Welcome to my first blog entry! On one of my mother's final days with us, I decided to take her on a walk through Shanghai's French Concession, to show her one of the oldest parts of the city. Shanghai was divided up into concessions in the 1840's which included, a British, American and French Concession, and these remained until the 1940's.
We took the underground to get to the start of our walk, which was an excellent way to introduce my mother to the Shanghai rush hour. As a seasoned London commuter I knew she would be fine, but to be honest not even I had realised just how many people it is apparently physically possible to get on to one carriage! When we emerged from the darkness of the station we were in need of refreshment so we bought a cup of freshly squeezed sugar cane juice from a street seller, which was surprisingly refreshing.
The French Concession has on the one hand a very European feel, with European architecture and narrow tree lined streets, but the people ensure that you do not forget that you are definitely still in China, with washing hanging from almost every window, cars racing from one set of traffic lights to the next and people going about their daily business.
We were particularly impressed with the electricians who propped their bamboo ladders precariously against the overhead cables, climbed to the top and preceeded to start fixing the affore mentioned cables.
We then wandered through Fuxing Park, where we saw the usual mixture of Tai Chi, singing, exercising and kite flying.
Our walk ended at the popular restaurant and shopping area known as Xintiandi, where we met up with Lucy, William and Oliver. Fortunately we timed it perfectly as Oliver and William were just finishing their shift.
We then went for a lovely lunch at a very good Shanghainese / Cantonese restaurant and my mother was able to have some much needed retail therapy, as it had been almost 48 hours since her last opportunity to buy some souvenirs and gifts!! Finally we looked around a museum of a Shikumen House (or lane house), which is a typical style of house for families in shanghai, as it would have been in the early 20th century. This was a real eye opener, as you realise just how many families they squeeze in to such a small house. Afterwards, Oliver and William sat down on the pavement for an afternoon snack and as usual they proved to be the most popular tourist attraction!!
We took the underground to get to the start of our walk, which was an excellent way to introduce my mother to the Shanghai rush hour. As a seasoned London commuter I knew she would be fine, but to be honest not even I had realised just how many people it is apparently physically possible to get on to one carriage! When we emerged from the darkness of the station we were in need of refreshment so we bought a cup of freshly squeezed sugar cane juice from a street seller, which was surprisingly refreshing.
The French Concession has on the one hand a very European feel, with European architecture and narrow tree lined streets, but the people ensure that you do not forget that you are definitely still in China, with washing hanging from almost every window, cars racing from one set of traffic lights to the next and people going about their daily business.
We were particularly impressed with the electricians who propped their bamboo ladders precariously against the overhead cables, climbed to the top and preceeded to start fixing the affore mentioned cables.
We then wandered through Fuxing Park, where we saw the usual mixture of Tai Chi, singing, exercising and kite flying.
Our walk ended at the popular restaurant and shopping area known as Xintiandi, where we met up with Lucy, William and Oliver. Fortunately we timed it perfectly as Oliver and William were just finishing their shift.
We then went for a lovely lunch at a very good Shanghainese / Cantonese restaurant and my mother was able to have some much needed retail therapy, as it had been almost 48 hours since her last opportunity to buy some souvenirs and gifts!! Finally we looked around a museum of a Shikumen House (or lane house), which is a typical style of house for families in shanghai, as it would have been in the early 20th century. This was a real eye opener, as you realise just how many families they squeeze in to such a small house. Afterwards, Oliver and William sat down on the pavement for an afternoon snack and as usual they proved to be the most popular tourist attraction!!
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