Hola amigos y amigas!!! October break has come and gone. Our first proper break since we arrived. We spent it exploring Shanghai. I have been subbing more than I thought I would, mainly at the Upper School. It’s great. In addition to Zidisha and applying for jobs, that has kept me fairly busy.
Since most of the stuff we did initially was very school-centered, we hadn’t taken much time to explore Shanghai. Our residence permits came in during the second week of September, at which point trying to go anywhere for October Break would be super expensive (since it is a national holiday in China, everyone tries to get out of China, as it gets crazily crowded). So we were “stuck” in Shanghai. We decided to take time to see some of the “tourist” stuff and explore without hurry. This will hopefully help also when the time comes to host people as we have an idea about what things are worth seeing and which are just not.
To begin with, we decided to kick off the weekend with a little staycation in a fancy hotel. Thank goodness for corporate discounts! It turns out that the Hyatt on the Bund (highly recommended!) had a special promotion for international school faculty, so we decided to book a couple of nights, take it as our headquarters and do some good ole exploring. This will take a few posts to develop. I thought the weather would be too cold to bring a swimsuit and decided to skip it and not use the pool. Big mistake. The hotel also had a wonderful spa with saunas, Turkish steams, and a hot tub. I did go down there to read and relax. Cam did use the pool and the spa. He loves spas. Here is a little peek at the pool. Nice, huh?
Our 7th-floor room offered pretty great views of the Pudong Skyline. I have to find the pictures and add them here, but I mixed them up (I took most pictures with my phone and mixed them up when opening them on my computer. Sorry!) I’ll start with one of my favorite activities of the week. Granted, Shanghai is not the place to come for a taste of ancient China, but I think Shanghai still has historical significance. What better place to witness the rise of China?
Pudong (the eastern part of the Huangpu River) was only rice paddies in 1990. Seeing how this place develops is just mind-blowing. It’s history in the making, and I feel very fortunate to witness it. Shanghai also showcases excellent examples of modern architecture (IFC tower, A.K.A. The Bottle Opener, anyone?). The activity I’m referring to is the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall. Essentially it’s a museum of Shanghai, and it illustrates Shanghai’s history. Lots of pictures and replicas of some regions of the city. It’s a great place to show how Shanghai’s privileged location and the different settlements and concessions the city went through have shaped it. Shanghai didn’t become the international and cosmopolitan city it is overnight. The Pearl of the Orient has always been a place where all are welcome. The unquestionable highlight of the Exhibition Hall is what you will see in the following pictures:
This is precisely what you think it is: a replica of Shanghai. Lights and everything on all the right skyscrapers. Some areas are not replicated there, like Kangqiao, or South Pudong, where we live…and where Disney is building their park. We already know the city is huge and packs a lot within it, but it’s breathtaking when you see it in visual form over one floor. I will go back there. In my next posts, more to come about our October break shenanigans.
Big Love,
Analin