Shanghai is likely China's most recognizable cities.. almost known as the
modern gateway to Asia just as Yokohama was the gateway to Japan in the early
20th century.. it seems that everything “west” flows through this place and as a
result, it begins to take on a hybrid existence…
We were told that Shanghai was trying to be the new Hong Kong – this
apparently means super high density housing, light each building in the downtown
core, and putting in more shopping malls. We liked Shanghai, but it was really
just a polished up Beijing with a rather thin layer of makeup over top of a busy
Chinese city.
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| Us :) |
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| River Container Barge |
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| Night Shot |
True to the 'west' most of tour time focused on “shopping” opportunities – silk carpets, silk paintings, open market bazaars.. etc. but what we really
like was the rest:
Our favourite was visit to a old private garden which showcased several types
of gardens and included a koi pond, dragon walls, and little canals leading from
garden to garden. It was like a quite retreat right in the middle of
Shanghai!
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| Garden |
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| Me feeding the Fish my Finger |
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| Garden 2 |
We also enjoyed a quick visit to the Shanghai Museum which houses several permanent collections that were fascinating… we almost missed the bus back to the
hotel because we got caught up!
There was Calligraphy (with the various recognized styles):
Also, a historical timeline of Chinese Chops (think: red signature blocks
found on all paintings/scrolls works)
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| Chop Decro |
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| Top Red Square is a 'chop' mark |
Plus exhibits like traditional garb of various minorities within China, Jade Galleries and traditional furniture, we really could have made a full day of
it!
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| Jade Carving |
In the evening, we went to a Chinese Aerobatic show which showcases many of
the skills made famous through Cirque de Soleil and then repeated (at numerous) by the
Calgary Stampede's grandstand show – so while none of the forms of art were
totally new, there were diverting and neat to watch!
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| Ouchies |
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| Acrobats |
The very last place we visited (other than a restaurant, which I will TRY TRY
TRY to get caught up on ASAP), was a beautiful buddhist temple and monastery which housed a huge silver plated buddha as well as a very impressive collection
of wood work and carvings… It was really quite nice to see since Shanghai is so
forward thinking that many other elements of traditional housing and the area's
history have been destroyed to make room for progress.
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| Silver Buddha |
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| View of the Pagoda |
Cya for Hong Kong!!
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