Not for the faint of heart

Doug had to leave very early this morning on a business trip so the three of us decided to spend our last day in Shanghai at the EXPO.  Was also the last day of the EXPO.  The Saudi Arabian pavilion has continually been the most popular exhibit with lines on the busiest days upwards of 8 hours long.  We were extremely curious so we decided we'd get there early and give it a go.  Well, we didn't get there early enough because we ended up waiting in line a ridiculously long time and have to say it was pretty anti-climactic once we finally made it in.  But queuing in line was an interesting experience to say the least--watching the Chinese army manage crowd control.  There were many antics going on around us to keep us entertained.  However, great togetherness time with Tammy--literally and physically!!  We reflected later that none of us had probably ever waited in line so long for anything in our lives, and what was especially hilarious is that we did not have a clue what we were waiting in line to see!

Chongming Island bridge and nature preserve

One of the perks of being the boss is that Doug can get the use of a company car and driver--well, as long as HIS boss isn't using it.  We used it today to go on an outing to Chongming Island via a newly opened tunnel-bridge that connects the mainland to Chongming Island in the estuary of the Yangtze River.  It is a tunnel for about 6 miles and then comes up for an incredible 9 mile long S-shaped cable span bridge.  First of all the Yangtze River is enormous here where it meets the sea.  Chongming Island is good sized also with a population of something like 60,000 people, open farm land and a wetland park named Dongta Nature Preserve. Spring and fall would be a good time to be here to see migrating water fowl.  Today we caught a glimpse of only a few.  A very pleasant place to spend a few hours in a rural setting so close to Shanghai. Sun was shining today also.

Another day at the EXPO

Tammy went with us for another day at the EXPO.  Doug had to work.  Was fun to have Tammy all to ourselves.  We got there early and stayed later than my legs should have.  Dog tired when we got home.  Did a fair amount of standing in line but crowds were down in numbers significantly so we got a chance to see quite a few good pavilions.  We waited the longest for the South Korean pavilion--only two hours, but were able to enjoy entertainment while we waited.  Good gabbing time with Tammy also.  Our last stop of the day was the Chilean pavilion where we got to see the "cage" that brought the miners to safety from their underground captivity a few weeks ago.  I thought it was maybe just a replica but Tammy said she had read in the paper that Chile had brought the real thing to the EXPO.   It certainly looked used.  It is amazingly small.

 

I caught myself a cold and have been doing everything I can to keep it under check.  I have a new favorite remedy.  Ginger tea.  I think I am addicted.  First time I had it was sweetened with sugar cane but brown sugar works as well.  Boil up some sliced ginger, stronger the better, let it steep and add sweetener to taste.  For me that is a lot of sweetener.  Good for anything that ales you.

tina

Meet Tina!  If there is such a thing as a shy dog, that is Tina.  What a sweetie.  She is actually getting use to us now and seems to enjoy having us around.  We certainly enjoy her.  She was a street dog that Doug and Tammy got from a rescue shelter and it took her over a year to get healthy.  May be why she has such a demure personality and not easily trusting.  But I want to hug her to pieces and slowly she is letting me.

view from the Vue

Best place to view the city at night and the lights of the Bund is from the Vue Bar of the Grand Hyatt.  They have begun to charge a cover to sit in the bar and enjoy the view which annoyed us enough to not stay. . .so we went up a floor to the restaurant where we could get a peek. . .and then we went somewhere else for dinner.

Shanghai

 

Window shopping and people watching in the neighborhoods is the ticket.   Shanghai is such a city of contrast, from the old neighborhoods that have been there forever and new business get layered ontop of the old to the very upscale within blocks of each other.  We found an interesting street that had nothing but tea shops.  Frequent pastry shops makes us stop in our tracks.  Met up with LiJi, a young man who was a student in one of our classes in Zhenjiang in 2000.

  Has been much colder in China than we expected it to be.  We almost didn't bring enough warm clothes.  Been overcast and rainy several days and nights have been downright cold.  We are a little concerned about what next week will bring in Korea because we figured it would be more like fall in Soule.  I'm wearing all my layers now.

She Shan forest park and Cathedral

Will and I are always interested in learning more about the churches where ever we are and churches in China are especially interesting.  There are several European-style churches in Shanghai but one we especially wanted to see is located in Songjiang county about a 40 minute train ride plus a short cab ride, west of the city.  She Shan Cathedral was originally built by the Jesuits in 1866 and rebuilt around 1935 into the grand Basilica structure that it is today.  It was badly damaged during the Cultural Revolution but returned to the Shanghai diocese in 1981 and subsequently renovated.  It is still an important pilgrimage destination and Catholics from across China come here each May.  It is situated on the top of a hill which makes it look even more impressive.  You can't see it from the bottom of the hill through the forest so you start up the winding stone steps, past the Stations of the Cross until you are completely out of breath—and there it is.  Was quite moving to pass Christians praying their way up the hill.

