Woke up as we arrived Shanghai
Fell asleep for about 3 hours in Shanghai
After our second decent night of sleep, we arrived at Shanghai station around 7:30am in desperate need of a shower. We decided that we would head to our hostel and essentially beg for them to let us get clean. Lucky us because, not only did they let us check in at 8:00am, they fed us breakfast, gave us maps, simplified some directions, rented us bicycles & sent us on our merry little way. I love hostels.
Daniel and I decided to take on Shanghai via bicycle on our last day in China. It sounded like a great idea. We ride bikes in Japan every day. They're super convenient. They're way more fun than walking. All signs pointed to yes. Little did I know it was going to be terrifying.
First of all the bikes, buses, trucks, mopeds, cargo bikes, and all of the other weird transportation devices they use in China, all share the same street. There's really nothing safe about it. I don't know how many times I uttered the phrase, 'Biking in Shanghai will be the death of me' but I'm pretty sure it was at least once every time I was close enough to a moving vehicle that I could hi five the driver without fully extending my arm, which was at least 100 times. I was actually a little relieved when my bicycle was STOLEN (that's right - stolen) from the Urban Planning Center.
This video definitely doesn't show the terrifying nature of our excursion (considering that there was barely any traffic on this particular street) but just imagine this being a busy street with like 40 more bicycles and 32 double decker buses. That would make the video a more accurate dipiction.
But before my bike got stolen, we did manage to make it to Jingan Temple in downtown Shanghai. The temple dates back to something like 247 AD and contains the largest sitting jade Buddha statue in the country. The whole temple has the most amazing woodwork both inside and out.
Jingan Temple:
and on the inside:
The name translates to meaning 'Temple of Peace and Tranquility' ... the funny part about that is that the temple is located right in the center of downtown Shanghai. There's nothing really peace-like or tranquil about the constant horn honking, emergency sirens, people shouting, and running train lines while you're trying to pray.
We spent the rest of the afternoon navigating the streets (literally IN the streets) of Shanghai stopping at bookstores, taking a ride through People's Park, checking out West Nanjing Road (where I could afford absolutely nothing!! :) ), and eventually to the Urban Planning Center ... which would put an end to my bicycle riding days in Shanghai.
The Urban Planning Center was a lot cooler than it sounds. It was kind of like a museum, but a lot of the exhibits were interactive and most of the representations and dioramas were projections of the future of Shanghai and really, really interesting.
First up was the 2009 Summer & Children & Love exhibit. It was dedicated to the children who survived the earthquakes of last year and I never in a million years thought that I would get teary eyed at the Urban Planning Center, but there I was ...
reading all about children's altered hopes and dreams after the earthquakes and about the loss and the tragedy that so many kids experienced. Their summer dreams were about new schools, clean water, and houses that 'can't be quaked down'. Looking at their pictures and thinking about their stories and putting myself in their little tiny 5 year old shoes made my summer 'dreams' of a new car and a ideally located 2 bedroom apartment for under $700 seem so trivial.
I don't care who you are, or where you live, or who your dad is, or what language you speak, or how much money you have ... every child deserves to be loved every single day, and should be able to feel safe when they go to sleep every night, and has the right to be happy when they wake up each and every morning. Thinking that some of these kids don't get what they deserve was enough to make my heart break a little. And yet they smile, and they're optimistic, and they still dream about new bicycles and new books for their schools. A lot of people could learn a thing or two from these kids ... myself included.
This little girl had the most precious smile :) , but that was about it :(
Thankfully, the rest of the Urban Planning Center was a lot less emotional; no tissues needed. Upstairs was a lot of Shanghai history and then up another floor was a lot of Shanghai future. This huge model took up the entire third floor and is a projection of what Shanghai, one of the fastest growing cities in the world, will look like in the year 2020.
The whole thing was pretty impressive.
To celebrate our last night in China all we really wanted was some amazing Chinese food and a few Tsingtaos. We got a few recommendations on where to go, took a subway and a taxi, walked for a while and eventually stumbled upon the average sized bar called 'Hello Two'. Who knows what happened to the original, but I can tell you this - Hello Two was fantastic. I guarantee the Tsingtaos had something to do with it, but Daniel and I had an amazing time. We loved that band and I know for a fact they loved us back. I mean they let us do pretty much whatever we wanted including 'The Conga' on stage, they played every song we requested and they openly handed over the mic anytime we started singing along ... which was to almost every song. I don't even really remember their name, I just remember that I love them. <3
Daniel, singing one of my favorites - Hey Jude
Some things are just a little fuzzy after all of that singing and dancing, but I remember (even in the fuzziest state) thinking:
There's this quote by Helen Keller that says, "Life is either a great adventure or nothing." My life definitely classifies as a great adventure, with China being just a small (but great) part.
much love
-tara-
xx
