We had computer problems during our trip - my new US work computer wouldn't pick up an open wireless signal in China! I have posted all of the photos and links below. It was a great trip!
Departing for Shanghai
Saturday in Shanghai
Easter in Shanghai
Easter in Shanghai (con't)
Monday in Suzhou - Tiger Hill
Monday in Suzhou - Silk Factory
Tuesday at Yu Yuan - Part I
Tuesday at Yu Yuang - Part II
Wednesday at the Children's Market and Jin Mao Tower
Thursday at the Cloth Market and Acrobat Show
Friday at the Foreign Language Bookstore and Swimming
Saturday Last Minute Shopping
Monday, March 31, 2008
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Saturday last minute shopping
We went to the Fake Market one more time for some last minute items, like 25 T-shirts, silver jewelry and a silk duvet cover. We shopped up a storm.
The kids were very sad after having a great week with their best friends and 9 nights of sleep overs! They really didn't want to go home.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Friday at the Foreign Language Bookstore and Swimming
Mark and I spent the morning getting some last few errands done before we leave. This morning we headed to the Foreign Language Bookstore to do some power shopping - the kids stayed home. Mark got his Chinese textbooks for his next few classes plus the workbooks and CDs that go with it. He paid a fraction of what they cost in the US. I bought the first book in case I take the 1st Chinese class for credit plus a picture book on Shanghai and some other fun books about China. Our purchases were very heavy but didn't cost very much.
When we got back to the house we took the kids swimming at the housing complex. The pool is beautiful and it was empty. Of course since it was China, the kids had to wear swim caps and they all thought that was hilarious. We dried off while seated on these tile seats which were heated, very nice.
For dinner, we tried a restaurant which had been recommended to Sarah by a friend. It was all you can eat Teppanyaki and drink for 150Y or under $22 for adults, $11 for the kids. We tested this theory as we ate a lot. They had flames while cooking a few of the courses which really sent the kids running. It was fun.
When we got back to the house we took the kids swimming at the housing complex. The pool is beautiful and it was empty. Of course since it was China, the kids had to wear swim caps and they all thought that was hilarious. We dried off while seated on these tile seats which were heated, very nice.
For dinner, we tried a restaurant which had been recommended to Sarah by a friend. It was all you can eat Teppanyaki and drink for 150Y or under $22 for adults, $11 for the kids. We tested this theory as we ate a lot. They had flames while cooking a few of the courses which really sent the kids running. It was fun.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Thursday at Cloth Market and the Acrobat Show
Today everyone was tired so it was a relaxing day. The kids stayed home and played. A side note, Ji Ji and Noah have decided on this trip that they will be getting married when they grow up. Noah will own a Pokeman store and Ji Ji will be a famous scientist a few hours a week as she doesn't want to work so much!
Mark and I went to the Cloth Market to pick up the shirts and pants which he had ordered. Here is a photo of him trying on one of his new silk shirts. I also bought 2 table runners, 4 pillow covers, some green suede material to cover some chairs at home (its on my list of projects) and some purple silk to make something for the girls (its also on my list). A funny shopping story, as we went back to one vendor that our friends had bought a few things from the week before. I wanted some table runners and I had been given a price of 35Y. Well this time I showed up and the first price given was 680Y. I just laughed. As I was walking away (I wasn't even going to bargain, wasn't worth it to me), the guy saw us and recognized us from before. I got the table runners at 35Y and he apologized to me.
While we were waiting out front for the driver I took some photos of the street vendors making lunch. It really looked good but we went with the safe option and went back to the dumpling restaurant we were at the day before.
That night we went to see an acrobat show, "Era, Intersection of Timne". It was very well done. Many of the acts we had seen before but the presentation was done better than most. Jiang Lei and Ji Ji fell asleep and missed the big finale.
Mark and I went to the Cloth Market to pick up the shirts and pants which he had ordered. Here is a photo of him trying on one of his new silk shirts. I also bought 2 table runners, 4 pillow covers, some green suede material to cover some chairs at home (its on my list of projects) and some purple silk to make something for the girls (its also on my list). A funny shopping story, as we went back to one vendor that our friends had bought a few things from the week before. I wanted some table runners and I had been given a price of 35Y. Well this time I showed up and the first price given was 680Y. I just laughed. As I was walking away (I wasn't even going to bargain, wasn't worth it to me), the guy saw us and recognized us from before. I got the table runners at 35Y and he apologized to me.
