Jump to other days to view the days in chronological order:
Day 1: Arrival in China
Day 2: The Forbidden City
Day 3: The Great Wall of China
Day 4: Christmas in Beijing
Day 5: Shanghai's Pudong
Day 6-9: Guilin and Yangshuo
Days 10-12:
The day started with a visit to the Shanghai’s most popular dumpling eatery, Din Tai Fung. The meal was amazing, beats any XLB dumpling you can find in the states. It was located in Xin Tiandi, an area of shikumen (stone tentaments). It’s a redeveloped traditional complex. Nice compromise between the traditional architecture of Shanghai and modern functionality. A drive through the French Concession was pleasant with a quick drive by the Soho of Shanghai called Taikang Lu Art Street.
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The Yu Gardens and Bazarr was quite a scene. It’s basically a Fisherman’s Wharf/Pier 39 equivalent. So many people. Thank goodness for the Starbucks, we would have never made it through. Getting jacked up on caffeine helps us battle the crowds. The Huxintin Teahouse and charming walkway was nice minus the 10,000 people occupying it at any given time. Yu Yuan is the Ming dynasty gardens. There were some cool rock formations and a cool dragon wall. Supposedly the rockery is one of the best and represents the peaks, caves, and gorges of southern China.
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The Bund (also known as Zhongshan Lu) is the single landmark of Shanghai. It was the heart of colonial Shanghai, flanked on one side by the Huangpu River and the other by the British style hotels, banks, and other institutions, a symbol of western commercial power. We saw the Customs House, Former Palace hotel, Peace hotel, Bank of China, etc. Of course, there were the grand views of Pudong. The Oriental Pearl TV Tower was completed in 1994. It was the first modern tower to rise above the rubble of the peasant homes that once fringed the river. It’s 1,500 feet and is China’s most recognizable modern icon.
We took a left off the Bund onto Fu Zhong Lu, heading towards the People’s Park. Nice park, saw a kid getting lifted in the air to pee. Just like we were warned. Garmin nuvi got us home.
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We ended our China adventure with a trip to the wet market, which is that same as our farmer's market, minus the exotic eels, snakes and other creatures for sale.
We had a wonderful time in China. Our hosts, Kathy and Carson made the trip extra special. It really helped that they spoke the language. They have to deal with China on a daily basis and we are not quite sure how they do it. It's a tough place to live. You really have to fight for the comforts of home. But they are on a great adventure, living and working in China. It is quite the land of opportunities and for those that can make it there, we'll they can probably make it any where. As we boarded our plane back to the U.S. (we luckily got upgraded to business class), we were sad to leave but happy to get home to San Francisco, our home, and our Ginger. We left at 2 pm on Jan 2nd and arrived at 7:15 am on Jan 2nd. Our January 2nd lasted 38 hours and our jet lag lasted until Saturday where we both slept for 12 hours!
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