Over the ZigZag bridge

Because, as David says, the evil spirits walk in straight lines.

Our next stop was Chinatown, so called because much of the city was divided up into concessions – British, French, German.  This part remained Chinese and really, it appeared to us so much like a film set, it was hard to imagine it was genuine!

Our destination was the Yu Yuan garden, again somewhere we’d been on a previous occasion but remembered so sketchily that we were happy to return.

It’s a popular place though and everyone was very excited to be there.  Cameramen stood at each corner of the bridge taking photographs of tourists just like us!

Of course, the fine sunny weather brought everyone out, too.  It was so lovely and warm and the garden really did look beautiful.

The lovely statue in the centre of the pond stood serene amidst the hubbub and from time to time in a corner, a quietness would settle – until the next family group passed through of course.

The blossom was flowering in this sheltered place and looked so pretty against the dark red paint.

 

But so much to see, so many beautiful roof shapes, intricate carvings and little sculptures!  One could come here several days running and see entirely different things.  It’s a beautiful place.

Especially beautiful were these small vignettes.  Small arrangements with bonsai trees in flower set against panels of script or interestingly shaped windows.

Quiet little corners to meditate or contemplate our good fortune, perhaps.

Of course, some little vignettes were composed of more animate beings, such as this little group of friends who were finding much amusement in the koi carp there in the pond.

How about a desk like this – or rather, how would you love a brush like that?  And though nothing was said on this visit, I seem to recall there’s something special about that bat shaped brush rest.  I know bats are lucky…perhaps that’s it.

Out of the garden then and half an hour to explore the shops around here.  Quite a lot of touristy stuff, though David takes us into a silk store where silk duvets are being made from silk “handkerchiefs”.  That’s one double cocoon, soaked and cleaned, teased out and dried into a kind of cap shape, then pulled out like this above a number of similar layers.  The prices seemed very good indeed and several people bought them to take home, since they could be vacuum packed to a fraction of their size.

We had no need of a duvet, however and the silk clothing wasn’t to our taste.  We decided to have a wander about outside.

Out here it was the little concession stalls which caught my eye, aiming for the local Chinese tourist rather than us.

This young man was creating elaborate hairstyles using the small nylon comb/needle/threader and we watched as the elderly women in the crowd laughed and joked with him.

And this little crowd were sitting watching a kind of peep show, as the chap in the blue jacket created the sound effects.  We have no idea what they were watching but it was causing a giggle, for sure.

Actually, most of our time was spent in the sweetie shop, where the ladies tempted us with their nut brittles and sesame snaps.  Some strange soft fruity things were there too, and really, we had no idea what was what.

So, we got an assortment to try; to share with our friends later and enjoy with them.  Strangely enough, when we got back together, lo and behold they’d bought a similar selection, too!  We will have an abundance of Chinese sweets to explore and though we might enjoy them, I doubt whether we’ll be any the wiser about what we’ve eaten!

Speaking of food, it was getting near lunchtime and so we headed through the traffic to the Jinjiang Hotel in the French Quarter for lunch.

Very good it was, too!

Meet me in the next post to find out what we did in the afternoon.

Shanghai, Wednesday morning

Two this morning, two this afternoon.  It was a day for an early start, comfortable shoes and as much energy as we could muster.  Fortunately, our heroes were able to secure places in David’s group once more and so we presented ourselves bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready for the off.

Sure enough, the day had dawned bright and clear.  It was going to be a warm one!  The people of Shanghai had got their washing out early and were, as David said, “flying the international flag”!  Actually, there were garments and bedding all over the place, hanging from lamp posts, electricity cables and laid out on bushes.  There really is washing everywhere here.

The traffic wasn’t too bad at this early hour and we arrived at our first stop, the Shanghai Museum before it opened.  We’d been here before, on our last visit, and remembered the place as being spectacular.  We were really looking forward to visiting it again.

First, though, we took a stroll in the Peoples Park, where we’d been last night, actually.  This delightful couple were practising their ballroom dancing, to music played from a small speaker in a carrier bag.  They smiled shyly as we applauded at the end of their dance and gathered their things and went off to wherever they were going.

Once in the Museum, we were not disappointed, for it was every bit as good as we’d remembered.  Spectacular exhibits, beautifully displayed in well lit cases where the light increased as we approached and dimmed once again as we moved on.

So much to see, we decided we’d focus on our favourite things.  First, the calligraphy.

We both loved the black, red and white of the pieces and the way the carved letters were displayed along with rubbings or prints of the stones.

