The first week of May in China is a holiday to celebrate 'May Day', and last May, my fellow foreign Teacher, Chiara Braccagni (Italian Teacher) and I decided to go to Xi'an for the week.
Well that was our plan before we discovered that we couldn't get a train ticket in Suzhou. So we decided to go to Shanghai and see if we could get tickets there. No such luck.
Stuck for what to do, we immediately set about looking for accomodation, only to discover that all the hostels were full. We were however directed to a local 'Chinese' Hotel (as opposed to 'foreigner' hotel). Given our resident status, they let us stay.
The Hong Kong Hotel was located in a back street, about 10 minutes from the Bund.
We spent two days in the area before taking the train to HangZhou, where we spent a couple of days exploring 'West Lake'; and visiting "Shaoxing" about which I have already written at Magic City.
The photos contained in this file are nothing spectacular, but for those who have never been to Shanghai, or never been to China, they might offer some insights. To assist you find hotels and tours in Shanghai, here are some links.
Shanghai Sightseeing
At the Hong Kong in Shanghai
Directly opposite the hotel, sitting all lonely, was this lovely red chair. Chiara decided to keep it company. No one seemed to mind!
Not far from our hotel was this little street which was opposite a little bridge. Nothing Special!
From the little bridge, one could see this nice view. There was a park running along the left of the river. Our hotel was located on the left, past that bridge which you see.
We were walking over that little bridge when we ran into a Finnish Girl, who told us she would take us to the Bund. Along the way we crossed this little bridge. (Down from the one previous.)
That's Chiara on the left, and the blond on the right is Mervi (?). This picture was actually taken in the hopes of getting a good shot of the Bride and Groom in the background.
The area in the photo below, is behind Mervi as you see her in the photo above.
Along the esplanade.
As much as this looks like a nice area - and indeed it is - it is a terrible place to just 'sightsee'.
The most 'seen sight' is that of the foreigners telling the hawkers to get lost.
I went there on my own the second day while Chiara and Mervi went to the museum, and I gave up on the hawkers after about 10 minutes. When you are with someone it is easier to ignore the blighters. When you are on your own it is a nightmare.
Close-ups of the Victorian Architecture.
A Very interesting photo with an interesting story!
This is one of those special photographs that later, well after the event, you ask yourself: 'Why did I take this?' 'Where was I when I took it?' As for the next photo, I know exactly where I was - but for quite sometime afterward, I didn't have a clue!
This photograph was taken at the far end of the Bund. It was from here that Chiara, Mervi and I took off for a little walk to a park and beyond.
Lost in Shanghai
Leaving the Bund, we headed off to the nearby park that Mervi had visited the previous day. As we walked and talked, we each thought the other knew where they were going. We had a wonderful walk, and came across an interesting series of sculptures outside a bank.
I seem to remember that it was at this point in our journey that Chiara and I asked Mervi where we were headed. That's when we discovered that she thought we were travelling in a specific direction.
Well, that certainly made the situation interesting. We grabbed our maps and tried to figure out where we were. Eventually, with that sorted out, Mervi planned a way to get back where we started, and along the way, we took a couple of detours to investigate some interesting looking places.
A Wishing Tree
One apparently 'buys' a red ribbon with some weighty thing on the end and throws it into the special tree. If the ribbon sticks, your wish is granted. If not, there's a good chance you will hit someone on the head.
This is in the same alley as the wishing tree, but honestly I have no idea where we were. After we left we just kept going in the general direction of our hotel and eventually ended up in a 'walking street'.
Eventually we found our bearings and made our way back to the hotel. Mervi it transpired, was in another hotel in the same street as ours. The following day she took off to Xi'an, having been lucky enough to score a ticket upon her arrival in Shanghai.
An Art Gallery
At one end of the Bund, there is a rather interesting looking place. You can't miss it, it has a rather interesting triangular sculpture or something on the top deck.
Down below, at the bottom of the sculptured walls, is the "Shanghai Patriotic Promotion Site" which contains an art gallery. Chiara who was frustrated by my lack of interest in museums, was not at all keen on looking at art. (It was probably like Coffee and Pizza - not as good as the Italian Version).
Nevertheless, I found the art so interesting, that while she and Mervi spent the second day browsing in the museum, I returned to the art gallery. They had one particular and unsigned oil painting that was in the exact same style as several of my own paintings of Paris, painted by Elizabeth Lane, former wife of Australian Artist Harold Lane.
It is definitely worth taking a stroll down there - better than being conned into visiting the studios of the Art Students who pester you to go with them to their dubious and financially inspired 'art houses'.
Well this was not what might be called an 'arty' look at Shanghai, but as I am only an hour away by 'fast train', I will probably do a more thorough job of presenting photos at some time in the future.
Having purchased train tickets to Hangzhou, Chiara and I left Shanghai and set off on what proved to be a very tiring trip. At the Shanghai train station, I managed to take a photo of a sign in typical 'Chinglish'. Hope you like it!
I hope you have enjoyed this little excursion!
Searching for hotels in Shanghai try:
Shanghai Hotels
