Shanghai'ed and Other Stories

Thursday, June 24

Today was our free day in Shanghai. Since one of my two items on my free day list was crossed off on Tuesday, I only had one destination to really hit today, and that was the Propaganda Poster Art Center. After a morning of sleeping in late and a later breakfast, we headed out to the French Concession. This required the use of a cab, my first such experience in China! Of course the cabbie didn't speak English (not that I expected him to), so we pretty much had to trust that he would get us there with no issues. Which, he did! As long as you ignore the fact that he tried to mow down a street full of people. You just have to love the Chinese and their driving! My alarm clock this morning was actually the honks of cars outside on the street!

The poster museum was hard to find, but so worth it. It was in the basement of an apartment building. It was definitely confusing. There were posters from the 1940s to the 1970s, and you really got an idea of the brainwashing that was taking place. It was interesting to see the United States depicted as a soldier with green skin and talons for fingers. What I was really surprised to see was a poster asking the Chinese to support the civil rights movement in the U.S. in the 60s. I had hoped to buy a copy of that poster, but unfortunately they didn't have it for sale in the gift shop. I did pick up a copy of one poster for a cool $15. It will be a nice addition to the classroom.

After the museum several of us decided to head back to the hotel because of a light falling rain that we were afraid would ruin our posters. After a short rest, Mona, Jennifer and I went over to Nanjing Road to grab some lunch and to look around a bit. We even found a Dunkin Donuts where we sat for a while and just enjoyed a relaxed pace instead of our usual frantic one. We have an early morning tomorrow, so we all turned in early to get our bags packed and get some sleep. That 5:00 meeting time is going to come awful early in the morning. Tomorrow it is off to Xi'an!

Location: The Bund Riverside Hotel, Shanghai
Tooth Update: Still no issues. That's a good thing!
Weather Update: Slight rain, but nice low temperatures. Good day overall!


Wednesday, June 23

Today we headed off to a once in a lifetime event - the 2010 World Expo. The World Expo is essentially the world's fair, without the deep fried Oreos, Spandex, and mullets. We were dropped off at the MASSIVE site, at one of the eight gates where busses were allowed to park. I had no idea how many people I would be running into over the course of the day, but if the parking lot was any indicator at all, it would be a few hundred thousand.

We got to the Expo site at 10:00, and we were told that if we wanted to take the bus back to meet at 6:00. Not really knowing what would be in store for me, I didn't know if eight hours was going to be enough, or was going to be too much. I paired up with Amy and we set out with a common goal - just do whatever hits us!

The World Expo has pavilions from many countries around the world. Each country uses the Expo as a showcase for itself, and how it is fitting in with the Expo's main theme of "Better City, Better World." Amy and I decided that we would just go to the pavilions with little to no line. Some pavilions such as Saudi Arabia and Japan had wait lines of up to five hours! So, needless to say, we didn't see the most popular pavilions, but it was still nice. The Chinese did an excellent job with the logistics of the event, from having many benches available, fan misters for cooling, and bathrooms that gave you the choice of squat toilets or REAL toilets! Score!

When we got back on the bus, our guide Tony told us that the temperature at noon was 95 degrees, and that at 4:00 the estimated crowd was 370,000. There was a lot of pushing and shoving (pretty much the only thing about the Chinese that has been making me crazy - that, and I keep having my picture taken). It was a long day, and my feet were killing me by the time we made it back to the hotel. It was nice to be able to sit down, put my feet up, and relax!

Location: The Bund Riverside Hotel, Shanghai
Tooth Update: No issues!
Weather Update: As stated, hot. But not too humid, so not killer!


Tuesday, June 22

Well, today we arrived in Shanghai, and the first impression? Crowded. Really really crowded. Shanghai is a relatively small city with a massive population - at least 17 million people, though unofficial counts right now put the number at around 25 million people. Add to that the massive amount of people here for the World Expo, plus the fact that Shanghai is a major banking and business center for Asia, and you have a LOT of people in one location. If you know anything about me, you know that crowds make me crazy (crazier?). Shanghai is going to be a sheer feat of strength for me to get through.

