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Shanghai China
In the summer of 2002, our son asked us if we would like to go to China. We said yes, of course, because we love the Chinese culture and history. The main issue for us was the language barrier and our safety while touring the country. Bestours, Inc. was the company we contacted at http://www.bestour.com. After checking various itineraries, prices, and local weather, we selected a 15-day tour from their brochure for September of 2002. The one disappointing thing about the trip was, after making all the arrangements, our son was unable to go. Shanghai was the first stop on our trip. At that time we were living in Aurora, Colorado, a suburb of Denver. We flew from Denver to Los Angeles and then on to Shanghai were the 12 people in our escorted tour group met for the first time. The tour company had given us a carrying bag with the name Far and Away on it. This was how the Chinese tour guide could identify us at the Shanghai airport. We arrived at 5:40 p.m. very tired from a long flight. One important thing to remember when taking a long flight is to move around as much as possible. We took an aspirin to help with our body circulation to avoid health issues. Let me digress for a moment. I started writing these articles about this trip first covering Beijing and its high lights because of the current interest in the 2008 Summer Olympics. However, Beijing was actually in the middle of our itinerary. We had a unique opportunity to see China before the massive preparations for the Olympics were completed. I will now continue to relate the tour to you in sequential order. We were very excited the first morning of our trip to China. Following breakfast, we walked to a park near our hotel. Although it was early in the morning, we saw many people exercising and talking to neighbors. They could not understand why we were there and looked at us with much curiosity. In trying to go around a group of people standing in our way on the sidewalk, we briefly had to walk on the grass. A policeman immediately reprimanded us. When we returned to our hotel, we saw people exercising with swords in the parking lot. We found it all very interesting and videotaped all we saw. There appear to be many names for Shanghai such as the Oriental Pearl and the Oriental Paris. Shanghai is one of China's largest cities and can be found on the Yangtze River. Many tourists visit Shanghai from throughout the world. It has grown rapidly into an international city famous as a shoppers paradise and an economic center. Listed below are the many magnificent highlights included in our tour of this city. The Bund (Zhongshan Road) is the waterfront region on the Huangpu River in Shanghai. Years ago this area had been known as the Wall Street of Asia. It appeared to be European because on the west side there are buildings of Gothic, Baroque, and Renaissance architecture to name a few. These buildings held banks, consulates, and newspaper offices hundreds of years ago. The buildings remain as a testament to its past. You can see the end of the Yangtze River, according to the guide, and the Shanghai Convention is where the APEC 2001 was held. It was well worth walking along the Bund; the view of the city is wonderful. You can see the Oriental Pearl TV and radio tower which is the third tallest in the world. Its interesting to see the blend of the many skyscrapers as well as traditional Chinese architecture in this exciting city. Yuyuan Garden is a classical garden that includes pavilions, ponds, rockeries, halls, and cloisters. It is about five acres. Our guide was excellent. He explained the six main areas in the garden in detail. They are called Sansui Hall, Wanhua Chamber, Dianchun Hall, Huijing Hall, Yuhua Hall, and the Inner Garden. Each area is unique and well worth visiting. In the Shanghai Museum we were allowed to explore on our own as long as we were back on the bus in time to continue the tour. The museum includes 11 galleries and three exhibition halls. We love museums and have visited many throughout the world. I must say the ancient ceramics collection was very impressive. The sculptures, jade pieces, calligraphy, coins, furniture, seals, and bronze ware from the different dynasties help visitors to understand the richness of Chinese ancient culture better. The Children's Palace is our favorite place. We saw children study performing arts, calligraphy, and ancient handcrafts. The guide allowed us to observe classes, and the children were eager to learn and appeared very happy. Children Ambassadors from the palace have performed in the United States. At the end of the tour of this site we were able to purchase the children's artwork. For those of you who enjoy shopping, Nanjing Road would be a destination for you. It is a combination of upscale stores, traditional stores and special shops offering silk goods, embroidery, and jade. There are theaters, bars, and food vendors to tempt you as well. As we were touring China in the autumn, we learned that the Mid-Autumn festival is an important holiday in China. According to tradition, families celebrate by getting together. The full moon is a symbol for reunion (tyanyuan). Thus an important part of the festival is the Moon Cake which is round, and they display many lanterns to celebrate the event. I must say I did not like the Moon Cake we ate. You should not leave Shanghai without going to see the Acrobats Show. The performers are exciting and unbelievable. They twirl umbrellas, balance on stacked chairs, balance in human pyramids, etc.. It is fast paced and thoroughly enjoyable. After two wonderful days in Shanghai, it was time to head to our next
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Contributor's Note
This is the fifth of several articles relating our experiences and impressions of a 15-day escorted tour of China we took in September of 2002.
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