Xin Nian Kuai Le

Or, in other words, happy new year!

As you read this, Carly and Craig are safely enscounced back in their Georgetown home in Washington, D. C. and Roel and I are hunkering down for a spell of reality (i.e. back to work) before we take off again for two weeks for Chinese New Years holiday.

Carly and Craig's flight home was much smoother than their extra long trip to Shanghai...and before they flew out on New Year's Day we watched the New Year come in, accompanied by the requisite fireworks both on T.V. and in the surrounding neighbourhood. On the day of their flight, before going to the airport we were able to watch the New Year arrive at Times Square in New York City, live on CNN...so we felt as if we'd welcomed in 2009 twice.

Prior to that we got in a day trip to Nanjing, where we visited the Sun Yatsen Mausoleum. Considered ''the father of modern China'', Sun Yatsen is fascinating since he led China's one and only republic...one of those 'what if's' of history has to be what if that unstable republic hadn't floundered after his death? In any case, his wish to be buried in Nanjing was granted, even if the grandiose Ming-tomb style is a bit beyond the style in which he probably wished to be immortalized. In fact his memorial tomb lies beside an ancient emperor's tomb from the Ming dynasty, so we also got to take Carly and Craig through the Sacred Walk leading up to it. Designed as mysteriously as the heads on Easter Island, the solid blocks of granite carved into animals protect the tomb of Hongwu, the Ming emperor who died in 1398. We're glad we got to revisit Nanjing, China's off-and-on again capital, since our visit last year coincided with Tomb Sweeping, a holiday devoted to honouring deceased ancestors. This time we felt like we had the magnificent site to ourselves...which included the vast natural surrounding forests, fresh air, and exotic wild birds. Nanjing makes for an excellent day trip from Shanghai, as the bullet train whisked us back and forth in under two hours each way, reaching speeds at times of 249 kmh...almost as fast as Shanghai's 431 kmh Maglev train trip to Pudong Airport...which we took after dropping Carly and Craig at the airport on New Year's Day.

But prior to that, on New Year's Eve day we decided to wind up the holiday in grand style. After another round of dumplings at Craig and Carly's favorite restaurant from Taipei, known for its fantastic dim sum -- Din Tai Fun -- we soared to the top of the newest skyscraper in Shanghai, "The Shanghai World Financial Centre", or Huan Mao Tower. Within seconds an elevator whisked us to the lobby of the Hyatt, now claim to the title of the highest hotel in the world, from where we could look down on the Pearl Tower whilst we enjoyed an English Tea, complete with sandwiches and Shanghai's version of petit fours.

Remembering our interesting New Year's Eve with Christopher from last year, where we got to bring in 2008 with 88 gongs at Shanghai's oldest temple, complete with dragon dances and fireworks, we decided instead to watch the events unfold on TV, as Carly and Craig were flying out the next day.

And as we've said, their trip home was much smoother than their flight to Shanghai had been...and as we write and send this on, our holiday is now another memorable one.

Thanks to Carly and Craig's visit last summer, and this being their second time in Shanghai, we were able to get acquainted with some of their favorite haunts. Now we can add the restaurant famous for its spicy Hunan fare -- Guyi -- and Yunnan cuisine -- Lost Heaven, as well as People's Bar, a very cool spot they know from Taipei. The trick to People's Bar #6 (which, as it turns out, is right across the street from our apartment -- who knew?) is to stick your hand into the sculpture outside in order to make the doors open. When we couldn't figure this out, we ducked inside the sliding doors when someone was leaving...fortunately this didn't break the door as originally feared, and we were able to enjoy a drink on the comfortable couches at a bamboo-lined window seat. Going to the washrooms was something else again, as the signs posted on the maze of mirrors surrounding them proclaimed "enter at your own risk" -- and they weren't kidding. Going in...and going period...are both challenging feats at People's Bars we discovered. And we won't go into any further details, save to say we can hardly wait to investigate and crack the secrets of People's Bar #7 downtown.

And we'll also be bolder in our partaking of the many street foods that Shanghai has to offer, as Craig's searches have led us to discover delicious deep-fried duck, dumplings and pork steamed buns...or juiro boaze...all within walking distance.

Finally, our new year's resolution is to learn more Chinese...cooking and speaking :-) But we have to say that having visitors is wonderful -- as it introduces some new places for us to enjoy, and reaffirms what we love about this city. We agree that Shanghai is, as Carly and Craig both said, very liveable...and there are many things, places, and people we will miss when we leave.

So, once again, from both of us, to all of you -- Xin Nian Kuai le -- and thanks for all the great comments. Please keep them coming...we love to hear from you!

Amy & Roel

---

---

---