We arrived in Shanghai this morning on a VERY important day!!!! There is a huge change in the law that takes affect today. Couples may now have two children instead of being only allowed to have one child. TA-DA. Freedom is growing in mainland China!!! Guess we know what people will be doing tonight :)
I watch from our beautiful balcony early this morning as we sailed down the narrow channel into the city of Shanghai. Actually, we were quite lucky to arrive since the Shanghai port has been closed for the last three mornings due to heavy fog and the inability to navigate safely through the narrow channel. Our captain wasn't able to find out until early this morning that we would be allowed to enter the port. Unlike the majestic sights of the harbor in Hong Kong sailing into Shanghai is surrounded by flat land, a mixture of old and new buildings, both low-rise and high-rise. Until we reached our port it felt very much like a working class area. Cargo ships and freighters dominated the landscape. It's a very cold, bitterly cold day with occasional light rain showers. The dark weather, gray water and metal barges work together to create an impersonal feel to the area Still, we're excited to explore this fascinating city.
Our first tour this morning was delayed two hours because of Chinese security. Once we were docked, local Chinese immigration officials had to come on board and look at, then stamp, each individual passport. Once they were finished, ships' crew had to make a photocopy of our freshly stamped passport so we could carry it with us. Security is MUCH tighter here in Mainland china. Our papers are check carefully each time we get on/off the ship. We must carry them with us at all times in case we are stopped by the authorities. There are guards everywhere, just slinking around in their uniforms, watching the tourists as we meander around the sights. Brings back memories of Beijing. Bob asked the tour guide why there was so much security. Did they have a problem with gangs??? She laughed and quickly answered that the guards present to "keep the peace". Yeah, right. We 70 year old tourists must be real trouble makers!!!!
Finally, we were ready to start our first tour of the day. We drove through the Bund, Shanghai's famous waterfront area. Similar to New York's Wall Street, fortunes have been made and lost here. Many of the city's tallest and most important landmarks are located in this area. We stopped at the Jin Mao Tower and took the elevator to the 88th floor to get a better view of this amazing city. The middle of the building is open so you can look down over the edge from the 88th floor and see the coffee shop on the bottom floor - quite an interesting and dizzying experience. Some people were afraid of heights and unable to look straight down at the view When looking out at the city view I got a completely different vibe than in Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, all the buildings are enormously tall, very modern with straight lines and have the very sleek look of steel and glass. Colors seem to blend together and the city looks like a big blur of skyscrapers that are inches apart. In Shanghai although there are many very tall buildings and they, too, are very close together, there are also many lower rise buildings mixed in between the skyscrapers. Not all of the buildings have straight, sleek lines. A number of the buildings have spheres, curves, and bright colors. For example, directly across the canal facing our balcony we have the Oriental Pearl Tower, built with three legs holding up a large sphere, then three straight columns standing straight up holding another, slightly smaller, sphere. The middle of the two spheres is painted bright pink. There were no other buildings like this in Hong Kong. Shanghai is a beautiful blend of colors, textures, and architecture. Looking forward to seeing the lights along the waterfront as they light up tonight. Should be beautiful.
Our next stop was the People's Square, which is an 80,000 square foot open space in the middle of the city, used for cultural events as well as a relaxing place for residents to unwind. Shanghai differs from Hong Kong in that every few hundred meters there is some sort of green space. Many commercial street corners have little mini parks, which help to break up the look of a concrete jungle.
This afternoon we returned to the ship and got ready for the evening. We went out for a Chinese dinner and attended an acrobatic show. What a treat!!! This acrobatic troupe, which was founded over 50 years ago, kept us on the edge of our seats as they performed. There were gymnasts, dancers, jugglers, bicycle riders, tightrope walkers, martial arts demonstrations, and hoop performers. Just amazing how these young people can twist and contort their bodies and the strength it must take to hold some of those positions while having cast mates standing, sitting, or lying on them. Just beautiful and sometimes a little bit frightening. The meshing of the skills, choreography, music and lighting were absolutely spectacular. Really enjoyed the evening. Now, ready to get some rest and prepare for a full day of touring tomorrow.
Day 2 -
Today was a fun, and very interesting, day. We got up early and visited the ancient water town of Zhujiajiao. Although this town was only 1-1/2 hours away from the bustling downtown of Shanghai, it felt like it was a world apart. As we drove we passed rustic farms and rippling fields of rice everyone moved at a slower pace. There were many open fields which we hadn't seen before in China. It was a lovely change of pace from the gorgeous, but crowded and fast moving, cities where we have spent the last week.
When we stepped off the bus and began strolling along the uneven, stone pathways through this village, my senses were confused immediately by a variety of aromas and odors. It was like an olfactory collage for the nose!! The closest description I can give is it smelled similar to a mixture of cotton candy, incense, Chinese food, stinky cheese, dead fish and raw sewage, all at once. Didn't quite know how to react. One moment it was very nice and the next moment I felt like gagging. Quite an interesting experience. Evidently, the canals serve as the sewer system for the town so I was careful not to get too close to the water's edge.
