At 7 a.m. we headed to the train station which was very modern and clean. We traveled about 190 miles per hour. It took about six hours for the trip to Shanghai.
Shanghai is very different from Beijing. It looks more like a European city. That is because the English, French, and Americans were here before Mao. It is divided by the Huangpu River, and on the west side, the Puxi, lies the historic city center with the older, more European buildings, and on the east side, the Pudong, lie the ultra-modern skyscrapers that look like New York City.
Before we went to the hotel we toured the Antique district—Dongtai Lu Market. It is a mix of food stalls, souvenir stands, arts and crafts, and streets of junk (antiques). They were selling things I had or even have, such a Depression glass plates, old suitcases, even a Singer sewing machine. But it was interesting and nice to stroll. There were some nice antique stores with nice furniture along the way, too. We were on our own for dinner, so we grabbed some fast food, went for a walk in the nice area, and returned to the hotel.
After breakfast, we headed for the Ming Dynasty Yu Garden. It was in an old Chinese part of the city, and is a family garden, an important family garden, as it is full of lovely bridges, rock gardens, and carp-filled ponds. Again there were lots of Chinese families and school groups. A bazaar surrounds the gardens.
Then we went to a tea ceremony. We tasted five different kinds of tea. While there, a fierce thunderstorm came, and we had to wait for it to pass over to go to our next spot—The Shanghai Museum of Ancient History. We spent an hour plus there. I enjoyed the exhibits on clothing from the different districts of China; the calligraphy, coins, and jades.
Close to the History Museum is the Oriental Pearl Radio & TV Tower, a distinct 1,535-foot-tall futuristic landmark located at the tip of Lujiazui in the Pudong Area of Shanghai. Completed in 1994, its unique design features 11 interconnected spheres inspired by a classical Tang Dynasty poem. The viewing platforms have glass floors, so you can see down as well as out. From there it was to a Jade Buddha Temple.
The Jade Buddha Temple has two sacred Buddha statues carved from single blocks of white Burmese jade, brought to China by sea in 1882. The Sitting Buddha is intricately encrusted with agate and emerald stones, depicting the Buddha at the exact moment of his meditation and enlightenment. It weighs three tons.
Clint, our guide here, told us there are 23 million people in Shanghai in a very small space about 3860 sq. miles, while Beijing has 18 million in 6200 sq. mi.. On the streets and in elevators and lines, there is no personal space. The people crowd around just like the cars do on the streets.
The Astor is the oldest and first modern hotel in Shanghai, and it was being remodeled as we stayed there. President Garfield and Albert Einstein have both stayed at our hotel. The two basses comprise a museum exhibit inside the historic Astor House Hotel in Shanghai, celebrating the building’s musical and cultural heritage.
We ate dinner at the restaurant in the hotel, then walked around town before packing up to leave. Our last night in China.
In the morning, we met Clint in the lobby at 6:30 a.m. The hotel had packed box breakfasts for us: banana, hard-boiled eggs, dinner rolls and cookies. We took off for the airport, eating what we could. On the way we passed an IKEA store and the new Swimming Venue for this summer’s World Championships. Because we were a group, we got to check in right away and avoided the line. Our plane stopped in Tokyo—Narita Airport. Then home. We arrived 15 minutes before we left, because we had two Fridays going this way. A wonderful trip.
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