Oct. 14 Shanghai

    We toured a silk embroidery factory where they showcase embroidered pictures, pillow covers and some rugs.  These two are pictures.  This is hand embroidery!

This one was so beautiful, but Tom couldn't get it at an angle that didn't reflect the ceiling lights

    Then we toured a silk rug factory.  The patterns are so beautiful and the rugs are so sturdy that they can lay in a high traffic area for 75 years.
    The cocoons lay in the bottom tray of this machine and then the silk threads are caught up by a wheel.

    This company employs 1000 women weavers, because "men aren't patient enough".  Most work at home.  At age 18 they start 2 years' training.  It takes 20 years to become a master weaver.  Weavers are paid by piecework - about $200 per month.  They receive 1/2 of the pay at the beginning of their project so they have money to live on.  They tie 625 knots per square inch.  Many rugs cost $3,300 wholesale, $9,000 retail. 

One of several showrooms at this factory.  Many of the patterns looked similar to Turkish rugs.

    Each of our hotels used comforters on their beds, with only a bottom sheet.  The first night I thought to myself that surely they didn't wash these comforters every time a customer checked out of the room.  We asked Annie and she said most of the Chinese use those.  Some are silk-lined and some down - lined.  They have covers and that is what gets washed.  Women at this factory were arranging silk to insert in a comforter.



    When we got on the bus Annie said she was taking us where we could eat chocolate coccoons for lunch.  She grinned and said she was kidding, but said some people do eat them, saying they taste like tofu.

    On the bus ride Annie gave us more facts about Shanghai.  The largest American joint venture with the Chinese is American Motors.  The Chinese made Volkswagens for 25 years, shipping some to Germany.  About that time we drove past a Bentley dealer. 

    There are 1070 public bus lines in Shanghai and 2 light rail lines.  They figure there are 7 million bikes here.  The soccer stadium seats 80,000.  Then we passed a humongous IKEA store and another Century 21 office.  180 years ago a customs house was set up here to develop trade.  It was so successful that it was used as a model for other cities there.

    The slogan for Shanghai in recent years has been "Getting higher and brighter".  No kidding.

    Local farmers grow 56 varieties of produce, but can't begin to keep up with the Shanghai population, so more is imported from other Chinese areas and other countries.  Remember that the Chinese eat mostly vegetables and fruit.

    As people have gotten more income, the demand for fresh flowers to be used for decoration has grown.  A number of years ago the rice farmers didn't make enough money so they changed to growing other crops.  Now many of them grow flowers and trees.***    Shanghai is the only city that has lifetime license plates - cost $5,000 - 6,000 for the time you own the car.

The City only issues 5,000 - 6,000 plates per month to control the number of cars of the roads.  So some drivers get licenses from other cities, but then they can't drive in A.M. or P.M. rush hour.  Car insurance is required.

    When a developer builds a building he must keep a certain portion for a parking garage and another portion for green space.  ***42% of Shanghai is green space - pocket parks, landscaping, etc., to help control pollution.

    Condo prices average $200,000 for most and as much as $500,000 for better ones in best locations.  33% down and 20 - 30 year mortgages.  Current interest rate is 6.5%.  Again these average about 540 sq. ft.

    We drove through what they call the Wall Street area.  There were statues of bulls near the buildings.  Next we drove past one of the city libraries - this one holds 8-1/2 million volumes.

    Shanghai Expo is going on for a few months, with a mascot of Shanghai Expo Baby that looks like a blue Gumby type character.  Annie laughed when I told her in January or February all the leftover ones will be sold in America with a new name.

    On our way in the bus again.  We had been telling some of the guys and Annie about the song Tom does called "I Just Don't Look Good Naked Anymore."  So she had him take the microphone and sing it.  Everyone roared.  We laughed later at one of the single guys that we had spent a lot of time with when he said, "Tom, if a girl I date sees me naked she decides to become a Lesbian." 

    The day before Annie and the local guide had so much trouble with the microphone.  Today they have a new one.  He said the one yesterday was Japanese, but this one is Chinese, that's why it is working well.

    We spent a little while at China Town, "so you can buy some good junks", Annie said.

    Yu Yuan Garden is over 400 years old.  A man started building it for his wife, but she died before he had enough money to finish it.  He and his son finally finished it after working on it as much as they could afford off and on for 18 years.  The rock walls are made from sticky rice, allum and lime.  There was no cement then.  Houses surround it.  Annie said people try not to have a boring top part of a wall, so they decorate it, such as with this dragon.

    We liked this.  Two portals were shaped like a vase and the plants were painted on a wall at the end of the walkway to give the appearance of a painted vase.

     Shops on one side of the garden.  A Dairy Queen cone tasted good!   It is a serene place, but we decided it had lost much of its ambiance with the hundreds of people walking around.  We saw these gigantic lily pads many times on the trip.  There were also large goldfish that we fed.

   

We had some free time in the afternoon and that night attended the tour group's farewell steak dinner at the hotel.  Several of our group weren't going on to Hong Kong and we would be saying goodbye to Annie at the airport the next morning.  A couple from Canada who we had  enjoyed spending time with were staying here for a few days with their daughter who teaches in an American school here.

    After the dinner we walked back to the Bund to watch the bright lights of the buildings and all the boats.  They are "green" in many ways, but they sure leave a lot of the lights on in those highrises at night.  All the hotels had key cards for us which also turned on the lights in the room.  When you take the key with you all the lights go off.

    There were so many people there and on the streets that you could hardly walk.  We saw some other Caucasian tour groups on our travels and there were tour groups from China and we saw a German group. A boulevard of several blocks in blocked off to traffic and you can barely wade through the people on it.

    This is called the diamond building.  After the developer had it built he thought it was too plain, so he had the glass shapes added to the top.

    I was standing by the railing while Tom took the pictures of the boats and 3 women approached with cameras in their hands.  I moved out of the way and one grabbed me, saying, "No, you."  Here we go again! They thanked me and I said "I am American."  One of them said, "Yes."  Maybe they are from southern China, where, as Annie told us, many had never seen a Caucasian.

It is hard to see here, but there are people massed together as far as you can see in the boulevard under the gold lights on the side of the building.  That is actually an Adidas billboard that is at least half a block long.  Even when the green pedestrian light comes on, buses, cars, bikes, everything just keep plowing through, so people had better watch out.  Pedestrians don't have the right of way.

    Add Shanghai to our list of Chinese cities that we really enjoyed!