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Published: February 5th 2006
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Shanghai - 27.01.06
It was an exciting moment to arrive in Shanghai, the largest city in China and known far and wide as 'the whore of the orient.' What better place to spend Chinese New Year, the biggest festival in the Chinese calendar welcoming in the year of the dog. We hit a slight problem though when we realised that we couldn't actually afford to stay anywhere! All the hotels were far too expensive especially considering that we wanted to spend a week exploring the city. This meant our only remaining option was one I had been pretty reluctant to try; dorms...
They are by far the cheapest way for travellers to have a room for the night but done at the risk of having to share it with some noisy, messy, snoring hippie with greasy hair and smelly trainers!! Eurgh! Fortunately, this doesn't quite seem to be the reality. We found a nice clean room at the captains hostel and it wasn't too bad at all with only one night of offensive snoring in a whole week! The lack of privacy was the main problem and I don't think I could dorm it all the time but considering
the money saved I even think we'll be doing it again; probably near the end of the journey when the money is running out!
Our hostel was very near the bund, which is the common name for the area by the river that divides the city. The street is lined by old colonial buildings that look particularly great when illumnated at night. Across the water is the area of Pudong with it's very strange hypodermic needle building (that looks a little wonky to me). Ths meant that we were also near Nanjing Dong Lu which is one of Shanghai's main shopping streets. By day it is busy and the plazas are filled with chinese bargain hunters (they love. love. love to shop!) and every few meters you are offered knock-off watches, trainers, bags etc. Or if you're Will they offer up "lady massages" and earn themselves a dirty look from me!! At night the street is all lit up in neon, as is the fashion in asian cities, and it is a very vibrant and enjoyable place to wander around.
We spent some time seeing the sights, the Shanghai museum was really good - one of the best
we've been to, we passed by the grand theatre and were handed some free tickets to a show that had just started so we saw some traditional song and dance, we visited the art gallery which I didn't find overly inspiring but was a nice way to spend an hour or 2 and we also went to the urban planning exhibition center.. this one was definitely the weak link, they have tried to make it interactive with pull out photos, a 360 degree virtual world and mini moving displays but it is the most boring place I have ever been in my life! I suppose we should have guessed by the name, even saying it puts me to sleep! It does have a scale model of Shanghai though that was ok. We also rode the tourist tunnel under the river which is a slightly bizarre experience, you are in a sort of cable car running on tracks and are taken through a tunnel with all kinds of lights and sounds as you pass through different zones. It's a bit tacky (paper mashe walls and fairy lights that look like they've been put together by a group of primary school children)
I am the firestarter
Will has fun with handheld fireworks, kids don't try this at home but it's a novel way to cross the water and the view from the other side is superb. We also got tickets for Swan Lake at the grand theatre, which was very good. One of my favourite nights out though was at a jazz bar, JZ's. Not much of a drinking night (too expensive!) but the ambience was just right with the high round tables and candle light and the live jazz band were really good.
On our last full day we went to the Yuyuan gardens, ming style creations which are less garden and more rocks, water and trees. Aparently it's considered an art form to create a peaceful and balanced space, a bit like a zen garden. Then we went to the Jade Budda Temple, an active buddist temple which was packed with worshippers burning incense and bowing to the golden statues. I had wanted to see the thousand armed Guanyin but for some reason it had been replaced with another, much less interesting, statue! Boo.
One of our main reasons for the timing our trip to Shanghai was to see in the Chinese New Year. I must say I was a little disappointed as I
expected street festivals with dragons and singing but if that was happening we must have missed it! However, on the night itself there were loads of fireworks and firecrackers being set off in the street (traditionally designed to ward off evil spirits) and the atmophere was great. Apparently there is a lantern festival which takes place 2 weeks after the new year so hopefully we can take part in that and maybe I can get my dragon fix then!! The next day the city was simply packed with people out walking around the bund. Everyone in the whole of Shanghai seemed to be there and it was lovely to stroll around with the chinese families. Indeed, I think one of the nicest things to do in Shanghai is to sit and watch the (Chinese) world go by in People's Square at the opposite end of Nanjing Dong Lu.
Re-reading my entry I think it sounds like I'm having a bit of a moan most of the time! Bit unfair of me as Shanghai has been a really fun week and I'm glad we spent this time here. Next we're heading a couple of hours down the road to the
city of Nanjing. This has been recommended to us by a chinese woman we met in Hong Kong so hopfully it will be good. Happy New Year to everyone x
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vecilli
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that looks so much fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hmmmmmmmmmmmm that is ggreat! beautiful city with bunch of firework crackpots!!!! ^_^