Bingata…what next?

Ok, remember this?  It’s been drying on my desk for three days and it was time to soak the glutinous rice glue off.  We were given the instructions in Japanese and English and so I followed them to the letter.  Almost

Having ironed the reverse side of the design, I soaked it in lukewarm water for a while.  It seemed to be coming away pretty quickly, so I didn’t leave it for the 3 to 4 hours suggested, but ran it under the tap and watched as it was washed away.

At this stage, there was still a faint rectangle where the glue resist had been (that’s a really difficult phrase for a Japanese speaker to say – “Glue Resist”!) so I swished it around a little more and finally it seemed to have disappeared.

Right now, I’m making good use of the washing line in the bathroom!  I’ll give it a final iron later and will maybe take it to dinner.  Whatever, I feel very proud of my completed bag, which looks rather sweet.  What a nice souvenir of Okinawa!

After a delicious lunch

it was time to pay homage to Buddha.

We were headed for the Jade Buddha Temple, one of the most popular in the city for both tourists and worshippers alike.  David reassured us that photos were welcome throughout the temple with the exception of the Jade Buddha itself.

 

The visitors to this temple were rather different from those in the temples we’ve visited recently.  Here, they were an altogether younger crowd, possibly reflecting the demographic of the city itself as much as the temple community specifically.

This was a haven of peace in a busy, busy world outside.  In the warmth of the afternoon, the traffic outside seemed a world away, as we followed David to the first floor to see the treasure that was the Jade Buddha.

IT was indeed a very beautiful Buddha, in female form, closely guarded by three young women dressed identically in matching anoraks.  Though we’re enjoying the warmth of a Spring day, people here are still wrapped up for the winter and even the police have cute furry collars to their uniform.

The little courtyards were attractive but of course, there wasn’t time to linger.  From time to time we caught a fleeting glimpse of a monk here or there, though David had told us that these young men were “undergraduate monks” and were likely to be using an iphone, too!

Inside the main building, there were a range of Buddhas to approach, all with varying expressions.

The main figure – another female form – was situated behind a screen of long embroidered panels and yes, of course, those interested me as much as the Buddha him(her) self.

Actually, the whole frieze was a gathering of all kinds of figures and in the same way as a stained glass window can offer all kinds of visual prompts and illustration, these characters could tell any number of stories.

I’m none too familiar with tales of the Buddhist religion, but if I were, I’m sure I could identify many of them here.

For now, let’s admire the lovely embroidered kneelers – a  little different in style to those in an English parish church, of course.

The stitched hangings which frame the main Buddha figure

and the “lanterns” which are so colourful and stitched in such an attractive palette.

Actually, even the rubbish bin with discarded packaging from the incense sticks and suchlike was a colourful and interesting arrangement!

The afternoon sun and the haze of the incense had also been a little headache inducing, so in the fifteen minutes we had to spare, a couple of us escaped into the side street, where life was going on in much the same way as it always had, I imagine.

We were pleased to rejoin our party and head back towards the Pudong again, for the last hour of the day.

The “international flag” was still flying here and there!

We joined a few Shanghainese on the promenade of the Pudong, and enjoyed a stroll along the riverside.  What a lovely afternoon it was.

The sellers of this and that were out in force

as was the McDonalds ice cream wagon!  Cheers, Ellis..how kind!

Actually, the last stop of the day was the Jin Mao tower.  Hadn’t we been there before?  Well, yes, we had actually, so whilst a couple of our party went up to the 88th floor, we decided to forego the opportunity to make a third visit up there and instead, paid a visit to a familiar venue in an unfamiliar setting

Starbucks!

We’d had a really wonderful day and enjoyed a half hour together reviewing where we’d been and what we’d seen.  All were unanimous.

We love Shanghai!

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.