Day 15 - Visiting an ancient water city

After a restless night for me with a gurgly tummy and a tooth ache ... Ian slept like a log ... we were up before the alarm. Sophie and Mr Chen were not picking us up until 10 am today so we had already made plans to head out on our own.

Following breakfast (a light one for me) we headed out on foot. The People's Park is just 15 minutes walk from our hotel so that was where we headed first. Like others we have seen in cities in China this green oasis is a popular gathering spot for the locals.

We walked along Jiujiang Road stopping to take photos (of course) and to watch the world go by. We arrived at the park and then couldn't work out where the entrance was. What appeared to be stairs were blocked off by a low fence and a gate that we couldn't open. Two lovely old men pointed us to the wall beside the gate and indicated with a lovely game of charades that we should climb over the wall!

Well ... we looked hesitant but they kept giving us a thumb up and continued to urge us forward. So, climb the wall we did! And they were correct! The path led us to the main gate where the security officers waved us in ... so no arrest today.

The park was lovely. Beautiful thick forested areas, stone paved paths, seating areas, garden beds filled with flowers and a lake. There were older folk practising Tai Chi (which we sat and watched), others walking, some sitting chatting and others using the free exercise equipment, having parked their mobility scooters nearby. We came across one gentleman sitting in his folding camp chair with his legs elevated working on his laptop by the lake.

So we had a lovely amble around the gardens. Spotting cats hiding in the bushes. It was the perfect way to start our day.

We then started our wander back to our hotel through Nanjing Road East. This is a pedestrian road only, lined with shops, shopping mall and with a pedestrian train running through it. We were mobbed by a group of school girls (13-14 years old) wanting to know where we were from and to practice their English.

We wandered along the street ... a real mix of architectural styles. Large flagship stores for places like Sephora, Lego and M & Ms share the space with smaller retailers. Spruikers for warehouse sales for knock off bags and watches were given a polite "No thank you" as they tried to encourage us to get that fake Gucci we so desperately needed.

We stopped at a pharmacy and with the aid of Google translate asked for pain relief medications. The helpful man took us to the relevant section of the pharmacy and picked up two boxes to show us. Google translate again had us leaving with a box of acetaminophen (paracetamol) and a box.of ibuprofen for the grand total of $10.

Then back to the hotel,  a quick wave to Mr Chen who was already there, a toilet stop and then Sophie arrived. She was anxious as she was later than she had said she would be there due to her train arriving a little later. She was all of 8 minutes late but she was so apologetic.  I asked her if she needed to use the bathroom and she said oh no I am already late ... so I told her to stop, catch her breath,  use the bathroom and then we would all be good to go!

On the road we then went ... headed out of Shanghai to the country.  Our drive would take us about an hour. We were headed to Zhujiajiao Ancient Town. This beautiful old town is surrounded by canals and waterways and covers an area of 3 sq.kms.

A network of bridges along the canals connect the town with its nine century-old streets and buildings dating back time the Ming and Qing dynasties. The buildings are at most two stories, and wooden with tiled roofs.

Sophie took us on a walking tour that meandered through the maze of streets, through narrow lanes with shop fronts selling fruit, rice cakes, pigs feet, juices, yak combs and so much more. We stopped to watch a group of school boys attempting to stack blocks using a series of threads connected together requiring a great deal of communication. They cheered when they achieved their goal!

We explored the Kezhi Garden which was a privately owned garden built in 1912 - 1927. Like the Yu Garden yesterday there was a central lake, stone bridges, a nine turn zig-zag bridge, tall bamboo waving in the breeze and pavilions for greeting visitors, drinking tea, watching performances and even a library. It was a hidden oasis which back in the 1920s must have been an incredible place to relax when it was owned by Mr Ma. Now it is owned by the government who maintains it and makes it available to all to enjoy (for a very nominal ticket price).

We crossed the Fangsheng Bridge ... the oldest, widest and longest five arch stone bridge in Shanghai. Crossing the bridge was one thing but having Sophie take us down a narrow lane way to look back at the bridge was incredible. 

We stopped for lunch at a local family owned restaurant located right on the waterfront. Sophie helped us order ... suggesting dishes to try. We ordered traditional braised pork,  sweet and sour pork, stir fried Shanghainese noodles with green vegetables and potatoes with chilli's.

The food was delicious. The potato was the stand out dish ... thinly julienned slices of potato stir fired in a scallions oil with chillies and peppers. Lunch was accompanied by green and roasted barley tea. Yum Yum.

We then finished our wander ... leaving behind the busier streets and exploring some of the residential areas. We stopped at the historic post office, patted some cats at the cat cafes, and laughed at some of the dogs who were dressed in their best outfits. We saw one of the oldest pickle stores in Shanghai and stopped in to look at the local TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) shop with its 245 compartments filled with all sorts of herbs. You can take your prescription from your doctor there and they will make up the tea or soup to cure your ailments.

Finally, to end our wonderful day, we took a boat ride all the way back to where we started. The boats are the old traditional style ... with our river boat driver paddling through the narrow waterways. These canal-ed areas are known as Venice of the East, but it doesn’t seem quite right to call our boatman a gondolier.

Then back to the car ... thanks Mr Chen ... and he drive us skilfully and efficiently back to our hotel. We then said our final goodbyes to Sophie as she has another tour group starting tomorrow. Another guide will take us to the airport but cheerful Mr Chen will still be our driver.

And this is where I will leave today’s blog. The day is by no means done for us … but we intend to head out tonight and walk to the Bund and wander the streets of Shanghai. When we get back I will be in the land of nod. 

Tomorrow’s blog will finish tonight and our last morning in China.

Today … so far (as at 6pm)

Steps - 12,132

Kms - 9.27

Photos  -  622 (J) and 72 (I)