covemom

This is an AMAZING show! For our visit to Shanghai for Leah's birthday, we went to this acrobat show in the evening. It was held on the 4th floor of the Portman Ritz-Carlton Hotel on Nanjing Rd. These (mostly) young people are VERY good at what they do! I'm sure they work like crazy to get to that point, but you can see it in their performances. This is more of a "classical" show compared to the ERA show which has the motorcycles, but, the action was non-stop and we never got bored. I definitely recommend seeing this!... read more

Yu Yuan or Yu Garden is the best known garden in Shanghai. Yu means "pleasing and satisfying" and yuan means "garden". This garden was first built in 1559 and covers a five acre area. It was opened to the public in 1961. Compared to the other Chinese gardens we have visited, it seemed more like a maze, meaning it had many small areas and seemed harder to find our way around. It did make it quite interesting though as you were never sure what might be around the next corner or through a door. The things that stand out to me as being a little different about Yu Yuan were all of the little carvings on the rooftops and the Dragon Wall throughout the garden. We were with a friend when visiting and didn't take quite ... read more

We have visited the area of Haiwan Beach before, but this trip was the first time we went horseback riding there, so I thought I would post some pictures. It was very crowded because this was during the Mid-Autumn, or Moon Festival. This is a Chinese Resort area about half an hour from where we live.... read more

On June 25th, we took our 3rd trip to the Expo. We're getting the hang of everything there now, and it helps knowing what to expect. The main difference from the past two times was that the entire day was rainy! I think I preferred the rain over extreme heat though, even having to dodge all the umbrellas! I was impressed that the pavillions handed out plastic bags for your umbrellas as you entered. We are never quite sure exactly which entrance we will be arriving at because the driver has been taking us so far, then we switch to a special Expo taxi which is "supposed" to get us closer to the actual entrance. Well, after finally getting an Expo taxi after 25 mins, I realized after getting dropped off (at Gate 8) that there ... read more

On our previous visits to China, the riverside Promenade area of the Bund in Shanghai was completely blocked off due to construction. The construction has now been completed, so we decided to visit again and had a gorgeous day. We had made reservations for a dinner cruise on a big, fancy, "Dragon Boat." We were dropped off late in the morning on June 5th, supposedly near the cruise boat office so we could pay for our tickets. Well, we couldn't find the office, asked a few people for help, the Chinese pointed, so we headed in that direction and still found nothing. The other English speaking people we found knew no more than we did. We finally decided to head the opposite direction where we could get some lunch. We enjoyed walking along the river, all ... read more