In the belly of the rooster!
Nihao!
I just got back from my second Thanksgiving in China, and this time I spent the break a little further south in China, specifically, as my guide told us, in the belly of the rooster. :) She says that China is shaped like a rooster, and that Hangzhou and Shanghai are located where the belly of the rooster would be. I think someone looked at a map of China a little too long to come up with that one. Don't worry, I didn't show her what West Virginia is shaped like.
We started our trip in Hangzhou (pronounced Hangchu) where we saw a beautiful garden and a pagoda. We also saw a highly dramatized play of some of the area's legend and history. They mixed in strobe lights, computer effects, and some acrobatics for entertainment value, and it was actually pretty entertaining.
Next we headed over to Shanghai which is mostly famous as a commerce center due to it's massive port. Most of the sight-seeing here revolved around seeing the buildings in the district. The most famous area is called the Bund. This is what Wikipedia has to say about it:
"The Shanghai Bund has dozens of historical buildings, lining the Huangpu River, that once housed numerous banks and trading houses from Britain, France, the U.S., Russia, Germany, Japan, The Netherlands and Belgium, as well as the consulates of Russia and Britain, a newspaper, the Shanghai Club and the Masonic Club. The Bund lies north of the old, walled city of Shanghai. This was initially a British settlement; later the British and American settlements were combined in the International Settlement. A building boom at the end of 19th century and beginning of 20th century led to the Bund becoming a major financial hub of East Asia. The former French Bund, east of the walled city was formerly more a working harbourside."
We also spent some time in Pudong, where they have some crazy modern buildings, and oddly enough in China town. Yes, even China has a China town. This area is named as such because it is in the old, walled portion of the city. In addition to having beautiful ancient architecture and gardens, it is also full of pick-pockets, peddlars, and panhandlers. Some poor thief managed to pick my friend's hotel key, but nothing else. Due to the human hazards, I didn't take many pictures of this area for fear of losing my belongings, but I did negotiate a few bargains. :)
We saw a true acrobatics show while in Shanghai. We did this last year and found out in the process how miserable the poor little performers' lives are, but they again knocked our socks off. Not only do they stand on their own heads, but they stand on their friends heads too! The physical displays of strength, balance, and flexibility were breath-taking. We also took a couple of boat rides which gave us spectacular views of both cities. The water, as I'm sure you've read, is quite polluted in China, so we also had some less than spectacular views of waste.
We spent the last day of the trip eating incredible food and shopping our brains out. I am now the proud owner of a Prada purse and a large variety of squishy pigs.
I just got back from my second Thanksgiving in China, and this time I spent the break a little further south in China, specifically, as my guide told us, in the belly of the rooster. :) She says that China is shaped like a rooster, and that Hangzhou and Shanghai are located where the belly of the rooster would be. I think someone looked at a map of China a little too long to come up with that one. Don't worry, I didn't show her what West Virginia is shaped like.
We started our trip in Hangzhou (pronounced Hangchu) where we saw a beautiful garden and a pagoda. We also saw a highly dramatized play of some of the area's legend and history. They mixed in strobe lights, computer effects, and some acrobatics for entertainment value, and it was actually pretty entertaining.
Next we headed over to Shanghai which is mostly famous as a commerce center due to it's massive port. Most of the sight-seeing here revolved around seeing the buildings in the district. The most famous area is called the Bund. This is what Wikipedia has to say about it:
"The Shanghai Bund has dozens of historical buildings, lining the Huangpu River, that once housed numerous banks and trading houses from Britain, France, the U.S., Russia, Germany, Japan, The Netherlands and Belgium, as well as the consulates of Russia and Britain, a newspaper, the Shanghai Club and the Masonic Club. The Bund lies north of the old, walled city of Shanghai. This was initially a British settlement; later the British and American settlements were combined in the International Settlement. A building boom at the end of 19th century and beginning of 20th century led to the Bund becoming a major financial hub of East Asia. The former French Bund, east of the walled city was formerly more a working harbourside."
We also spent some time in Pudong, where they have some crazy modern buildings, and oddly enough in China town. Yes, even China has a China town. This area is named as such because it is in the old, walled portion of the city. In addition to having beautiful ancient architecture and gardens, it is also full of pick-pockets, peddlars, and panhandlers. Some poor thief managed to pick my friend's hotel key, but nothing else. Due to the human hazards, I didn't take many pictures of this area for fear of losing my belongings, but I did negotiate a few bargains. :)
We saw a true acrobatics show while in Shanghai. We did this last year and found out in the process how miserable the poor little performers' lives are, but they again knocked our socks off. Not only do they stand on their own heads, but they stand on their friends heads too! The physical displays of strength, balance, and flexibility were breath-taking. We also took a couple of boat rides which gave us spectacular views of both cities. The water, as I'm sure you've read, is quite polluted in China, so we also had some less than spectacular views of waste.
We spent the last day of the trip eating incredible food and shopping our brains out. I am now the proud owner of a Prada purse and a large variety of squishy pigs.
posted by Claire | 5:41 PM
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