After Datong we hopped the train south to Hangzhou, about an hour outside of Shanghai. Some China friends had recommended the town and WOW, we were not disappointed. We wandered down charming walking streets...
Watched artisans blowing glass...
Pounding food into submission with sledgehammers...
And chipping designs into porcelain with a delicate hammer and chisel.
I tried the local "Hangzhou Noodles" (which were delicious and reminded me a lot of saimin)...
And I munched on a Taiwanese Croissant (which was heavier than what the French would technically call a croissant).
After wandering past the big jolly Buddha...
And the Drum Tower...
I bought a fan (to be given away here at the blog as part of the Naughty Karma release party!)
And we headed down to the famous Westlake...
Where we explored the lovely paths and parks of this recreational region.
And in Hangzhou, it turns out I'm a celebrity! At least that's what it
felt like. This is a popular site for Chinese tourists, but we only saw a couple other Westerners our entire visit - so we think the novelty of my very
European face and Viking-ancestry-build was why so many Chinese people
came up to us and asked to take pictures with us. This had happened a handful of times in Datong (and also would happen when we got to Shanghai) but Hangzhou was definitely the most extreme case. At one point, when we were riding a tandem bike (complete with a little umbrella to keep off the sun, so cute!) by the lake, we were surrounded by so many people wanting pictures with us that we couldn't move. I have a new sympathy for celebrities with paparazzi hounds. It was bizarre. I still, honestly, do not quite understand taking a picture with someone just because they are a different race - but then, I'm not from a very closed, homogenized country. To each their own.
From Hangzhou it was off to Shanghai! On the train to Shanghai (or rather the boarding area for the train) we noticed another uniquely Chinese cultural phenomenon. The train to Shanghai is reserved seating - absolutely everyone boarding this train has an assigned seat. And yet, when the boarding doors opened, people were shoving one another and leaping over rows of chairs in an attempt to be the first ones onto the boarding platform - not even onto the train, just onto the platform. We had noticed the same thing on other trains and even on airplanes and I can't make any logical sense of it, but it's definitely a Chinese cultural difference. If you are waiting in line, you had better be standing on the heels of the person in front of you, because if you aren't, someone will cut in front of you, even if it means bodychecking you out of the way. That's just how it's done. But don't do that in Japan - across the water you'd be unforgiveably rude.
We arrive in Shanghai, and we were staying in a posh hotel near the lovely Bund. So of course we immediately wandered down to check out the view...
The next morning, we headed up Nanjing Road - a famous walking street - to the People's Square...
Which, would you believe it, houses a carnival of sorts. So of course we were mature and rode the swings.
After flying on the swings, we explored the tranquil gardens and lily ponds of the park...
Before heading back to the Bund to check it out in daylight, and then grabbing a ferry across to the other side of the river for a closer look at the buildings that look like they are trying to contact aliens.
It was my birthday, so we got gussied up and headed over to the Cloud 9 Bar on the Eighty-Somethingth Floor of the Grand Hyatt for drinks (though this pic is the lobby of our hotel...)
Where we happened to meet an LA movie producer who chatted with us about the fascinating business of the Chinese film industry. After blowing out my candles (which were perched in strawberries romanov) we made our way back to our own side of the river and grabbed some street food to finish off the night.
The next morning my traveling companion had to head back to Beijing for work, so we parted ways and I continued to explore Shanghai solo. I went to the Yu Yuan area which featured the incongruous sight of a Starbucks in an ancient temple...
But also the lovely Gardens of Contentment...
The garden is really a maze of walled gardens inside the larger Yu
Yuan area and though it had been strongly recommended to me, I found it
rather crowded and actually preferred the quiet of the People's Square
or the lovely river walk of the Bund.
I returned to both of those favorites and then headed back to our posh hotel to pack up and prepare for the last two countries of my Asian Adventure - Korea and Japan.
I'm whipping up a quick and dirty recap of the series as a brush-up for folks who don't have time to re-read the whole series but want a reminder of who's who in the Karmic world - and in the process I'm having fun reminiscing and thought I'd throw it over to you guys.
