Oregon Invasion Part 1 : Shanghai !

We begin this tale with the BFF, A, who has arrived in Shanghai! A glorious day! At the airport, we cried, we laughed, we cried some more. Then we all but ran to the metro because I had to make it back across town to teach one final lesson for the day. Upon arrival at my office, it took no time for A to pass out at my desk. After work, I woke A up with the promise of authentic Chinese food. So, we went to Dongbei, the local favorite for the inhabitants of Apartment 12H. With more than full stomachs and a bill of like... 8USD, we headed home, crawled in bed and caught up with each other's lives as we drank tea and slowly succumbed to sleep.

We spent the first couple days doing some minimal touring while Alex recovered from Jet Lag and I worked. We made a quick trip to "Notting Hill" for a tasty brunch and Chai Tea Lattes. On my day off, we went to Qibao and explored the little market and temple there. I let A "drive" since I had been there a couple of times. So I followed her around, took pictures, soaked up the moment, and maybe pointed out the occasional sight if I thought she might miss something.

That evening we headed to YuYuan Garden and Market to check out these "Lanterns" everyone was talking about. And there were lanterns... and then some! The whole place was lit up like the fourth of July! And Monkeys (as it is now the year of the Monkey) were EVERYWHERE! As well as other images of the zodiac, and famous Chinese historical and folklore characters.

We strolled the bedazzled market streets, shopped a bit, and enjoyed some tánghúlu (糖葫芦 alternatively named bingtanghulu or literally, "rock sugar bottle gourd" is found all over China. It’s hawthorn, strawberries, kiwi, mandarin oranges, or whatever other fruit on a stick and covered in a hardened candy glaze. Basically your daily vitamin C intake, and diabetes all on one to-go stick of deliciousness.) According to my local coworkers the main way to celebrate the New Year is to eat. A lot. It was difficult... but we did our best to culturally integrate and adapt to this demanding festive custom.

With it being the Year of the Monkey, the Monkey King or Sun WuKong was EVERYWHERE. He and his monkey posse made up the central bit of décor at Yu Garden. He is the central character of Journey To The West (Xi You Ji), and a bit of an anti-hero from what I can tell. He runs about causing chaos and delighting in shananigans wherever he goes. If you're curious, the antannae on his head originate from Chinese Opera to emphasize the movements of powerful male characters, making them more dynamic. Cool, right? Well, needless to say everyone was wearing them all throughout the New Year celebrations and while they are a great indication as to the location of short people in mass crowds, they are also a massive threat to your optical health and well-being if you're above average height. Proceed with caution.
 The following day we went on the hunt... for Wal-mart. I know, I know... but there are just some things that you struggle to find in other stores, and when you lack basic language skills, sometimes you just want to save yourself the headache (and the kuai) and cave into your worst fears....the Wal. As terrifying as it was... it was really exciting to be able to buy normal, everyday things... all in one place!!! Thankfully, getting there is not convenient, nor did it give me quite the same euphoric feeling of Target, so I probably won't go back on a regular basis...

Our next stop was Jade Buddha Temple. We enjoyed some music provided by the temple monks, and walked the quiet grounds before heading upstairs to see the Jade Buddha. We're not really allowed to take pictures, so I "borrowed" this off a google image search... classy, I know. The statue is 100% jade, the room smells wonderfully of incense, it's peaceful, and it's kept at a cozy temperature. Really, it just makes you want to curl up and take a nap... which probably explains why I love it so much. Around the entire ceiling are miniature Buddhas and intricately carved and painted tiles with symbolic images and Chinese characters. In front of Buddha is a large, beautiful table arranged with flowers, relics, and the days offerings of fruits, oils, etc...

"Welcome to the real world.
It sucks. You're gonna love it."

Following this trek we proceeded to the Friends Café for a pick-me-up and short rest on the couch before heading back out into the world. We couldn't stay for long, as they were closing early for a private party which turned out to be a surprise wedding proposal. Once we learned that, we were more than happy to leave before we had planned. So, in the name of love, we departed as we allowed ourselves to briefly lament our own lack of a marriageable life-partner.

The next day, I returned to work while A was off to explore the Shanghai Museum and other places around downtown. After sending her a text and not getting a reply for many hours, I assumed her dead and went on with my life. Haha. Just joshin'. She was fine, just caught up in her activities.







