Shanghai

I was lucky to have my second trip to Shanghai two weeks ago as Papa T had business there. We arrived on a Sunday afternoon and Papa T suggested we take the Maglev train into the city, the Shanghai Maglev line is the first commercially operated high speed magnetic levitation line in the world 

Both the station and incoming train were unbelievably clean and shiny

and the train journey was very quick with a top speed of over 300km/h (186mph in old money)

once dropping off our bags we went out to explore, nearby was the Oriental Pearl TV Tower

 It was a beautiful winter's day with clear skies, (unusual for Shanghai) but with the temperature at -6 and a brisk wind it actually felt like -13 and we soon felt frozen!  

We headed inside the tower to warm up and visit the well regarded history museum in the basement, you first see a very ornate wedding sedan chair

I really loved the nearly life size model of an 'old Shanghai street

We then took the lift up the 468m (1,500ft ) high tower to the second observation sphere 

where we had a stunning view of Shanghai at dusk

and braving the severe cold stepped out onto the glass floor of the Aerial Sightseeing Corridor which runs around the sphere at 269m,  looking down the ground seemed a long way down

By now thoroughly chilled to the bone (a sensation that we had not felt for quite some while) we returned to the hotel to warm up, unfortunately the hotel lobby, restaurant and bar area were all only a little warmer than outside so we kept our coats on as we ate and hurried up to our warm room.

The next day was just as cold but now with more clothing and two pairs of socks on I took the metro  to People's Park and had a brisk walk around

and as it was just too cold to do outside 'stuff' visited the Shanghai Museum. The museum's architecture is said to resemble an ancient bronze 'ding'- a three legged cooking vessel

I know very, little about Chinese art, furniture, calligraphy, ceramics, seals or jade but found the museum fascinating with separate gallery devoted to each subject and spent half a day learning a little about each. My favourite piece was this Tang dynasty horse

The following day it was again cold but fine and bright and I decided to head out of the city to the Sheshan National Forest Park. My guide book suggested this was a fairly easy trip by metro and local bus but I found it a little bit of a challenge. Getting the metro was easy but finding the right local bus  was a bit harder as no-one spoke english and I could not make out the Chinese characters. I got on a bus but it terminated at a theme park, before my destination, I could see the hill I was heading to in the distance so started to walk towards it. There were no houses or shops along the empty road but by good fortune after 20 minutes or so I came across a sign to a hotel where they spoke some english and called a taxi to take me to the Forest Park.

The Forest Park was not quite as 'forested' as I had thought but it was very pleasant walking in the sunshine up the hill, through the trees and bamboos 

then coming across a tall pagoda

and a pretty little rest area

then at the top there's the Shanghai Astronomical Museum with great views of the Shanghai suburbs

and the catholic Basilica of Notre Dame. All of it's stained glass windows had been destroyed in the Cultural Revolution but these are gradually been replaced-sadly no photographs were allowed to be taken inside.

Walking back down the hill I took a different path and found a Buddhist temple

I find it fascinating that there should be a Catholic Basilaica and a Buddhist temple on the same small hill!

 I then had the challenge of getting back to the city. There was no sign of any taxis but at the nearby bus stop I was relieved to see that the bus timetable had 1 stop written in English-'Sheshan Metro". I smiled at the man waiting at the bus stop and through miming and pointing at the bus timetable he understood me and waved down the next bus, he spoke to the stern looking bus conductress and indicated I should get on. I did and paid my fare-1 yuan-approx 10 UK pence. 

I was hoping I would recognise where we were going and the metro station stop but it all seemed unfamiliar. After a while the still very stern looking conductress put her red flag out of the bus window and when the bus stopped, she said something to me and shooed my off. I did as I was told but couldn't see the station, so followed the other 2 people who had got off the bus, luckily it turned out they were also going to the metro station and I was soon on my way back to the city.

Two thoughts struck me, 1- how difficult it must be travelling independently around rural China unless you can speak Chinese and read characters and 2-my father was right when he said the vast majority of people are kind and willing to help a lost traveller.

Back in the city centre I decided to get lost again but this time in the French Concession area with it's warren of tiny traditional alleyways of Tiang Zi Fang. Most of the little houses are now boutiques, galleries and cafes.

And only a short distance away the complex of Xintiandi which has rebuilt many of the buildings in the old Shikumen or stone-gate house style. 

I visited the small open house museum furnished with traditional and period furnishings

I could imagine how packed this pretty area must be in the height of summer with it's courtyard bars and restaurants, now practically deserted due to the cold weather

That evening we were taken for a delicious meal at a Yunnan Restaurant-Lost Heaven followed by a freezing walk along the Bund. The view at night across to Pudong, the Oriental Pearl Tower and the other beautifully illuminated skyscrapers is stunning

With a quick stop to admire and pat the Shanghai Bull, Papa T declined to stroke the bull's genitalia which I've since heard is rumoured to bring good luck, hope that doesn't mean we have bad luck this year!

The next day the weather had changed, it was now +6 but very wet. I chose to visit two temples that I had not seen on my last trip to Shanghai; first the Jing'an Buddhist Temple with it's traditional style roof looking incongruous against the ultra modern buildings surrounding it.

This statue of Guanyin has been carved out of 1000year old camphor tree

During the Cultural Revolution the temple was stripped of it's religious statues and turned into a plastics factory, it burned to the ground in 1972. For the last decade restoration has been ongoing and whilst I was there a crane was lifting a huge, wrapped statue into the main hall

Carrying on in the pouring rain I next visited the Jade Buddha Temple, Shanghai's most sacred shrine and an active Buddhist monastery 

I've noticed that many temples have peaceful courtyards with bonsai trees, interesting stones and sculptures

On the way to the Jade Buddha hall there was this intricate carving which had coins placed or balanced in the grooves- I guess for good fortune or wealth. Maybe it's the same as throwing a coin into a fountain for luck.

Unfortunately photographing the Jade Buddha statue is banned, so I can't show it to you but I can say  it is very impressive at nearly 2 meters high and looks very serene 

The rest of the temple is equally beautiful with huge statues and carvings

The last day the weather was particularly wet and my view of the Pudong side from the Bund was shrouded by fog, at least I think it was fog not smog

After a thoroughly wet walk I popped into a shopping mall to dry off a bit and was amazed to see this  winding escalator, I've never seen one like this before 

Over the last few weeks, in fact as soon as Christmas had passed, Singapore has been putting up red lanterns and decorations everywhere and Lunar New Year markets have suddenly appeared. I was looking forward to being in China and seeing how they prepared for the Chinese New Year but so far in Shanghai had seen little evidence of the forthcoming celebration. I asked a few locals and they seemed pretty unexcited about the whole thing, unlike the Singaporeans who seem to talk of nothing else for weeks.

Finally on my last afternoon I found some CNY decorations, at the Yu Yuan gardens and bazaar area. Huge figurines on floating stages depicting Chinese folk tales

and at last a monkey, as it this next year is the Year of the Fire Monkey

I felt pretty hungry and sought out Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant, which had been recommended to me, the pork dumplings I ordered were absolutely delicious

It was now the end of our trip, for our last evening we were taken to a very swanky bar on the 92nd floor of the Shanghai World Financial Centre, apparently the world's highest bar and restaurant. It was a fabulous bar but sadly we were so high up we were literally in the clouds and could not see a thing, a jolly good reason for making a return trip some time I think!