Sunday, 16 December 2018

Shanghai, Day 2 - Silk, Precious Antiquities and "The Venice of the East"

There is nothing quite as luxurious as the soft, slinky, sensuous feel of silk and today we were off to a silk factory to learn about the history and production of this sublime thread. According to Chinese legend silk thread was discovered by accident in the 27th century BC when the Empress, Hsi Ling Shi, (Leizu) was sitting under a mulberry tree sipping tea when a silk cocoon fell into her tea and started to unravel.  She was fascinated by its silky thread so set about  developing a technique for spinning and weaving it into fabric.  Initially reserved for royalty, silk's fame gradually spread through Asia and it wasn't long before demand for silk led to the trade known as The Silk Road - at that time silk was considered to be more precious than gold. Over the centuries silk has become more affordable and accessible  and is now produced in many countries, however, China is still the major producer, cornering nearly two thirds of the market.

The labour intensive job of unraveling the silk
cocoon to remove the worm
Our tour of this modern day silk factory was fascinating and enlightening.  While machinery spins the yarn to make silk fabric,  many parts of the production are manual and labour intensive starting with the removal of the silk worm from it's cocoon, something that can only be done by hand. This requires having your hands in cold water for most of the day summer and winter. It is hard work for low pay so not surprising that no young people want to take on the job.  After watching the whole process of silk production we were invited to help stretch a small square cocoon of silk to the size of a quilt. It took some effort but we got there and were surprised at just how strong silk is.   The factory showroom was an Aladdin's cave of exquisite silk products and many of our group bought items, at very reason prices, at the end of the tour.

Stretching a small silk cocoon to the size of a duvet

Spectacular floral display, People's Square

Before lunch we visited People's Square, central Shanghai,  to admire the spectacular plantings and enjoy the peaceful ambiance of the surrounding park. It is a popular spot for locals to perform Tai Chi or dance but was quiet when we were there in the middle of the day.

The square is the location of the Shanghai Museum, our destination for the afternoon.  Set in a stunning building designed to look like a ding, an ancient Chinese cooking vessel,  the museum, set over four levels, contains a comprehensive collection of Chinese art, ceramics, sculpture, furniture, jade, coins, calligraphy etc.  I love Chinese porcelain so particularly enjoyed that gallery. I was also fascinated by the elaborate, antique furniture in the furniture gallery and the display of traditional costumes from various parts of China.  It is an excellent museum, considered to be one of the best in China, and the perfect place to look at and learn about rare and precious Chinese antiquities.

Exquisite porcelain and national costumes at The Shanghai Museum

Late in the day we drove 50kms out of the city to visit Zhujiajiao, one of Shanghai's ancient water towns.  The village, home to only 300 families, is 1700 years old with many of its buildings dating from the Qing and Ming periods. 

Known as "The Venice of the East" it is a charming place, with weeping willows arching over the ancient trade canals and old houses nestled together along the alleys and canal banks.  It is like walking into one of those romantic paintings of old China. Unfortunately, its beauty has led to a massive influx of tourists, ourselves included!  

"Venice of the East", Zhujiajiao

When we arrived the village was crowded but nevertheless pleasant enough to stroll beside the canals, up and down the narrow alley ways and over some of the village's 36 stone, humped back bridges.  Our group was a pretty adventurous lot so managed to get off the main tourist paths at times and find quiet little corners to enjoy the beauty and tranquility of the place. In order to retain its character residents may alter the interior of their homes as much as they like but cannot alter the exterior.  Most of the lower floors of the two storey houses are given over to shops, food stalls and restaurants, selling everything from roasted scorpions and spiders, to more palatable, to my mind anyway, roast pork wrapped in leaves and duck.  As the day turned to dusk the town emptied out until it seemed there was just our group and the villagers left.  It was so peaceful beside the canals  as the sun dipped below the trees and the lanterns gradually come on,  their light shimmering in the water. We had dinner in the village followed by a very dreamy, step-back-in-time, canal side walk through this ancient village and back to our bus.

Zhujiajiao by night

What a great day, with plenty of time to reflect on what we had seen during the bus ride back to the hotel. 

Two more views of Zhujiajiao

Here are some things of note about Shanghai:

*Shanghai is China's most populated city with 25m residents

*The streets are very clean and there is no graffiti anywhere
*Billboards and advertising hoardings are relatively rare
*All the major roads around the city are adorned with colourful baskets of
Apartment buildings trimmed with lights
flowers attached to the safety railings
*Spectacular floral displays around the city are constructed from hundreds of   very small pot  plants
*It's smoggy but not every day
*They love lights, even  apartment buildings are elaborately decorated with lights
* And despite being officially an atheist country there were Christmas decorations  everywhere!

I really enjoyed Shanghai and would happily return at some stage but we were off to our next destination, Xian.

