Where do I start with Shanghai? Like Beijing, the city is stock full of people, but in Shanghai, you are also surrounded by the skyscrapers and lights of a modern city. And, while it seemed to be the city that embraced everything new, bigger and better, you could be walking down a street and stumble upon something old, like with the Jade Buddha Temple, reminding you of the countries history.

View of Pudong from the Bund - you can see the Bottle Opener, the tallest building in Shanghai in the back

View of the highway from our hotel

Another example of new meets old was the Yu Gardens. It is modern shopping set in old buildings, and not just modern knick knacks like shot glasses and magnets. Within a few blocks, we found a Starbucks and Dairy Queen. I felt a little silly visiting the DQ, but was happy to give in to a Blizzard craving with a Mississippi Mud Pie blizzard. We shopped for jade, abacuses, local art and walked away empty handed. Too many people, too much haggling for my taste.

See the Texas stop sign (aka DQ) in the back? There was another one just outside the shopping area

Then, after all the commercialism and craziness in the shopping centre, you escape into the gardens themselves and tranquility descends. It was originally built during the Ming Dynasty for a government official in his retirement. While it wasn't kept up over the ages, it was restored in the 1950's and has been opened to the public to enjoy their own type of retirement - an escape from the bustle of Shanghai - for a small fee. Perfect for us to relax after a typical night out Shanghai style karaoke-ing at K-TV.

Tea house in the middle of Yu Gardens

While we wandered among the gardens, you did not hear the sounds of Shanghai. You did not see the crowds of people (minus the tourists, which may be more substantial in the summer). You did not see technology. Just lakes, koi, rockeries and pagodas. So we wandered, sat, then wandered some more until it was time to find our way back out into the city for one last night of Shanghai debauchery til we headed back to London.

Inside Yu Gardens

In Beijing, we went to several temples. I never really thought about the fact that they weren't really temples any more, and never really connected them to religion in China.

Then we headed off to Shanghai, where I was busy with work and figured I would see nothing.

But, I managed to squeeze in a thing or two. And one of the things that Paul and I did on our own was the Jade Buddha Temple.

Despite everything, I have to say that this was one of my favorite things about Shanghai. It was the epitome of old meets new.

The history of the temple itself isn't actually that old. It was built in the late 1800's during the Qing Dynasty to house 2 jade Buddhas that were brought from Burma. After being re-built in the 1920's, it remains an active temple today.



Upon walking in, you see evidence of its current use. Individuals are lighting incense and candles, expressing prayers to Buddha. Behind the temple, you see the high rises of Shanghai, making you feel like you stepped out of the big city into a little haven hidden within its midst.

We first walked into the Great Hall, the most exquisite of the halls. When you first walk in, you see the Three Golden Buddhas. The hall is lined on either side with Gods of the Twenty Heavens. In front are rows of cushions for kneeling in prayer. It was nothing like I had ever seen before. We enjoyed taking a few minutes to stand there in awe.



Next, we sent to see the famous Jade Buddhas. It is an extra cost to go check out these relics and no pictures, but worth the few bucks. The hall where the first Buddha is held is lined with tiny golden statues, helping to make the Buddha itself more impressive.


After wandering through the rooms and shops, we headed towards the back of the temple complex.  Here, we found a koi pond, perfect for sitting and observing, or if you were so inclined, some fish feeding. And so we sat, soaked up the sun, reveled in it all and prepared to head back to the city streets of Shanghai.

A lot of things seemed to be lost in translation while we were in China.

One of those things, surprisingly, was one of the most visited tourist site in all of Beijing, perhaps outside of the Great Wall.

We asked a local about visiting the Temple of Heaven. They looked confused, we explained, and the aHa moment came. The Altar of Heaven! Who knows why they seemed to give it a different name in English, but we'll go with it.

The complex was used mainly during the Ming and Qing dynasties, and is smaller than the Forbidden City, as emperors supposed to have residences for themselves larger than those temples or spaces dedicated to Heaven.