The following Sunday morning, my friends from University, M & K arrived for a few days from Beijing! We four Oregonians met up for brunch at La Crêperie and had some REALLY good savory crepes, and sweet crepes, and cider, and coffee, and... oh man. Worth every fen (the Chinese dime... worth .02 cents in USD).







Following a couple of hours of chatting and catching up with each other, they decided Qibao sounded interesting. So for the second time in a week, that's where I found myself. This time it was all decked out for the holiday, which was quite fun to see.

The temple was closed for the holiday, but we took advantage of the beautiful day for some photo ops.

The four of us, being our crazy selves.

M & K, being adorable.

A showing off that stellar smile.

After Qibao, we headed to the Bund to capture the skyline in the daytime. We would return later to check out the nighttime view. Until then...

What we look like when we
don't have coffee.

We found a Costa Coffee (essentially, the British Starbucks) for some caffeine, snacks, and a romping round of Cards Against Humanity! (I'm sorry Mom, that this is how you learned about your youngest daughter's dark, horrible, politically incorrect sense of humour...) How bad does this crowd get? Let's just say... it's probably a good thing we were the only proficient English speakers in the place...

Sorry, not sorry.

 After we exhausted the deck of cards, we went topside again (as you see, the coffee shop was underground...) to soak in that gorgeous city skyline. To blow your mind, the Pearl tower is not the tallest building in this picture. Shanghai Tower (the tall one on the right) is.

 Afterwards, we went on the hunt for real food and made our way to YongkangLu also known as the Expat Bar Street. But not before A went on a frolic through "Dr. Seuss' truffala trees" outside of a mall...

We finally made it to YongKangLu and enjoyed food and drinks from one of my favorite haunts: La Café des Stagiaires (The Café of the Interns). Good food, good drinks, good friends. Can't ask for more than that!

The next day  My new roommate from Texas joined us on this excursion and we frolicked about with all of our American colloquialisms and language nuances running rampant. It was great.

And so in the Great American tradition we set out to conqu-- I mean, discover new territory for all of us: Longhua Temple.

Built during the Song Dynasty it is the oldest, largest and most complete Buddhist temple in Shanghai. It was also packing some serious tourist crowd on this particular day. Really should have seen that coming... after accidentally buying year-long passes to the temple, we enter and follow the crowd through each courtyard and hall. The grounds feature a Bell Tower which is home to a little copper bell from 1382. It's 2 meters tall, with a diameter of 1.3 meters, and weighs about five tons. They will even let you strike the bell... for 200 kuai a go. Foregoing that opportunity, we each attempt to throw a coin into one of the many urn-like things that commonly decorate the courtyards. Successfully throwing a coin in grants you good luck for the coming year. Or pays the temple's utility bills... whichever.

For you film buffs out there, you can catch a glimpse of Longhua Pagoda in Steven Spielberg's film, Empire of the Sun. 

Some old Chinese textbooks for
purchase in the gift shop.

After thoroughly exhausting ourselves with the crowds, we ducked out of there and headed for the Shanghai Propaganda Museum. Finding it literally in the basement of an apartment building (that's China for ya), it turned out to be a very eye-opening experience. To see how the views of this culture were controlled, manipulated, what their views were (or what the government wanted them to be) was amazing. When and who did they support, and why? Seeing posters that celebrated the Civil Rights Movement in America with slogans that spoke of support was really quite cool, and a definite head-cannon. You can check out most of their collection online here. It really makes you think of your own country's propaganda machine...

We strolled the streets in search of food, a task made a bit more trying due to most places being closed for the holiday. We eventually found a place, guzzled down some good ol' chinese delicacies and headed (again) to YuYuan Garden.

This time, Yu Garden was a little different. Mainly because IT WAS PACKED! We were shuffling along with the crowd, literally. With how close I was to some strangers... they really ought to have bought me dinner. Holding on to each other in an attempt not to lose the shorter members of our herd in the crowd, we moved along. This is where your skills as an expat in China are tested. Can you maneuver through a crowd? You bet your sweet ass! Now, outta the way! Thank god M is tall too, we were like lighthouse beacons in the night, and due to that... we never lost a man. 

The most iconic spot in YuGarden is the Jiuqu Qiao (九曲桥) bridge. Crossing the bridge is apparently an old Shanghainese tradition, so naturally, we shuffled across with the crowd. Around the bridge are light-up displays of Chinese history both fact and folklore. While traversing the bridge some people tossed coins into the water for good luck, and with how many phones were extended over the water in the endless pursuit of the perfect selfie... I imagine a few phones were tossed in for offering as well...

