Shanghai

SHANGHAI

This historic bridge changes colors....blue, purple, green, red, yellow...

Looking across the river, at "The Bund", from the Oriental Pearl Tower's observation level

Downtown Shanghai

Tonia took us all out to an AMAZING buffet dinner, with lasagna, potato salad, ........ Thank you!

Tonia had come to the U.S., as a "Chinese Language and Culture" teacher in Battle Ground School District, in 1989.  She still travels internationally, as an educator.  Tonia is another "daughter" of Barb and John Rogers.

We spent most of a day in the Shanghai Museum.

Can you find me in this photo?

Most of the items in the Shanghai Museum were private collections, stashed outside of China during the Cultural Revolution of the 1960's, and, since then, returned to be on display in this museum.  There were galleries for bronze-ware, stone sculpture, water-color painting, red-ink stamps (known as "chops"), calligraphy, clothing and fashion, jade, furniture, coins and currency, the Silk Road, ceramics and porcelain........A  window into the history, art, and culture of CHINA.

We took the sight-seeing bus on its entire route through the city, during the day-time, and then (again) at night.  This gave us a good overview of Shanghai.

Most of our trip was on an open-topped bus.

We stayed at the Blue Mountain Backpackers' Hostel for one week.

Our hostel was close to Nanjing Road pedestrian street.

We spent a day exploring Yu Yuan Gardens.

Xintiandi district of renovated homes, now used as shops and expensive apartments

An artist drew sketches of life in Shanghai during the early 1900's.

Inside a restored home.....elegantly furnished

The Chinese Communist Party had its first meetings in Shanghai.

Some Chinese people have suffered greatly in Shanghai.  Originally, the Party gave them hope for better lives.

We spent most of a day at the Shanghai Planning and Exhibition Hall.

There was a HUGE room-sized model of the city of Shanghai.

Yes!!!  Lots of emphasis on planting trees and making Shanghai GREEN.

Some of the exhibits had come directly from the World's Fair 2010, the big EXPO in Shanghai, China.

Most of the pavilions of EXPO have already been torn down.  We had heard that the China Pavilion (which will stay, and appears in this city model) would be re-opened while we were in Shanghai.  But, no, the opening date was delayed.

Another floor of the museum had historic Communist Party posters.

Happy, happy, happy.......

The Oriental Pearl  (TV)  Tower has become the most-recognizable symbol of Shanghai.

We visited it during the day-time, and again at night.

We were lucky enough to have short lines, when we went up inside the tower.

I'm really not crazy about glass floors, in ANY of these big towers!

Chris is more comfortable with extreme heights.

We could not afford to visit the level with the revolving restaurant .....simlar to the Space Needle in Seattle. 

We did visit the "gaming" level, a huge arcade of kids' games.  There was also a roller-coaster on this level, that I thought that I could work up the courage to ride......Sadly, the assistant pointed to a sign and told us that we were "too elderly."    What???

We went UNDER the river in this train-car, on a rail system, through a wildly-lit tunnel.

Lights, music, and wild sound effects, all the way!

On our very last day in Shanghai, we went to see the most incredible Buddha of all....a solid-piece-of-JADE Buddha.  150 years ago, a guy brought 5 of these jade Buddhas from Myanmar, all the way across Tibet, and then had temples built around each one. 

There was a reclining Buddha in another room of the temple complex.

Other random photos from our week in Shanghai:

Market Street

Transport

Having my Teva sandals repaired by a street vendor...... I actually had these shoes repaired 3 times (different parts) while in China, as I wore them a lot, and tried to live the "reduce, reuse, recycle, refuse" motto.

Store window display....good Halloween costume, I think.

About a ba-zillion rubber-bands for sale