Shanghai Suprise

My big Shanghai Suprise is that my "conveniently located" hostel is 45 minutes from downtown Shanghai. Not the best, but at least the place is cool, clean and has some fun people!

I suffered from a little culture shock on my first evening when trying to find dinner. The food situation in the immediate neighborhood looked a little grim. I settled for peanut butter and crackers at the hostel. Thank God I had peanut butter!

Everything is better in the light of day, and I had fun full day of sightseeing on Friday. I joined the masses on the downtown bus (25 cent ride) and felt like I was arriving in New York. Downtown Shanghai feels like a mixture of NYC's tall buildings and Chinatown side streets. The streets are packed with 16 million people and in addition to cars, bikes are very popular. There is a small lane by each main road for motor and pedal bikes and it's packed! Although the streets are crowded like Cairo, the masses are very orderly here. Everyone crosses at the corner and pays attention to lights and traffic cops!

The premier attraction here is the Shanghai Museum. It is interesting that the best Chinese history museum is in China's most modern city. I found it to be the perfect museum and worth visiting Shanghai to see! The building is well designed, the collection was wonderfully curated, ticketing/guide system is efficient, great bathrooms and tea room, and you could take photos--all for $2.50! I want to move in!

I am overwhelmed by the ancient history of China. The Chinese have been making bronze pieces for over 4,000 years! The museum has over 400 pieces including some of the coolest wine vessels for rituals. I took some photos to steal the designs for Gallo-ha! The editors would get a kick out of these!

While all ancient civilizations made pottery, the Chinese invented porcelain over 3,000 years ago. The glaze work and high temperature firing is such an amazing accomplishment for the 16-11 century BC! Chinese porcelain was exported to the rest of the world in the 8th century AD, and we still serve special dinners on "the good China."

The last thing I will rave about is the ancient Chinese art of jade carving. The apprecation of jade has been a constant in China for over 7,000 years! They believe that jade has not only intrinsic beauty, but also mystical properties--like protection from evil. One of my favorite pieces was a beautiful "Divine Figure" carved over 4,000 years ago. The collection of white, green, purple and yellow jade pieces was truly something to see!

I feel like I gained a deeper appreciation for China's rich history in the arts. The furniture, calligraphy, art and sculpture collections were also wonderful. I now have a good frame of reference for my more historic travels in China...