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Published: August 5th 2007
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Sheshan
Sheshan Catholic Church (French built) was partially destroyed during Cultural Revolution. So M hired a car and we got out of Shanghai today! I like the city, but craved some fresh air, greenery and sky. The car was like a Toyota Sienna or something... much more comfortable than a taxi or bus. Anyway, first we stopped at Sheshan, Shanghai's only mountain. Not super exciting, but managed to walk to the top for 30 RMB in the heat. A beggar at the church wouldn't stop hassling us for $. After M gave her some change to make her away, but she kept bugging me to give in too. Coming from SF, I'm numb when it comes to beggars.
Anyway, if you're interested, here's the bit on Sheshan from the guidebook:
"Shanghai Sheshan National Holiday Resort is located at the northwest of Songjiang District. 30 kilometers away from downtown Shanghai. From northeast to southwest lie 12 mountains ranging 13 kilometers and covering an area of 401 hectares. For over a century, it has been the sacred place of the Catholicism in Southeast Asia. The West Sheshan Mountain is where Sheshan Catholic Church, the biggest church in the Far East, and Sheshan Astronomical Observatory, China’s first astronomical observatory, are situated. Between the East
Sheshan
Man in church to escape heat? You can see the view from the top of the mountain. and West Sheshan Mountains stands a Catholic tower constructed in the North Song Dynasty, which is made of brick and wood and has seven floors and eight angles, looking beautiful and elegant. A mid-air cable is constructed between the two mountains, which enable the tourists to have a hearty appreciation of the sceneries of the Sheshan Mountain."
We then continued to Zhujiajiao, a canal town another 30 kms away. Get this: the town charges an entrance fee. Yes, they have a booth that sells tickets to charge people 60 RMB each to walk through the town. I was thinking, "Good grief." However, the little city is quite charming in a sad way... it reminds me of what you would imagine when you think "China"... old and poor houses and people. A lot of the buildings and bridges are authentic to the Ming and Qing dynasties.
As we walk in there are bunch of small stores selling hand-made crafts such as silk embroidery, paintings, trinkets, etc. You can see them making it too. M bought a silk embroidery - the girl says that it took her two days to make 60 RMB. She makes roughly 30 rmb a day.
Zhujiajiao
All the little shops down the alleys. That's slightly more $100 USD a month. Ugh. I kept thinking, "Her poor eyes, they must be so strained. She does a beautiful job."
More beggars... M gave them money again, and he gave her the rest of his spare change and in the process the beggar saw M had tons of small bills too. She followed us for 5 minutes to get more money from M and me and I told M he's not allowed to give out money anymore because I don't like his new friend following us. The beggar walked fast and had more meat on her body than I do... she's not starving. I bet she makes more than the embroidery girl! Anyway, I'm so intriguied by how people make a living here, what motivates them, what their skills are... there are so many people in China... they can't all be professionals...
We walk to the famous five arched Feng Sen bridge, which translates to "set free." I guess since Zhujiajiao is an old fishing town, back in the day people used to set free fish on this bridge. So around the bridge they sell goldfish for you to "set free". The canal water
Zhujiajiao
Large tipang meat for sale. I was curious to try, but the heat makes me lose my appetite. is so gross and dirty that anything you throw in there will surely die in minutes. As we walked there were art galleries, classroom, temple, etc.... all which cost money to walk in. M complained, "why can't they just give us a few freebies?" But as we looked around, these people have no skills other than painting, embroidering, making tipang (rump roast dish) and zongzi (chinese tamale). They don't make any money except from tourists... so... the question M asked is, "is this town here because we're here, or are we really here because they're here?" Good question.
As we walked around, you can peek into the local's "home". Each home does not have a single light on and is dark... they use the window light. The "house" is one room and one kitchen and there's an entire family in there. It was really poverty. Quite heart breaking... interesting... and has become a tourist site. These people are so poor and have to rely on tourism. The town was really pretty... part of the charm is that it's old and "poor".
I was sweating the entire 2 hours we were there and we decided we had enough of
Zhujiajiao
Lanterns hung along the canal. It would be pretty at night I bet. canals, bridges and pushy vendors and went back to the air conditioned car. Phew. Driver took us back to Shanghai and we went to Cheng Huang Miao to walk around. Had yummy xiaolongbao (dumplings) and then in minutes it started to downpour... very hard rain. We waited for the rain to ease and luckily hailed a cab back to where M was staying and we went to a cafe for some refreshments.
I'm glad I had M to hang out with! He was great company it was fun getting to know him and what life in UK is like too! I think China's relatively safe, but I don't like being bothered by vendors and I would be a little bit weary about walking around those alleys in the canal town. Anyway, I just really appreciate that he was around this week and I could have the opportunity to have a buddy to explore with!
I've only been here a week - yet I kind of feel like I've been here for weeks.
Note: We used a car service called Business Trip Service, the driver's name is Wu Li Jun, Cell is 13661611296. I use Mr. Wu to
Zhujiajiao
Five arches "Fang Shen" bridge. go to the Pudong Airport too, 160 rmb.
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dumplings
S is going to be sooooo jealous when I tell him you had dumplings!! Are you still getting poisoned by the food?