Some were incredibly old.  This piece, above, was transcribed when William the Conqueror was alive and is so fine and even in tone and weight, it took our breath away.

Next, we took a look at the seals.  Here, once more, they were well displayed, and though they are attractive, we don’t understand enough about them to be able to discriminate between the various styles and genres.  There were clear handouts to take away in English, explaining the finer points, but there wasn’t time to stand and read them.  We still had more to see.

 

Our final stop was the Bronze gallery, where there was a wonderful collection of Shang dynasty vessels which were remarkably similar to my favourite one at Compton Verney.  The wealth of pattern and texture, not to mention the incredible shapes of these treasures would have kept us interested for a week!

How about this one?  Small creatures in the bowl make for such an interesting piece and the light was spot on – not too bright but bright enough to highlight the detail.  Amazing.

As we were leaving I spotted this little group of bells and heard them being played over a small loudspeaker, so I stood and recorded the charming and very Chinese sound.  So evocative of the place.

After a brief stop in the Museum shop – one well worth visiting for the beautiful things they have on offer – we made our way through the bustling Shanghai streets to our next stop.

I’ll write about that in my next post.

Shanghai by night

Being here three nights meant there were plenty of choices for places to go, things to do.  Naturally, we wanted to take a night tour, to see these marvellous buildings illuminated, and so we set out with David, our terrific guide again to have him show us the highlights.

The first stop was the Jin Mao tower again.  Though it was interesting to return here to see the same views in the dark, sadly the windows could do with cleaning and taking photos wasn’t very easy.

Nevertheless, the views were spectacular and look, there in the building site next door, the workers are still hard at work.

The flash of an arc light suggests that they’re welding something. 

Our tour continued with a walk through Peoples Park, which was interesting but rather quiet at this time of the evening.

So, whilst we wouldn’t say that our evening had been anything but interesting, it was funny to arrive back home and find the best views of all were from our very own verandah!

It’s a beautiful city and we are told that we can expect fine weather tomorrow. Our visit has coincided with the arrival of Spring and we are keeping our fingers crossed for clear skies.  We have a busy day ahead.

228 mph

One of the options on the schedule for Shanghai was to travel on the Maglev train.  Always game for anything unusual, anything which is specific to the place that we find ourselves, of course, this was our first choice for today’s activity.

Before that, however, we needed to change some money.  We stepped inside the Everbright Bank, declining the “you wanna change money?” approach from a lady who met us as we emerged from the port entrance and turning sharp right out of the gates.  The little branch was well staffed with a charming young woman on reception, a security man and three people behind the glass.  As my hero conducted the lengthy process that changing $100 to Yuan requires, I explored the facilities.  Most impressive was the “Form Filling counter” above, which was equipped with everything imaginable, including the little “accessories cupboard” with the shiny door.  In here was contained everything one might need during a visit to the bank, including elastic bands, tiger balm, spare eyeglasses, post it notes, pens, ink pads (sadly no stamps or else I’d have been stamping away merrily in my journal!) and a sewing kit.  As you can see from the photograph, everything was polished to perfection and the little paper cup was from the small boy who was accompanying his grandparents, ahead of us in the queue.  As soon as they left, the security man summoned a cleaner, who polished and disinfected the chair in which the small boy had sat, before whisking away the used paper cup and any other traces they had left behind.  I completed a “compliments form” for the suggestion box, remarking on the immaculate condition of the branch and the politeness and diligence of the staff.

 

So, we were free to explore the city!   What a contrast of old and new there was, though this afternoon we were going to focus on the new.  The very new.  The future, even.

Because Shanghai is it – beyond doubt.

We began at the Jin Mao Tower.  Observation floor number 88 – a fortuitous number in Chinese terms.  Situated in the new Pudong area of the city, this tower hadn’t even been conceived the last time we were here.

The sign “no climbing” seemed unnecessary – I mean, who would?  Well, apparently some feel tempted.  Not us.  We will stick with the lift.

Yes, another one of those super-fast Asian lifts which whisk you to the top of some very high building in no time at all and with no sense of going anywhere either.  In less that a minute we were at the 88th floor, high above the city and looking forward to great views.

I know, it’s daft, but where does one look first?  For home of course…and there was our dear Voyager, berthed over there next to Nautica,   a close cousin, shall we say?  It was still a little hazy but we could see enough to keep us entertained.

There was a New Year’s wish tree there.

Many people had written their wishes on cards which hung from the tree in fine style.

Needless to say, I wasn’t too bothered about the wishes they’d made but, oh how interesting the knots and tassels were!

