Shanghai and Hangzhou

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National Holiday week! Even though we had only been in school for a month, it was great to have a holiday. We left right after school on Saturday trying to beat the throng of students and other teachers heading for the airport. Thankfully Autumn was there early and did a fine job delivering us to the airport.

After a fairly short flight, we arrived in Shanghai. The central tourist district, called the Bund, is where we stayed and arriving at night showed it at its best. After checking into our hostel, we went for a stoll along the embankment. This walkway along the bank of the Huang Pu river, was ablaze with lights like we have never seen before.

The Bund used to be the financial centre of Shanghai, and now is the main tourist centre with many beautiful buildings reminiscent of the European and Russian influence. There are a lot of pricey bars, nightclubs and expensive shops in this area, which we found out our first evening when looking for a beer!

On the other side on the Huang Pu is the Pudong new area which, according to the guide book, was boggy farmland until recently. Now the unique skyscrapers and towers provide a beautiful background for the thousands of picture taking tourists that stroll the embankment walkway.

Having liked the hostel in Beijing, we decided to hostel it again. Not quite the same experience this time, though. Great location in the heart of 'The Bund', but no atmosphere to the place and no western breakfast! Noodles and fried rice, even though free, lost their appeal after the first morning.

The first task on the agenda was to buy railway tickets to Hangzhou - our second destination. In China, you can't buy railroad tickets more than 10 days in advance, and you have to buy them from the city of your departure. So we couldn't buy them ahead on the internet from Dalian. Luckily , the hostel staff headed us in the right direction and with my little Chinese and the help of a bilingual customer standing in line with us, we got first class seats on the train we wanted. First class is a bit more, but still cheap. There you get our own seat, and no extra standing, lying or squatting people in the aisles.

Anyway, with that task out of the way, we set out to explore the area. Old town Shanghai was close by and a really interesting place to wander around. It was a drizzly day but we enjoyed our afternoon stroll and the visit to Starbucks. (Rick and Barb both have a serious coffee addiction!)

The second task of the day was to get Expo tickets. We had not purchased them in Jinshitan - all sold out here. We could have bought them through the internet, but were not sure of our plans or hotel, so we put off buying them thinking that we would pick them up in Shanghai. Wrong- you could get them, but only at the gate. Having been told horror stories of how long the gate lineups were, we decided to go down that afternoon to pick them up for the next day.

When we got to the ticket office,( we were the only ones in line) we found out their was a special evening rate, so we changed our plans and stayed. We were really lucky with our timing - late day, a bit drizzly, and Monday - probably one of the least crowded times we could have chosen. The site is huge, though, and once inside, it took us a while to get our bearings.

We had a couple pavillions that had been recommended, one of which was the Saudi. The line up for it was closed though, because even at 7 p.m. there were too many people in line to make it in before the 11 pm closing. Hmmm, try that one first thing in the morning. After waiting about an hour and seeing the Japanese pavillion, we decided to head down to Canada, which was a major treck (after supper at Starbucks). By the time we got there, it had closed early - not enough people!! Went to the U.S, which was not too exciting, but they did have an interesting '4-D' movie.

After a lot of wandering, eating and resting (at Starbucks - are you beginning to see a trend?) we called it quits and headed home, glad to have had this day to orient ourselves and get ready for a full day tomorrow.

Next morning, we decided toget there a bit early, so arrived shortly after 8 for the gate opening at 9:00. Wrong- not early enough! One of my students who had been there also, said that they had gotten up at 4 a.m. to be at the gates by 4:30 - they had about 100 people in front of them, he figured. So we stood in line with everyone. When the gates opened though, the line moved quickly, so we really didn't wait too long.

Once inside, our plan was to head to the Saudi pavillion; didn't know why it was so popular, but if so many people wanted to see it- so did we. Should have realized when we saw the rows of policemen blowing their whistles to keep people from running, that there was an issue. Then when we turned a corner and saw the mass of humanity streaming further and further down the street, we knew that Saudi wasn't happening. At 9:15 a.m. there was already an estimated 7 hour lineup to get to the pavillion!

Instead, we spent the day at various medium sized places (including Canada). The buildings themselves were all amazing and beautiful, although some of the interiors were a bit questionable. We couldn't figure out why Croatia had a tie collection! Some had very unique things, though, like Englands seed collection in the ends of the glass rods that made up the structure of the building which was designed to look like a recently opened present.

