Nanjing Massacre Museum

So, I almost hesitate to put this up here, but I think it needs to be seen. One of our stops in Nanjing was the Massacre Museum, which is a memorial to the people of Nanjing for the atrocities committed by the Japanese army in 1937. Sadly, not many people know about this in the West, but it is a type of focal point here in the East when it come to Military history and culture. 

Link * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanking_Massacre *

Essentially this incident involved the Japanese Military of the 1930's marching through China. They attempted to overtake the country city by city. As a result the military effects on Nanjing were devastating. It is estimated  by the Chinese that 300k people were murdered in a six-week period. However, this number is heavily contested by the Japanese who say that it should be around 200,000. 

Below: Grave-site uncovered several decades later. 

Now there is a very fitting memorial to these atrocities in Nanjing. The local Government has done quite a job erecting a suitable museum/memorial to this piece of the past. 

Below: Reflection chamber at the end of the tour. 

Above: a fitting poem in Mandarin *you're just going to have to trust me on this one*

Below: at the end of the tour there is a statue promoting liberty and a fresh start. 

Now, however the city seems to be in a completely different state. Development has been booming and the city of Nanjing has seen its fair share of growth. Being one of China's larger cities means that there is a nice mix of convenience and history in this southern metropolis

Back to Beijing. So I mentioned the bullet trains before. Here is a close up of our dependable mode of transport. I have really grown accustomed to using these high speed trains. The standard speed is a smooth 300 K/hr. (~190 m/hr). Actually a new train from Beijing to Shanghai is opening this June. It will cut the trip from 11 hours by normal high-speed train down to 4 hours. It sounds incredible

*I didn't mean to bum you guys out with the sad history,but I think it is worth looking into. Westerners don't know enough about Eastern culture and their identity.