Shanghai

Hard to know where to start when talking about two weeks in Shanghai. I really am not a huge fan of big cities, so I went not expecting anything too different, but there is really a very unusual and interesting vibe about the place. I could talk about the amazing architecture, fascinating buildings (new and old), the great shopping, the temples, the coffee, the technology such as the magnetic "MAGLEV" train (which took us over 30 kilometers in 8 minutes at a speed of around 300 kmph), the view from the top of the Oriental Pearl Tower.






I could also talk about the fascinating European mix that I have not yet seen in any other mainland city in China, yes there is a big European influence in the businesses, the fashions, the food and drinks available, the buildings old (such as the French Concession area and the Bund)






and the new.


There is also still old China in some Hutong areas and of course temples etc. Unlike Yichang food (Hot and Spicy)the food in Shanghai is very sweet. The transport system is amazingly good especially when you consider that there is well over 20 million people in this city.

I was suprised at how clean everything was....Apparently much is being done to make sure that Shanghai looks perfect for the world Expo which they are hosting later this year, if it's to do with that, I'm not sure. Overall the people there seemed very friendly and helpful, all willing to happily help when I asked for directions to places. I was suprised at the amount of English that most shop assistants could speak, in Yichang most people shy away from any English even though they all learnt it at school.
Of course I must mention Nettie's family who were kind enough to let me join in with their Spring Festival celebrations, her sister and brother in law who warmly welcomed me and happily showed us around all the sights.

HangZhou, Suzhou and ZhouZhaung

So we arrived in Shanghai on the 6th, had a quick look around the following day and headed of on a 3 day tour of HangZhou, SuZhou and ZhouZhuang on the Monday. Chinese tours are VERY tiring as they fit as many sights and shops into the limited time that they can. The tour operators make most of their money generated on sales at certain places, like a commission basis, so lots of specific shops are on the schedule.

HANGZHOU - I'd heard a lot about Hangzhou and West Lake but although it was beautiful, it didn't strike me as the amazing place I'd heard all about. It may have been because of the very rushed tour we experienced on that day due to a 2 hour delay in which we sat on the coach on the highway because of fog. The whole day after that was spent rushing from sights to shops....very tiring!




SUZHOU - is not far Shanghai and we headed back to Suzhou to spend the night and then sight see the next day. This tour was much better, not as rushed and I thought Suzhou is really quite beautiful. The vibe of this city, is cool and the many canals that run through the place makes people call it the "Oriental Venice". The city is also full of many temples and special gardens. We had beautiful, warm sunny weather for our day in Suzhou.

ZHOUZHUANG - interesting little town about half an hour from Suzhou. Full of canals like Suzhou some of which run through the houses. It's now very tourist orientated in this town and every shop we walked past I was greeted with "Hello, come in". They tell you a price and when you walk away they ask you how much you want to pay for it. It drives me crazy!
A busy Three day tour then back to Shanghai!