Saturday March 26, 2016 – In Shanghai (means “up the River“) all day today. We arrived at the mouth of the Yantzee River (here called the Huangpu River) about 1 AM and sailed up the river about 180 Km to the port of Shanghai in China and spent all of Easter Saturday in Shanghai before leaving about 1:30 AM on Easter Sunday Morning. Thus we were able to spend the entire day visiting the largest city in China (population = some say 20 others 30 million of the 1.4 billion in the country) the multi-cultural and modern Shanghai. I had spent a few days here with Sandi in 1986, but the place has totally been transformed. I recalled vividly, walking down the Bund (causeway along the waterfront actually Wai Tan Road) with all the old colonial (French, English) buildings on one side and the open river on the other overlooking barren land. Few if any tall buildings were present. However now, the pudong pastureland opposite (on a separate island) looks somewhat like the Manhattan, New York Skyline. Recreational buildings line the banks of the river on the Bund side making it impossible to see the river and throughout, high rise residential and business towers dominate the city. We were fortunate to have a bright sunshine filled day, albeit chilly in the morning and late evening, as apparently 200 days a year of rain are not uncommon.
Shanghai existed some 5000 years ago and by the 7th century, Hu Tu or Shen as it was called, existed as a fishing village. During the Song Dynasty (960-1279) it grew into a small trading Center, becoming a county seat by late 13th century and a city (with fortification against Japanese pirates) by 1533. By the 1700’s AD it was already an international trade Port, with cotton and tea being exported and then, opium being imported through the Colonial traders (mostly England and France) from India and many of the population became addicted to its properties. The “Opium Wars” started in 1840 and Shanghai was surrendered to the British in 1842. A bit of trivia – the first “Opium war” lasted 9 minutes as the steel hulled British navy with its cannons was no match for the Chinese wooden junks! It continued for a century with the Colonial powers growing stronger and richer and the local population poorer. Britain now held the “concessions” of Shanghai and Hong Kong and indeed Shanghai was divided into various sectors, most notably the British, American, Japanese (in 1895) and French (where my Aunt Yvonne & husband Pat Heenan lived in the 1940’s) under the control of France and England etc. Even today, these sectors are referred to by their colonial names and appearance of the streets and old houses differ from the traditional Chinese, resembling European cities. Shanghai reverted to Chinese rule after WW2 with Chairman Mao Zedong taking control in 1949. During the period of foreign domination it was known as “The Paris of the East” or ” The Whore of The Orient”.
We boarded the coaches after going through the modern and extensive cruise terminal, with its signage “Civilized Behaviors, Enjoyable Trips” having stamped and barcoded copies of our passport in hand which were scanned by the authorities. It took about an hour and a half to reach the Center of Shanghai, mainly due to the road traffic. It is incredible the amount of traffic at all times of the day, despite certain vehicle transit restrictions. We were amused by all the laundry being placed out to dry on folding racks outside the windows of the high rise buildings. Our guide was brilliant, spoke excellent Ehglish and kept us informed exceptionally well. She did keep referring to “The Government ….” Tell’s us what to do, where to live, takes care of us etc. which we found very interesting and were told that Westerners are (not derogatorily) know as “long noses” due to our relatively longer noses. Another interesting point was that there are over 1000 buildings now in Shanghai that are over 26 stories high. After driving, fortunately it was Saturday as traffic is a lot worse during the week, through parts of the city we were let off in the old part to wander around the amazing buildings and see and smell the food and local wares being sold everywhere. An incredible sight and sensory overload. Our first destination was the Yu Yuan Garden. This small Ming Dynasty style garden was originally laid out in the mid 16th century and took 18 years to complete. It is filled with rocks, ponds, Koi fish, bridges, plants, trees and pagodas. Some of the rocks were so big one walked through them as if passing from one “secret” garden to the next. We were lucky to be there early as by the time we were leaving it was difficult to get around as crowds gathered. The pagodas, dragon carvings, peaked roof and delicately carved animals in the roofs were spectacular. There was no doubt you were in the heart of “old China”. Today many foreigners as well as Chinese locals and tourists visit the gardens with good reason due to its beauty. There was the inevitable shop and some made purchases, although time was limited.