France was great also- we especially liked the 'scent capsules' that you stood inside. Standing inside each one, you got 'enveloped' in a wonderful aroma of coffee, chocolate, spices, etc. At the end of the day, we were exhausted, but very happy to have seen the Expo - a great and unique experience. Just don't mention shopping for t-shirts - that was not a highlight at 11:00 pm when you are tired!

The third day of our trip, we woke up again to drizzly rain. We had contemplated a bus trip to a small town close by, but didn't have the energy to get busses, and fight crowds, so we opted for the Shanghai museum that had been recommended by everyone we spoke to. It was an amazing museum and we spend a few hours wandering through the various galleries.

That evening, we went to see the Jinmao Tower which is China's second tallest building. After fighting the hoards and getting caught up in the middle of chinese bus tour group, we made it up the elevator to a beautiful panoramic view of Shanghai.

Early on day 4, another drizzly day, on to Hangzhou - the silk and tea capital of China and the famous 'West Lake'.

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Photos

The Bund
Our first night in Shanghai was spent wandering the Bund area - the city's most famous mile. The Huang Pu (Yellow River) separates old and new Shanghai, with dozens of brightly lit tourist boats plying the water.

Pudong
Pudong is the area across from the Bund. This lit up Oriental Pearl Tower is pretty symbolic of the new look of Shanghai.

The Bund
The Bund symbolizes 'Old Shanghai', once being the heart of the financial district, and is in sharp contrast to the new area across from the river. The builidngs were jaw dropping beautiful with the lights at night.

The Bund Brewery
After our first evening stroll on the Bund, we needed to rest our feet and have a cold drink. On first glance, we knew the Bund Brewery would be pricey - everything western in that district is. And when the menu came it was confirmed! We ordered anyway, hoping the beer and pop would come in large glasses. In Jinshitan a bottle of beer is about 10 kuai in a restauant and a soft drink about 5 kuai. The bill came to 100 kuai for the two drinks. I wanted to get a second glass and share Rick's beer, but they wanted to charge an extra 10 for that as well! Barb's pop glass held about 1/3 of a can of pop. Our most expensive drinks in China (well, equalling my 30 kuai water in Dalian, but that was another story!).

Old Town
The Old Town shopping district was a mix of old market stalls, gardens, and this busy commercial shopping area. This picture is taken from Starbucks where we were waiting out the rain.

Monks on Vacation
We figured these monks, out taking pictures with the crowds, must have been on vacation. In fact, we saw them (well a group that looked the same!) in Hangzhou as well. Their shiny brown leather shoes eemed to give it away - did not look like working shoes!

Line up at Expo
Despite the fact there were a lot of people, the crowds when we were there were very reasonable. We limited ourselves, though and didn't stand in any line up that was over 2 hours. This was one section in one of 8 gates for entering the grounds.

Oh Canada!
Barb and I at the Canada pavillion. It was a great looking structure from the outside, but a bit strange inside. It was designed by Cirque de Soleil, so had a rather dark, red, frantic carnival atmosphere. Great to feel at home in a building though.

France
Rick inside one of our favourite exhibits - the French pavillion - which focused on the senses. These capsules enveloped you in a scent - this one must have been coffee, but chocolate was my favourite. Barb was getting her caffeine fix here too!

England
This pavillion consisted of 60,000 glass rods, which converged into the centre of the building. Inside the building, encased in the interior end of each rod was one of 60,000 seeds, some of which are now extinct. The overall effect was stunning.

China Pavillion
This building was the goal of every Chinese tourist. In order to get in, you had to get tickets at the gate, and we were not early enough for that! A wonderful looking structure.

USA
The American pavillion was not particularly interesting except for the movie. The theme of the 4-D film was a child in a large city who tries to grow a garden, but it keeps getting wiped out by various ways, until the people in the neighbourhood get togerther. During the storm, the seats in the theater shook, and it started to rain in the theater. People were pulling out their umbrellas.

Shanghai Museum
The Shanghai Musuem was a great way to spend a few hours on a rainy day. Galleries showing ancient bronzes, pottery, furniture, coins, and a special Russian exhibit kept us busy. The cheap, English audio sets were a real bonus too.

Green Pottery Jar
This pottery jar is from 3800- 3200 B.C. An amazing collection of ancient artifacts are housed at this museum

Jinmao Tower
This building is now the second tallest tower in China- nothing compared to the Petronus Towers in Malaysia, but still stunning, especially when lit up at night. We weren't prepared for the hundreds of people in the line up for the elevators, but enjoyed our 360 degree view of the city.

Jinmao observatory
Barb and Rick taking in the sights of Shanghai. We really lucked out that night and had a great clear view of the city.