SHANGHAI DAY 2

DAY 54 — February 27, 2017 — Shanghai, PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

After all the modern buildings and LED lights of the day before, we set out to see another side of Shanghai.  Yu Garden had been recommended to us by so many people that we had to make it a part of our visit.  The contrast of the new and the old of Shanghai couldn’t have been more stunning.

Photo of a postcard for aerial view.

The entrance bridge to the garden was built in a zig zag pattern to confuse the demons and prevent them from entering.

Built as a private garden in the 1550’s, Yu is an example of classical Chinese gardening architecture.  Under state preservation now, the garden occupies an area of over two hectares featuring amazing rock sculptures and precious cultural relics.

Here are a few views of Yu.

There was something to admire at every turn.  It was a wonderfully relaxing way to spend our second morning in Shanghai.

Yu Garden had a lovely shop within its walls where this gentleman was engaged in his incredibly sophisticated finger painting art.  He created one for us while we watched.

Shanghai Museum

After hours on our feet in the garden we, for some reason, thought it would then be a great idea to spend a few more hours on our feet walking through the Shanghai Museum.

It is a lovely modern facility with 8 galleries showing off its amazing collection of ancient artifacts and art.  Bronzes, ceramics, stone sculptures, jade, Chinese painting, furniture, currencies, and ethnic minority arts and crafts are all beautifully displayed.  I took about 300 pictures.  Here are a few of my favorites in no particular order.

 

On our way back to the ship we found another wonderful juxtaposition of the old and the new.  Plus . . . traffic. 

Shanghai is a fantastic city with so much to see and not enough time to get around the congested streets to see it all.  We are now adding it to the list of places to revisit.

DAY 55 — February 28, 2017 — Sailing the East China Sea

It’s Fat Tuesday and the ship's entertainment department sees it as another reason to dress up our 
dining room stewards to create a party atmosphere for us.  We all received Mardi Gras hats and 
beads but we didn’t look nearly as 
cute as Andy and Alex our table stewards.

DAY 56 — March 1, 2017 — Sailing the Formosa Strait

Halfway point of the cruise.  Is 111 days too long to be at sea?  I can’t say for sure until it’s over but, certainly, there have been moments when I really (really, really, really) wished I could be home with our family and friends.

On our way to Hong Kong.