Yet More Pictures

Description-
1)A little Mah Jong on the boat cruise to kill time at night
2 and 3) The Great Wall
4) Listening to locals sing in the park
5) One of the coolest buildings in China- The Temple of Heaven

Back to Shanghai -

So like I said, Shanghai is massive. The next day in Shanghai - I visited the Urban Planning Exhibition which displays the future direction of Shanghai. It seems that the Chinese government is determined to make Shanghai into a major world city. Construction is already under way to build a building taller than the JinMao tower which will be 100 stories high. The coolest thing about the Jinmao tower is that inside you can look down into the reception of the Hyatt Hotel which is on the 56th floor. So that's an atrium that is more than 30 stories high... WOW! The city continues to expand. It's building an eco-friendly city on an islandjust outside of Shanghai. There are plans to reduce pollution, expand transportation facilities, etc. To get to the airport, I plan on riding the "Maglev" train which apparently runs at 350km/h. It's pretty crazy... they are essentially rebuilding this city from scratch. It's amazing consideringthat it was a tiny fishing village in the mid 1800's. SHanghai is only just over150 years old. We saw a fair bit of poverty as well in Shanghai. Lots of beggars- lots of missing limbs as well, that I wonder if are a result of factory accidents. I imagine that there is no Worker's Compensation to speak much of in China.

At night, we went to see the Shanghai acrobatics which were awesome. All theusual acts- spinning plates on sticks, contortionists, and other breath taking acts. The last act was 6 motorcyclists riding around inside of a big metal spherical cage. CRAZINESS!!!! Afterwards, we went for drinks in Xintiandi - which looks like a street remodeled out of Europe with lots of cafes, bars, and restaurants. It also sells the most expensive beer - about 40 Yuan for a Budweiser. That's expensive b/c you can buy beers for about 5 Yuan in cornerstores sometimes. That's the future of China for you.

It becomes quite glaringly obvious that the gap between rich and poor is growing. You have a growing rich elite in China and then there are the farmers...

After Shanghai - we headed to Hangzhou - supposedly the most beautiful city in China. To be honest, it's alright. It's beautiful by China standards... but... Kerrisdale or the NOrth Shore is probably nicer... Lots of trees and big houses... I even saw a Ferrari dealership. Apparently 80% of Nike shoes are made in that region which is probably why I was approachedby so many street vendors w/ little pictures of shoes that they were trying to sell to me.

China is very entrepreneurial. Everyone is selling stuff. I went into the pharmacy the other day to get cough drops and the woman behind the counter pulled out a little piece of paper with a list of symptoms in English. She seemed to be pointing at "sexual dysfunction" and pushed a little red box towards me. I politely declined.... I'm not quite sure what gave her the idea that I had "that problem." Anyway... needless to say, there are vendors everywhere.

Hangzhou was a nice pit stop. And now, I'm at Yellow Mountain. Our tour ends on Wednesday and then I'm headed back to HK. I really like China. I don't find the people particularly friendly. Not a lot of smiles - at least not in the cities. I'vegrown accustomed to pushing in crowded areas. But I think they have a tough life andthey are resilient. They are tough, and innovative, and creative, very hardworking, and I admire that.

That's it for now. I hope you enjoy the pictures.