Blogs from Shanghai, China, Asia - page 2

Cancel a trip yet? My cousins cancelled their trip to Japan this month. But I am boarding a plane tomorrow for a short flight to Vegas. What should you do? What is corona virus? Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory illness that spreads from person to person. Around 80% of people recover without requiring special treatment. The virus, which first appeared in Wuhan, China, has since spread to 53 countries. Of the roughly 84,000 reported cases, China accounts for over 78,800. Older people and those with preexisting conditions – including high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes – are the most likely to develop a severe illness as a result of COVID-19. Well, I definitely would stay out of Asia. And not just because of the Corona virus, but because much of the region is ... read more

Contemporary China has a fascinating relationship with spirituality: as a country with historically deeply rooted traditions and practices which spread throughout the region, it is also accelerating in modernity at lightning speed. When you are here, it is hard to reconcile China’s historical traditions with its current society. I think the Jing’an Temple (photographed below) is a perfect example of the dichotomy between rich cultural practices and modernization. Though there are a number of religions in China, including Taoism, Confucianism, and Islam consisting about 10% of the population, this blog post will be focusing on Buddhism, which is the country’s most practiced religion (15% of the population). However, it must be prefaced that the vast majority (over 70%) of mainland Chinese are non-religious, which makes it the world’s largest non-religious population. That is a mind-... read more

December 20, 2019 Somewhere over Russia Season’s Greetings! I hope everyone is having a wonderful December, no matter where in the world you may find yourself. I am writing to you on a flight to Beijing, where I will continue on to my final destination of Shanghai, China. Shanghai has always captured my imagination since youth, and a little bit of research into the city proves to me that it is a jewel of Eastern Asia. My hero Anthony Bourdain once said Shanghai makes New York City look like a third world country, and from there my fascination exploded. From what I know so far, it is a juxtaposition of the absolute modern with classical Western art deco architecture. It has former European style neighborhoods, which is in contrast to what Cheryl and I experienced in ... read more

Days 61 to 63 of 80 We 'left' Shanghai by metro to reach Zhujiajiao for 3 nights /2 days. Zhujiajiao is famed as one of Shanghai's 'water towns', of which there are several dotted around the Shanghai suburbs. Water Towns, so called because, surprise, surprise, they are based around numerous rivers and/or canals. Zhujiajiao is regarded as one of the best mostly because of the extent of its preserved layout and buildings which surpass any other in the region. Established about 1700 years ago, it now has a population of 60,000 though by far most of these must be in the modern surroundings not the central old town. Numerous rivers and 35 stone bridges, and 1 wooden. Not surprisingly it is known as ..... wait for it ...... China's Venice. We have found it hard to ... read more

11 kilometer boven Ulaanbaatar, ongeveer 3,5 uur van Shanghai Hoi, leuk dat je dit leest. Ik ben nu volgens mij al zo’n acht uur in de lucht en ik zit nog aardig comfortabel. Het is nu avond, Nederlandse tijd en ik heb aardig honger. Helaas opereert de crew van China Eastern schijnbaar volledig op Chinese tijd en wordt er dus van mij verwacht dat ik in diepe nachtrust verzonken ben en niet hoopvol om me heen kijk voor een diner. Tot zover de update over waar ik nu ben, behalve nog een shoutout (een soort bedankje mam, google het maar) naar mijn moeder voor de goede tip om toch zes Hollandse krentenbollen mee te nemen. Maar goed, wat lees je nou eigenlijk nu? Ja ik denk dat het toch het best te omschrijven valt als wat ... read more