This weekend was one for the books! I’ll start by saying I have 526 pictures from the weekend. Yes, I’m a little camera happy, but everything was just that neat and beautiful! I started the weekend by leaving early Saturday morning on a bus trip with some of the female teachers from my school (a Women’s Day trip). We went to Changshu, in the Jianqsu Province. Along the way, I saw many of the stereotypical stray Chinese hats in the field as farmers tended to their fields. It made me think about how much work these people put into their lives. I also couldn’t believe how agile they were at every age. I don’t know too many 70 year olds would could be bending and crouching in a field all day let alone a 30 year old!
Our first destination was a National Park. I THINK it was Yushan-Shanghu Scenic Spot which is part of the national-level Taihu Lake Scenic Area. I do have to confirm that. Both the park and the day were BEAUTIFUL. It was 27 degrees by 10 AM. I kept my sweater on as long as possible as I have yet to see a Chinese woman in short sleeves and I am unsure if it is taboo but after a few hours of walking in that heat, I couldn’t deal anymore (it was a black sweater) and took it off. The woman all started gushing. No joke. They were sighing and touching my arms, longingly. It turns out that the umbrellas they were carrying were not to provide shade to cool off but to protect their skin from tanning. I told them how we like to tan in the summer and they were slightly appalled. So mom, Alyssa, and Cullen, I found the place for you! They don’t like tans here!
The gardens and lakes were beautiful and we wandered around them for a few hours in out little beige and plaid bucket hats that the tour guides gave us. There were little museum stops and a stone that I could rub for luck. We had lunch together and I was brave and tried everything including eel, periwinkles and delicious delicious sugarcane. I’m also SLOWLY getting used to the tea.
We spend THREE HOURS in the afternoon shopping. I didn’t think I would make it as I followed the teachers in and out of shops that were ummm….not quite my style. The afternoon changed quickly, though, when the women decided to start dressing me. They convinced me to buy a nice sweater and I thought we were done…..until they wanted me to get something “fashionable”. Furs, rhinestones, pleather, bows, ribbons and frills (at times all combined on one top) were all fair game. Eventually, they convinced me to get a brown pleather and furry number. While flattering through the waist and useful here in Qingpu, I don’t think it will be seeing the light of day in Halifax.
Sunday brought on a day trip to Zhu-Jia-Jiao. This trip was organized by Pacican, my employer so 9/13 of us went. Zhu-Jia-Jiao is known as the “Venice of Shanghai” and the name is fitting. Canals snake throughout the ancient village and gondolas sliver by every few minutes. Zhu-Jia-Jiao is also home to COUNTLESS shops. Literally. The whole village is a maze. I can only image how many shops I did not see. The shops themselves peddle anything you could image including art, musical instruments (that sound SO cool), silk, silk and more silk, pearls, scarves, jewellery – to name a few. The difficulty in shopping here is that it is next to impossible to find something authentic. This is China – the land where everything is made. There are countless copies of every trinket and object and the trick is finding the place that will give you the best deal. Personally, I was looking for something unique and it was tough. You have to go deep into the maze to find the most authentic items and to find the best prices. The shops near the town’s entrances pay more to be near the front and they charge the most. For instance, one piece of art I was looking at near the entrance was 280RMB and I managed to get it down to 60RMB at a further shop.
The food in Zhu-Jia-Jiao is something else! It was the first time I saw so much “authentic” Chinese food in one place. Booths and shops had rows and rows and pots of what looked like science lab specimen. Hearts, feet, livers and every other imaginable body part were displayed for hungry passersby. Honey spun edible pieces of art were being whipped up all around. It was something else!! I’ll be going back for sure (but with more money)!
Our first destination was a National Park. I THINK it was Yushan-Shanghu Scenic Spot which is part of the national-level Taihu Lake Scenic Area. I do have to confirm that. Both the park and the day were BEAUTIFUL. It was 27 degrees by 10 AM. I kept my sweater on as long as possible as I have yet to see a Chinese woman in short sleeves and I am unsure if it is taboo but after a few hours of walking in that heat, I couldn’t deal anymore (it was a black sweater) and took it off. The woman all started gushing. No joke. They were sighing and touching my arms, longingly. It turns out that the umbrellas they were carrying were not to provide shade to cool off but to protect their skin from tanning. I told them how we like to tan in the summer and they were slightly appalled. So mom, Alyssa, and Cullen, I found the place for you! They don’t like tans here!
The gardens and lakes were beautiful and we wandered around them for a few hours in out little beige and plaid bucket hats that the tour guides gave us. There were little museum stops and a stone that I could rub for luck. We had lunch together and I was brave and tried everything including eel, periwinkles and delicious delicious sugarcane. I’m also SLOWLY getting used to the tea.
We spend THREE HOURS in the afternoon shopping. I didn’t think I would make it as I followed the teachers in and out of shops that were ummm….not quite my style. The afternoon changed quickly, though, when the women decided to start dressing me. They convinced me to buy a nice sweater and I thought we were done…..until they wanted me to get something “fashionable”. Furs, rhinestones, pleather, bows, ribbons and frills (at times all combined on one top) were all fair game. Eventually, they convinced me to get a brown pleather and furry number. While flattering through the waist and useful here in Qingpu, I don’t think it will be seeing the light of day in Halifax.
Sunday brought on a day trip to Zhu-Jia-Jiao. This trip was organized by Pacican, my employer so 9/13 of us went. Zhu-Jia-Jiao is known as the “Venice of Shanghai” and the name is fitting. Canals snake throughout the ancient village and gondolas sliver by every few minutes. Zhu-Jia-Jiao is also home to COUNTLESS shops. Literally. The whole village is a maze. I can only image how many shops I did not see. The shops themselves peddle anything you could image including art, musical instruments (that sound SO cool), silk, silk and more silk, pearls, scarves, jewellery – to name a few. The difficulty in shopping here is that it is next to impossible to find something authentic. This is China – the land where everything is made. There are countless copies of every trinket and object and the trick is finding the place that will give you the best deal. Personally, I was looking for something unique and it was tough. You have to go deep into the maze to find the most authentic items and to find the best prices. The shops near the town’s entrances pay more to be near the front and they charge the most. For instance, one piece of art I was looking at near the entrance was 280RMB and I managed to get it down to 60RMB at a further shop.
The food in Zhu-Jia-Jiao is something else! It was the first time I saw so much “authentic” Chinese food in one place. Booths and shops had rows and rows and pots of what looked like science lab specimen. Hearts, feet, livers and every other imaginable body part were displayed for hungry passersby. Honey spun edible pieces of art were being whipped up all around. It was something else!! I’ll be going back for sure (but with more money)!