The architecture is similar to that of the Forbidden City in style and even in many ways layout. You still have the intricate paintings, the little animals adorning the roof buildings, the marble, walkways especially for the emperor. The biggest difference though is the iconic blue tiled roofs of the building, to represent Heaven. Another claim to fame of the complex is that it was built without a single nail - each wood piece was made to fit perfectly with the other connecting pieces.



I visited with Paul after meetings and before heading to the airport, so needless to say it was a speed tour. Luckily Paul had gone on his own earlier in the week and knew all the best spots to hit. Unfortunately, it was an overcast day and I missed what Paul said was the best part - the locals hanging out around the park surrounding the temple. From tai chi, to games, to calligraphy practice, people were out in full swing, enjoying their time outdoors.


 So, what did I see then? In addition to the grounds and some glances at the smaller buildings, I was able to see the two biggest sites (in my opinion). Tip: For those that do want to explore the site, make sure to buy a through ticket so that you don't have to buy individual entrance tickets to each building.

As we came through the North Entrance, the first big building we saw was the Hall of  Prayers for Good Harvests - this is the building that everyone knows. Fight the crowds for a look inside, especially up at the ceiling. Beautiful.


After wandering, the last area we passed through before the exit was the thing that gave the site it's Chinese name - the Circular Mound Altar. Here is where the Emperor would offer sacrifices to the Heavens at Winter Solstice.


After our powerwalk through, I felt happy to have seen so many sites in such a short time. Our time in Beijing was through. Off to Shanghai!

During our time in Beijing, we stayed at a hotel near Wangfujing. I picked it because it seemed to be the perfect location, both central, close to transit lines and restaurants.

Little did I know that it was the BEST location to stay at in Beijing.

Wangfujing literally translates to Prince's Mansion Well, as this location was home to many aristocratic mansions during the Qing dynasty. According to the legend,  the location had a well that was famous for it's sweet water.

Now, Wangfujing is the walking street of Beijing. With this, there are tons of restaurants, shops and more off the street. It's the Taksim of Beijing and even without cars is full of pedestrians.


We wandered one night to try out some Peking Duck at Quan Ju De - Paul's first taste of the crispy skinned duck. Afterwards, we decided to wander the streets.


I was certainly glad we ate before, because while the food from the street vendors was great for pictures, not so much up my alley for eating.




So we strolled, soaked up the craziness and exoticism of it all, then turned our happy tummies back to bed and left the fried scorpions for others to enjoy.

The Great Wall is one of the most iconic landmarks for China. Right up there at the top of every tourists wish list.

So, understandable, the wall itself is jam packed with tourists and those catering to the tourists.

We got an early start out to the wall, hoping to beat the crowds. So after a quick stop at the jade shop (courtesy of our tour guides), we found ourselves there.

Already at 9:30 am, in April, it was teeming with tourists. We posed for our pictures at the bottom and from there, as we looked up the mountain, we made a goal to make it to the top.


And so the climb began. It was actually a bit precarious. There were so many people, so many steps, very uneven and worn steps, and a low handrail causing people to hunch over to use it. Add to that the people stopping to catch their breath or take a photo, and it doesn't make for easy going.





















Luckily, the higher up you go, the fewer people there are in your way. Unfortunately, the higher you go, the harder it gets for anyone (ergh, me) that doesn't work out regularly. As you climb to the top, there are towers to mark your way. Some allow for nice photo opportunities, some allow for you to shop from vendors for trinkets to mark your visit. For me, they were mile markers, marking my progress, giving me an excuse to stop for a water break and shed more layers of clothes.




Just over an hour after we started, we made it to the top.We had reached the end, nothing more to climb up, just a view across the expanse of mountains, or at least what little of them you could see through the haze. We took a moment to glance across the landscape, catch our (my) breath, revel in our accomplishment. Then it was time to head back down. Here the path diverges, to the left, Mongolia, to the right, China. We stuck to the right, as we were told by our guide, and perhaps because while we had defeated one part of the wall, we weren't quite ready to face the peaks of the other route.

