I told you that my entry would be very long today, so buckle your seat belt and be sure to check out the acrobatic show that follows this entry to see the whole day. Here we go!
After breakfast we boarded the bus (again) and went to the Bund. 
The word "Bund" means an embankment or an embanked quay, and comes from the Urdu word band, meaning an embankment, levee or dam. 
The Shanghai Bund has dozens of historical buildings, lining the Huangpu River, that once housed numerous banks and trading houses from Britain, France, the U.S., Russia, Germany, Japan, The Netherlands and Belgium, as well as the consulates of Russia and Britain, a newspaper, the Shanghai Club and the Masonic Club. The Bund lies north of the old, walled city of Shanghai.
This was initially a British settlement; later the British and American settlements were combined in the International Settlement. A building boom at the end of 19th century and beginning of 20th century led to the Bund becoming a major financial hub of East Asia. The former French Bund, east of the walled city was formerly more a working harbourside. We walked along this important area and I was part of the crowd.
I got some good shots of the local people and sights. 
I even got a shot of what I consider to be a typical tourist taking shots. Hope I don't look like this to them! 
It was another overcast day, but that kept the temperature cooler so walking was very pleasant. The architecture in this part of town is fascinating.
The word "Bund" means an embankment or an embanked quay, and comes from the Urdu word band, meaning an embankment, levee or dam. The Shanghai Bund has dozens of historical buildings, lining the Huangpu River, that once housed numerous banks and trading houses from Britain, France, the U.S., Russia, Germany, Japan, The Netherlands and Belgium, as well as the consulates of Russia and Britain, a newspaper, the Shanghai Club and the Masonic Club. The Bund lies north of the old, walled city of Shanghai. This was initially a British settlement; later the British and American settlements were combined in the International Settlement. A building boom at the end of 19th century and beginning of 20th century led to the Bund becoming a major financial hub of East Asia. The former French Bund, east of the walled city was formerly more a working harbourside. We walked along this important area and I was part of the crowd. I got some good shots of the local people and sights. I even got a shot of what I consider to be a typical tourist taking shots. Hope I don't look like this to them! It was another overcast day, but that kept the temperature cooler so walking was very pleasant. The architecture in this part of town is fascinating.They are all very different from the buildings we see at home.
From there we went to the Shanghai Museum of Art. 
It was a very modern building and was very well planned. There was a Goya exhibition there which we enjoyed 
but there was no photography allowed in this part if the museum. 
However, we could take photos everywhere else in the museum so I got some really good shots.
Frank wanted to be one of three Buddhas, but I decided that they look more like the Three Stooges. 
The exhibits were really wonderful and I can only show you a few since there were so many.
Lots of ancient artifacts that had been very well preserved. 
Since I used to be a hat person, I'm always fascinated with hats.
We also thought that this little dog looked just like Franklin and Beth's dog, Harry. 
I had no idea we'd find him in a museum!
From there we went to the Shanghai Museum of Art. It was a very modern building and was very well planned. There was a Goya exhibition there which we enjoyed but there was no photography allowed in this part if the museum. However, we could take photos everywhere else in the museum so I got some really good shots. Frank wanted to be one of three Buddhas, but I decided that they look more like the Three Stooges. The exhibits were really wonderful and I can only show you a few since there were so many. Lots of ancient artifacts that had been very well preserved. Since I used to be a hat person, I'm always fascinated with hats.We also thought that this little dog looked just like Franklin and Beth's dog, Harry. I had no idea we'd find him in a museum!We then had a Dim-Sum lunch at the embroidery gallery and looked at all the beautiful work that I put in my slide show. 
Our place mats had the history of the Embroidery Gallery on them.
You can see how large some of the silk paintings were. 
The girls that did the stitching were wonderful artisans. The silk thread was no bigger than a hair in circumference and some of the pieces took over a year to complete. 
As a stitcher myself, I couldn't believe the complexity of their work. 
This was a really nice place, the food was excellent and we got to see the chef at the front desk on our way out.
Our place mats had the history of the Embroidery Gallery on them.You can see how large some of the silk paintings were. The girls that did the stitching were wonderful artisans. The silk thread was no bigger than a hair in circumference and some of the pieces took over a year to complete. As a stitcher myself, I couldn't believe the complexity of their work. This was a really nice place, the food was excellent and we got to see the chef at the front desk on our way out.From there we started on the Bataan Death March. We went through a market place where there was a huge crowd and then on to the Yuyan Garden. 
