When we woke up this morning we were in Shanghai, so they told us. It was so darn foggy this morning we could barely see the building on other side of the river about a quarter mile away. The ship sailed 12 miles up the Huangpu River to dock at the International Terminal right across from the Oriental Pearl TV Tower (pic 1).
It was a Seattle day with mist and cool temperatures which stuck around all day. It never cleared up and I was a popsicle by the end of the day.
We visited the Shanghai museum (pic 2) which has some amazingly old stuff, bronze from 5000 BC! Also viewed ceramics with beautiful colors, calligraphy & art, which almost seem like the same.
Next we visited the Urban Planning Exhibition Centre (pic 3) which has a plan for Shanghai for 2020, amazing. At least they have a plan. We find this city very unlike the other Chinese cities we’ve visited. Shanghai is much more modern and progressive. They also have beautiful parks full of people (of course); fishing for little kids, paddle boats, dancing, tai chai, games, badminton etc, a great sense of community.
We walked the promenade (at the Bund, pic 4)) where people gather on the wknds. The Bund goes along the river on one side and lined with old colonial building on the other side. There are some lovely European bldgs (from early 1900s), some of which are still used yet other stand empty. These were built when foreigners sliced up Shanghai for their own purpose.
I had a young girl ask if she could take a picture with me because her grandfather has never seen a foreigner. She seems very sweet. The Chinese people were usually interested in Tom being he is so tall, he got quiet a few looks.
We visited Old Town where people were eating crazy looking stuff (octopus, pic 5) on a stick but again lots of people. We missed a great chance at a soup humbow because we were rushed into the gardens (Yu Yuan) we were visiting.
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