DAY 6: FIRST DAY IN SHANGHAI

July 10, 2017

7/9/17

Hi World,

Shanghai is the largest and most cosmopolitan in China with a population of 24 million people. It was originally a fishing destination. “Hai” means see and “shang” means above. The growth started happening in the 19th century. It is also ranked number one in terms of shipping capacity. China is the second largest economy in the world according to GDP’s. Additionally, a street in Shanghai called Nanging Road is equivalent to Fifth Avenue in the United States.

We ate our last meal at the Regent in Beijing and headed to the airport for our travels to Shanghai, the most lively city in China (so they say). I was doubting the means of these words previous to coming and my critical senses were on high alert. Our fight got delayed by four hours before waiting on the flight for an hour previous to taking the short two hour flight to Shanghai. Finally we arrived! We met our tour guide Kevin (we became fast friends) and drove back to our local hotel Les Suites Oritental. That night, as expected, we couldn’t just sit on our behinds waiting for the action to come to us, now could we?? Of course not. We had a very eventful evening of dancing, singing, and drinks. Our first destination was to a live music bar and restaurant. They had some live singers who were fantastic, singing a repertoire of Chinese and English music. Well at a good 11:30 the Sabates family decided that it was time to party, so we headed to The Chop Chop Club a dancing destination with salsa music and many eclectic people from all over the world. Finally, we went back to our hotel before waking up seven hours later for our full day tour! But.. let me give you a quick summary of the history of this great city. Shanghai was built upon three colonial sections, the British, French and Chinese. Our hotel and the restaurants and clubs visited the first night were part of the British quarters in Shanghai known for its clubs and live music. The next day, we went to the Museum of Shanghai first, visiting the coin, sculpture, painting, copper, and jade galleries. A new British exhibit had just recently opened, but unfortunately I was not willing to wait five hours in line. Following, we went to the Jade Buddhist Temple in which is the headquarter for the Shanghai Buddhist Association and a school for the new and upcoming monks. Much of the Chinese population is Buddhist worshipping a Buddha of eternal peace. Once you have reached the eternal life, you essentially also reach a Nirvana like higher spiritual being. That is why many Buddha figures are pictured in a serene and content manner. Also, the Buddha structure is typically depicted with diamonds, gold, and jade to show its meaning and worth to the people. Then, we stopped for lunch at a typical Asian cuisine (what’s new) and ordered the noodles, dumplings, fried rice, and some chicken. Side note* You have not been to Shanghai if you haven’t eaten one of their dumplings. First, you slit a little hole in the doughy outer covering before sucking the juice out of the dumpling, dipping it into vinegar sauce and eating every morsel. Delicious! By this time we already had a member of the family stay home sick from the events that occurred the night before, and another two quickly dropped off at the hotel from nausea and exhaustion. Well what do you know, it was of course mom and I left to go to the Flower Garden in the Old Town by ourselves, and of course with my good friend Kevin. This was part of the Chinese colonial quarter and it shows in its architecture and residence. In the Old Town we got many stares and occasional photographs taken because we were the “foreign” visitors. As we were walking we spotted the street food of cooked bird, skinless and headless, as well as raw and slimy tongue out in the open. Bon Apetit… no thank you. We took the street route to the silk factory where we saw the evolution of a worm into pure silk from comforters to robes. 60 layers of a comforter is equivalent to the work of 6,000 cocoons. Next, we walked around the bridge that is supposed to represent longevity within your family, according to the locals. Finally, we went through the garden which was built by the son of a family who wanted to please his parents. Unfortunately, his father died and he went bankrupt before the completion of this garden, but the layout and architecture was beautiful and an extreme tourist attraction. At night, the family went to the French quarters, supposedly the most romantic of the three original colonies. It modeled the typical streets in Europe with its quaint restaurants, cafes, and shops. This section of Shanghai was a favorite for many of the wealthy Asian families and the tourists. We went to an italian restaurant before grabbing some ice cream at Haagen Daz. After a busy day we decided to hit the sack before another busy day.

Be Brave Today

XOXO

Lyricallivi