Shanghai – March 20

Mondays are China days here at the Cape of Dreams and will be for a while, but I have decided that I need to speed up the rate at which I am publishing our China posts or there will not be time for our summer travels. This blog has become in great part my journal and photo albums, and so I do not want to skip much detail or pictures. However, I am going to try to pare down the pictures to the most essential ones. We shall see how that goes today.

In Shanghai, our students were taking classes in the mornings so we chaperones had a few precious hours in the morning to explore the city. Our hotel, the Tainping Hotel, was in the French Concession, so Douglas and I decided to wander the streets and get a feel for that area the first day.

We mostly traveled around Middle Huaihai and Middle Fuxing roads, although I am not sure of our exact route because we got a little turned around. I do know that we returned along Hengshan Road. I am not sure if you can tell, but the traffic lights are HUGE!

The architecture was fascinating because it did not seem Chinese at all. That is because this area was taken over by the French when Shanghai was divided up by the foreign powers after the Opium War. Other than the signs in Chinese and the lack of Caucasian people, much of the architecture made us feel as though we could be in France.

There were many areas that I would have loved to explore further, but I was happy to at least be exploring at our own pace. It was unexpected to see a church in China. I also liked the art deco theater.

The Shanghai library was spectacular. We did not go in, but I sat outside and waited while Douglas tried to follow signs for a public bathroom. Just when I was afraid that he had gotten lost, he returned.

There was even a 24-hour self service kiosk. I would like to know how that works.

There were flowers everywhere. The Chinese people really take pride in their cities, keeping them very clean and pretty.

There was also art everywhere.

Here are some other things that caught my eye.

This is what caught Douglas’ eye, and he planned to return later.

Just one block before our hotel we came across this monument. It pleasantly surprised us, although Roy told us later that it was erected in the wrong place because most of the Chinese that worked on the U.S. railroad came from another province of China.

Back at the hotel, we met up with the group and took our first Chinese subway ride to the Luxun Museum.

On the walk from the subway to the museum we passed this restaurant where the seats were swings hung from the ceiling. I want to do this in our dining room!

As with many of the Chinese tourist attractions, it is also a park enjoyed by the locals. Here we saw people exercising, socializing and practicing their arts as in all the other parks. There were a lot pf people playing with these Chinese yo-yos. They make a strange keening noise as they are tossed about. We were standing outside the museum for a while waiting for a group of Chinese students that we were meeting up with. Our kids were curious about the yo-yos and approached the people to ask about them. The performers were thrilled at the students interested and soon they were teaching the kids how to use them.

Roy told us that many of the people that practice in the parks are professionals and that they are always willing to teach others for free. After the yo-yos a couple took out these dragon ribbons. I could have watched them for hours.

The museum was not the most thrilling, but I did learn some things. I also liked this living wall in his image.

Luxun was a writer who modernized Chinese literature.

I want a wall of books like this one. In this corridor, they displayed all of the books he published. As you can see, he was a prolific writer.

Douglas found this Buddha with a bat in the gift shop. It was far too expensive for us to buy, but it began our search for a more inexpensive one. You might wonder why there is a glass of water in the exhibit. We did too. It was common in the museums, but I am not sure what it is for. I would assume that it helps when the air is very dry.

On the way to the bus we passed a street barber. I wish I could have stopped for a haircut, but perhaps it is best that we did not have time. I do not think that they have much experience with hair as curly as mine!

From the museum, we went to the Oriental Pearl Tower, one of the most famous buildings in Shanghai.

I snapped some pictures of the area while we were waiting to get our tickets.

We had to be very careful on the inside because there was an explosive dog. Douglas did not care! The translations in many cases were comical.

Inside the base of the building is mall.

We took the elevator up.

The Oriental Pearl Tower is located across the river in the Pudong district. Only twenty years ago this area was mostly houses and swamps, but you can see that it is growing quickly.

At 1,148 feet there is an outside observation deck with a glass floor. I was not expecting to have any difficulty walking on it. In reality, when I looked down I felt sick, and it took all of my willpower to go out onto it. I have rarely been so terrified in my life. I was only outside for a couple of minutes before I had to go back in. I have never reacted that way to heights. It was strange for me.

In the basement of the Oriental Pearl Tower is the Shanghai History Museum. I was glad that I had Roy with me to explain a lot of the history to me. This was the museum that I enjoyed the most in China.

From there we went across the street, via the elevated walkway to the Superbrand Mall. The views were spectacular.

 

On one of the top floors we ate at the South Beauty restaurant. It has outdoor terraces to enjoy the city views. For some reason, the heights did not bother me here. I guess it was the fact that there was not a glass floor!

Shanghai is so beautiful at night.

Come back next week to see the Bund and day two of our Shanghai adventures. If you would like to read about our other travels, visit the Travels tab under the heading or click here.

 

Happy Travels!