Sunday,
July 6, 2014
Shanghai
Sightseeing Seemingly on Skates
With
just one more day to see Shanghai, we knew we had to sight see on roller
skates. So we lost no time rising and showering after an incredibly comfortable
night, to descend to the fifth floor Dining Hall where a buffet breakfast came
with the cost of our room.
The
fifth floor Dining Hall was beautifully appointed and soon we were seated at a
table for two. The buffet was grand and contained all the fixin’s of an
English, French, American and Chinese repast. There was a variety of juices,
cereals, yoghurt, dried fruit and nuts, fried and boiled eggs, bacon, sausages,
hash browns, baked beans, corn on the cob, plus Chinese Noodles and Tofu with
Vegetables. Croissants, Muffins and Apple Turnovers warmed in the ovens. Coffee
was presented at table and our meal was rounded off with fresh fruit. Needless
to say, we were so stuffed, we decided that our next meal would be dinner.
By
this point, we had decided to try out the Shanghai subway system. Having
mastered subway systems all over the world, we had little doubt that when
equipped with a map, we would find our way to our destination. Taking instructions
from the reception staff, we easily found the Cha Yong Road subway station near
our hotel and buying tickets from the efficient dispensing machines at the
station, we set off for Pudong—this time hoping to get up close and personal to
the impressive skyscraper commercial city that we had viewed across the river
last night.
Being
that it was a Sunday, it seemed that everyone had the same idea. Once again, we
were struck by the hordes and I mean crowds of Shanghainese who had turned up,
entire families in tow, to make merry at their most remarkable landmarks.
Almost everyone wished to climb the Pearl Orient Tower and the queues outside
for tickets were extensive. We had never intended to do so, but we did take
many pictures of the newly-emergent Shanghai skyline and we did walk along the
beautiful glass walkways that connect the buildings. Overlooking the city from
one of these vantage points makes you think you are in a sci-fi flick—flyovers
and traffic whizz past you, concrete and glass winks at you from towering
skyscrapers, massive advertisement hoardings urge you to buy into a fancy
lifestyle which the Chinese are clearly heeding.
Having
covered Pudong on foot, our next port of call was Nanjing Road, which lies
across the river. But since we needed to get to the opposite bank, we decided
to take a very strange and innovative form of transport that goes by the name
of The Bund Sightseeing Tunnel. Basically, it is an underground tunnel that
goes under the river to deposit passengers on the opposite side. But, because
this is China and because they are innovative and love technology with a
passion, what you are treated to as you sail under the river in a fibre glass
capsule is a laser sound and light show that is kitschy in the extreme. Lights
in concentric circles drape the sides of the tunnel as weird noises play on a
sound system. There are funny figures that wave at you like so many dark
scarecrows and curtains suddenly appear to stop the passage of the vehicle, but
part ways just in time. It is a great form of entertainment for kids, As
adults, I would suggest that visitors do it only because it is so unusual an
experience and it is unlikely you will do this sort of thing anywhere else.
Within ten minutes, our $10 ride ended and we alighted on the Bund, ready to
start our long trek down Nanjing Road which was super crowded—again, all of
Shanghai seemed to have come out to play and to enjoy the warm sunshine that
flooded the day.
A
walk along Nanjing Road offers many
interesting sights: there are large department stores that vie with smaller Mom
and Pop operations to lure tourists within. Solid colonial era buildings grant
a distinctive dignity to this area. There are massive neon-lit hoardings
everywhere and shoppers galore flexing their new financial muscles. Eventually,
you get to People’s Square and People’s
Park—once the venue of the fabulous Shanghai
Race Course where large sums of money were won and lost and the glamour of Old Shanghai made it the haunt of
money-ed businessman. The Communist Revolution, of course, put paid to such
decadence and the Racecourse was converted to the People’s Park which is today
a meeting point for all of society: elderly men gather in groups to play chess,
others play cards, women walk babies in strollers, children hop and skip around
light-heartedly, young lovers hold hands and admire the neat flower beds. It is
a great place for people-watching and I was struck by how happy the Chinese
seem, how totally un-deprived of anything (which is what I had expected them to
be). They are very obviously enjoying their new economic prosperity. That said,
they did not have the elegance and fashion-consciousness that is so obvious
among Japanese women.
Arriving
outside of the People’s Park, we spied the red brick structure that was
obviously a church—it turned out to be the Anglican Cathedral and since it was
a Sunday and we wished to attend service, we decided to pop in and take a look.