I gave myself a strict talking to and reminded myself to look out not in.  The next building over was still under construction and will be one of the tallest buildings of the world when it’s finished (unless another building is a bit taller – you know how it is?)  Sure enough over the way there, there was scaffolding.  And you might wonder, what was it made from?!  I bet you can guess!

Rather them than me is all I can say.

Looking past the building which was the tallest in the world for just a couple of days – or was it weeks? – we could see the endless suburbs of Shanghai.  Rows of houses, possibly the homes of those who had been displaced by earlier building projects, or maybe of the vast number of expats who populate this city and keep the whole financial business turning.  The shiny skyscraper to the right of the picture is the “beer bottle opener” – designed with a hole and resembling exactly the item after which it gets it’s nickname.

Don’t you agree?

Looking down the centre of the Jin Mao tower, we could see into the atrium of the Hyatt hotel, which occupies many floors of this structure.  Way, way down there, someone is setting out a buffet on a couple of tables and on each floor there can be seen the corridors and rooms of the hotel.

We left the building and as we did so, spotted a piece of rubbish on the floor. Even though we hadn’t a word of Chinese between us, we were still able to recognise the product.  The power of branding, eh?

So, we’d been high, now it was time to go fast.

We were headed for the Maglev station, to ride to the airport and back.

No tracks as such, but a large concrete slab on which the train would “float”.

At 430 kph.  Yes, as we reached the magic speed, the cameras clicked!  We’d all have clicked during the millisecond when the two trains passed one another had we been fast enough, but as far as I know, no-one quite managed that.

I made a little video of what it was like to travel and that speed and maybe, once we are home and internet speeds are more reliable, I’ll upload it here.  For now, you’ll have to take my word for it.  It was Fast.  Very Fast indeed.

Back to the ship then and a few minutes to reflect on what a great afternoon we’d had.  Not only that, but just outside our window, across the river from our balcony, we could see that clutch of buildings which had been the focus of our afternoon here.  We’d been to the top of the middle one, with the stepped shape.  We’d seen the construction of the round, spiral one at close quarters and seen the window cleaners working on the bottle opener.  The others, well, they are mere babies, aren’t they?

A different city altogether

We’d made no plans for this morning, so after a second breakfast which we’ll regard as “elevenses”, we took the shuttle bus along the road to the memorial at the end of the Bund.  This is the old British concession and the bank of the river is lined with huge stone buildings of the 1930s.  We had walked along here when we were in Shanghai 14 years ago but on that occasion didn’t feel too comfortable doing so.

It was a noisy place this morning!  The drinks vendors were set up in these little vans and had their music playing.  Similar set ups were along the promenade offering photo services, again with their music.  One elderly chap walked by us with a loudspeaker in a carrier bag, playing traditional Chinese music.  And of course, there are the voices of the people here, who tend to shout more often than they whisper!

This lady had her music playing too and Granny and daughter looked on as she practised her diabolo.  She was very good!

Across the road, a photo shoot was taking place and I zoomed in on the scene to take a photo.

But as I did, the little family on the path beside us thought I was taking a photo of them and posed for me!  We said “Ni Hao” and smiled…they coaxed their little chap to say “hello” to us and offer his hand to say “how do you do”.  Very sweet, so friendly and as we waved “bye bye” the little one smiled and said “bye bye” too.

The Shanghai Police force were making occasional patrols along the Bund in their interesting vehicle.

And this elderly woman was doing her training, stretching each step of the way the whole length of the promenade, then jogging and hopping all the way back, clapping her hands with vigour as she did.

We returned along the roadside rather than the Prom, and the scent from the wallflowers there in the border was fresh and lovely.  This wasn’t at all like the Shanghai we remembered!

We noticed a colourful wall a little further along, but it seemed different somehow.

A closer look revealed it to be covered with planting – a vertical garden.  So pretty and very attractive.

Almost back to where we’d started and here was another Chinese family out enjoying the Spring air, taking photos by the bronze bull, a replica from Wall Street I think.

I was struck by the colours and tried to capture them in this photo, but was rather unsuccessful.  The beiges and greys were enhanced by the sharp red flags which flew from every building along here.  Though I could see them with my eyes, the camera doesn’t really match my visual memory.  Never mind.  I have a clear mental image!

Interestingly, no one was taking their photos by this chap (no, not Chairman Mao but the first Communist Mayor of Shanghai)

I seemed to be the only one interested in the blossom, too.  But sitting waiting for the return shuttle, I marvelled at the difference between the Shanghai we remember and the Shanghai we had just experienced.  Yes, of course, we have changed.  But oh my, the city is barely recognisable.