WE ARRIVE

We arrive in Shanghai and I meet my friend Vv John
and his girlfriend Lili for the first time. This was one
of the best moments of the trip.

Vv's favorite singer is Andy Williams.
The song on this page is dedicated to Vv.

Jade Buddha Temple



Vv, Gail and Dottie at Bai Le Men Restaurant



Dottie getting a chopsticks lesson from Vv



Andy making friends with a young Shanghainese boy



Bei (second from right) is a special friend in the U.S.
who was visiting her parents in Shanghai.
Left to right, Bei's father and mother, Dottie, Andy, Gail,
Bei and Vv John



Street scene near Yu Yuan Gardens



Shanghai street scene



A Shanghai craftsman making miniature bicycles and rickshaws



I wish I could have brought this one home with me - she is so cute.



Children on an outing from school

Shanghai is an exciting city, a modern new city amid old and beautiful temples, buildings, and gardens. At night, the elevated expressways look like something out of a sci-fi movie, with purple neon lights running for miles along the edges. Everywhere there is construction. Workers with wheelbarrows and acetylene torches digging, welding, ever forward.

Rush hour is heavy with traffic: buses, taxis, pedestrians, bicycles. Somehow traffic flows amid the throngs of people and bicycles, and everyone gets to wherever it is that they are going. There is no wild taxi ride in the world like a ride in Shanghai, for at intersections where there is no traffic light, there is also no stop sign. Taxi drivers are masterful at dodging other taxis and pedestrians. Buses somehow squeeze into space big enough only for a car. Ten yuan (approximately $1.25) will take you to most places in the city by taxi.

At night, the streets are alive with people shopping, going to restaurants, visiting in the street. Food is cooked in many small shops, and you can buy a meal very cheaply on the street. People were very friendly toward us. Everywhere, we were treated with courtesy and I never felt unsafe.

We visited Jade Buddha Temple, Yu Yuan Gardens, the shopping markets. We visited a nearby park early in the morning, where hundreds of people were exercising together and practicing Tai Chi.

One night, we went to the Bund, which is the old seaport part of town on the Huangpu River. It is beautiful, with lots of lights on the buildings, and the barges and boats float gracefully by. My cousin spent some time in Shanghai during World War II, when the U.S. and China were allies. He stayed at a hotel on the Bund. But that is another time and another story..........

My favorite memory of Shanghai, besides meeting Vv John, is the night we went to Vv's mother's house for dinner. She and her daughter and a friend had cooked for us, and this was a wonderful experience. She gave me a beautiful hand-knit sweater, which I will always cherish.

This is Vv's mother, in the center. You can tell that we
were really enjoying this, our first visit to a private home.

Gail and Vv with Vv's mother, Pei. I have video of Vv's sister,
but no still photo. My apologies.

We visited with Vv and Lili's English class in the city.
All the students spoke English very well.

Getting ready to leave Shanghai for Xi'an.
This is the waiting room at Shanghai train station.

Andy made friends wherever we went.