Shanghai Orientation
I arrived in Shanghai yesterday along with seven others who were on the pre-trip in Taipei with me. Our trip leader, Jenny met us at the airport. (Her real name is Zhang Zhuo. Zhang is her family name and Zhuo is her given name, but we just call her Jenny because it is much easier.) There are five others who we have met here in Shanghai, so our total group size is thirteen. Yesterday we had an orientation walk and a group dinner, and today things really got started with some actual sightseeing. Here’s the story of my Shanghai Orientation.
China challenges
As you may know, China is one of four Communist countries in the world. (By “Communist” I mean single-party Marxist-Leninist states, so I don’t count North Korea, which doesn’t adhere to traditional Marxism-Leninism.) I’ve been to the other three (Cuba, Laos, and Vietnam), but none of those blocked access to information the way China does.
I cannot upload photos to Google. I can copy photos from my phone to my laptop and then upload them here, but I don’t want to post my zillions of photos directly on my blog. So sharing most of my photos will have to wait until I return home. (Or at least until I depart from China.)
I am able to do Google search and use Google maps and Facebook and WhatsApp if I connect to a VPN. But it’s slow and frustrating. I can’t use the VPN over the hotel Wifi, only with my eSIM. It’s possible the VPN will work over Wifi at other hotels in other cities, or maybe not.
China delights
I’m not sure who’s watching, so I want to be sure to highlight the really great things I’ve encountered in China so far.
It’s super clean. And Shanghai is a magnificent city with a spectacular skyline and a gorgeous historic area (see the photo at the top of the page), both of which are easily walkable from our hotel.
They have Chinese food! And it is delicious! (But they don’t call it “Chinese food.” They just call it “food.”)
Yuyuan Garden
In the historic area is Yuyuan Garden, the first place we visited this morning. Although it was extremely crowded, the garden was absolutely lovely. Yuyuan Garden was originally a private garden built in the 16th century, though of course it’s been significantly damaged and restored multiple times since then. The owner dedicated it to his parents. The Chinese word yu means “peace” and “health” — the garden’s name “Yuyuan” means “pleasure and joy for the elderly.” With over 40 serene scenic spots comprised of pavilions, rocks and ponds, the garden is now owned and operated by the government.
A Chinese garden, according to our local guide, Ike, has to have four elements: plants, water, rocks, and buildings. You can see that this garden satisfies those four requirements.
The Bund
This afternoon we visited the Bund. This is the waterfront area along the western bank of the Huangpu River. It’s where I took the photo at the top of the page.
On the west side of the river are some beautiful buildings with a European influence. Most of these date from the early 20th century. They housed hotels and banks and mercantiles and consulates from various countries. This was the financial center of Shanghai for a long time. But after the Communist victory in the Civil War, most of these businesses moved away.
On the east side is the area known as Pudong. Today this is the economic and business center of Shanghai.
A few of us went back there at night. Wow!
I wish I could share more photos, but I think you’ve gotten a good idea of how much I’m enjoying seeing this vibrant and historic city.