Old Town, Shanghai, China

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Old Town, Shanghai, China

So apparently the Chinese also have a denoted "Chinatown" within their cities. I found that to be pretty hilarious considering the fact that...well...we're in China!

Anyways, our next spot to tour around was Old Town. This was a pretty fun spot to take pictures and wander around in. There were narrow streets, lots of people, and people trying to sell just about anything you could imagine (all for a "good price" mind you).

James, my parents and I decided to wander around and snap some photos. The main attractions in Old Town were the Yu Garden built in the southern Chinese style, the famous old Town Golden Temple, Xiaotayuan Mosque, Lotus Flower Garden, Zigzag Bridge (Bridge of Nine Turnings), Mid-Lake Pavilion, Lignaloes Pavilion, and the former residence of Dr. Sun Yetsen.

Because of our limited time, we walked around the streets for a bit and then walked across the ZigZag Bridge. So you're probably asking, "Why does the bridge need zigzags?". The Chinese are very superstitious and they believe evil spirits can't turn corners. The bridges zigzags are meant to trap them. Nowadays people walk along the bridge because they know this superstition is a bunch of hog-wash.

Here's another interesting fact: it was once believed that evil spirits couldn't step over obstacles either. This is the reason you'll see doorways that are a few inches off the ground with an immovable board beneath. The Chinese thought the evil spirits wouldn't be able to enter there houses because of this.

Here's some information from Frommer's about Old Town:
The Old Chinese City (Nanshi), located just southwest of the Bund, was the first part of Shanghai to be settled. In the early days, Shanghai had a city wall (which followed the course of today's Renmin Lu and Zhonghua Lu) that came down when the last dynasty fell, in 1911. During the colonial era (1842-1949) when Westerners had their own enclaves (concessions), this was the main Chinese district, where foreigners almost never ventured. Considerably more frequented by foreigners these days (though mostly around the Yu Yuan Old Town Bazaar area), Nanshi, with its narrow winding streets and old houses, is still one of the lesser-explored parts of town.

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Photos

Mom, James, Me
Walking across the ZigZag Bridge