown area.  On the right is a temporary wall and behind it is undoubtedly one of the dozens of skyscrapers under construction in Nanjing.

This is the chaos known as Nanjing – and China.  Bicycles, pedestrians, cars, buses, mopeds, you name it and it’s on the streets, all mixed together and taking no heed of who’s bigger than who.

Fish tubs in a local meat market.  You just come here, point, and the butcher kills the fish, cleans it, and gives you the cut you want.  And if you like the taste of fresh kill, you can also get the fish alive and bring it home in a plastic bag and do those things yourself.

A back alley fruit and vegetable market.  

A shopping, eating, tourist, and general market area (you can buy anything from high quality silk to squalling puppies, pirated CDs to first class Chinese food, handmade crafts to jade…), this is Fuzi Miao, or in English, Confucious Temple.  You are looking at the river that flows through the area, some of the restaurants that overlook the water, and the small electric motor boats you can rent to putter about.  Out of sight of the photo to the left is the actual Temple.

(This is the end of Part II.  Part III is here.  And if you missed it, Part I is here.)