What we saw was a crowded church with a Chinese minister at the lectern giving
a sermon in Chinese that was videotaped and relayed to large crowds gathered
outside. Protocol was strict and our water bottles and Starbucks coffee was
taken away from us and kept aside before we entered. Lack of comprehension did
not allow us to stay long but it was interesting just to catch a glimpse of the
proceedings. Inside, the cathedral was devoid of any of the iconography we
associate with Christianity. Instead, it was a plain building that could have
been a community hall.
Having
had our fill of Shanghai’s City Center on a busy Sunday, we hopped on to the
subway system to make our way to an area of the city that is known as the
French Concession. DK Eyewitness Guide
presents an interesting walking 90-minute tour of the area and we decided to
take it. The area gets its name from the fact that once the Western colonial regimes began trading with
China in the 19th century, they sought certain trading ‘concessions’
that enabled them to carry out business. The French decided not to join and
formed their own neighborhood which enjoyed its own concessions. They pretended
they were still on French soil and created a miniature city rife with the
trappings of Paris—plane trees line each street and avenue, interesting
cottages and balconied bungalows were occupied essentially by French colonists,
shops sprang up with decidedly French merchandise (a boulangerie, a fromagerie,
a patisserie, etc), many of which still stand.
Visiting
the Home of Chou En-Lai:
Our walk took us past two
interesting homes, one of which we had the good fortune to enter. One was the home
of Chou En-Lai, a modern visionary who worked very closely with Mao Zedong to
engineer the Chinese Revolution based on his principles of Communist Socialism.
The other was the home of Sun Yat-Sen, the contemporary philosopher and
reformist who rejected Communism and became a defector. He emigrated to the USA
and is a graduate of St. John’s University in Queens, New York, from where I earned
my doctorate. The East Asian Studies Department at St. John’s is named after him
and is financed by money from his Foundation. I was, therefore, keen to visit
his home; but by the time we reached it, it had closed for the day.
Chou En-Lai’s home, however, is beautifully
maintained. High security is also maintained at the gates. Entry is free and we
were able to tour the home and read captions in Chinese and English that provided
information about the secret meetings held at this venue in defiance of KMT
directives. The sparse furnishings and belongings of the man and the company he
kept gave a good indication of the personal sacrifices he undertook to build
his dream society. In the last room on the ground floor is an exhibition of
photographs documenting his secret meetings with leading international politicians
of the time. There were also pictures of his later years. Overall, this was a wonderful
and most unexpected visit and we were glad we had the opportunity to see this
home and garden.
Our
visit to the French Concession ended at the St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church and then the Cathay Theater with its Art Deco
design. Overall, it had taken us to a part of Shanghai that was very different
from the rest of it and it was certainly worth poking around it.
With some daylight left, we decided
to return to the YuYuan Gardens to
enter the Huxinting Tea Room and get
an idea of its interior décor. We are so pleased we did because twilight had
fallen on the city and the lights came on bringing an enchanted softness to the
area. The crowds had thinned out somewhat and we were able to get some last
minute souvenir shopping done (jasmine flower tea buds, magnets, postcards,
etc.). We did make it to the Tea Room and were simply delighted by the period
furniture within and the soft lighting of the pagoda shaped lamps.
Back
to the Hotel for Dinner:
Then,
fairly fainting with fatigue, we jumped onto the Metro and returned to our
hotel. All along the way, we gasped at the marvel that is the Shanghai subway system
with its vastness, its marble floors, its spotlessness, its neatly organized
signage (in English and Chinese) and the manner in which it is being
maintained. For pennies, one can ride a world-class commuter system that is so
much cheaper than taxis (although they are extremely inexpensive too) and brings
the visitor in close contact with the local people.
We
had absolutely no energy for anything other than a meal in our hotel Dining
Hall. Besides, it was the Wimbledon Men’s Final match (with Federer playing
Djokovic) and Llew was keen to catch it. The Dining Hall was the best bet as we
had it to ourselves and could request the waitress to switch on the match
channel—which she willingly did.
Then
over a dish of Fried Rice with Beef and Broad Noodles with Mixed Vegetables and
China’s wonderful Tsinghao Beer, we had ourselves a great last meal. Weary with
fatigue, we returned to our room for a long sleep as we had to awake, wolf down
breakfast and leave for Pudong airport, the next morning for our return home.
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