While we were waiting out front for the driver I took some photos of the street vendors making lunch. It really looked good but we went with the safe option and went back to the dumpling restaurant we were at the day before.
That night we went to see an acrobat show, "Era, Intersection of Timne". It was very well done. Many of the acts we had seen before but the presentation was done better than most. Jiang Lei and Ji Ji fell asleep and missed the big finale.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Wednesday at the Children's Market and Jin Mao Tower
Wednesday morning we headed to the Children's clothes market on Pu' An Yu. It is an underground market which has too many to visit stalls of clothing. I got 2 pairs of pants for Nora (which is a huge victory, since she can't find pants slim enough in the US). We also got fake crocks for Ji Ji and Jiang Lei (less than $5 each). I get so into shopping and bargaining that I end up walking away from some good deals because I don't get the discount that I want. There was a cool Spiderman 3 T-shirt for Jiang Lei and the lady wouldn't go below $5 so I walked away (should have bought it). There were also toys and hair stuff for the girls. It was lots of fun for me, not so much for Mark or the kids!
After the children's market we went to the observation tower on the 88th floor of Jin Mao Tower, the 5th tallest building in the world and China's tallest. The observatory is 340.1 m / 1,115.8 ft high. Visibility was ok, much clearer than other days. Lots of the tourists wanted to take photos of our kids and they were getting quite tired of it.
Here are some photos of a new skyscraper being constructed next to Jin Mao, the World Financial Center, which will become the world's tallest building at 460m. You can see the open section toward the bottom of the photo. There were people standing there and one guy was pulling on a rope to manually raise some beams up toward the top of the tower. Open to the wind that high? And manually raising the beams? Scary!
After the observatory we went up to the 54th floor to the Grand Hyatt to have a drink in the hotel and enjoy the view. I was thinking about Jiang Lei, drinking in the Jin Mao Tower Hyatt and how different his life was one year ago. That night the "boys" went to a World Cup qualifying match between North Korea and South Korea.
After the children's market we went to the observation tower on the 88th floor of Jin Mao Tower, the 5th tallest building in the world and China's tallest. The observatory is 340.1 m / 1,115.8 ft high. Visibility was ok, much clearer than other days. Lots of the tourists wanted to take photos of our kids and they were getting quite tired of it.
Here are some photos of a new skyscraper being constructed next to Jin Mao, the World Financial Center, which will become the world's tallest building at 460m. You can see the open section toward the bottom of the photo. There were people standing there and one guy was pulling on a rope to manually raise some beams up toward the top of the tower. Open to the wind that high? And manually raising the beams? Scary!
After the observatory we went up to the 54th floor to the Grand Hyatt to have a drink in the hotel and enjoy the view. I was thinking about Jiang Lei, drinking in the Jin Mao Tower Hyatt and how different his life was one year ago. That night the "boys" went to a World Cup qualifying match between North Korea and South Korea.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Tuesday at Yu Yuang - Part II
After touring the gardens, we went to lunch at Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant, next to the gardens. It is famous for Shanghai style dumplings, called Xiao Long Bao. The pork dumplings have some hot soup inside the dumpling. Very tasty. Nora and Sophie ordered a special dumpling which came with a straw and contained only soup inside. There is a photo toward the end showing the line of people waiting to get the dumplings as "take away". They are very popular and very yummy!
Tuesday at Yu Yuan - Part I
On Tuesday we visited Yu Yuan, one of my favorite sites in Shanghai. It is a little cheezy, as all of the old buildings have been torn down and rebuilt to look old. But there is tons of shopping and we got some of the best prices for souvenirs here. Plus the actual gardens, Yu Yuan, are very pretty. There are ponds where the kids feed the colorful koi and the path through the garden provides great views of the ponds, rock formations and pavilions. The size of the whole garden isn't very big but when you are walking around inside, it seems as if the garden stretches a long way with lots of different views.
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