Top of the World with Disappointing Photos

I did a bit of running around today but most of my day was spent packing up my crap.  I didn't think I bought much, but it somehow multiplied without my realizing it.  Still, I think it will all fit...barely.

I only did two things today, went to the observation deck a the Shanghai Tower and picked up my custom tailored linen harem pants at the South Bund Spinning Market.  Otherwise, I've been packing.

Got the packing started last night and this morning.  When I was at a place I felt comfortable with, I started out to the Shanghai tower.  Going up to the observation deck was the last thing I really wanted to accomplish here.  Got to the right area without incident, then took a bit to figure out how to get to the building.  Apparently, in the financial district, there is an elevated system of walkways to keep pedestrians away from the streets...and kudos to that!

Finally figured it out and found no line to get tickets at all.  For about 25 bucks you get your photo taken (which they later try to upsell you a photo-shopped background) and see a little walk through about the history of skyscrapers and this particular building itself. While it's the world's second tallest building, it's the tallest green building (part of it's energy is generated by wind turbines at the top...as well as other features).

You get to the elevator and then wait for enough people to show up.

Here you can admire their Guinness World Record certificate for the world's fastest elevator.  The actual top speed (which normal humans don't get to experience) is about 45 mph.  Today, I went around 40 mph, which really set my ears to popping!  Otherwise, the ride is really smooth.  You travel 118 floors in about 55 seconds.  However, you do it in a relatively tiny elevator jammed in like sardines with a bunch of other tourists.  So, not as fun as you'd think.

Before I go any further, I need to post a disclaimer that:

1. The windows have a coating to block UV light, which I'm sure my skin appreciated, but was unforgiving to my camera lens on the side of the building facing the sun.
2. This was the smoggiest day in the whole 2 weeks I've been here.  My procrastination kicked my butt again.

So, I apologize for most of the following photos.

This is looking up river at the Huangpu, which cuts through Shanghai. 

This is looking across the river at The Bund.  I zoomed in a bit here so you can make out the clock tower and stuff...

This is looking out across a bit more downriver toward the Pearl Tower and Suzhou Creek

A wider view with a bit of The Bund on the left there. 

When we move to the other side of the building, things get a bit better...

This is looking down at the Shanghai World Financial Center, commonly knows as "The Bottle Opener."  It was briefly the tallest building in China and the observation deck there is also pretty popular.  It's currently the 11th tallest building in the World. 

Next to that is the Jin Mao Tower.  Also, briefly the tallest building in China and #27 overall (if you're wondering).

There are actually 2 floors to the observation deck and floor 119 has a coffee shop, so I got a cappuccino, some tiramisu, and grabbed a window table.

I then puttered around a bit, visited the shop and got a couple of small things, then decided to head back down.  Revisit with the sardine can where my ears popped.  And you get dumped into an even bigger shop with more stuff, but I had my stuff, so I exited.  Into a mall, of course.

I managed my way out of that maze, but not to an exit that had an escalator.  Did I mention the elevator started on a sub-level?  I'm going to need new legs by the time this is done.

Although I wasn't supposed to pick up my order until about 5pm, I decided to head over early because I was still feeling fresh enough to walk a few blocks.  I navigated to the right Metro stop and only confused myself once getting there (didn't get lost, just had to stop once, reorient myself, and confirm I was going the right way after all).

Apologies for no photos, although I said I would get some.  The vendors are very pushy and piss me off, especially when they start grabbing your arm.  I just wanted to get my pants and get out of there.  I found the right shop in that maze without any trouble and my pants were there!

The purple ones and the stripey ones look great.  I'm a but concerned about the blue/white ones because they look HUGE.  The nice lady assured me it's because of the heavier linen, but I'm pretty sure they're just enormous.  We'll see...I can always throw them in a dryer to try to shrink them down. Still, happy with the purchase.  The sewing work on them is amazing and the copy is exact (except maybe the blue ones...).

I was thinking of going back to the Old Town Tourist Market, but decided against it and headed back.  However, by this time it was rush hour.  Fun times.  But I made it back and am mostly packed up.

Got some cabbage to cook for dinner and I might go back and finish the museum post from a few days ago...maybe.

Gotta be downstairs for the taxi at 6:45am (I'll be there at 6:30) so no late night tonight!

This Day Was Buddha-licious

I didn't *quite* do it...I didn't visit all 3 main Buddhist temples in Shanghai all in one day.  It's definitely doable and my lack of success was due to my procrastination and lack of caffeine.  If I had coffee this morning, I would have been able to get my butt out of the apartment earlier.  Oh well.

The procrastination was my putting off going to the South Bund Soft Spinning Material Market to the last possible minute.  That whole hating of the bargaining thing again.  However, I discovered that you can bring a favorite item of clothing and get copies of it made at a fraction of the cost of the original. 

Those of you who know me have seen me in my linen harem-type pants.  I love those things and have them in 3 colors (in linen, I also have a black pair in cotton jersey).  I have a pair with me and was determined to get some made if it didn't cost too much.

So I found the market and wandered around the 3 floors of tailors for about an hour (getting harrassed by scarf and belt vendors the whole time...don't grab my damn arm!) until I finally got up the courage to ask one of the tailors if she could copy something in linen.  And we were off!

Now, let me preface this by saying those things retail for upwards of $100.  You can get them on ebay for about $80 or so.  If I'm lucky, I find them on clearance for about $50-$60 bucks.  Well I'm getting three pair made for $40 each!  A good negotiator might have gotten her lower, but I'm happy with the price I'm getting.  I picked a navy/white woven pair, a pink-ish lavender color pair and a pair in a pattern of narrow brown and tan stripes.  I realize that the stripes could go wrong...so cross your fingers. 