Wednesday, 5 December 2018

Shanghai, China, The Paris of the East, Day 1

 It has been 25 years since my husband and I visited Hong Kong and China so I thought it was about time I went and had another look. I was interested to see how much China had changed in the years since.  In 1993 we were aware that the UK would soon be returning the governance of Hong Kong to China and we wanted to see it before then because we were unsure of what its future would hold. 
In a Cantonese Village 1993
  China had only started to emerge from its self imposed isolation in 1978 and we were keen to see life there before the overwhelming influences of the outside world took hold.  At that time the streets were still thick with bicycles, millions and millions of bicycles, many people still wore  grey or navy blue Mao suits and my husband and I, both blue eyed blondes, were often trailed down the street by a crowd of people staring curiously at the weird foreigners. 

Canton 1993 - Mao suits and carrying baskets
That tour took us through the district of Canton, the closest part of China to Hong Kong, and although we traveled on a relatively modern bus the roads were so primitive and pot holed that, on one occasion, it took us a whole day to travel 40 miles. 

Chinese road workers in 1993. Their only tools, a pick, a shovel and old style wheelbarrows. Note they are wearing sandals.   No wonder the roads were bad.
It was a great trip and I was so pleased to have seen China at that point in its history. As it happened I returned to Hong Kong several times for work and found nothing much had changed after the hand over in 1997, it was still busy, buzzy, capitalist and exciting.

This year I wanted to see the changes in China, also to visit some of its iconic sights and tick them off my bucket list so  I joined a Wendy Wu tour which took me to three great cities, Shanghai, Xian and Beijing.

Joining a tour group is always interesting. You are a group of strangers thrown together to spend a lot of time sharing the same experiences. Our group numbered 29 and I can't believe how lucky we were to have such a great crew. Everyone got on well, everyone was interested and interesting and although subgroups of like minded people formed we were altogether a happy, harmonious group. 

Our Wendy Wu Tour Group at the City Square, Shanghai

TIP FOR SOLO TRAVELERS: take the plunge and join a tour group.   You will not feel like a loose wheel, there are always other singles and, in fact, our group consisted of 19 singles and only 5 couples.  It makes sightseeing fun to have others to share it with.

For some reason I had always wanted to visit Shanghai, I guess because it has featured in several novels I have read and carries an air of romance about it. It was the least Chinese of the cities we visited and, I would venture, probably the least Chinese of China.  As the country's financial centre it is a modern, cosmopolitan, affluent city with a population of around 25 million, also home to the worlds busiest container port. The British and French influences from the past are evident in the grand banks and hotels lining The Bund  so it is easy to imagine you are in Paris or London or any number of other European cities, in fact Shanghai is often referred to as "The Paris of the East". Turn around and look across the River Huangpu, though, and you are met with an astonishingly futuristic skyline.

Elegant buildings line The Bund

But first we were immersed in old world Shanghai during a visit to the magnificent Yu Garden.  Built in 1559  for the commissioner of Sichuan Province the garden covers two hectares and is a fine example of Chinese classical garden architecture, containing all the key features of a Chinese garden: stone, water, trees and architecture.  This is my kind of thing. I could have happily spent hours there although preferably when there were about 90% fewer people! It wasn't exactly tranquil. Outside the garden the modern world erupts with a Starbucks and a KFC prominently positioned in the very crowded adjoining square.

In the Yu Garden.  I managed some shots without the crowds!

Lunch was on a floating restaurant in the river overlooking a constantly changing view of  barges and river boats ferrying containers up from the port. Then we were off to the Shanghai Tower, one of three massive skyscrapers built in a cluster. The high speed elevator takes just 45 ear popping seconds to reach the 88th floor and then you are rewarded with an expansive view over the city, or you would be if the smog wasn't quite so dense. The most dramatic part was leaning over a light shaft through the centre of the building to view the lobby of the Grand Hyatt hotel 127metres below, not for the faint hearted!

Left: Shanghai from the Shanghai Tower.  It's a wee bit smoggy!

Right: looking down into the Grand Hyatt Lobby

Would we like a ride on the world's fastest train?  Would we ever! So next stop was the Maglev.  Driverless and computer controlled the train levitates above the track on powerful magnets. It reaches a top speed of 431 ks per hour and takes just 7 minutes 20 seconds to cover the 30kms to the airport, a journey that takes buses an hour.  It was a thrilling, exciting ride out to the airport and back. Two elderly American men sitting behind me spent the whole trip whooping with delight.

All this excitement!  It was time to calm down a little and take a gentle stroll along The Bund including a visit to the former HSBC Bank.  They don't build banks like that anymore!  Mosaic ceilings, marble pillars, gigantic lobbies, grandeur at every turn. The jaw dropping building is still a bank although no longer the HSBC.

   Marble pillars and mosaic ceilings

As the day turned to twilight we meandered leisurely, enjoying the scenery, the lights gradually coming on up and down the river and the crowds of locals enjoying a walk after work. I was fascinated by the elaborate walls of pot plants along the river bank making the perfect backdrop for wedding  couples having their photos taken.
This colourful wall is made up of very small individual pot plants

Our final activity for the day was a cruise on a river boat to view the magically lit waterfront of Shanghai.  It was the perfect end to a fantastic day of sightseeing. And tomorrow was another day.

You can view the cruise here:          (music - Dreaming by Wai Fat Chun)