Day 02 - July 26th - Shanghai


From the Itinerary: Today you’ll visit the 16th century Yu Yuan Gardens, a maze of pavilions, ponds, stone dragons, overarching trees and flowers surrounding the immediately recognizable “zigzag bridge.” Lunch will be at a local restaurant. You’ll take a stroll along the Bund, Shanghai’s waterfront park that was once the most famous street in Asia.
Situated along the western bank of the Huangpu River, it is the place to take in both the old Shanghai and the new Shanghai. This evening’s entertainment will be a performance by Shanghai’s foremost acrobatic troupe. LE ROYAL MERIDIEN HOTEL (B,L,D)

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Day 2 - Shanghai

We met our group for the first time in the lobby. There is a mix from all over the county. Los Angeles, North Miami, Virginia, North Carolina, etc. Some of these people have been traveling to eclipses since 1970. There are 18 of us. We boarded a beautiful new 50 passenger bus and first circled the peoples square, then stopped and walked onto the Bund. A long river walk that boadered the old Shanghai business district. We were beseiged by street vendors selling postcards, fans, watches, small kites. I bought some postcards for a dollar and two fans for a dollar. Michelle bought two kites for 150 yuan. They barganed me down to two for $20 yuan, but I didn't bite. We could see construction of a new Shanghai business district across the river from the Bund. Back on the bus we drove to the Yu Yung Gardens. A little boring for us. Few plants. Mostly building architecture, dragons and ponds. There was a large shopping section next to the gardens. I mistakenly gave a beggar 2 yuan and was instantly set upon by another. Walking back to the bus an old lady beggar followed me tapping on my wrist and pointing to her mouth. She must have pestered me for a quarter mile. Back on the bus we drove to lunch at another hotel. We were served 9 or 10 different dishes. All were very good. The driver dropped us off outside the Shanghai Museum, but the line was 45 minutes long. We walked with Toni over to the Shanghai Urban Development building to see the models for the New Shanghai. It was fantastic. The model was hugh and very intricate. Shanghai is one honking big city. Our tour guide Leon said Shanghai is the new business center of Asia, replacing Hong Kong. We walked back to our hotel along several different streets. We traveled to dinner but it was not as good as the lunch. The restaurant played some interesting music... , a little Kenny G, and the titanic song, We ended the evening at a performance of Chinese acrobats. It was a tremendous show ending with 5 motorcyclists together riding in a large spherical iron cage.

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