Shanghai and Hangzhou: Old and New
J and I had an amazing time in Shanghai at the end of June. Shanghai is a fascinating city as it is a unique portrait of an old city becoming quite modern. We had many neat experiences and met many interesting people along the way. J and I stayed with my friend K who is teaching at a medical school about an hour and a half from the city center. J loved getting to see a city in her country that she had not been to before. There are so many amazing sights in Shanghai. One of my favorite buildings was the Shanghai World Financial Building, which is currently the tallest one in Shanghai and the third tallest in the world. We went up to the 100th floor where we could walk on a glass floor and see down to the street below…far below. The views of the skyline from the Bund were quite amazing. We also went to Qibao, one of the many water cities in the Shanghai area. On another day, we took a day trip to the city of Hangzhou, home of the famous West Lake. I am grateful to have shared this experience with my friend.
Shenyang: Day Trip
I moved a couple days after we got back from the after-camp trip to Inner Mongolia. That same week, several of us teachers took a trip to Shenyang. We went to see the Imperial Palace, shopped at IKEA, and enjoyed Starbucks.
Beijing: China’s Capital City
Five of us girls traveled to Beijing and spent a few days there before and after a trip to an orphanage. Being at the orphanage was a very good experience. It helps children who have special needs. They have about 20 children who range in age from infants to 6 years old. The orphanage sponsors surgeries for the children before they are adopted by their new families. The children are taken care of by about eight sweet nannies. L, the director of the orphanage, was very kind to let us come visit and play with the children. She was busy this week because one of the boys was having surgery, another was getting adopted, and she was working on paperwork for new children that would be arriving soon. The children were so sweet to play with. They were so full of life, hugs, and smiles.
While in Beijing, we went to the Great Wall, saw the Forbidden City from a nearby park, went to the Summer Palace, did a lot of shopping, and ate lots of Western food. One day, I went to the location of the Olympic buildings and was able to go inside the Bird’s Nest Stadium and the Water Cube. I think the Great Wall and the Olympic buildings were my favorite places that we went.
M and I went to the Summer Palace together. We met up with L at the subway station. L and her boyfriend were in my English corner first semester last year. They graduated from their university and are now working on doctorate degrees in Life Sciences in Beijing. L had been in Beijing for several weeks working on experiments, and she had some free time to join us for a few hours. It was her first time to the Summer Palace too.
There are many interesting places to shop in Beijing. Two of the biggest places are the Silk Market and the Pearl Market. I always find these kind of places challenging to shop at because you have to bargain the price if you want to get a good deal. Bargaining is not my specialty.
Eating at Western food restaurants is always a treat for us because there are not many in our city. M knew of a place called Peter’s Tex-Mex Grill. The owner owns several of the restaurants in Chengdu, Shanghai, and Beijing. They have a really long menu, and the food was great! One night, we were trying to walk to Pete’s and the road was blocked off. Come to find out, Pete’s was right next to the hotel where VP Biden was staying while in Beijing. We took the long way to Pete’s, but eventually made it.