China - Shanghai - Pudong at Night

Saturday, 4 May 2019

For a final Chinese treat, we took the subway to Pudong to see Shanghai at night.

The architecture still looks tacky, but the Pearl TV Tower is more attractive at night.

The Jin Mao Tower in front of the Shanghai World Financial Center.

I don't the name of this building, but about every ten seconds a different display was projected on it. We waited through the minutes-long cycle to catch this scene, our favorite.

This traffic roundabout was complemented by a raised pedestrian walkway.

The Bund at night, as seen from the Pudong riverfront.

The Bund Center.

The Customs House.

The Shanghai Pudong Development Bank (originally the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation - HSBC - building).

The Pudong skyline on the pedestrian overpass near our hotel.

China - Shanghai - The Bund

Saturday, 4 May 2019

The Bund, along the Huangpu River, was the financial center of China at the height of colonial power. In recent years, the financial giants have moved across the river to Pudong.

The Bund promenade is a very popular.

The Customs House

The Peace Hotel is an Art Deco marvel.

Inside the Peace Hotel.

Lobby ceiling in the Peace Hotel.

Chandelier in the Peace Hotel.

At the north end of the Bund promenade is the Monument to the People's Heroes.

Largely lost in the greenery is another Communist monument. I couldn't find any information about it.

The promenade is 10 feet or so above street level. The retaining wall is covered with flowers - individual pots set in a metal grid on the wall.

The view of Pudong across the river is spectacular. Thirty years ago this was slums and farmland. The double-sphere tower, the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, was the first modern structure in Pudong.

The Huangpu River has significant commercial barge traffic.

Laundry hanging out to dry on a container barge.

China - Shanghai - French Concession

Saturday, 4 May 2019 (mostly)

Back in the colonial days, Shanghai was divvied up by foreign powers and each had an area of control, a "concession", that became miniature home countries: Britain, France, the US, and Japan. Today, only the French concession still retains its distinct flavor.

The French Concession is filled with tree-lined streets, European-style buildings, and glitzy shopping areas. On the left side of the street above is the line to visit the site of the First National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party.

Another plane tree ("sycamore" to Americans) lined street.

There is lots of bicycle parking along the streets and sidewalks in Shanghai.

China - Shanghai - Jing'an Garden

Saturday, 4 May 2019 (mostly)

This lovely park, across a street from the Jing'an Temple, is a quiet refuge in busy Shanghai. It was only a block from our hotel, so we walked through several times.

The park is surrounded by high-rise buildings (and heavily trafficked streets) on every side, but the pond and restaurant provide a green oasis.

I really don't know why rhino sculptures are so prominently featured in the park.

Another bronze rhino in the park.

The garden is known for its cats, but we only saw two on our visits.

A pet turtle was being taken for a swim in the park's pond.

Most morning exercises worked on traditional tai chi and dancing (line dancing and ballroom dancing), but this gentleman was performing tai chi moves while doing a head stand.

China - Shanghai - Modern Architecture

Friday, 3 May, and Saturday, 4 May 2019

While the modern skyscrapers in Shanghai are more conventional than some of the newer buildings in Beijing, Shanghai still has it's share of steel-and-glass originals.

I don't know if the waves on the upper floors of the Haitong Securities Building have any function or are just supposed to add interest to an otherwise straight tower.

The tall building to the left is the Jin Mao Tower, the other tall building is the Shanghai World Financial Center (aka "bottle opener").

The top of the Golden Bell Mansion looks to me like an Apollo space capsule.

Arches top the Guangming Building (Shanghai Light Building).

The lotus top of the Bund Center.

And along with some unusual architecture is an unusual sculpture by Salvador Dali, "Nobility of Time".

While researching the names of the buildings, I came across The Skyscraper Center webpage. It bills itself as the Global Tall Building Database of the Council of Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. If you want to know about skyscrapers, this is the site for you.

China - Shanghai Museum

Friday, 3 May 2019

The Shanghai Museum is a world-class museum that really requires a full day to see. We only had two hours, so we just got a sampling of what it holds.

The central atrium has a striking staircase. The interesting architecture (see earlier post for photo) is meant to symbolize a round heaven and a square earth.

A pottery tomb guardian beast from the Tang Dynasty.

Bronze Buddha and other figures. Unfortunately, the label for this piece was only in Mandarin.

Front and back of a stone Buddha panel from the Northern Qi Dynasty.

China - Old Shanghai - Yu Gardens

Friday, 3 May 2019

Our morning excursion was a visit to the Yu Bazaar and Yu Gardens in the old section of Shanghai.

In general, I was surprised by how few bicycles we saw in China. Shanghai was an exception. Most sidewalks were filled with parked bicycles, especially in the older and less densely populated areas. Since Shanghai is in the coastal plain, it is fairly flat, and that also makes bicycling easier!

The Yu Bazaar is on two sides of the Yu Gardens. The shops sell everything from tacky tourist souvenirs to pricey pearls and silks. We went early in the morning in an attempt to avoid the crowds, since it was still an extended national holiday. By the time we left, the streets were mostly impassible with wall-to-wall crowds.

The Yu Gardens were originally built in the late 1500s (Ming Dynasty), but were heavily damaged (and then rebuilt) by several military campaigns, including WWII. They were restored in the late 1950s, and reopened to the public in 1961. The gardens were also very crowded.

The interconnected ponds were filled with goldfish and crossed by multiple walkways.

There is also a substantial population turtles in the ponds.

Most of the turtles were sunning themselves on rocks. I couldn't help but think of Dr Seuss' Yertle the Turtle when coming across this pile of turtles.

A dragon wall in the garden. The garden' is divided into six scenic areas that make it seem larger than the 2 hectares (5 acres) it actually occupies.

This restaurant sign near the old section of Shanghai shows how it would be helpful to know some Mandarin. The translation seems a bit too literal to help.

China - Shanghai - Jing'an Temple

Friday, 3 May 2019

Before our tour excursions, Lon and I walked about two blocks from our hotel to visit the Jing'an Temple. Once the wealthiest Buddhist temple in Shanghai, it was closed (but not destroyed) during the Cultural Revolution, and now has been completely restored. It is a popular place for worship and prayer.

Very busy streets surround the temple. The exterior walls have street-level shops selling general merchandise, not related to the temple.

It was tricky to find the entrance - it was a small door tucked away to the side of the locked main entrance.

The interior courtyard of the temple held large incense burners.

Another look at the courtyard. Two corridors at the sides of the main temple lead to the monks' living areas.

I'm not sure what this pagoda-like structure is for, although it looks like it's an incense burner.

This incense burner was well-used.

A look back at the courtyard from the temple's balcony.

A look at the monks' living quarters (left side of photo).

The temple is built to a large scale. The main hall (Mahavira Hall) has 46 columns of Myanmar teak.

The temple has several large sculptures of the Buddha.

Including one that is made of 15 tonnes of pure silver and is 8.8 meters (29 ft) tall.

An example of the numerous detailed carvings in the temple.

The exterior of the temple at night.