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Growth Chart for My Little Ones
Tuesday, September 29, 2026
4 Sep 2026 - The Haze is Back!
Today marked the first time the air quality reached unhealthy levels in nearly three years. This was due to the transboundary smoke from forest and land fires in neighboring Indonesia (including Sumatra and Kalimantan) drifted toward Singapore.
Sunday, August 30, 2026
28 Aug 2026 - SHA Day 8: Flight Back Home
We boarded our flight home on time, and this marked the end of our trip.
28 Aug 2026 - SHA Day 8: Hotel Breakfast and HSR Journey back to Shanghai
Our hotel stays at Qingmu International Hotel came with daily breakfast, which I had yet to write about. It consisted of the usual continental style as well as the Asian selection.
There was also a cooking station where we could order popular local dishes such as Duck Blood and Vermicelli Soup (鸭血粉丝汤) as well as Tangbao / Steamed Soup Buns (汤包) or Wonton (馄饨).
We checked out right after breakfast to catch a High-Speed Rail from Nanjingnan station to Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station.
27 Aug 2026 - NKG Day 7: Nanjing Ming Palace Ruins Park (明故宫遗址公园)
In the evening, we took the metro to Nanjing Ming Palace Ruins Park (明故宫遗址公园), a tranquil, tree-lined public park located in the Qinhuai and Xuanwu Districts of Nanjing, preserving the surviving footprints of what was once the greatest imperial palace of the early Ming Dynasty
Built between 1366 and 1392 by Zhu Yuanzhang (the Hongwu Emperor), this grand compound served as the absolute heart of Chinese political power for 54 years before the capital was officially transferred to Beijing. Its historical significance cannot be overstated whereby the layout and scale of this palace served as the exact blueprint and inspiration for Beijing's famous Forbidden City.
While Beijing's copycat version survived intact, the original Nanjing Ming Palace suffered centuries of devastation. It was eventually burned and dismantled entirely during the Taiping Rebellion in the mid-19th century.
Right across Zhongshan East Road is another section of the park called Wuchaomen Park (午朝门公园).
This is the entry threshold of the inner palace. Here, we could stand before the imposing, weathered brick remnants of the Meridian Gate (Wumen). Throughout the park, there were original 600-year-old stone gargoyles, old-growth trees, and five intact inner jade belt bridges crossing the historic palace moat.
The park started to light up after sunset.
After exploring the park for about an hour, we returned to our hotel on our last night of this trip. Just before that, we bought quite a bit of titbits from a store right next to the hotel.
The Meridian Gate (Wumen / 午门), located inside Wuchaomen Park (午朝门公园), stood as the most impressive and structurally intact monument of the original Nanjing Ming Palace. Completed in 1367, it served as the formal southern gateway to the imperial palace city. Looking at the front of the gate, we saw three main arched passageways. However, the structure secretly hides two additional side doorways (掖门), which totals five hidden corridors.
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