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Published: August 12th 2007
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2nd October
We had a free day, and used it to return to the Bund and Nanjing Road. We opted to try out the tube which after a little effort we soon got use to. The weather was terrible, which made walking around very difficult, as there were still lots of people about, and they were using the underpasses as shelter from the rain.
We decided it maybe a good opportunity to split up from mum and dad and have a shop round without dragging them round places they probably didn’t fancy going and visa-versa, so we decided to meet back up around lunchtime. After a look round some of the electrical shops where Russ had his eyes on every gadget, we went into a tailors’ next to the Peace Hotel and I ordered a made to measure dress and jacket with the promise that it would be ready the following day at 8pm. They took what seemed to be hundreds of measurements and I was a little suspect to believe that anything would fit. We met back up with mum and dad at our pre-determined spot for lunch. Sorry to say but after over a week of
Chinese meals for both lunch and dinner we wimped out and went for a McDonalds. Then it was back to the hotel for a siesta, before heading out again later to see Shanghai at night this time without the millions of the night before.
3rd October
The following day, we were collected by our Guide for a day of excursions. To begin with we went down the Bund, and got the opportunity to view the Bund without the masses of people we had previously seen. Our Guide pointed out a number of buildings of interest and explained that as little as 50 years ago Shanghai had been a tiny port, and that the business people that now occupied the city were trying to put Shanghai on the map with the “tallest, longest, fastest” in the world. Our next visit was to a Jade Buddha temple, which seemed to appear within a housing estate. It was busy with other tour groups and unfortunately we were not able to photograph the main attraction, the white jade Buddha of vast proportions. The Buddha had been funded by donations but we were able to see
a number of impressive bells, sun dials and incense burners. The monks would build a fire in the bottom chamber of the bell and the steam from the fire would make the bell ring. Inside one of the temples there was a large drum in the shape of a crouched Buddha together with a wooden depiction of the many faces of Buddha.
Next we went to the Yu Gardens and Bazaar. Surprisingly the Gardens were not as crowded as we had expected. Our guide explained that this was because people had to pay to get in. We were able to see the tree in the middle of the bazaar which people tie gold ribbons to and make wishes. Inside the Gardens, there were lots of koi carp ponds, and the architecture was designed to resemble clouds rising upto heaven. We were able to see the famous zig-zag bridge which leads to the teahouse in the middle of the lake. Instead we went to the Opera house to see a Chinese tea ceremony. We were able to taste a number of different teas to cure different ailments; Dad was looking for a cure for hair loss. The
views from the top of the Opera house were fantastic, and afterwards we returned to the Bazaar to carry on some bargaining. Despite this place being a little bit touristy, we bought a great kite, and enjoyed haggling with the locals. Unfortunately our time was almost up and we vowed to try to come back later that evening if we got chance as this was our last night in Shanghai.
The last place our Guide took us to was a carpet factory where workers were making the most exquisite silk rugs and carpets of all sizes. The detail and the time that each one took was amazing and whilst they were relativity expensive, the number of man hours was considerable. In the basement of the factory individual craft workers had small stalls and we were able to get our nephew names painted in Chinese onto dragon t-shirts. We also bought some paper pictures which were one piece of paper with a scene cut out of it. The work was very intricate and time consuming, and we were able to pick up some more bargains.
That night we returned to the Bund for one last photo opportunity. At
8pm returned to the dress shop to collect the orders, and despite my initial scepticism, the dress was a perfect fit and the jacket looked fantastic. We tried to return to the Bazaar to see if there were any more bargains to be had, but the shops were shutting which was a great shame because it looked really impressive at night, so we grabbed a taxi back to the hotel.
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