Other than the mass confusion of smells, this is a charming little water town. It has a history of 1,700 years and is well known throughout China. It covers an area of 18 square miles and is situated on the Pearl River. The brochure describing the town states "a little fan-shaped town that glimmers like a bright pearl in the landscape of lakes and mountains". I might not describe it as glimmering, but it is quite an authentic and unique village. Although many tourists swarm this little place, the 40,000 residents seem to be unaffected by them and continue to go about their daily business of living and working, plowing over unobservant tourists when needed! When walking on the extremely narrow and uneven stone streets, you must watch out and listen for electric scooters, bikes, motorized carts hauling food/supplies, and little old Chinese ladies who will mow you over if you get in the way of their mission!!!
There were all the businesses you would expect in a community, as well as a few we don't see a lot of in Southern California. They had stores for all types of dried fish, as well as fresh fish pulled out of the town river (yuck)!!! There were many souvenir stores selling their wares to the "rich" tourists for exorbitant prices. There was also a shop for the Feng Shui Master, who looked like a twin to Confucius with his long bead which got narrow and came to a point while wearing his little round hat. He had a line of customers. There was a fortune teller with a huge line all the way out the front door! Guess I'll believe it when all of our guides tell us that Chinese aren't religious but they are very superstitious!!! Unique old bridges across the rivers and streams, shaded by willow trees, and houses with attached courtyards combine to make this community truly unique. The tour books talk about the tranquil, leisurely, serene life people live here. That may be true, but it's not exactly my idea of tranquil when hordes of tourists are clomping over the pavement, beating their way through the crowds to get the best deals on souvenirs you an get online for a fraction of the price, and tour guides are holding up flags on sticks screaming for members of their group to stay together so as not to get separated.
I did appreciate all the stone bridges. There are 36 scattered throughout the town, with the most famous one being the five-arched Fangsheng Bridge, which is a remnant of the Ming dynasty. We also visited a traditional Chinese pharmacy, filled with 36 small boxes on the wall, each containing a different herbal remedy. People come in, the pharmacist takes their pulse, looks at their face and skin, listens to their symptoms, then prepares a mixture for them. Seems to work for them in many cases. The guide did say that they also use Western medicine, along with their herbal remedies, if a condition requires it.
When it was time for us to return to the village entrance, we boarded a small boat, similar to a sampan, but without a motor. It had a young man who stood on the back of the boat, pushed, pulled and steered, similar to the gondolas in Venice, Italy. The boats ere quite unstable as we stepped in and you can guess that I was VERY careful climbing in and out of it so I didn't fall into the sewer water!!!! Once safely seated in the boat, it was a lovely ride EXCEPT that when I turned around to talk with Bob they stopped him before he got on and told him to wait for the next boat. So much for taking a picture of the two of us taking a romantic ride down the river. Instead, it was just me and four other people I have never met (however, they were quite nice)!!
After a morning of walking around the village we took another lengthy drive to a restaurant, supposedly famous for their great traditional Chinese cuisine. I will say the food was delicious and the restaurant was lovely. There were six of us at our table, when it was set up for eight, so when the lazy susan slowly made its way around the table, Bob felt it was HIS duty to eat the portions allotted to him, as well as the two extra, empty place settings for our table. Let's just say he did a great justice to our lunch and our hosts because he licked his plate clean plus enough for another two people.
Once we finished lunch and wattled away from the table, we re-boarded the bus for another 45 minute drive to a silk factory, where we heard a lecture on the ancient method for creating silk fabric, including learning about the lifespan of a silk worm, how the silk fibers are removed from the cocoons before winding them onto spools, and how the fibers are woven into silk threads. The products they created and were selling were absolutely beautiful, but extremely expensive - much more than we would pay in the U.S. Still, I would have bought all of my granddaughters some gorgeous outfits but I had left my purse, including my credit card on the bus and Bob said NO :( I suppose I'm lucky he's the one in charge of finances, otherwise we could have never afforded to take this beautiful trip in the first place :)
Early this evening we returned to the ship in time to see the harbor lights slowing twinkling at night. What a spectacular sight. The view from our balcony is the best seat in the house. Directly across the narrow channel the lights gradually began to shine, illuminating the night and the incredibly beautiful Shanghai skyline. It looked like Disneyland. The unique, distinctive architecture was highlighted by beautiful twinkling lights as they danced across the face of the buildings. We were so excited and wanted to share it with our family so we Facetimed Sean and Laura, even though it was only 8:00a.m. on Sunday morning on the U.S. East Coast. Luckily, they answered and we had a great time talking with them and sharing our view of the lights. It was wayyyyy to early to call our kids on the west coast on a Sunday morning. It was such a fun and beautiful way to end a lovely day.
We left China last night and are now headed to Japan. As we sail this morning I am looking at the sea, which looks absolutely terrible. The water is as brown as a muddy river. The Captain explained that the muddy water is residual land from the delta 70 miles away. It really does look like a mud bath out there. It is very calm but really gross. It's an extremely active shipping lane with freighters and cargo ships passing us constantly. It makes our water on the west coast look as clear as the Caribbean!!! I'll write again after Japan. Can't believe that we are halfway through our world cruise. Time is just racing along!!!
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