Off to Shanghai

Shortly after lunchtime on Thursday, May 14th, we boarded a big United airliner with our friends, Betsy & Andy, and took off on a 13-hour flight from San Francisco to Shanghai, China. It was the start of a 26-day adventure in China, traveling in a small group of 16 adventurers. “Overseas Adventure Travel”, a Boston-based Travel Company, offers the trip, which included many highlights in China, including Tibet and a cruise on the Yangtze River.

Our five-day stay in Shanghai was an optional pre-trip extension of the main trip which began in Beijing. Another couple, Mike and Ro, who live in Hawaii, joined us for the pre-trip.

Our arrival in Shanghai late Friday afternoon (we’d crossed the Int’l. Date Line) was an adventure in itself! Before arriving, everyone on the plane had to fill out a health questionnaire, because China had mounted an all-out campaign to keep H1N1 (Swine) flu out of the country. We were told to remain in our seats after the aircraft stopped at the gate, and several “moon-suited” officials came on board, equipped with remote-read thermometers, and proceeded to check everyone for above-normal temperatures. That process took most of an hour, and then we were permitted to get off the plane and proceed through a health screening line to turn in our health questionnaires. We then went through a customs and immigration line before being allowed to pick up our baggage. The whole process took about two hours, and when we finally exited from the baggage area, we couldn’t find the tour company representative who was to take us to our hotel. Fortunately, Betsy had equipped her cell phone with an International Plan, so she was able to contact OAT in Boston and we got the OK to catch a taxi for the 45 minute ride to town and to submit the taxi receipt to OAT for reimbursement.

Once at our hotel, we were greeted by the brother of a friend of Betsy, and his wife. He is an architect working for an international architectural firm at their Shanghai office. They took us to the Cotton Club, a jazz club owned by an American “expat”. The music was great and a cold beer or two made us forget we’d already been up for over 24 hours. Finally around midnight, we took the short taxi ride back to the hotel and flopped into bed.

Saturday morning, our OAT guide, Jackie, loaded us on a small bus and took us to the “Bund”, an area of art deco buildings along the Huangpu River, where the British first established an international settlement in 1842. From there, looking through the smog, we could see the development in Pudong, across the river, which is home to many skyscrapers and is the international financial center of China.


After a walk through a major shopping area on East Nanjing Street, we then headed for the Yuyuan Gardens, a beautiful quiet place in the middle of the hubbub of the City. It was founded in 1557, and took 18 years to complete. Following our time at the garden, we enjoyed a Mongolian Barbecue lunch at a local restaurant.

During the afternoon’s “free time”, Jackie suggested that we visit the “Jade Buddha Temple”, one of Shanghai’s few active Buddhist monasteries. We viewed several Buddha statues, including a splendid Laughing Buddha. Here we are, with our new travel friends, Mike and Ro, rubbing Buddha for good luck. We also participated at a tea ceremony at a tea house in the monastery before returning to our hotel for dinner and an early turn-in to catch up on our sleep.

Sunday morning we traveled by bus to the village of Zhu Jia Jiao, about an hour southwest of downtown Shanghai. The village is over 1700 years old, and is built around canals that are reminiscent of Venice. Many old bridges, built in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, span the canals and connect the many shops and restaurants that line the canals. We hopped on a boat, powered by a sweep oar similar to an Italian gondola, and took a short ride on a canal. We spotted a 400-year old arched stone bridge that is the earliest and longest in southeast China. We visited another formal garden, established during the Ming Dynasty, and then enjoyed a fabulous lunch in a canal-side restaurant before returning to Shanghai.

Monday morning we joined the Shanghai commuters on the subway and made our way to the railroad station where we caught a bullet train to the city of Suzhou, about 45 minutes away. The train was as modern as any I’ve seen anywhere, and it zipped along at about 125 mph. In Suzhou, a 2,500 year-old city of more than 5 million, we started our tour with a visit to the Ou Garden, a beautifully landscaped garden begun in the 6th century. From there we traveled to a silk factory to learn about the flourishing silk industry that has existed in the area since the 14th century. Of course, there was a large quilt and silk clothing shop attached, which kept the ladies occupied for some time.

We also took a short boat ride on one of the canals in Suzhou. The city found itself to be strategically located on a major trade route, the Silk Road, and also on the “Grand Canal” system that linked the Yangtze River with the Yellow River, some 1,100 miles north. Construction began around 495 BC and was completed in about 609 AD. It is no longer navigable throughout its length, but about half of it is at least seasonably navigable, and is used primarily for tourism.

Our final stop was the Dinghui Temple said to be built around 220 AD. From there, a short ride took us back to the train station for our trip back to Shanghai, and another ride on the subway to our hotel.

Our last day in Shanghai included a visit to a neighborhood Community Center. The neighborhood encompassed about 30,000 dwellings and 90,000 residents. The center serves as primarily as a Senior Center, but offers programs for all residents as well. Activities include music, dance, a library, a large computer room as well as areas where residents can gather for talk and for games. From there we traveled a short distance to the home of Madame Yee, where we enjoyed an excellent, home-cooked lunch and a chance to absorb some local culture. Although she spoke no English, communication was surprisingly easy, with the help of our guide, Jackie.


After lunch, we spent some time at the Shanghai Museum. Built in 1994, the museum has many galleries, including those devoted to Bronzes, sculptures, calligraphy and furniture from the Ming and Qing Dynasties.



Later that afternoon, we headed back to the Shanghai Airport and our 2 ½ hour flight to Beijing to meet the rest of our travel group and begin the main tour.