We were originally scheduled to visit another garden this morning, but for whatever reason, we didn't. Instead we visited a Buddhist temple. It of course was packed, but it was still possible to view the beauty of the place. I did get upset at the temple though. It was overrun with tourists, and you have to remember that this is a temple, an active place of worship. People were coming in trying to pray and here we were (as well as a bunch of other people) just standing around listening to guides tell us about each room. It really disturbed me to think that I was interfering with someone who was trying to follow their beliefs. Maybe I was just being compassionate. Maybe the crowds were just overwhelming me. I don't know. The statues inside were amazing though, especially the Buddha carved out of a single piece to white jade (white jade is the rarest - and most expensive - of all).

After the tour, we had tea at a tea house inside the temple. There were 10 different types of tea to try. All of the teas here were medicinal teas. Each one targeted a specific area of the body. For example, there was one to help with arthritis. One to give you energy. One to help with headaches. Most of them were really tasty. It was nice to be able to sample so many different teas, and I have to admit that they were gorgeous in the glasses.

After the teas we went to lunch in this weird Chinese-Thai fusion place. It was truly bizarre. The food was good, but what was really strange was the stage show. Some of the Chinese workers got up in Thai traditional costumes and danced. The place was so touristy! It honestly felt like being in a second-rate Epcot pavilion. But, lunch was definitely needed for the next stop of our tour, which was a whirlwind trip through the Shanghai Museum. This museum is definitely world class. It covers Chinese history, and that is a lot to cover. Thousands of years of artifacts are contained within the walls of the museum, and I spent my time trying to get a quick look at everything inside. Chinese furniture, jade, bronze sculptures...all kinds of stuff. It was really interesting and I wish that I had more time to go through it. Oh well. Guess I will just have to hit that up on the next trip!

Our next stop was in the former French Concession. This was the part of Shanghai given over to the control of the French after the Opium Wars and the Treaty of Nanjing. We toured the museum that covered the creation of the Communist Party in Shanghai. This was a place that I had actually listed as something to do on my free day, so I am kind of glad that I was able to have the chance to tour it today so that I have time to do other things on the free day. It would have been nice to spend more time here as I felt a little rushed, but that tends to happen when you travel in groups - I am definitely not complaining, just stating a fact.

The next stop was just annoying - that's a complaint. We got dropped off on Nanjing Road, which is the major shopping street in Shanghai. You know, if you wanted to go to Cartier or buy a Rolex, this was the area for you. I'm getting kind of tired of all of the shopping time. Mona and I decided to just cross the street over to the Bund, the embankment of the Huangpo River, and just have a seat. Again, it was packed. You would be shocked at all of the stares that we get as Americans. I have had my picture taken so many times that it is starting to get ridiculous. Sitting at the Bund was no different. It was a relief to get back on the bus and head to the restaurant for dinner.

After dinner we got tied up on the pier waiting for our boat cruise on the Huangpo River. This place was PACKED!!! Luckily once on board the boat some of us were able to score some deckside seats. The weather was fantastic! The smog, unfortunately, was pretty horrible. Since we're now getting into the huge cities, smog is going to be more and more of a problem. It was hard to get good nighttime shots of the skyline due to the smog, but I did try! There we also had people taking our pictures. One lady got about three feet away from me (if that) and stuck her camera in my face and I had to tell her "no" repeatedly. It definitely isn't fun when you're the animal having your picture taken. It just felt really weird! People would get arrested for that kind of behavior in the States! After the boat docked we finally got to check into our hotel. It was another long day, and one that left me kind of agitated, but hey, I'm still in China. No reason to get too upset!

Location: The Bund Riverside Hotel, Shanghai
Tooth Update: Better today.
Weather Update: Gorgeous day, but smoggy!