For our first taste of mainland China we spent 4 nights in ultra-modern Shanghai . Our days were filled with shopping, our standard wandering/sightseeing, flavorful Shanghaies dishes and a little culture at the free Shanghai Art Museum. For a city of 19 million people we were surprised at the cleanliness and lack of crowds (expect for rush hour on the subway). The legendary Shanghai shopping was true to form, especially if you crossed the bridge, out of the expensive touristy area and entered the expansive subterranean malls that never seemed to end.
On our first outing in the city we were walking through the vast People’s park when we met 3 people about our age who were very curious about the United States and what we were doing in China. After chatting in the park for 10 minutes they invited us to a traditional tea tasting, where they were headed. We learned a little about the 5000 year history of tea as well as many health benefits of the varieties we sampled. At the end of the tasting we each owed $50, which is our whole days budget…..oops. We spent the rest of the next few days eating cheap street food and walking everywhere to bring us back on track. It was an interesting, but rather expensive experience.
On our first outing in the city we were walking through the vast People’s park when we met 3 people about our age who were very curious about the United States and what we were doing in China. After chatting in the park for 10 minutes they invited us to a traditional tea tasting, where they were headed. We learned a little about the 5000 year history of tea as well as many health benefits of the varieties we sampled. At the end of the tasting we each owed $50, which is our whole days budget…..oops. We spent the rest of the next few days eating cheap street food and walking everywhere to bring us back on track. It was an interesting, but rather expensive experience.
The vast Shanghai skyline
Our new friends, If you look closely you can see the jasmine tea leaves under our eyes to reduce the “panda eyes.”
Fancy pants tea that blooms like a flower when you add the water.
With the streets lined with historical brick and columned buildings, it could have been London, not what we expected when coming to China.
At the Shanghai Art Museum, an illustration of the old and new China.
A narrow ally in “old town”, maybe a preview of what is to come in the rest of our China exploring.
Incense burning at the Temple of the town Gods.
A peaceful respite from the busy narrow streets of old town.
Smoked duck and mouth tingling spicy chicken, so so good.
“Hershey store, Uh Oh” Sue’s exact words knowing that the Reese’s would be irresistible.
The 100 story World Financial Center at and the slightly shorter Jinmao tower. We ventured up to the 87thfloor of the later (which took 3 elevators to reach) for the view and a drink at the Grand Hyatt’s bar.
The neck craning two towers.
Enjoying our fancy drinks (which cost about a 1/3 of our daily budget) on the 87th floor.
The view of Shanghai from the bar.
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