Today we arranged to meet with Dr Wong to have a look at some notable places. It was a huge help having a native show us how to use the metro and the bus. Public transport is very efficient, everywhere is extremely clean, and to ride anywhere in the city costs RMB2. The metro issues you with a blue token instead of a ticket. On the bus you just put in the coins when boarding. Here and there in confined spaces you could see people pulling away from us, or when on the metro one young woman near me waved her hand in front of her nose which was worrying!

The first place we travelled to on the metro was Purple Mountain, an extensive green area with fabulous trees which is home to the mausoleum of Dr Sun Yat Sen, the first president of China. The mausoleum is reached by 392 steps, representing the population of China at the time of building (1929), then 0.329 billion, now 1.6 billion. Purple Mountain also has other sites of interest including an aquarium. Next up was a ride on the no 20 bus to Jinming Temple, a substantial Buddhist temple near Nanjing City Hall. On paying RMB7 for entry, you are entitled to three incense sticks which can be lit and placed near the base of the pagoda. You can pray or wish at this time to meet your soulmate, which might explain the substantial numbers of young people devotedly setting their burning incense in place. It was intriguing to watch people approaching the various rooms containing representations of the Buddha to pray – old and young. One also wonders what happens all the fresh food that is left for the Buddha – if it is distributed to the needy at the end of the day by the resident nuns. The temple has a restaurant, vegetarian of course, and costs from RMB15-28 for a dish of rice and accompaniments or noodles and accompaniments.

The final place we visited was Xuanwu Lake, an enormous natural lake with five islands which at one time were named for the five continents but now sport Chinese names. As in Purple Mountain there were families out enjoying the sunshine. Kite flying was much in evidence. The lake is very attractive and a popular spot for renting pedalos. Apparently it is safe to swim in but it is not allowed. According to Dr Wong the lake park is lit up at night and is a popular romantic venue.

After all this sightseeing we decided to call it a day though Dr Wong offered to take us somewhere else if we wished. He is indefatigable and a great source of information.

Dinner happened in a restaurant near the one we patronised the previous night. I would tell you the name if it weren’t written entirely in Chinese characters. This was the sort of place where you are presented with a platter of raw meat and cook it yourself on the integrated hotplate in the centre of the table. It was a mixed success. The staff were extremely friendly and helpful, consulting Google Translate on their phones, but when we had ordered everything it turned out to be a time consuming business cooking food for four people on the hot plate, and vegetables were much slower to cook. I ordered mixed vegetables accompanied by Chinese potato cakes (these were rather nice), the others ordered beef, pork (like bacon) and fish (slices of fish skin which didn’t appeal at all). Other accompaniments were slices of raw garlic and pepper, a relish of shredded cabbage (I think), endless cups of Chinese tea  and a little dish of chewy beans. Everyone had their own dish of seasonings – a sweet sour sauce and a mix resembling 5 spice powder. The bills came to RMB242, and the staff refused a tip which was very nice of them. Mind you we probably provided them with their “highlight of the week” to share with their friends.