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.

Ni Hao Shanghai!

Sure enough, when we woke around 6 this morning and opened the curtains, Shanghai was there outside.  We were still sailing down the river and it was a little hazy.

We got up early to go out on the deck to listen to a commentary as we approached the city centre.  Brrrr….it was really cold!

The light was fantastic though, and we were happy to stick with it for a while, just to take in the atmosphere.

Occasionally, a large ship would loom up out of the fug and we began to wonder if this was mist or a polluted haze because we could taste the air!  We popped inside for a quick bowl of porridge and a mug of hot chocolate and fortified, went outdoors again.

Large barges passed us by, very similar to those on the Rhine or the Danube, with living quarters there at the back.  No Mercedes or BMWs parked on the roof however.

We passed a small naval ship and smiled as we got a closer look at the stern, there beneath the canopy

The crew’s washing was hung out to dry!  I’m not sure our naval vessels feature washing lines…

More barges parked up and their owners pottering about on deck, going about their business.  I can’t imagine what life must be like on this river.  I can’t imagine it being very comfortable, somehow.

As we neared the city, we began to see more residential neighbourhoods and the little ferry full of commuters had to wait for us to pass.  Sorry!  Hope they weren’t late for work as a result!

We caught sight of a bridge looming out of the mist and were told that it’s the inner ring road.  Six lanes of busy traffic up there – and we’d have just three feet clearance as we sailed under.

Yes, that was just about right.

By now, we were reaching the city proper and a few preparations were being made.  The last time we stood and watched someone at the bow of the ship like this was on the day of Kate and William’s wedding, when crew members toasted them with champagne and flew the Union Flag as we sailed away from Mumbai.  Happy times!

Sure enough, out of the mist loomed the skyscrapers of Pudong.

As we neared our berth, they were clear to see.  How Shanghai has changed since we were last here (in 1999, pre blog days!)

The important men with the piece of string were there, ready to pull us into place (or do something equally important)

Captain Mario had everything under control and was looking relaxed.

There was even a little welcome party!

We hurried inside to gather our things ready to go out and explore the city.  How’s this for a view from my desk?!

At Sea

A day at sea is always fun and a good chance to catch up.  We had a lovely day in the company of our friends and ended it with a delicious dinner.  As we changed and got ourselves ready to go out last evening, the sun was setting behind the clouds over the East China Sea.  We’ll wake up in Shanghai tomorrow morning!

Bingata

For my textile friends, I’ll share a few of the details of what sets Bingata apart from other, similar resist fabric decoration methods.  This is what I learned yesterday.

The technique has been around since the 14th century and there are descriptions of the methods used dating from the 1600s.  Originally, the rich and powerful wore bingata and more lowly souls permitted to wear it on special occasions only.  These dyed fabrics are used in preference to the heavier, embroidered fabrics in Okinawa because of the weight.  The lighter cottons are more comfortable to wear in the warmer climate.

Miyaki introduced us to our teacher – Sensei – who was a well respected expert in bingata.  She had samples of her work and carefully explained in a mixture of Japanese and English what we were to do.  We could choose from a variety of pre-prepared designs which had been applied to small canvas bags.

The stencilled designs had been applied using “glutinous rice glue” and were dry and ready to go.  I chose my bag and set to work.

The paints were in traditional colours and we were advised to keep the red brush in the red and so on.  The brushes were hard bristle with bamboo handles and the square tips made filling in the detail difficult.

The first step was to lay down an initial  layer of colour.  Each area of the design needed to be covered at this stage.

The heavy canvas was easy to paint on and didn’t soak up the paint too much.  We dried areas from time to time using a hair dryer but even so, the yellow paint bled into the pink, as you can see.  Grrr.

Once all the areas had been covered and dried, a second coat was needed and this time, we were advised to use a gentle scrubbing motion to apply the paint, making sure it went well into the fibre.

For the next stage, I was glad to have the support of another Sensei – a charming young man by the name of Mashi.  Mashi had studied in Oxford and spoke excellent English.  He was also very good at giving lots of positive feedback!

He explained the technique of holding two brushes in one hand for the final painting stage, adding the shading using the darker tones of paint. First, one dips the soft painting brush into the colour of choice.

It’s applied to the outer edges of the area which needs to be shaded

then the harder bristle brush is used to scrub the paint and blend it into the design.

I worked at my two brush technique, getting help and advice from Mashi as I went, and completed my bingata bag in good time.  I dried it with a hair dryer and was pretty pleased with the result.

Now it needs to dry thoroughly for three days, before ironing on the reverse side to set the dye.  There follows a soaking in lukewarm water to dislodge the glutinous rice, which can be further removed under a running tap.  A final press and it will be complete.

I promise to share the end result!