The pearl of the orient awaited and, after another day of store visits and a day of work in the office, the weekend was free to begin exploring the city's varied history dating back to the Song dynasty (960 - 1271 AD), becoming a center for trade for the English in 1842 which was swiftly followed by the French in 1847 and now the booming metropolis of over 1,000 high rise buildings with a population of 24 million.
Wanting to take in as much history as possible, my first stop was the Shanghai Museum located in the center of the city. Guarding the entrance were a selection of statues depicting lions, a pixie (exercisers of evil spirits) and a Tianlu (supernatural beast).
The museum is divided into 10 exhibitions displaying Chinese art and national treasures providing a glimpse into 5,000 years of history, some of which are below:
Paintings and Calligraphy
Mi Fu (1051 - 1107), Duojing Lou Poem
Wang Shimin (1592 - 1680), Landscapes after Old Masters
Jin Junming (1602 - 1675), Beautiful and Fragrant Flowers
Ancient Ceramics, Tang Dynasty (618 - 907 AD)
Currency
Spade-shaped and Sword-shaped coins (475 - 221 BC)
"Jiao Zi" paper notes, the earliest paper notes in the world
Bronze
Zun (wine vessel)
Masks
Tibetan Masks: skull mask and a mask of Garuda used for the Cham dance
This was an obvious place of interest for the indigenous population as I only saw one other western tourist and, as much as I liked seeing a lot of the same thing in each exhibition room, a couple of hours was all that was needed before a change of venue was wanted.
Adjacent to the museum is Renmin Square and Renmin Park (People's Square / Park), formerly a racecourse built by the British in 1862 and enjoyed by foreigners and Chinese alike but gambling was deemed immoral during the 1940's and now all that remain of this former social center is the clock-tower which was the racecourse's clubhouse.
Astonishingly, every weekend in the park scores of parents whose young adult children remain single and career focused gather to match-make and marry off their child to suitable prospects. The pathways are lined with an array of coloured umbrellas, each pegged with a single sheet of paper describing all the positive attributes of their child in the hope of ticking the social norm of getting their son or daughter married.
A few gents playing the game of Mahjong.
Gently strolling east towards the Huangpu River, the Bund was next on my list to appreciate the Neoclassical architecture from the 19th century which line the bank on the west side while being able to capture the new but already iconic skyline of Pudong on the opposite side of the shore. By day...
...and by night.
Towards the top of the pedestrian boulevard which runs the entire length of the Bund is the stone monument 'Heroes of the People'.
Eager to see more heritage from China's second city, I found myself strolling through side streets, marching across busy roads and occasionally taking the wrong direction as I traversed Shanghai in search of the Old City. Timidly, I approached this area whilst checking my guide book as the Old City was far busier and intimidating compared to previous sights on this adventure. Strangely, the further into the Old City I walked, the more familiar and comfortable it felt as it was vaguely reminiscent of walking into China town in Soho. Arches like Chinese pagodas straddled walk ways, the buildings were of traditional architecture and narrow lanes led through a bazaar with the hustle and bustle of people aiming to get the best deal down every alley.
Inside the Yu Yuan, the busy bazaar, is a fully restored classical Chinese garden. Originally built in the 16th century by a high official of the imperial court in honour of his father, this garden features pools, rockeries, walkways, bridges and a number of different buildings for various uses from reading and painting to the performance of dance. The different sections within the garden are divided by high dragon walls with undulating tops to represent the body and crowned on the corners with dragon heads.
Wrapped up warm to withstanding the cold of the January weather, my direction took me west and then north to visit 2 temples. The first, Jing'an Temple is nestled between a selection of high rise sky scrappers, shopping malls and busy roads but as soon as you step into the temple itself, a feeling of serenity surrounds you. Encompassing every direction were people burning incense and bowing to their deities in ancestral worship while in the center of the court was a towering incense burner where worshipers tried in vain to throw coins into tiny opening towards the top of the incendiary devise. Towards the edges of the court were huge pieces of jade where people would touch and rub the rock, again in ancestral worship.
The second, Yufo Temple, was not as grand but equally as calm.
One amusing sight I glimpsed while walking to the metro from the temple was a very interestingly coloured pack of dogs...!
For my final night in Shanghai it felt only right to go to the observation deck of the World Financial Centre at 492m high. This building is affectionately known as the bottle opener because of its distinctive feature: a hole in the shape of an inverted trapezium between the 94th and 100th floors. The views were astounding, particularly of The Pearl Tower with its memorable baubles, the Jinmao Tower because of its Art Deco design and the Shanghai Tower - the tallest building in China. The glass floor running from side to side through the middle of the observation deck and below the glazing either side of the width of the deck were quite an unexpected thrill. It was very unnerving standing on glass at 100 floors up and the perfect way to end this adventure of the orient.
