A magazine ran a column on the special characteristics of different cities, and Nanjing earned a peculiar superlative as the most mournful city in China. They believed that Nanjing had suffered a painful story, and had an air of suffering about it. However, the people of Nanjing don’t think so.
A famous writer said, “total destruction is what you’ll find in Nanjing’s history, but of all cities, Nanjing is also the capable of enduring destruction and devastation. Living in Nanjing is like living with Tang Dynasty Poetry, or Song Dynasty prose”. The people from Nanjing have a motto: “duō dà shì ā”, means “Is it really that big?” In other words, they’re saying nothing is really that bad. Nanjing has already endured the trials and tribulations of history, so how can any new disaster possibly be worse? The people of Nanjing have a nickname for their city; they call it “The Big Radish.” It means being big and smiling, carefree and straightforward.