First stop: Shanghai
My first impression of China was Pu Dong Airport. This huge and ultra modern terminal was clean and beautiful. The roof is suspended by poles that are resting on cables. It was quite huge and impressive. There is also a magnetic levitation train that can take you from the airport to the Metro in Shanghai. It travels at 268 M. P. H. !!!
Shanghai has many modern department stores and they were all decorated for Chinese New Year. The prices are often 1/10th of what they are in the U.S. They also have more than 10 times as many salespersons as their American store counterparts.
There are many temples all over China. Most of them were built hundreds of years ago. Here was a display in one of them named Three Wise Men
Here are a couple of confrontational roosters. Although these guys do look a little beat up, they do not engage in a fight to the death. This is a contest of intimidation. The first one to step off of the red circle loses.
This is a performance at a peoples cultural center. This lady has a large wooden board and (count them) eleven people standing on her. Even at a very conservative 90 pounds each, it still adds up to about a half ton!
This is Yu Yuan Temple. It has many buildings, courtyards, waterways and bridges that zig zag across the water. There are also many tea houses, shops and restaurants. The aroma of the restaurants and food carts filled the air. There was even a Starbucks that was packed with people!
Here is part of Yu Yuan decked out for New Years.
How can you describe a picture like this . . .
Did you ever wonder how they made flour in the old days? First you put some whole grain in a hole in the top stone. The hole goes all the way through the top stone. Then you push the handle back and forth and the top stone turns. As the top stone turns, the grain gets pushed in between the 2 stones and the flour comes out of the sides of the stones!
Do you want to buy a dress? A silk dress? These Chinese dresses are known as Qi Pao, pronounced Chee Pow. Here are a few on display. They can be yours for $25 to $30.
If you are not so good at haggling, they might cost you $40 or $50 !
Next is a parade at an ancient city called Zhou Zhouang. I could only fit part of the parade in the picture as they made their way through the narrow streets of a city that is over 900 years old, and looks the same now as it did then.
Here is another picture of Zhou Zhouang. There are many canals that weave their way through this ancient city.
Rules of the road are seemingly non existent in China. Taxis, cars, motorbikes, bicycles and pedestrians all merge together somehow without getting in accidents or getting killed. Pedestrians do not wait for the green light and being in a crosswalk does not matter to motorists. This taxi could only inch forward and wait for the pedestrians to pass.
Turning left? No problem!! Just watch out for the pedestrians and the traffic coming from three other directions!
Here are links to my other Asian pages.
My Shanghai China pictures are here
My Seoul Korea pictures are here
My 2004 pictures of China are here
My 2005 pictures of China are here
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