Eric and Alicia

Oriental Pearl TV Tower, We went up into the tower, where
there is an observation area in the large sphere at the top.

The view of Shanghai from the tower.

Shanghai Urban History Museum vignette

Jade Buddha Temple

This is called a "moon gate" with Amber, Holly and Cheyenne framed in the doorway.

Monks chanting at the temple.

Alicia, our writer today says:

Today we awoke from our first night at the Wanping Hotel. We indulged in a hardy American breakfast; it was so delicious. There were eggs, cereal, bacon, sausage, toast, and everything else the group hasn’t seen in almost three weeks. It was a big change from dumpling and rice Chinese breakfast.

Next it was time to head out and see one of the most famous buildings in China, the Oriental Pearl Tower. The building was huge. We took an elevator up to a little over the 200th story. It was absolutely amazing! There was an entire floor of just windows and birds-eye views of the entire city of Shanghai. It was definitely one of the tallest buildings I have ever been in. I loved how you could view boats on the Huang Pu River. Some of them were carrying so much material it looked as though they would sink under the weight. It was really a cool sight.

Then after our wonderful view, we traveled down to the first floor of the tower where we explored a huge museum called “The Museum of Urban Development.” From the outside of the museum it looks so tiny, but when you enter it, it is huge. There were so many paths to take, all explaining different parts of China’s (specifically Shanghai’s) history and events. There were thousands of models, life-sized and miniature, and different music, and cars all displayed It was really easy to look at, and easier to understand. Then after spending two hours exploring the museum, the group left the Oriental Pearl Tower and headed onto the bus to be shuttled to lunch. Chinese museums and American museums to me seem very alike. They are both very interactive and easy to look at.

Lunch today was at a restaurant in a Buddhist temple compound where we received only vegetarian food. It was definitely different from our normal eating habits, but exciting to try. Half of the time the group would try to decipher exactly what we were eating which slowed us down a bit. After lunch we explored the temple itself, the Jade Buddha Temple. There we saw a variety of people praying and burning incense, as well as monks chanting and singing. We then entered the room with the sacred Buddha made totally of jade. It was very beautiful. The statue stood about ten feet high and was carved from one piece of jade. We then continued around the temple observing other rooms and religious practices, and then left and headed to our last museum of the day, The Arts and Crafts museum.

The Arts and Crafts museum was very bi. It was three floors filed with a variety of handmade art such as wood pieces, paper cutting, woven pieces, sewn pieces, jewelry, purses, and lots of statues and trinkets. It was all very beautiful, but very expensive (even for yuan). We stayed at the museum a good two hours.

Finally it was dinner and the group enjoyed one of our more common Chinese meals, fish, beef, corn, and vegetables. It was all very good, but I must say I do really miss American food. Especially pizza! Nonetheless, it was all very good and I am continually indulging in the Chinese food due to the fact that we have only four Chinese meals left.

Then to conclude the night the group went straight from dinner to the Shanghai Acrobatic Show. It was absolutely breathtaking. All the performers had so much strength and balance and could contort their bodies in so many ways. The performers skills ranged from juggling, twirling, tightrope, jumping, curtain flying, and so much more. It was so crazy! All I kept saying to myself is “How in the world are they doing that?!” It was unbelievable.

After a great night at the show we had a short ice cream run and then straight to bed to prepare for our last in din China. I am very sad that this trip is almost over. It went by so quickly. I really have seen and appreciate a whole new culture and have enjoyed every minute of it. I cannot wait to travel more in the future.

View of the 6th tallest building in the world, the Jin Moa Building; the one in the back is not yet complete, which as you can see is even taller. See this chart on tall bldgs.

A "wedding sedan chair" used to take the bride to the groom's home, in this case used for royalty.

Burning incense at the temple.

The Shanghai Arts and Crafts Museum, an old French concession building.