Wrapping it up in Shanghai

After a long trip through mainland China and a brief visit to Hong Kong with Intrepid Travel, Mark and I decided to hit up Shanghai on our own before heading back to Japan.  We booked our hotel in the famous Bund district of Shanghai and found out upon arrival that our hotel was one of the most famous in the world.  The Astor House Hotel has been such since around 1858.  It is right on the Huangpu River and across the famous Garden Bridge.  

The rooms and decor were beautiful...which makes up for the fact that many say they are also haunted. It was interesting to stay in such a western type hotel with a long history in the middle of China.  

There were many famous patrons, such as Einstein, Charlie Chaplin, President Grant, and Bertrand Russell.  In additional to that, the first electric lamp in China was burned here and the first phone call was made from here.  

Shanghai is a very international city, much like Hong Kong.  In fact, it didn't feel much like China either.  According to records, Shanghai is the largest city by population in China with more than 24 million people.  

It was a beautiful city with an interesting history and flavor all it's own.  

This is the Bund.  It is the most international street in Shanghai and has been the financial center of the city since the 1940's.  

There are about 52 buildings included in the Bund, of which most are gothic, baroque, neo-classical, and of other European influence.  

Regardless the past or the present, they are beautiful and make for a romantic atmosphere.  I especially love the one on the right that resembles a flower.  

And now onto Nanjing Road.  This was one of the busiest roads in Shanghai.  It was common to see men with their shirts off, sweat glistening on their round stomachs.  Children were squatting in the street relieving themselves.  Women were loudly discussing their days and teenagers were laughing hysterically at an obscure joke.  

All along the road were neon signs guiding the way.  I felt like a mosquito gravitating toward the light, though I didn't know what lay at the end.  

Here's a peek at a man with his shirt rolled up.  Many wore them this way and many also took them off completely.  It was disgusting to say the least...but, I relate as this summer was the hottest on record in China in over 80 years.  

After a nice night wandering up and down Nanjing Street, I just had to go to the Shanghai Museum.  Of course, it was mentioned in my "1000 Things to Do Before You Die" book.  

The museum was top notch and one of my favorites world wide so far.  

It included many different exhibits such as paintings, sculpture, jade and ivory carvings, masks, calligraphy, and furniture.  

This one was called Thousand Buddhas.  It was one of my favorites.  

The exhibits here trace Chinese history back more than 5000 years.  It's amazing to think that a culture has stood the test of time.  Sometimes I wonder how America will fare and adjust.  What will make our culture rich?  What will be strictly American or will we be a blend of so many other cultures?

Just another unique artifact from Chinese culture.  

Here is the Garden Bridge, also known as Waibaidu Bridge.  It was the first steel bridge in China.  This bridge has an important place in history during the Japanese occupation of Shanghai.  It was here that many Chinese and international occupants crossed for safe haven from the Japanese in the international settlement on the opposite side of the bridge.  Now, it serves as a piece of art as it changes color and lights the night between the Bund and Pudong.

One of my favorite things throughout China was the dancing and singing at night.  Shanghai was no exception.  Each night, the residents gathered in public places to dance and sing the nights away.  This particular man chose to serenade me with a love song.  Of course I was extremely flattered albeit embarrassed!

Headed to Hong Kong

After 25 days of travel through mainland China, we were ready for an urban setting.  We boarded one last overnight train and headed toward Hong Kong.  Hong Kong is interesting, because it was a British territory from the mid 1800's until Japan's brief occupation during WWII and then again until just 1997.  Currently, Hong Kong is considered a special administrative region of China.  It's education and political systems are different than mainland China, and it's a bit more international.  

The city has an interesting culture that's very unique.  It's easy to see the British and international influence more than that of the Chinese.  All in all, I loved the city but felt that it was a bit bland.  Most people visited to shop and cash in on the many deals, both in clothing and electronics.  Since I'm not too keen on shopping, I searched for a bit more culture.  

The past three pictures are of the city's financial district.  It was located on Hong Kong Island.  The only way to get there was by ferry across the harbor.  

It was very beautiful and there was a light show every night. This is Victoria Harbour for which Hong Kong was named.  It's name in old Chinese actually means "fragrant harbor".  The rush hour on the harbor is intense and thousands of boats cross daily.    

Of course, we had to have high tea at the Peninsula Hotel.  It was one of the "must do" items from my "1000 Things to Do Before You Die" book.  Apparently, it's been "the" thing to do in Hong Kong since 1928.  We saw this Rolls Royce waiting outside and wondered if we would feel out of place.  

We ended up waiting in line for a couple hours in line before even getting seated.  Apparently, this was a really popular thing to do while in Hong Kong.  Of course the delicate finger sandwiches and french pastries were worth the wait.

It was actually the first time in a month that we had dressed up during the trip.  It was pretty formal and it was exciting to have a proper tea...especially with our friend who was English!

The grandeur was palpable, which was unique to our trip as a whole.  Here's to pretending to have some class!

Following tea, we headed up to Victoria's Peak on the world's steepest funicular railway.  It has been making the 1805 foot trip since about 1888!

It was supposed to be a fabulous view, but this was all we could see from the top!

Not too clear during our time in Hong Kong!  Rumor has it that on a clear day one can see over 200 outer islands dotting the South China Sea.

Here we are on the train.  It was packed!

So, we had to spend some time on the water front on the Hong Kong Avenue of Stars. 

Here are Jackie Chan's hand prints.  We also saw Jet and Bruce Lee's handprints.  

These colorful ferries took us back and forth to Hong Kong Island and Kowloon.  This one is the famous Star Ferry.  

Hong Kong was really interesting.  We even took a short ferry ride to Macau, which was a Spanish settlement about 40 miles away.  I would definitely like to go back in order to see more and spend some more time exploring.  Just don't go there expecting to get the Chinese experience, because instead it feels like any big international city.