Things to do in Shanghai - part 1

I wanted to share a post about what we did in Shanghai, and to show folks who are considering a trip to China that there is no shortage of things to do.  We had a week in Shanghai, and packed our schedule with activities, but didn't get through them all.  I have found that people either love or hate the food.  Guess which side I come down on?  You guessed it, and we ate at a different cuisine restaurant every day, and still didn't hit all my favorites. 

Xintiandi shopping district - This is a popular night time venue for ex-pats, and I have never been there when it was so deserted.  Ok, so we were there around 9am (having been up for 3 hours due to jet lag).  It has a lot of great (and pricey) restaurants, and the buildings are recreations of an old Shanghai neighborhood of the 1920's French Concession area.

TianZiFang is a quaint artist and shopping district directly across from the DaPuQiao subway stop, also in the French Concession area, full of small shops, also seemingly priced for the ex-pat community.  A great place to find trinkets and gifts ranging from kitsch to high end fashion.

 

 

 

The Shanghai museum near People's square has an impressive collection of statues, coins, furniture, and artwork from throughout China's long history.  I am a big museum buff, and even my daughters were not too bored wandering through the interesting exhibits.

We took a cooking class in the French Concession area of Shanghai, and thanks to the internet and our Iphone GPS, located a quaint, off-the-beaten path locale where a wonderful trio of ladies showed us how to make 2 popular dishes - JianBao (pan fried dumplings) and spring rolls.

The Shanghai Expo area was originally set up for a large World Exposition in 2010 on the banks of the Huangpu river.  I remember it well, and all the rage and hype as it was being set up in 2009.  As most construction projects go, it went way overbudget and behind schedule.  But 2010 waited for no one, and as opening day for the center arrived, many of the pavilions, representing countries from around the world, were hastily hurried to completion.  Turnout was enormous, and I remember I couldn't get near the place when I was there in 2010.  Only 2 pavilions remain today, the Saudia Arabia pavilion, and the China pavilion.  The surrounding pavilions were torn down, and construction continues today for skyscrapers for an ever expanding and growing Shanghai.  We visited both pavilions.  The Saudia pavilion features a "4-D display" of a large planetarium/IMAX like room, where visitors are ferried along a slow moving curved walkway through massive sights and sounds of the middle east.  My daughters were loathe to find out that the China pavilion contained a museum of modern art.  Although, I was thrilled!

 

 

 

 

 

Views from the Saudia Arabia pavilion

 The above image shows a large room with a representation of a 12th century scroll showing a celebration of the QingMing festival.  For a while last year, the original scroll (which is about 1ft high by about 20 feet long) was in the museum, but it was taken down several days before we arrived.  This lighted mural remains, and is also animated with moving figures and objects.  The QingMing festival (tombsweeping festival) is very widely celebrated throughout China, and is a time to be connect with the past and strengthen cultural identity.  The mural evokes a sense of peace and happiness of "the good old days", or perhaps "the garden of Eden" of Chinese identity.

I took a few photos of sculptures I came across.  Years ago, when we first adopted, I was often confronted with westerners discussing the probability of our children being the result of a one-child policy.  They would then say how cold and unloving the culture must be towards children. I've always found evidence to the contrary, while traveling in China.  Everything about the culture screams family and children, including the artwork I found here.  Albeit, I do see that they are displaying only one child, and in the 2nd sculpture, the child is very noticeably, a boy.

Here is a link to some video of the Expo center.