Shanghai Nights

So we arrived at the train station in Beijing that Noel had told us to go to for the Bullet train. Unfortunately for everyone involved it wasn't the right station and after a frantic dash in a taxi we finally arrived at the right station and checked in. Chinese people treat long distance trains the same as planes so we had to be there an hour before and we had everything scanned and were patted down like criminals. Finally though we boarded the 300kmh train and set off. The train quickly got up to full speed and it was hardly noticeable how fast we were actually going, although playing eye spy out the window wasn't really the best choice of game.

After only 4 hours we had travelled the 1302km all the way to Shanghai. We navigated our way through the station and the tube and eventually found our hotel in the centre of the city. As it was our last bit of accommodation for our trip we treated ourselves to a lovely 5 star pad. Upon check in they decided that they were going to give us a free upgrade, everything was working out quite nicely for the last 3 days of our 16 month trip.

So Shanghai, why not just fly home with Rosh, well Shanghai is much more like Hong Kong than Běijīng; there are no imperial palaces here. Instead, European-style cityscapes and tempting, tree-lined neighbourhoods rub shoulders with the sci-fi skyline of Pǔdōng. Shanghai was where China first met the West and it's still a frontier town, obsessed with the latest fads, fashions and technology. But tucked between the shopping malls and the eye-popping modern architecture is the old Shanghai, where temples nestle down alleys, along with street markets and classical Chinese gardens. It would have been quite rude to leave such a great city out of our trip and well, we weren't quite ready to get on a plane back to Blighty, and definitely not the same plane as Le Rosh!

Leaving our hotel that afternoon we grabbed a Chinese map, as per (seriously why haven't we asked for an English map) and we headed towards the Bund.

The Bund, also called Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu, is a famous waterfront and regarded has been regareded as the symbol of Shanghai for hundreds of years. It is on the west side of Huangpu River and the most famous and attractive sights which is at the west side of the Bund are the 26 various buildings of different architectural styles including Gothic, Baroque, Romanesque, Classicism and the Renaissance. The 1,700-meters long wall is locally known as 'the lovers' wall', located on the side of Huangpu River overlooking the skyscrapers of the business district it is said to be the most romantic corner in Shanghai over the last century. After renovation, the monotone concrete buildings that lovers leaned against in the past have been improved into hollowed-out railings full of romantic atmosphere. Standing by the railings, visitors can have a 'snap-shot' view of the scenery of Pudong (Business)Area and Huangpu River which at night time erupts into a glowing light show which can be seen for miles. It is worth a visit to see the florid night view of the Bund. Under the tenet of keeping harmony and unity, the use of period lamp-posts is in keeping with the aesthetic feeling of the building structures. It fully exhibits the magnificence of the various buildings of different architectural styles and makeup of the best night scene of Shanghai together with the colourful lights floating in the river and the flashing lights on the far side of the river.

The following day we set off for a day of walking. Being such culture loving globe trotters we decided to go and see the French Concession. The French Concession is the area of Shanghai once designated just for the French. The tree-lined avenues and the many fine old houses in the area still retain an air of the "Paris of the East". In particular, the many wrought iron fences and stair railings will look familiar to anyone who knows Paris and the frenchy way of life. The French concession has been a fashionable area for well over a century and is now very developed as well. There are plenty of large buildings, mainly upmarket residential and office towers, quite a few hotels and a number of enormous shopping malls. However at the same time, many of the picturesque older buildings — even whole neighbourhoods — have been given the Chinese tourism renovation trick ( knock it down and rebuilt it exactly the same). There are a huge number of boutiques, galleries, bars and obviously hooty snooty cafes scattered through the area. One thing we didn't see however was a man with a black and white striped top, red beret and a baguette, riding a bicycle around with a ring of garlic round his neck, but maybe next time!

After ticking off the frenchies we then took a walk in the central park or Shanghai people's square. This area was once the racecourse regarded as the 'No.1 racecourse Far East' but was destroyed once again by fire. In 1949, the People's Avenue was built across the center of the area with the People's Park built on the north side and the People's Square on the south part. By the end of 1993, through a comprehensive reconstruction, it covered an area about 140,000 square meters and has become the largest public square of the city complete with gardens, a theatre, and exhibition hall and a museum shaped like an old Chinese coin.

Located in the centre of Shanghai in People's Square, Shanghai Museum is a large museum of ancient Chinese stuff. Its style and presentation surround visitors with artifacts demonstrating ancient wisdom and philosophy. The exterior design of the round dome and the square base symbolizes the ancient idea of a round heaven and a square land, and looks like one of the 8000 cions that the museum has on display.