After crossing the bridge we finished up some shopping, and watched K work her costumer/seamstress knowledge and Beijing haggling skills on a shopkeeper, and got some ice cream before piling in taxis and heading home. We finished the evening with a game of Mao (a game where the rules change and multiply, but you aren't told the rules, so you have to figure them out... kind of like a certain someone's ruling over a certain country....) To make it even better we played with souvenir Mao cards. We are the worst.

The next morning, M & K returned to Beijing and A and I prepared for our flight up that evening.

Stay tuned for the next episode in the Oregon Invasion: Beijing !

ShangHolidays

The Bund at night!

Fresh off the plane! On the Maglev,
travelling 300km/h into the city!

Jing'An Temple

Well…. December 9th, I crossed the 100 day mark, and the 4 month mark. I’ve spent the last month and a half “sick”. Or rather, 3 weeks sick and the rest just… coughing up neon-green pollution-saturated mucous. Yummy. It’s been quite the ride and celebrating the holidays was… difficult. It never quite felt like Christmas. It just came and went like any other day. But what did make it special was sharing the holidays with my Cousin, K, who flew up from Jakarta where she was teaching. It really did make it feel special, even if neither of us felt very festive and were terribly homesick. We spent the days before and after running all over town, trying to fit in as much as we could. We hit up the markets, the Bund, Nanjing Lu, Pudong, Qibao, the archery range, many a Starbucks, had lots of delicious food at restaurants, home-cooked, or ordered in (Sherpa is AH-MAZING!! They deliver food and even ALCOHOLIC drinks to your front door, the website is in English, and it’s just WAY too easy, and relatively affordable... in moderation).

That couch...

Smelly Cat....

On Christmas Eve I had the day off, so we hit up Central Perk for some lunch, delicious coffee, and a few laughs with Ross, Phoebe, et al. . 

Central Perk!

We then wandered our way towards the Jade Buddah Temple. It’s possibly one of my favorite places, as it’s just so peaceful, warm, and welcoming. That is, until one of the attendant’s cell phones goes off whilst you're standing there having a deep, philosophical, nonverbal conversation with the Jaded fella. Yet they won’t let me take pictures… ah well. ‘Tis China…

The cousin at Jade Temple

A monk!

Monks at work at the Jade Buddah Temple.

We ended Christmas Eve at the Medieval Bavarian Christmas Market. We sipped on Mulled Wine and Hot Cider, trampled through the mud (as is the medieval thing to do), and enjoyed the festive lights and all the trinkets, baubles, and foods for sale.

 

On Christmas Day, we visited Qibao and its respective Temple and Pagoda.

K at Qibao Old Water Town

We began with a stroll through the Qibao market. Narrow stone streets jammed with souvenirs and foods both familiar and bizarre. You'll see the local favorite movie theatre snack (only half kidding): "bird-on-a-stick"! You can also find snake eggs, ox tale, and pig snout. All delicacies for those who aren't faint of heart or wobbly of stomach. We crossed several bridges in search of those picturesque river views, the hazy sun shining behind the layers of villainous smog.

Snake Eggs...

Those are birds... on a stick.

Ox tail and pig snout.

Elephant and a pagoda!

We continued down the little river towards a pagoda and temple rooftop that towered in the distance. Upon arrival we paid a whopping 5kuai (Like...75 cents) and entered the temple grounds. We adventured around, marveling at the local craftsmanship and guessed at what each of the various deities represented. We adventured throughout the grounds, taking in the quiet and calm atmosphere. We then headed towards the pagoda which loomed overhead, a giant yellow tower just begging to be climbed. And climb it, we did! After slipping on shoe covers, we scaled the narrow, winding staircase; each floor a new deity striking a pose of significance. The 6th and top floor gave us a pretty great view of the smog covered city and the outlying suburbs. Afterwards, we made our way to Yonkong Lu for a Happy Hour drink before diving into the end of the day madness that is the metro.

Pagodaaaaa!

As you might have gathered, our Christmas was entirely unorthodox. I didn't love it, nor did I hate it. It was just... different. Would I prefer to be with family? A million times, yes! Would I change it had I a time machine? I don't think so. I think it did me good to spend a Christmas away from home. It helps to emphasize the true meaning of these here holidays.