Just behind the church is an old astronomical observatory that was pretty interesting.  We had to guess a lot as to what we were seeing as none of the exhibits had any English translations. Our Lonely Planet said it was founded by a French Catholic Mission.

We bargained for local transportation to take us to other sites in the SheShan Forest Park area including another sculptural garden and art museum.  Stopped by the luxury Meridian Hotel to relax and have a cup of coffee and stayed for a proper afternoon "tea." 

We were definitely noticed out here—didn't see another foreigner all day.  People were pleasant enough but it was obvious we did not blend in!

 

Tianzi Fang

Walking down the narrow lanes of Tianzi Fang you are wondering if you were really in cosmopolitan Shanghai. However, do not be fooled by the traditional old lanes or wet clothes hanging on bamboo poles above your head. These days, many artists and local designers have set up boutiques and laid-back cafes that draw crowds of yuppies, fashionistas, designers and expatriates.  At the heart are art studios and galleries selling everything from kitchy Chinese trinkets to ceramics to high end designer jewelry.  We saw some amazing contemporary Chinese arts.

On the way back to the kid's apartment we stopped for a stroll through the JingAn Sculpture Garden that opened earlier this year.  It featured several American artists.  There are quite a number of very nice green spaces in Shanghai.  We like to go out and take early morning walks before breakfast because all these parks are filled with all manner of people, mostly seniors, doing their morning exercises.  A group of tai chi here, some martial arts over there, jazzercise, dancing with swords, yoga, deep breathing--groups or singles--everyone doing something healthy.

Walking the Bund

Left the house right after breakfast to do what we love best in china—walk the streets to take it all in.  We hiked a while and then hoped on the subway to take us down the famed Nanjing Lu to "The Bund."  This river front scenic area was completely blocked off last year and under construction for a face life while they tunneled a major hiway under the road.  It is all back, better than ever.  This was the site of the Colonial era in Shanghai that began when British and other Western nations moved in, establishing foreign enclaves (concessions) and opening up the city to trade.  The Bund became the chief shipping, trading and financial district of the colonialists.  By the 1940's these great architectural wonders that line the Bund were built.  They servived bombings of war, Japanese occupation, communist abandonment to rise again to their former glory as Art Deco centers of trade and finance.

We found a little restaurant on a side street for lunch and stumbled through the menu.  We are not always sure exactly what we are ordering but this time we did good.  Many times they have menus in English but the "chinglish" is so hard to decipher.  We took a chance on "scalded broccoli" and it was actually wonderful steamed broccoli with oyster sauce and ginger.  We enjoyed four different dishes and thought we were pretty smart.

Bicycling TaiHu

You can pick the day but you can't pick the weather.  We booked a one day bicycle tour to a district outside of Shanghai on the shores of Tai Lake.  If it had not decided to rain, it would have been a perfect outing.  Turned out to be one of those Chinese experiences, not at all what one envisioned.  But the group (two Brits, three Aussies, and Doug, Will and I—Tammy decided to stay home and do other things—decided to go with the flow and make the best of the situation.  First of all, it was a 4 hour van ride to our destination thanks to Shanghai traffic and an accident on freeway heading out of town.  We were promised a local lunch in a private home which was interesting all by itself.  Nothing gourmet, certainly local—vegetables of all types, fish, chicken, rice in abundance cooked in a humble farm kitchen.  What our host lacked in accommodations, they made up in hospitality.  The tour company provided wonderful bicycles, just not enough time to bike more than 5 or 6 miles.  However, if it hadn't been pouring rain and windy it would have been a beautiful short ride along Tai Lake and across a causeway out to an island, through fishing villages and farming communities.  A short detour at the end to hike through back streets of a picturesque old village to see the remains of an old manor house from a time when wealthy landowners lived and prospered here.  Then a meander through an ancient orchard that my imagination decided had been there for hundreds of years.  By this time we were dripping wet and starting to get chilled so it was time to huddle back on the bus for the ride back in the dark.  By the way, Tai Lake is a gigantic lake and a place that we need to further explore—perhaps some sunny day!

Another day at the EXPO

Another day of the EXPO.  Will and I went in the afternoon and concentrated on the Puxi side of the river—there are two sights, one concentrating on business and technology and the other showcases the countries.  The lines to get into the popular pavilions have been upwards of 5 hours long.  Today we heard that as of 1pm there were 800,000 people here.  The Chinese are coming out for this one. That is like the city of Tucson here—just for one day!  Obviously we did not get a chance to see the inside of the big ones but did a lot of walking and sampling what we could.  Then the lights began to come on as it got dark and it was transformed once again into a neon playground.  We took the Expo ferry across to the other side and viewed the lights from the river and met up with Doug and Tammy at the Belgium pavilion's restaurant for a wonderful dinner and plenty of Belgian beer.

On the street where they live

This is where the kids live in Shanghai