Our next visit, wandering through the narrow streets, was to the silk factory and showroom. Here we were taken through the various stages of making silk and the fact that the Mulberry tree was the only thing eaten by these silkworms. Apparently some cocoon dropped into a noble lady’s tea and upon extraction, was found to produce a strong filament, thus the silk trade we know today, was born. We could have spent hours wandering and looking through the various areas, but we settled on silk comforters and returned to the meeting point, to continue our wander through the old city and back onto the coach. Next on the itinerary was a visit to the Jade Buddha Temple, so named because of the 1 ton solid Jade Buddha, encrusted with jewels, donated by a monk from Burma in 1882. As we entered the Temple grounds, we learned that it was originally built in 1882, destroyed during the 1911 revolution and rebuilt between 1918 and 1921. It consists of various buildings, some of which are still under construction. The first of the older buildings consisted of two life sized gold leaf Buddhas back to back. The one facing the entrance was the guardian of the evil spirits and the one at the back was the “laughing Buddha”. Other more than life sized gold leaf male effigy guardians were placed in pairs on both side walls facing the central Buddhas. Faithful worshippers bringing oil and incense intermingled with Chinese and Foreign tourists. In each room a table and official were seated who were the recipients and recorders of tribute / financial contributions made by the faithful for the temple, much like we tithe or pledge and pay to our churches. The second temple, consisted of even larger Buddah’s (3 facing the entrance, with the central one being “the Master”), flanked on the side walls by 24 guardians (a dozen on each wall) with different poses and some with instruments of knowledge and religion. A large wooden drum, when struck, called the worshippers to the altar and prayer. The third building, and furthest from the entrance, contained a central patio with gardens and fountains. A rickety wooden staircase led up to the hall of the Jade Buddha. Unfortunately no photography was permitted, and one pays attention to the rules here, so no sneaking a picture! The large room with it’s central figure was incredibly impressive, as was all the decoration in the room. Panels in the walls had scriptures, some 250 odd Gold Buddah’s were placed in small (6 inch) niches in the ceiling and other smaller jewel encrusted and Jade Buddhas were placed around the room. A terrific Chinese carpet covered the entire floor and was obviously custom built for the space. We stood in the room, guarded by both surveillance as well as an individual, for some 15 minutes while the guide gave us a detailed explanation. The fourth and final temple had a reclining white Jade Buddha, which was also impressive. It was interesting to see that the roof of the older buildings was made of wood and tile whereas the newer part under construction seemed to be made of plastic.
At this point it was time to wend our way back to the coach and the 1 1/2 hour treck back to the ship, through security and immigration – a 5-10 minute walk inside the terminal and back onto the ship for dumping our treasures and getting some lunch as the afternoon / evening tour was to start about an hour after our arrival. While on the ship we were able to see the beginning of the set up for the afternoon’s special Chocolate Extravaganza celebrating Easter. However it was to start while we were off the ship for the evening tour. We were lucky that upon our return at 10PM, part of it was still up to see. An amazing sense of the artistry of the talented Philippine carvers and decorators on board. There were eggs, rabbits and all kinds of creatures in ice, chocolate and painted styrophone decorating tables filled with chocolate deserts / puddings, cup cakes, chocolate mousse, chocolate truffles, chocolate everything, plus a cheese station and a bread station. However I digress! We boarded the coaches to take the 2 hour ride back into Shanghai and to the Nanhua restaurant for a nice Chinese dinner – egg drop soup, Pork, yams, dumplings, rice, tofu, carrot fingers marinated, beef with peas, eggplant, bok choi, fish etc all in private rooms of 10 around a table. Very good meal. The objective of the outing however, was the Shanghai. Acrobatic show and what an amazing event that was. One truly unbelievable act following another. Two men on loose line ropes above one another, performing unbelievable acts, including with mono cycles; a young girl balancing one handed on a raised orb for 10 minutes, while doing aerial splits and lateral moves; a woman magician producing hundreds of cards from apparently nowhere; a woman balanced inside a large hula-hoop gyrating and travelling all over the stage; men jumping on seasaw’s landing 20 feet up on the shoulders of another column of people standing on each other’s shoulders; men passing hats from one to another’s head to another and juggling hats; and the final act being of 8 motorcyclists travelling around inside a circular, global shaped metal cage. One act even more spectacular than the last. We were then fortunate to see Shanghai at night with all it’s buildings well lit up in very creative ways like just the roofs or blue vertical stripes, on our 1 1/2 hour ride back to the ship. Upon our return we went to the Chocolate extravaganza previously mentioned and caught most of the ship’s evening show which was also Shanghai Acrobats. A similar show, but not as extensive and with some different acts. So ended a full day about midnight.
The evening guide who called herself Esther, regaled us during the journey of her personal life and the distress of being over 30 and not married. One interesting item was that she lived in an apartment provided by the Government, that had three rooms, one for each family, sharing a common kitchen and one toilet / bathroom. She had one room, an older couple another and a younger couple the third. It is also interesting to see that many independent businesses exist, despite all real estate being owned by the government. However there is apparently some way of personal ownership / long term leasing that exists. Many US brands – Starbucks, KFC, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Haagen-Dazs even UK Costa Coffee and IKEA were seen all over the place. I was amused by a night club called “Same Song Part World Club” – many signs are in both Chinese as well as English. Construction was everywhere, some using traditional bamboo scaffolds, others modern metal, painted yellow to look like bamboo. Mag Lev trains travelling at 450 KPH (280 MPH), 11 Subway / Metro lines, an efficient bus system and elevated motorways make public transportation easy, albeit time consuming with the vehicular traffic. The government is responsible for on time delivery of services and if the subway is late for example, the employee is not penalised for tardy arrival. The blossoms, being early Spring were out in full glory and the clean streets, ultra modern buildings, punctuated occasionally with traditional architecture and colonial structures, traffic jams, omnipresent laundry outside Windows made the vibrant city a very exciting place to visit.
Roger & Anne Travels 