Sept. 27 - Oct. 1, 2012

We took the train to Shanghai which is indeed the Las Vegas of China. This is a huge city with many modern buildings of every conceivable size and shape.  A stroll down “The Bund” is what every tourist does, and since we arrived in time for the two of the biggest holidays in China, National Day and the Autumn Festival which actually goes for 8 days, every tourist was of Chinese descent, except us of course.  The crowds were insane.  This walkway goes along the river with famous buildings from the roaring 20s on one side and across the river a very modern skyline.

On a clear day from the tallest building in Shanghai, 1500' up, the haze/smog layer hangs over the city

There was even a view from the urinals, guess you don't need obscure glass at 1500'

Our first day we went up the tallest building in China, the World Financial Center, and what a view we had (there was even a glass floor in case you were not dizzy enough); that evening we went to a roof top bar called The Vue atop the Hyatt and had drinks, along with many young French tourists, and marveled at the evening view of buildings lit up like the Vegas strip. To our delight, there were fireworks in honor of the upcoming National Day. 

Shanghai Nights - From the VUE to the tallest buildings downtown Shanghai

On the right, The Bund with the 1920's builidings

Michelle and Beth spent a glorious (because Jeff didn't have to go) afternoon at the Shanghai Museum (highlights included many ancient Buddhas, the history of Chinese money- way more interesting than it sounds, the minorities cultural exhibit- cool masks too- and a traveling Russian exhibit of Czar treasures including the famous Faberge Eggs) but found it impossible to get a cab back to the hotel. Fortunately, Michelle never met a subway she could not navigate and in the crushing crowd of holiday rush hour traffic, managed to get us back to the hotel in one piece. Riding the subways in China is an experience not for the faint of heart; especially at rush hour; sardines have more room in the can! The boys played Squash at the hotel, opting out of the art museum (shocking!!).

Hue Gardens

Another day was spent exploring the Hue Gardens, a peaceful oasis in the middle of crowded streets decorated with flags, banners and lanterns. The garden has many small temples, beautiful Zen like areas of plantings and ponds of coy fish.  As we walked thru the noisy crowds of holiday families, we heard the song “the Sound of Silence” by Simon and Garfunkel playing- it was a surreal moment.  Our day was rounded out with taking a very strange “ride” in a tunnel under the river to music and pulsing lights that was something like a nightmare “It’s a Small World” ride. Strange but cool in a weird way!!!! Then we had the most expensive drinks ever at the most iconic bar in Shanghai- the Long Bar at the Waldorf Astoria- where in the 20’s and 30’s only the wealthy white men who had come to China and made their millions (now it would have been billions) were allowed to drink. However the price was worth the visit to the ladies room where a modern toilet (with toilet paper!) was our reward. 

Suzhou - a day trip from Shanghai

Touted to be the Venice of China, somehow through no fault of our own, we wound up in a Chinese speaking tour group *great price though*. We were bused from river cruise to silk worm factory to pearl factory to the old town area for a tour of temples, more Buddhas and calligraphy and all the while not understanding a word that the tour guide spoke, without seeming to take a breath. We were probably the best attraction to the rest of the Chinese on this particular tour. It proved to be a very interesting day! We are sure that the Venice we will see in Italy will be a bit different.

Shanghai, in comparison to Beijing is a much younger city; not only in architecture but in the age of the residents. The mass transit is taken advantage of by the populous as it has been in place longer here than in Beijing, thus lessening the traffic on the streets. Also, the people of Beijing have not taken to the mass transit like those of Shanghia. The smells in the city were not nearly as offensive as that of Beijing.  

The food in China proved to be a great challenge. I, Jeff, am usually the more adventurous one when it comes to different foods. Not understanding the menus and not desiring to eat most of the innards of animals, I took advantage of the great breakfasts provided at the hotels we were staying at and then picked my way through the day. Our first night in Beijing, we went to the night market where the food stands hawked everything from frogs to exotic insects, some still wiggling, to meats of all varieties, some covered with flies; and the smell was near sickening. 

 

From octopus to squid to some kind of meat to cicadas, and this was one of over 100 food booths

Yet the Chinese devoured the variety of offerings. Not me! Maybe this had some effect on my attitude towards the different foods we encountered for the rest of our China visit. Don’t get me wrong, we did have some great food, but not on the street. With no refrigeration at the stands on the street, I was very leery of what they had to offer. Thanks to our neighbor, Debra, whose famous quote when traveling is “peanut butter; don’t leave home without it!”

Purchased at the train station in Xi'an, thank you Debra!

  Our overall view of Shanghai is that it is  a city for the young or the young at heart that have money and leisure time to enjoy it. One of the nice things about Shanghai is that we saw the sun and clouds for the first time in China. The government touts 300 days of sunshine a year; must shine above the smog layer, but you could not prove it from our point of view. It is definitely a much greener and cleaner city than Beijing or Xi’an. Next stop is Osaka, Japan; it is time to say goodbye to China- an extraordinary country.