A journey of 6000 miles - From England to China: My Diary: 4 Nights in Shanghai!

7am

I don’t think the staff in this hotel understand the sign on my door saying (in both English and Chinese) ‘Do Not Disturb’. It was a bit of a blur as it happened so fast, but I think the cleaner lady saw quite a bit of me…

9am – Me? Being social with strangers? Never!

While waiting for Kexiong by the metro I was approached by many people, and managed to make conversation!

A couple from Beijing asked me to take a photo for them and began talking. They told me about a tea festival nearby which was only on that day, so I tagged along and tried some odd flavours. They were a lovely pair!

Another dude asked me to take a photo for him and we began a conversation about musical instruments. I mentioned my love for the Chinese instrument GuZheng and he said he had one for sale! Man I wish I could accept, but they’re too damn big to take home.

Later I was approached by a girl who seemed rather terrified by something. It turns out she was from France, she had lost her friends and had been looking for them for over an hour. She had no credit on her mobile and had to find these people within the next 20 minutes otherwise she would miss her flight home.

So I let her use my phone and luckily her friends eventually turned up. In that time we had a pretty cool chat about what it’s like being foreign and alone in China.

It was a rather amusing chat to say I’m usually awful talking to strangers, and eventually her friends arrived. She was so grateful that she was trying to force 200 kuai into my hand, but I refused. It was one of the few times I felt I’d made a positive impact on a stranger (with my usual poor ability to make a good first impression), so I said goodbye and wished her a good flight.

It’s always a day brightener when you save someone else’s day.

11am – Yuyuan Garden

Well, it’s finally a non-rainy day! It’s not quite sunny, but in no way can I complain after yesterday.

Yuyuan garden was built in the Ming dynasty (1500s) and from viewing the photos on the internet I got rather excited. I’ve not yet seen a truly oriental garden; the Forbidden City had elements but not quite. This looks to be a really traditional space which would fuel my lust for greenery!

2pm

After 3 hours walking around the place, I am not disappointed. The garden is truly stunning. I adored how the tree canopies formed a roof over the entire garden allowing light to rain through the leaves, releasing a warm green glow.

Furthermore, this garden is in the centre of Shanghai! It’s surrounded by 100 storey glass skyscrapers, but it so self-contained that you would never know – not a single car or shouting shop vendor can be heard from this place.

I love it here, but I better leave before we get kicked out at closing time.

4pm – The Antique Hunt

We came across a huge indoor market, 7 storeys high and packed with oriental antiques.

It turns out this is one of the biggest Antique markets in China, and to our luck it only occurs on Sundays!

Many of the store owners are from all around China and travel early in the morning to set up shop.

There are some amazing things here, including wooden statues dating back over 1000 years! I asked the price and the man replied with a number I didn’t know (I only know 10s and 100s in Chinese) – it was 100,000 kuai (£10,000!).

I did however find some things in my price range. The first being something I’ve wanted for a long time.

It’s called a Chinese Temple Block, or more commonly known as a ‘wooden fish’. It’s played by Buddhist monks during rituals and I love the sound it makes. I’ve heard them being played at every Buddhist temple I’ve visited in China, it’s sound echoing in the large halls is a memory I cherish so it’s great to take it home with me! (They’re also usually around 600 kuai, but this guy sold it me for 150!).

The next was a surprise purchase, and a very special one.

These are old Chinese trade coins – and when I say old, I mean real old. These date back to the Qin Dynasty, the first imperial dynasty of China lasting from around 220bc to 200bc. These coins are over 2000 years old! This currency was one of the major reforms of the time to unite the China Empire in trade through a standardised coinage.

I think they’re beautiful. There are quite a few coins on sale over the internet, but most from later Tang and Han dynasties, these are special; and although I’m sure there are thousands of them still around it feels special to own such a piece of Chinese history!

Finally I bought this delightful little chest to keep my precious souvenirs in – including my ancient coins and my jade necklace!

6pm – Have I done everything in Shanghai?

It sure feels like I have! I’ve certainly done the essentials and even a few of the bazaar hidden places. So what now? I guess as it’s my last night I should take one last stroll along the Huangpu river.