So, anyway. here is the first excerpt from a series of articles that I am writing on my visit to China. I kept pinching myself while on the airplane to China. No, not to stay awake but to say to myself, "I cannot believe that this girl from Larkinsville, Alabama is on her way to China. Oh, yes! And, I loved China. Loved loved it! And, I want to add that being retired, I am having to fight hard to do all of the things that I want to do. Paint, write, wow! I have completed several paintings since August so all is not lost. And, for all of you retirees out there, keep the exercise up!
My husband’s business travels takes him to many interesting
places and when he asked if I wanted travel to China, I was elated. I could just see Ingrid Bergman marching the
Chinese children across The Great Wall as they sang “This Old Man”. (Ref. the movie
“The Sixth Inn of Happiness”). Too, I
have always been fascinated with “The Last Emperor”.
I quickly spread the word among family and friends that I
was going to China. Their reaction was
perhaps what one might expect. Comments
ranged from, “Really, China?” to “China is a communist country, right?” Well, well well!
Friends and neighbors, I would hope that one day you would
have the opportunity to visit China.
And, if you do, toss out any pre-conceived notions that you might
have. Keep an open mind and do not
listen to others. I want to tell you
about my incredible journey.
Shanghai
We left Atlanta and some fourteen hours later, landed in Tokyo where we had access to an airlines Sky Lounge with food, laptops, Wi Fi. That helped to erase the weariness of the long flight. Shortly, we boarded our flight to Shanghai. We landed around midnight which did not allow for much sightseeing between the airport and the hotel. One thing that I did notice was that the highway was lit on both sides by street lights which was pretty cool.
We stayed in the fabulous Shangri-La Hotel East Pudong. Upon our late arrival, we were greeted at the
door with “Ni hao.” After a good nights
rest, I opened the curtains to a breathtaking view of the Shanghai Pudong skyline
that towers over the Huangpu River. We
could see the Oriental Pearl Radio and TV Tower from our room. It was the tallest structure in China until
the Shanghai World Financial center was built.
At night the tower is lit in different LED sequences.
The wives of my husband’s business associates took me on a
tour of the city. Old City of Shanghai
still has parts of the city wall which was built in 1554 in order to protect
the town from raids by pirates. The City
God Temple is located in the center of the Old city. Old city had to be my favorite of the
day.
We visited a local arts and crafts district where artisans
displayed everything from Chinese paintings to beautiful QiPao pronounced “Chee
Pow” which is the traditional Chinese dress.
I might add that the
hospitality of these two ladies was beyond anything that I have experienced
ever. Their English was better than my
Chinese and that is not saying a lot.
Thank goodness for the app that translates English to Chinese and
Chinese to English. Lunch was an
incredible feast where my skills with chopsticks were put to the test. By the time I left China, I could pick up an
English pea with a chopstick. We ate a
fabulous lunch of fish soup and , of course, drank lots of tea.
Stay tuned, Shanghai at night, coming next.
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