Here this man is making cotton candy on the back of his bicycle
and when I came upon this old man, I thought he was dead! 
As it turned out he was only napping since he was probably tired from trying to sell his wares. There were people visiting and also playing cards everywhere. 
We had to wind our way through the crowds to get to the garden. 
Here this man is making cotton candy on the back of his bicycle and when I came upon this old man, I thought he was dead! As it turned out he was only napping since he was probably tired from trying to sell his wares. There were people visiting and also playing cards everywhere. We had to wind our way through the crowds to get to the garden. The garden was reportedly first established in 1559 as a private garden created by Pan Yunduan, who spent almost 20 years building a garden to please his father Pan En, a high-ranking official in the Ming Dynasty, during his father's old age. 
Today Yuyuan occupies an area of 5 acres, and is divided into six general areas laid out in the Suzhou style.
Today Yuyuan occupies an area of 5 acres, and is divided into six general areas laid out in the Suzhou style.The walkways here are elaborate as well, being laid out in mosaic style patterns like the ones in the other garden we visited
and the doorways are never just rectangles like most of ours are.
They have a beautiful design and an aesthetic beauty to them.
and the doorways are never just rectangles like most of ours are. They have a beautiful design and an aesthetic beauty to them.Once again I will call attention to the details of the architecture.
The craftsmanship is exquisite and so detailed.
The craftsmanship is exquisite and so detailed.The locals visit this place all the time and always take a photograph as a remembrance of this lovely place.
This cute little fellow was fascinated with the Foo Dog statue and I couldn't resisting taking his picture.
I wish we had been able to have more time in the market place.
This teapot was actually pouring real tea into a circulating fountain 
and this wonderful candy dragon was made from spun sugar. You could request the shape you wanted and they would make it as you watched.
We did buy an extra suitcase to get our goodies home in. My feet were so tired and our day wasn't over yet. We had already walked nearly 9 miles. Frank wanted to buy one of these to scoot around town on ,
and I thought I'd personally be better off with this!
This cute little fellow was fascinated with the Foo Dog statue and I couldn't resisting taking his picture.I wish we had been able to have more time in the market place. This teapot was actually pouring real tea into a circulating fountain and this wonderful candy dragon was made from spun sugar. You could request the shape you wanted and they would make it as you watched.We did buy an extra suitcase to get our goodies home in. My feet were so tired and our day wasn't over yet. We had already walked nearly 9 miles. Frank wanted to buy one of these to scoot around town on ,and I thought I'd personally be better off with this!Tonight we have the acrobatic show and our farewell dinner. We will be leaving a lot of the Viking group and we will continue on to Guilin and Hong Kong. After dinner we went to the Acrobatic show. Be sure and look at the slide show that follows.
I do want to mention the buildings here in Shanghai. There are so many high rises that you couldn't believe it unless you saw it. It makes NYC look like a drop in the bucket. 
Shanghai is one of the world's busiest ports. In 2005, Shanghai ranked first of the world's busiest ports in terms of cargo throughout, handling a total of 443 million tons of cargo. In terms of container traffic, it is the third busiest port in the world, following Singapore and Hong Kong. The 2000 census put the population of Shanghai Municipality to 16.738 million, including the floating population, which made up 3.871 million.
As we drove around this enormous city we could not help but notice all the air conditioning units in the windows. Our guide told us that the newer buildings had central air. Shanghai is one of the world's busiest ports. In 2005, Shanghai ranked first of the world's busiest ports in terms of cargo throughout, handling a total of 443 million tons of cargo. In terms of container traffic, it is the third busiest port in the world, following Singapore and Hong Kong. The 2000 census put the population of Shanghai Municipality to 16.738 million, including the floating population, which made up 3.871 million. 
And talk about a bunch of power lines! You have to feed those window units and washing machines :-)
We're really tired as it has been an extremely full and busy day so we fell into bed after the acrobatic show which ended at 9:45.We fly to Guilin tomorrow but have the morning free to re-pack. There's a strict limit on luggage weight for this flight which makes no sense at all. Your checked luggage cannot weigh over 44 pounds, but you can carry on as many bags as you can hold and there is no weight restriction. Go Figure!!! We will look like the coolies did when we boarded the boat with all of our heavy carry ons, but we're going to make it. Frank does something tomorrow morning that very few people from this country have done, so be sure and check back. It's exciting and I promise that tomorrow's will be short!!!
Pcasso
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