The real China

After the huge impact that the first days (not to say hours) in China can cause, comes the calm. And this is the honest truth! Especially if you’re coming, like we were, from Japan (where everything is so clean, organized and zen), China might come as a shock. But by the time we arrived to Beijing we were already used to the toilets (or lack of toilets), to the motorbikes and cars not stopping in the zebras to let you cross when the walking light is green, to the food, to the unbearable heat (an average of 38 degrees and 80% of humidity), etc. Well, you know what I always say, in Rome I like to do as Romans do and that’s exactly what we all did! So this is probably why Beijing felt like heaven on earth. 
 
Much better prepared to receive tourists (a result of their experience organizing the 2008 Olympic Games), Beijing totally met our expectations. Mine at least! I personally I’ve been dreaming about traveling to China for the last 10 years, since the day I saw in a TV program from a British girl that travels the world with only her backpack the giant Leshan Buddha. And every time I dreamt about this trip was exactly the kind of experiences I had in Beijing what I imagined. The Tiananmen Square, the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven and, one of the best shows I have ever seen (a show that must make the Cirque du Soleil performers blush), a real Chinese acrobatics spectacle. 

Beijing is intense and doesn’t stop. In every hutong there is always someone playing chess or preparing food for sale, illuminated by hundreds of humble light bulbs. And the most amazing aspect is how this simplicity contrasts with the modernity of this capital city with places as innovative and up-to-date as The Place. Actually, I will take a risk and say that Beijing is a true portrait of this country. Both Shanghai and Hong Kong are too modern, and the rest of cities we’ve visited (as you will see by the following posts) are deeply traditional, but Beijing is perfectly balanced. The real China!

And also to see more pictures (taken from me, but without the LOMO fish eye), please check here. 

Shanghai Express

Or should I say express Shanghai? The truth is that China is so big and in our 2013 Summer Trip we wanted to see so many things, in different parts of the country, that 2 weeks weren’t enough and we end up doing some express sightseeing. Neither in Shanghai nor in Beijing, Zhangjiajie, Guilin, Feng Huang and Honk Kong we have spent more than 3 days, but it was enough to see the coolest things. To arrive to Shanghai coming from our flight from Tokyo we catch the Maglev, the bullet train that literally floats and takes passengers from the Pudong International Airport into the city center in only 5 minutes. For my engineer guy friends this was when the cool things started; for me the best was yet to come. That same afternoon we walked for hours along the Bund. The word Bund means embankment and this is exactly what this extensive waterfront area in central Shanghai is. And although it might look close and little in some maps, don’t let them fool you. Shanghai is one of the largest cities in the world, the largest in China and, of course, in here nothing is close or little. So, if you are heading to Shanghai prepare yourself to “lose” a whole afternoon in this area that is as photographed and enjoyed by tourists as it is photographed and enjoyed by locals (the first thing we saw when we put our feet in the Bund was professional photographs taking pictures of newlywed with the Pearl Tower in the horizon). And, to end this beautiful promenade with glory, I would suggest you take an early night boat along the river to have a closer look of some of the buildings that make Shanghai skyline the best skyline I’ve seen in my life. Or you can also cross the river, towards the financial district, and go to the Pearl Tower. From the windows (and floor) of the Transparent Observatory, 259 meters above the ground level, the view of the day setting on this huge city is unforgettable. 

But because part of Shanghai's charm is given by the fact of it being a city of contrasts, don’t forget to visit its most traditional side: the Yuyuan Gardens; the Flower, Bird, Fish & Insect Market; the French Concession and, why not, Zhujiajiao (the Venice of Shanghai). 

And leave the best for last! For the perfect closure, I advise you to visit Tianzifang, a former hutong transformed into a modern little village where every door is a cool and hip clothing or decoration shop, a bar or restaurant and where you can find several art galleries. But, if you are really an art freak like me, you definitely have to visit M50 Creative Park before you leave. This second place also resembles an old hutong, but this time it was turned into an art district where every warehouse is now an art gallery. It is a little bit out of the city center, but it totally deserves the extra minutes you spend going there with the metro and then walking from the metro station to the Creative Park. During my visit I felt in love with Hu Shunxiang work, that I came across in Suomei Art, and seeing my passion the lady from the gallery actually offered me the catalogue from the exhibition. A beautiful book with hard cover that I carried in my backpack for the following two weeks everywhere we went around China. 

So, as you can see, despite the short amount of time we had to spend in each city I think that we did a pretty good job discovering Shanghai.

 

And also to see more pictures (taken from me, but without the LOMO fish eye), please check here.