Old Shanghai, Shanghai, China

The old Shanghai refers to a small area of Shanghai that used to be walled in and remained that way until about 1912 when all but a small section of the wall was demolished.  With the advent of the concessions, Old Shanghai became the administrative center until later when it became a shopping complex.

Now it has many restored historical buildings as well as new buildings in a somewhat traditional style that has become one of Shanghai's main tourist attractions, housing many shops and restaurants.

The "Old Town" is not exclusively old, as you still have a chance to take in the atmosphere if you wander into the quaint side streets.

But, on first viewing walking down the street towards the complex, I'm not sure I'd go as far as to say this is in reality old Shanghai, except for what appears to be a true representation of it architecturally. 

The buildings, which are shops and restaurants, are set out symmetrically, with streets, alleyways, and squares which may prove that it was specially built for the tourists, and no mechanized traffic.



Anyway...

The buildings are magnificent, and a photographer's delight, and you'd finish up having hundreds of photos by the time you leave.  All the buildings are exquisite representations of traditional Chinese architecture. 



As for buying stuff, remember if you're not Chinese you have the sucker tourist stamp on your forehead, so be prepared to walk away if the vendors will not bargain.  

Nothing here is worth the price tag and in our group discounts like from 130 RMB to 50 RMB and from 1 for 1,200 to 2 for 950 RMB are common.

Here common t-shirts that we can get for 3 dollars back home start at 150 RMB which is roughly 35 dollars.  It's that kind of market.

We end up is a tea room, on the third floor of the meeting point below, and discover all the tour guides sitting around a table counting money, and I have to say it's the most $50 notes I've ever seen in one place.  

It is, we were told, where they discussed 'strategy'.

The Canals of Suzhou, the Venice of the East, China

Off for a boat ride on the canal

A little background on the upcoming tour:

The Suzhou Grand Canal is located at the Taihu Lake Basin in the downstream of Yangtze River and belongs to Jiangnan Grand Canal which starts from Zhenjiang in the north and ends at Hangzhou in the south.

Constructed from Spring and Autumn period (770 BC – 453 BC) and basically completed in mid-Tang Dynasty (618 – 907), Suzhou Grand Canal has, for thousands of years, greatly helped the economy of Suzhou.


This morning is a boat ride that will take us along a small portion of this great canal, and we head through a number of back streets, to a landing where there are a number of boats all vying with each other to get us passengers on boats.

But...

These boats don't have a wharf to tie up to and then put out a stable gangplank.  No.  They just more into a concrete step and you take your life in your hands getting on.  One wrong step and you're in the canal.  And not a very clean one at that.

That's if another boat doesn't come along and bumps you, knocking you off balance.  We managed not to lose anyone in boarding the vessel.
 
This is where we get on the boat



We go along what appears to be downstream towards another larger canal, past tree-lined streets until the canal narrows and we're looking at the backs of houses, which look very dilapidated.



And the canals?  Well, it’s not quite like it is in Venice



Though some parts of the canal look better than others



What doesn't bear thinking about is the electrical wiring which is a nightmarish spider web of cables going off in all directions.  How anyone could troubleshoot problems is beyond me.


 
We pass under a number of bridges, and then, about 30 minutes after leaving, we reach a larger canal and do a 180-degree turn, and head back to a drop off point the will enable us to walk through a typical everyday Chinese market for food and the other items.

This drop off point is much the same as the starting point, a concrete step which is as hazardous as the first.  At least we don't have to compete with other boats for the landing spot.


 
We take a leisurely stroll down a small section of Pingjiang Road with small shops on either side, selling all manner of goods



but my interest is in the food and the prices, which at times seem quite expensive for so-called local people, so maybe because the tourists go down this street every day, the prices have been inflated accordingly.





I find it rather disappointing.

We walk to the bridge, go under to the other side crossing the canal and find the coffee shop which is also the meeting place.

So...

When is a coffee shop not a coffee shop, when it takes an eternity to make a cup of coffee, we waited 25 minutes?

We also ordered beef black pepper rice and it took 20 minutes before it arrived, but it was well worth the wait.  Strands of perfectly cooked beef with onion, carrot, and capsicum, with a very peppery and spicy sauce, with a side of boiled rice.

A pizza was ordered too but it did not arrive at all before we left.

After this interlude, we head off to the Lingering Garden.

A trip to China - Day 8 - A new day, a new adventure, a boat ride on some Chinese canals

Off for a boat ride on the canals

The next activity this morning is a boat ride, and we head through a number of back streets, to a landing where there are a number of boats all vying with each other to get us passengers on boats.

But...

These boats don't have a wharf to tie up to and then put out a stable gangplank.  No.  They just more into a concrete step and you take your life in your hands getting on.  One wrong step and you're in the canal.  And not a very clean one at that.

That's if another boat doesn't come along and bumps you, knocking you off balance.  We managed not to lose anyone in boarding the vessel.
 
This is where we get on the boat



We go along what appears to be downstream towards another larger canal, past tree-lined streets until the canal narrows and we're looking at the backs of houses, which look very dilapidated.



And the canals?  Well, it’s not quite like it is in Venice



Though some parts of the canal look better than others



What doesn't bear thinking about is the electrical wiring which is a nightmarish spider web of cables going off in all directions.  How anyone could troubleshoot problems is beyond me.


   
We pass under a number of bridges, and then, about 30 minutes after leaving, we reach a larger canal and do a 180-degree turn, and head back to a drop off point the will enable us to walk through a typical everyday Chinese market for food and the other items.

This drop off point is much the same as the starting point, a concrete step which is as hazardous as the first.  At least we don't have to compete with other boats for the landing spot.


   
We take a leisurely stroll down this street with small shops on either side, selling all manner of goods



but my interest is in the food and the prices, which at times seem quite expensive for so-called local people, so maybe because the tourists go down this street every day, the prices have been inflated accordingly.





I find it rather disappointing.

We walk to the bridge, go under to the other side crossing the canal and find the coffee shop which is also the meeting place.

So...

When is a coffee shop not a coffee shop, when it takes an eternity to make a cup of coffee, we waited 25 minutes?

We also ordered beef black pepper rice and it took 20 minutes before it arrived, but it was well worth the wait.  Strands of perfectly cooked beef with onion, carrot, and capsicum, with a very peppery and spicy sauce, with a side of boiled rice.

A pizza was ordered too but it did not arrive at all before we left.

After this interlude, we head off to the Lingering Garden.