Sat, 4/7.  Clear day.  A little jet lag, but not bad.  Breakfast had no eggs.  Met rest of the group.  First stop was the “Bund”, the old European waterfront, across from the modern city.  Clearly, there was no grand plan in the new cityscape.  Excellent walkway along the river which was incredibly busy, though strangely mostly in one direction.  Sail up in the morning, down in the evening?  A wall of living flowers. The old buildings looked out of place when compared with both the new and old Shanghai.  The tour leader (Ricky) made it clear that Shanghai is to China as Las Vegas is to the USA.  Well, after Hong Kong.

Visited an old area of communal apartments.  Each section had a shared kitchen and baths.  In spite of the squalid situation, the alleys were clean and filled with flowers.  Overhead was laundry drying.  “China’s National Flag”, Ricky said.  We happened on an intersection where the locals were more than happy to talk.  The apartments were targeted for demolition, but most were happy to leave.  Each family would get a house outside the city.  One man was very irate though.  The suburbs have limited transportation options and few local amenities.  He was pushing to get two homes, one to rent.

Lunch was at a modern mall.  Lazy susan, various dishes, nothing surprising except for breaded whole shrimp. Happily, everyone drinks.  Then we toured a fascinating gallery of silk string art.  Incredible detail.  If I’d had $6,000 of spare cash, I might have done something silly.

Walked through 450 year-old Yu Gardens, one of the more famous gardens in Shanghai.  Besides being interesting on its own merits, it gave Jacky an opportunity to discuss various Chinese traditions.  People hovered unapologetically around us as Jacky talked. There wasn’t much signage to explain things.  It was crowded, but not overwhelmingly so.

After a basic dinner we went to see the new city at night.  Very pretty.  The buildings have permission and encouragement to “light up” between 7 and 10 each night, after which they go dark.  Lots of tourist boats on the river.

A gift from a sister city, New York.

This kitchen is shared by 18 apartments. The good news is it’s in the middle of the city and rent is $300 a month.

Silk thread. About 30 inches square. The picture doesn’t do it justice.