Day Nine
While researching Nanjing attractions, one place was on my "backup" list: "Niu Shou Shan Sen Lin Gong Yuan," or NiuShouShan Forest Park.
![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/china-2023/day-nine/20231110-00724-720.jpg)
![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/china-2023/day-nine/20231110-00725-720.jpg)
It took a while to get there, as the bus that was supposed to have a stop there was re-routed, and I got very confused when looking on Maps and seeing the marker move further and further away into the Nanjing countryside.
![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/china-2023/day-nine/20231110-0000579-720.jpg)
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I opted not to get out next to the highway but waited for the bus to enter a small town. There, I took a DiDi (Taxi) to the park.
![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/china-2023/day-nine/20231110-00727-720.jpg)
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This place is hard to describe, but I'll try it anyway; it's an underground religious complex (more than six stories underground) for the Buddhist religion.
![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/china-2023/day-nine/20231110-0000587-720.jpg)
![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/china-2023/day-nine/20231110-00771-720.jpg)
Of all the places I've been to, this one feels the most expensive. It costs close to one billion dollars to create.
It starts with the above-ground 3-story building with a giant lying budda that appears occasionally and rotates slowly while being covered in myst.
![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/china-2023/day-nine/20231110-00734-720.jpg)
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![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/china-2023/day-nine/20231110-0000591-720.jpg)
You then lap the building and get to a place where you have to put on protective socks over your shoes to not damage the marble floors.
![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/china-2023/day-nine/20231110-0000600-720.jpg)
Then, you descend into the ground through many escalators to the bottom floor.
![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/china-2023/day-nine/20231110-0000609-720.jpg)
![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/china-2023/day-nine/20231110-0000614-720.jpg)
There you reach the main sight, and let me tell you, everything was just perfectly crafted.
![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/china-2023/day-nine/20231110-00759-720.jpg)
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I It felt expensive just to walk around.
![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/china-2023/day-nine/20231110-00760-720.jpg)
Not a seam out of alignment, everything perfectly placed, expensive wood and marble, beautifully crafted statues everywhere, etc.
![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/china-2023/day-nine/20231110-00752-720.jpg)
![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/china-2023/day-nine/20231110-00742-720.jpg)
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![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/china-2023/day-nine/20231110-00756-720.jpg)
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![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/china-2023/day-nine/20231110-0000615-720.jpg)
After surfacing, I headed back to the hotel to grab my bag; it was for another train, this time to Hangzhou, south of Shanghai. It's the last stop before heading inland to the mountains.
I missed my originally booked second-class seat train by three whole minutes, thanks to shoddy navigation inside the station. (Chinese HSR stations are Huge; it takes 5 minutes to walk across).
The earliest bookable train was 2 hours later, and I decided to splurge for a Business class seat, which allowed me access to the lounge with complimentary snacks and drinks.
![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/china-2023/day-nine/20231110-0000626-720.jpg)
![](https://cdn.matsimitsu.dev/trips/china-2023/day-nine/Photo Nov 10-720.jpg)
The seat on the train was nice too, a full lie-flat seat and a personal attendant for the four people in the compartment.
After arriving at Hangzhou East station, it was still 40 minutes by metro to the hotel. I keep forgetting how huge these cities are.