We made the decision to use a tour company to get us around Beijing. We knew we had 2 days before I had to go to work to fit in the key sites. And with one of those being the day we landed, it was going to be a tough feat.

So, we decided to hire someone to pick us up from the airport and drive us around for 2 days.

First stop was the Forbidden City. So far so good.

Later on in the tour, not so good. As it turns out, the tour companies (or at least this one) are government owned. So that meant we stopped by the government owned restaurant, government owned jade warehouse, and government owned medical facility for foot massages and attempts to sell us herbal medicine. If I had it to do all over again, I would skip the guide and do it on our own. The city was surprisingly easy to get around in via the metro, and we had no trouble when we were on our own.

This time, though, we were stuck with the guides.

After the Forbidden City, they took us to the hutongs. I had heard of them from a co-worker who recommended restaurants nearby, so thought it must have been good.

And to be fair, they weren't terrible. They beat the jade shop and herbal medicine place for sure.

But the whole situation of it was funny.

To get around the hutongs, you ride in a rickshaw. So, Paul and I clamored into the seat behind our bike driver and got ready to see the sites.


Then, pops up alongside us, on a bicycle, our hutong tour guide. Yelling out over the ruckus of the neighborhood itself, she furiously pedals to keep up with us, all while avoiding the other rickshaws and  bikes that clutter the roads of the neighborhood.


After perusing the streets, we end up in what is described to us as a typical hutong courtyard, where the family used to gather back in ancient times. This wasn't so interesting, as they have tourist-ized parts of it, and done nothing to the others. One room is decorated to look like what was a traditional bedroom for the wedding night. The next is a real bedroom, AC unit and all. Yet, the guide takes us into each and explains it (there is the bed and chairs). After an awkward 30 minutes, we thought we were done, but no. Back out in the courtyard, we get descriptions of the pot holding water & fish, flowers, and are taken back to the wedding room for photos.

My smile says "Are we done yet?!"

We end our tour of the hutongs by driving by the lake. Now I can see why someone would recommend it! The lake is filled with paddle boats, full of families and couples enjoying a sunny afternoon. The streets are lined with trees, restaurants and people, giving life to the whole neighborhood.

We spent the last week cut-off from the social world. No blogger, no you-tube, no facebook. No, we weren't on an island without access to the internet. We were in China. Government control of the internet kept me from keeping you all posted as we traveled along, but no worries, now you'll hear it all!

Our first stop on our China tour was Beijing; we went straight from the airport to the Forbidden City. This made sure we both a) fit in as much sightseeing as we could with my short time there and b) didn't go check into the hotel and pass out.

One of the most interesting things to me about sightseeing in China was all the domestic tourists. Nearly everyone we saw was Chinese. It was inspiring, the pride they had in their history and the excitement they all felt at visiting their capital city and historic sites. It made me ashamed to say I had never visited Washington D.C.


Back to the Forbidden City - this was the imperial residences of the emperors from the Ming and Qing dynasties, built in the late 15th century. On nearly 200 acres, the imperial residence houses 90 palaces and over 8,500 rooms.


We started off at the entrance, by Tiananmen Square. Here you walk through the Gate of Heavenly Peace to the Meridian Gate, through the outer court, which finally brought us to the inner court. As you go through each of the gates, you'll notice there are 3 doorways within each gate. One for the emperor, one for the high lords, and one for just the plain old lords.



A perk of off-season travel is smaller crowds, but a downside is renovations. So upon our entrance to the Inner Court, we found the Palace of Heavenly Peace covered in scaffolding. So we continued by admiring all the unique details of the surrounding buildings, from the little statues adorning each roof (the more statues, the more important), the carvings of figures in the marble, the old stones run down by the millions of visitors whose footsteps have covered these same paths.




After that, we headed to the gardens surrounding the palace. During our visit, we got to see some of the most beautiful cherry blossoms, making every garden beautiful and making me pause with my camera to catch a picture.



Finally, we found ourselves back out on the streets of Beijing, confronted by the real world and made to leave behind our imaginations of how the city used to be.