Zhujiajiao Sunset

I headed from Zhouzhuang to Zhujiajiao by bus and walked over a bridge to catch the sun setting over the older part of town.

Xintiandi

I wrote about Xintiandi, and here is a simple introduction to understand the adaptive reuse format which was used for the project. The area is in the old French concession and before the time of construction, it was a ratty residential area in row house format. Parts of some of the buildings were saved while others had to go. This was the eventual result, but here is some more info about it.

Xintiandi Masterminds

Along with some of the other stops with the ULI group, we got a chance to meet Ben Wood and Delphine Yip, the brains behind the wildly successful Xintiandi development in Shanghai. They were both inspiring and have a great story about the project from the seedling of an idea to what it is now.

Urban Planning Museum

I got to join the Urban Land Institute's Young Leaders Group from Tokyo when they came to Shanghai for a study tour. One of the highlights was going to the Urban Planning Museum, where they have this massive mock up of the city.

Mid Autumn Festival 中秋节

Mid Autumn Festival is celebrated as a holiday of harvest according to the lunar calendar. Moon cakes are eaten and it's a national holiday. I went to a festival at Jiangwan Park to see the traditional music and dance.

Shanghai Art Fair

The Shanghai Art Fair was an anticipated event, boasting both Eastern and Western artists, but like most things here in China, it had to be censored as well. Take the piece on the right as an example. One of the layered images was a woman licking another woman's breast. What did the thought police do? They taped a piece of paper over it. When I mentioned this humorously to a senior diplomat, he rolled his eyes, shook his head and said, "That's so Chinese." Of course, he is Chinese as well, with a healthy sense of humor.

Brunch

I haven't had brunch for about 5 months, mainly because it's not a common occurrence in Tianjin and most places in Shanghai are a little too spendy for me (RMB250+ = USD35+) until I found Cafe' Montmartre. This was the spread, for a grand total of RMB138 = USD20 per person! I almost formed tears of joy when I saw it.

Ahhh, capitalism

When you're standing in Shanghai Pudong, looking over at the Bund and a big boat comes by pulling a megatron screen whose advertisements glare off the water, you kind of have to scratch your head and wonder, "Gee, I thought this was a communist country." I am greeted by more advertisements here in Shanghai than any American city I have been to.

Popsy

I still haven't figured out this one...Popsy is the "love" drink. I can't imagine why.

Bargaining

One thing I both love and hate about China is the opportunity to bargain for just about anything. I went to the wholesale market where crowds form to see the show. My assumption is that they want to see how low the purchaser can get the seller to go and they will swoop in behind for the same price.

Hot Pot

Natasha, Kalika, Jose and I went to have hot pot one day and ordered shrimp. The shrimp came out alive and kept trying to jump out of the bowl.

Spousal coin flip

I got to play a game on the Su Causeway called "Which one is the wife?" Here's the catch...the person on the right is carrying a white LV bag, but judging from the shoulder breadth, I wouldn't want to screw with the person on the left. So who wins? The pink shirt is the wife, although many men in China are perfectly happy wearing pink as well.

Prayers and incense

In front of the temples are large smoking pits, where people can light incense and pray. The lady of the left in the pink is mid-prayer. The process is: pray one direction then switch, eventually covering north, south, east and west. The whole area smells strongly of incense, which still did not deter the mosquitoes, neither did the OFF that I bathed in.

Jingci Temple

Across the street from Thunder Peak Pagoda is this Zen temple, which was build in 954. Inside is this really big Buddha.

Thunder Peak Pagoda

I am going to be the tour guide for a little while, so please keep your arms and feet inside. Thunder Peak Pagoda overlooks West Lake and was originally built in 975, collapsed in the 20's and has been, obviously, rebuilt.

West Lake

West Lake, located in Hangzhou has been a famous vacation spot for centuries, to include emperors and Marco Polo! The natural charm and rich history of the area have been cultivated since the 8th century. I caught this photo just before sundown, absolutely beautiful.

Welcome to Hangzhou

So I took a trip to Hangzhou earlier this week, and what city would be complete without a Hooters? From my understanding, the competitive advantage of Hooters does not necessarily mix with some of the "assets" of Asians, so I wonder what the draw is...