Shanghai Weekend

Looking across the river to the Pudong side from the Bund at night.

One of only a couple reclining Buddah's made from a single piece of Jade.

Mao statues for sale

This is hand embroidery, very beautiful.
We bought some much smaller pieces as they
take months to make and were fairly expensive.

This guy had a knife and other tools and was working on this ladies foot.
I believe his sign says he has some kind of knowledge of hands and feet?

This is how you eat cheap, a complete lunch here cost less than a quarter.

Live Crickets for Sale

These are some pictures from our Shanghai weekend. Bev and I both fell in love with Shanghai. It is a wonderful city. We traveled with another couple that are from Napa, Idaho. We decided to do a one day city tour to get a feel for the city and maximize our time. We visited the Bund and the French Concession district, Shanghai Museum of Ancient Chinese Art which contains over 120,000 pieces of rare and precious art. The Qing Dynasty, Yuyuan Gardens, Jade Buddha Temple called Xin Tian Di, had a tea ceremony, visited a pearl factory. In addition we had visited the Bund on our own in the evening and were treated to a wonderful fireworks show. The opposite side of the Huangpu River is being developed at a very fast rate. It was completely inaccessible just 20 years ago. It is called the Pudong, a district in Shanghai, which has emerged as China\'s financial and commercial hub. Before we left we were able to take a river cruise and visit an antique village area near our hotel where we bought some souvenirs.

Quite a busy three days when you add in travel to Hong Kong and back for our flights. Our passports are getting filled with many stamps as we get four every time we go to Hong Kong, or Macau.

This is a mix of pictures, most of street vendors, which I find quite interesting. We ended up walking a few blocks on Sunday morning and went through an area that has a Sunday morning 2nd hand sales by individuals. Stuff was laid out on blankets. Some amazing things. Everyting can be sold, rocks, crickets, turtles and lots of stuff. Bev picked up some pot holders and was handed additional items, a cell phone I think, and then started to draw a crowd as she looked the items over, she decided she didn't want to make a purchase that was difficult.

If you touch anything or show any interest with your eyes or pointing at something you will have a hard time getting away from the vendor without being rude, which is many times the only thing you can do! Once you agree to a price with ok or yes. It is yours. That is the final word on the sale. There is no I changed my mind. As soon as you pay. You totally own it and a return just 30 seconds later or exchange is going to cost you, or is not possible. You have to be ready for final purchase when you say "ok".