The museum is divided into eleven galleries and three exhibition halls. The eleven Galleries cover most of the major categories of Chinese history/art: Ancient Bronze, Ancient Ceramics, Paintings, Calligraphy, Ancient Sculpture, Ancient Jade, Coins, Ming and Qing Furniture, Seals, and Minority Nationalities. China is one of the earliest countries to use currency, and the nearly 8,000 pieces in the Gallery of Chinese Coins reveal the development of Chinese currency and the growth of economic exchange between China and foreign countries, although every coin looked exactly the same as every other coin. The museum was pretty good and catered well for foreigners. As a Chinese saying goes, it is better to see for oneself than to hear many times.

Later that evening we headed off towards one of Shanghai's biggest attractions. A Chinese acrobat show that takes place at Shanghai Circus World, a venue so big and grand it has its own tube station! ERA, the acrobatics show at Shanghai Circus World was phenomenal and cheesy, sometimes both at the same time. On the one hand, we watched tacky effects and white leotard-clad couples 'flying' around while 'you and I can dream and fly' boomed from the stereo. On the other, we watched performers doing the physically impossible - most spectacularly, one acrobat jumped down from a 15-metre high platform onto the end of a seesaw, catapulting a tiny acrobat onto a small chair that's placed mid-air balancing on a pole. This stunning acrobatic show combines traditional Chinese martial arts with loads of special effects, lighting and live music played by a house band. As we marvelled at the performers' amazing skills and creativity, the story of China's evolution unfolds. We were taken on a journey through Chinas history but through the medium of fire juggling, bowl head butting and children chucking. We gained insight into China's ancient culture and civilization, dating back to the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD). One scene in particular used porcelain jars to show how this important commodity has played a role in Chinese culture over the centuries, while a man juggled 3 huge vases before he flipped, kicked and smashed then all about the stage. And then there was the hoop-diving act - when acrobats jump and somersault through hoops placed at various heights - is performed at breathtaking speed and with the most acrobats that we've seen. Funnily enough the ending was exactly the same as the show we watched in Beijing the 'ball of death' finale. Eight motorbikes simultaneously drive around inside a small metal sphere. The only difference was the crazy man standing in the centre of the ball shouting random things at the motorcyclists. What a strange and brilliant night we had.

Our last day proper day travelling was then finally upon us.

We decided to do a full tour of the Shanghai outskirts including Shanghais answer to Venice, Zhujiajiao. But first we headed to Seven Treasure Town, which was an ancient village located outside of Shanghai. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Seven Treasures became a prosperous marketplace, known for its cloth, yarn, carpentry, rice wine and water. The textiles were treasured all over the world, with samples from the era still being displayed at the Museum of London. While we were here we walked around an ancient Monks house that had the best example of a Chinese garden we had ever seen. The whole house was built around a football pitched sized lake, each of the 4 corners of the house and garden were then adapted and tailored to the seasons. Throughout the monks' year they would move from each section as the seasons passed, each 'garden' had differences that our guide pointed out. Everything in the house was in tune with feng shui and the feel of the house and garden was quite magical, there was even a pet tiger kept in the grounds but sadly it had died and they were having trouble replacing it!

Located in another suburb of Shanghai, Zhujiajiao is an ancient water town with a history of more than 1700 years that shines like a pearl on the Dianpu River. In fact, Zhujiajiao is sometimes called 'the Pearl Stream'. Zhujiajiao is an ancient water town well-known throughout the country, covering an area of 47 square kilometres, the little fan-shaped town glimmers like a bright pearl in the landscape of lakes and mountains. It is famous for its well-preserved Ming and Qing Dynasty architecture, ancient bridges, and quaint courtyards. Walking along the zigzag of narrow streets and past the shops in the centre of town, we saw how the locals really live as they go about their daily labours, sit in the sun and chat, or play cards with their neighbours. It is said that to visit Zhujiajaio without seeing the bridges means that you have not really been to Zhujiajiao at all! Bridges here are distinctive and old, built during Ming and Qing Dynasties (1300-1500). The old town is thoroughly connected by 36 delicate spans in different shapes and styles, from wooden to stone to marble. Fangsheng Bridge (Setting-fish-free Bridge) is the longest, largest and tallest stone bridge, with five openings .This bridge was built in 1571. On the bridge stands a stone tablet named Dragon Gate Stone, which is engraved with 8 coiling dragons encircling a shining pearl. On top of the bridge are 4 lifelike stone lions.

A visit to a water town wouldn't be complete without a boat ride. Just as we settled into the little wooden boat the heavens opened and we huddled under a brolly as we waded through the idyllic town. The rain didn't make the boat man go any faster and he seemed quite content paddling round at a sedate pace pointing out different things along the way e.g. Mission impossible 3 was filmed in a section of the town and Tom Cruise ran along his neighbours roof!

After a long day we mustered up the energy to go out to a lovely restaurant that overlooked the city. We toasted our travels and looked back on all our marvellous adventures.