Being bosses, like we do.

We raised some eyebrows at the archery range. We were definitely the only laowai in the joint, and we were kinda kickin’ some arse. It was so great to shoot again and let off some steam. We both also got a good chuckle out of the fact that they gave my busty self a breast plate to help uhh... protect the ladies. I've never had a problem with that before but.... hey, their rules! Besides, it did help with the whole feeling like a bad ass thing...

SheShan Park gate.

On the afternoon of New Years Eve we went to Xie SheShan (Line 9: SheShan Station, get a cab to Xie SheShan. Cost: ~20RMB) SheShan is basically the only bit of earth in Shanghai that rises substantially above sea level. A little hill way out in the “suburbs” of Shanghai with some lux "hiking". So the taxi will need-for-speed you down a few scenic streets, cruising well above the speed limit, and running red lights at every opportunity and will see you to your destination in minutes. You grab a free ticket from the incredibly amused and definitely not bored lady playing candy crush and wechatting behind the ticket booth, and proceed through the gate up a few grand flights of stairs. Here, your first photo opportunity being the SheShan Pagoda. It’s nothing too grand, but it is a great bit of old Chinese architecture, and a nice reminder that you are in fact, in China. Something that is too easily forgotten most days amongst the hyper-modern architecture and technology found in the city center.

SheShan Pagoda!!

A map... so we don't get lost.

More SheShan Park.

A magical view of Shanghai.... it's just there...
behind the pollution...

There are a few trails that lead up the mountain. For those of us coming from Oregon with our rough and rugged, not-really-a-trail trails… these are like the Hilton and Marriots of trails. They are either timbered or paved with cobblestones. We saw many local tourists “hiking” in heels, so we’re obviously amongst some serious outdoor enthusiasts... So we la-dee-dah-ed our way up the hill and found a great view—that could have been BRILLIANT, had it not been for the smog—of Shanghai. 

I want.

We paid a whopping 12RMB for tickets to the Observatory Museum and stepped into the first building.  When we walked in, both of our jaws dropped. We had not expected to find what was now in front of us. We were amongst some of the most brilliantly colored, impressionist oil paintings of the earth and sky I had ever seen. While the shape hinted at classic Chinese art, the color, line, and movement felt very Van Gogh. I have not yet learned the artist’s name, but I will be asking my tutor to help translate some of the name plates in hopes of finding out. 

After standing in awe over each piece, we continued to the old observatory. It contained lots of cool artifacts dating from the Observatory's hay-day (1920-1930’s) and lots of cool photographs of the universe and night sky. The museum narration was written in Mandarin, English and French, which was neat! Gave me a chance to work on my French!

The coolest part of the observatory was that there was very little “off-limits”. At one point we were ascending a creaky old staircase. Not seeing any signs about “no access” “don’t go” “no” “bu” or whatever… we kept going. And we found an old creaky door… still no signs to speak of, we shrug, “Hey, it’s China. Ya go until someone tells ya 'no'.” So I gave the door a little shove. Nothing. Another shove. Nothing. One more shove, just a LITTLE harder… and it opened! We both let out a breath of laughter and excitement as we stepped out into the sun and on to the rooftop. Oh. Man. If this were an Assassin’s Creed game… there would be no stopping me from running and jumping from this roof to the next! But… since I don’t have the luxury of being in an animus or respawning… I won’t. Blast. Maybe some other time…

So, naturally, we spent lots of time dancing around the roof celebrating our devious act of rebellion (even though we were allowed to be up here, we felt we weren’t… because in America… you never get to do things like walk out onto the roof of an observatory museum.) With all the nooks and crannies of the observatory observed, we made our way over to Ye Olde Catholic Church. Can we just take a moment to recognize the poetic antithesis of a Church next door to an Observatory? ………………yeah………awesome. Ok, moving on!

The most impressive part of the church is the outside. It’s beautiful, grand, elegant, a little bit haunting, and very much lost. Looking at this gothic-esque building you would expect yourself to be galavanting somewhere around the border of France and Spain. Alas, it isn’t so. Lest you forget, the cute and random Unicorn of Signage (see photo below) will remind you that you are indeed in China.

Stained glass.

Interior.

The Majestic Unicorn of Signage. Pretty sure it translates to: "Do not eat Unicorns in the Forbidden Forest." (Lookin' at you Voldemort...) Either that or it's lyrics to the My Little Pony theme song...?