I got no pictures of this market today but I will say that it's nicer, brighter, cleaner, and more organized than the other market I went to. Admittedly, this one is more geared toward tourists.  There are many, many vendors of all kinds of souvenirs with their wares all spread out on blankets all around the front of the building.  I have to go back tomorrow to pick up my pants, so I'll try to get some photos then (yes, one day turnaround).

Then I hopped back on the metro to try to visit the temples.  Got 2 out of three and since I had previously visited the Jade Buddha last week, I really didn't miss any of them.

Longhua Martyr's Memorial.  I accidentally got detoured through here after getting off the Metro.  It's just before, and right next to, the temple. This is just a small section as I was just passing through...

First temple is Longhua Temple.  This is the pagoda.  Last photo of this temple will also be this pagoda. I was a bit concerned that I wouldn't be able to find the temple from the Metro station.  This sight greeted me as I was exiting, I shouldn't have worried.

This is the Maitryea Hall, which holds the largest statue of the Buddha.  Longhua is the largest and best example of an ancient Buddhist temple in Shanghai.  First built in the period of The Three Kingdoms, most of the buildings were reconstructed during the Qing Dynasty.  It spent some time as a prison where communists were held and executed.  The memorial adjacent to the temple was once part of the temple grounds and was where the martyrs were executed.  The Japanese also held this area at one point and used it for a POW camp.

Behind that is another hall, I believe this one is the Heavenly King Hall.

There are also a few smaller halls with shrines within.

In Chinese Buddhism, there are multiple Buddhas.  There is Siddhartha Gautama (known here as Maitryea Buddha) who is the Buddha we all think of.  The Chinese also recognize other beings who have attained enlightenment as Buddhas and put a lot of emphasis on Bodhisattvas (not to say that other types of Buddhists don't recognize the other Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, but you hear and see a lot more of them in Chinese Buddhist worship).  Buddha is also worshiped as a deity.

Buddha, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats...It's so confusing, but makes for some beautiful places of worship.

I think this was my favorite Buddha, very simple and beautiful.

Here are 500 golden Arhat.

And this is the Bodhisattva Guanyin in her female, 1,000 armed form. Outside of China, she is known as Avalokitesvara. She embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. 

Here are some lovely prayer ribbons fluttering in the breeze.

Close up view of the pagoda from the parking lot.

And one last photo through the trees as I leave.  Ok, back on a train and on to the next temple...

This is Jing'an Temple.  Although a temple has been here for years, this is a reconstruction as the original burned down. As you can see, it's smack-dab in the middle of a busy area of Shanghai and next to a big shopping mall.  Originally build in a slightly different location during the Wu Dynasty, it was reclocated here during the Song Dynasty and rebuilt during the Qing Dynasty (lots of that going on, it seems).  It became a plastics factory after the Cultural Revolution, but was renovated back to a temple in the 80's.  A modern pagoda was added in 2010. 

Although the reconstruction did try to restore the original temple, it felt much more modern than the other two. 

There were some lovely, quiet corners

But the skyscrapers literally looming over the complex and the cars parked in the courtyard kind of kept you in the modern age.

It was all also very shiny and new looking with brightly polished gold everywhere.

This is the only glimpse you will get of the modern pagoda.  It's that squarish tower in front of the skyscraper. I thought it ugly and unimpressive (despite all of the gold) and didn't feel motivated to walk around to see it. 

The enormous cast iron censer was a lot of fun as people kept trying to throw change into it.  I wonder if there is any way to get the money out?

A cool double round doorway leading to a back courtyard.

One of the passageways.  

Detail of the lion in the woodwork.

This is the largest of the many Buddha statues in this temple.  He's brass and looks down over the courtyard. 

Here's Guanyin again, this time without her 1,000 arms. 

Here is a silver Buddha I found in an out of the way hall in the back. 

It seems Jing'an also boasts a jade Buddha.  He's much larger than the seated Buddha at the Jade Buddha Temple, but does not have all of the precious jewels.  

You will note that I do not have any photos here of the Laughing Buddha so many are familiar with when thinking of Chinese Buddhism.  I think I have one photo somewhere...

Laughing Buddha is exclusively a part of Chinese Buddhism.  Originally, he is a Chinese Folkloric Deity named Budai.  He became a part of Buddhism as an incarnation of the future Maitryea.

This is just a cool lotus decorated bronze chair that I would love to have for my yard at home. 

I think of all three of the temples I visited I liked Longhua the bests.  It felt the most authentic and least commercialized.  It was actually very serene and quiet and most of the people there were actually worshiping. 

All three had their attractions however.  Jade Buddha Temple had the most lovely layout with lovely private areas and the best Buddha statues. 

Jin'an was the shiniest and felt the most inclusive.  Everyone there joined in to burn incense and you felt included.  This was something missing a bit in the other two. 

After all of this, it was coming up on 4pm and too late to go to Jade Buddha again, so I opted to run out to Disney Town to grab a couple of gifts for people.  I'm glad I did, but my legs got super tired!

Then it was back to the apartment to cook my late dinner and head off to bed. 

Gettin my pants and going to the top of the world tomorrow...cheers!

Half Day at the Museum

I woke up feeling like crap.  Well, I kind of went to bed that way too and spent half the night trying to cough up a lung.  I did wake up early, but spent the first half of the day puttering around and trying not to cough up a lung (still).

Late in the afternoon, I ventured out to catch more of the Shanghai Museum.

As I am still feeling crapish...photos first, exposition maybe later.

Sorry guys, my VPN is giving me fits...I'll finish this up tomorrow...