January 14, 2010
After last night’s adventure, today had a lot of expectations. We woke up around 7:00 A.M. and began our day by Skyping our family and friends. We were happy to have Jing back as our tour guide today. Excitedly we met in the lobby, waiting the adventurous day ahead.
First we headed to the outer side of Shanghai. We ventured about an hour away from our hotel. On the way Jin told us all about the Cultural Revolution in China. China is so much different than what Americans think of it. We think that the government controls every person’s move in China. However this is much how it was in the Cultural Revolution. Nowadays citizens have more freedom and there are more exemptions to the one child policy. While there are obvious differences between the order and social structure here, many aspects can be compared to American government. While in the outer parts of Shanghai we experienced a boat ride, riding down the canal, much like yesterday. We toured the post office, one of the first in Shanghai.
Lining the streets were shops full of merchandise and souvenirs. I was able to get two scarves for 40 RMB. This is about $3.00 a piece. I was so excited! We also saw locals making silk pillows and comforters. There was a dead cat hanging upside down for sale, along with some chickens on the street too! It was a lot of fun bargaining with the people in the outer parts of Shanghai because they were easier to bargain with.
After leaving the Shanghai River City we ventured to a Mongolian Buffet lunch. The process for getting lunch worked this way: you went down a buffet line and placed a variety of ingredients and sauces in a bowl. After that, you took it up to this huge fire pit and they would “stir fry” it for you. The taste was absolutely delicious. They also had salad! The salad was much different than American salad, however it was nice to enjoy some lettuce.
After leaving the restaurant we headed to the Jade Buddha Temple. Upon entering the gates we saw people praying and “giving incenses” to the gods. We looked inside the temple and saw the Buddha of yesterday, today and tomorrow. It was also neat to see the different gods that the Chinese pray to. Chinese Buddhism is different from other Buddhism’s just like we have different kinds of protestant churches. At the Jade Buddha temple there is a Buddha completely made out of Jade. It weighs over 2 tons! We also learned that the number 6, and specifically 666, is a lucky number in Chinese, unlike in America. While at the temple we got to sample different kinds of herbal teas. It was exciting to see them make the tea right in front of us, and taste teas based on their benefit to the body.
We had some free time at the temple and I ended up purchasing a calligraphy piece. It has the Chinese symbol for love, and the symbol for “beautiful” (which apparently Kimberlee means in Chinese).
After leaving the Jade Buddha Temple we headed back to the hotel. We made a quick pit stop at the “Happy Mart” where we get all our drinks and snacks. After a 45-rest period we decided to venture to Nanjing Road. Emma, Victoria, and another girl, Rachel, and I all went to this shopping district. We went in a mall that was 12 stories tall! The mall was so different than ours in America. Each floor is dedicated to a particular type of clothing or product for example: Ladies, Men, Kids, House wear, Athletic, Electronic. On each of these individualized floors are section stores within what seems to be like a big department store. It was really amazing.
After visiting the mall, and walking around each floor, we decided to go get dinner. We were craving American food and decided to eat at Pizza Hut. Let me tell you, this Pizza Hut was like no other Pizza Hut. It was upscale, and nice. It reminded me much like a Copper River Grill. For four of us to eat it was less than $30.00. All the food was different, but astonishingly, still American and delicious.
After we ate we kept walking down Nanjing Road. Nanjing Road is like the Manhattan of New York. There are Rolex Stores, High-end car dealerships and expensive clothing stores. It is remarkable to just see all the expensive high-end stuff that most business people can afford. We stopped to buy some clip on roller skates from a street vendor for about $2.50. Of course I put them on and attempted to skate down Nanjing Road. The Chinese people stared at me and the girls were laughing at me making a fool of myself. It was so much fun, definitely one of the highlights to the Shanghai city thus far.
We caught a taxicab back to the hotel. Our taxi driver could speak a little bit of English, Spanish and Korean along with Chinese. He was very funny and interesting to talk with.
Upon arriving back at the hotel, I hung out with some of my other classmates. I feel as if I am starting to get a cold. I’ve been sneezing all day and feel very tired. The rest of the group was going out for another night on the town, but I opted for a night in. I am currently watching the t.v. show Growing Pains in Chinese.
Tomorrow is our free day and I have a feeling I am going to be spending lots of RMB!
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