China Day 2 -- Shanghai

We wake up in our Shanghai hotel and are pretty excited to be here. The whole trip is ahead of us and we are looking forward to learning more about this country that has been hidden from the outside world for so long. I enlarged the pics, so clicking on them will bring up a full-screen view. Words in red are hyperlinked.





Today's China seems very modern and very clean. The people are generally friendly and often helpful, especially in the smaller cities. Check out this billboard. Not sure what they're advertising, but they look pretty western to me. We saw this look all over China. Even in the small towns that we eventually saw, the young people tried to dress as western and modern as possible.


In almost all cases, the Chinese love having you take pictures of their kids. They are very proud and often tried to get the kids to smile and look cute. At the Three Gorges Dam, the parents offered to hand us their kid, so we could get a photo holding their baby. We took pics of kids all over our tour, and only once did a mother say "no".


This guy was playing on his Gameboy in the back of the silk factory. I let him take pics with my camera, but then had to wrestle it away from him since he liked it so much. These blue glasses were the style for all boys his age and seen everywhere.


OK, after a buffet breakfast at the hotel, we board the bus and head for the Oriental Pearl TV Tower. This baby is over 1,500 feet tall and offers great views of the city.









The TV Tower is a popular tourist site because of the great views of the city. Here are the four corners of the tower and the four views. All good stuff, but I was anxious to see the "real China" whatever that was. At this point, all I knew about China was this tour of Shanghai.

At the TV Tower, our local guide John, our overall guide Vivian, and I enjoyed a rest from the frantic pace. John is happy because we are all leaving in the morning, Vivian is happy because no one had died as yet, and I am happy because I heard there is beer at the next stop.

Everyone who goes to Shanghai talks about the "Bund." I asked several people what this was, and few could explain it. It is cool, but is nothing more than a famous waterfront that has been the symbol of Shanghai for many years. A little like Fisherman's Wharf, it is a series of shops, bars, and restaurants along a pretty waterway. Like many places, it is a teenage hangout, vendor mecca, and tourist photo spot. Lots of fake Rolexes sold here.
As for our tour, we boarded the bus and headed for the silk factory. We learned about the history of the silk worm and its role in the process of creating silk products.

Here is the picture pile of the craftspeople, scarves, and comforters. Lisa and I bought nothing, but our tour group spent thousands on silk comforter sets.

Here's the good part: Many of the guys, tired of the silk shoppe shopping, find this beer corner. One-by-one, our group grows as we chug our Tsingtao. Mellissa finds us and takes a picture of us looking (for no reason) guilty. Mac, to my right, looks like he's getting chewed out by Bertie, but he is not. She is too nice for that, however she is asking him for his wallet.

We leave the silk factory and bus to the Shanghai Museum. The museum is divided into eleven galleries and three exhibition halls. The eleven Galleries cover most of the major categories of Chinese art: Ancient Bronze, Ancient Ceramics, Paintings, Calligraphy, Ancient Sculpture, Ancient Jade, Coins, Ming and Qing Furniture, Seals, and Minority Nationalities.

We go upstairs to view stone carvings thousands of years old.

I'm not a big museum guy, but I liked this place a lot.

After the museum, back on the bus. Shanghai, being a big city, is very crowded and there are zillions of people on bikes and scooters. Sometimes, three or four people will crowd on one scooter. No helmets, rules of the road, or driving knowledge required. People ask if it's dangerous in China. My answer is, "only if you try crossing the street on a green light."

After dinner, we are taken to an acrobatic show that is the Chinese version of Cirque du Soleil. Although no photos are allowed, we have a great time. I think Lisa, covertly and bravely, took several videos.

We like Shanghai, but are anxious to leave in the morning in hopes of seeing more of China and getting out of the big city. We are looking forward to boarding a ship and cruising up the Yangtze River.