Morning Music Originally posted on 25th March 2015

Every morning over the last few weeks we could hear the some jolly music coming from somewhere, but neither of us had really registered it until recently……more

The Ceramics Gallery at the Shanghai Museum Originally posted on 25th March 2015

The Chinese are rightly proud of their role in the vanguard of porcelain production.  And the Ceramics Gallery at the Shanghai museum plots the development of ceramics exceedingly well……more

My Local Park: Xinhongqiao Central Garden Originally posted on 24th March 2015

I don’t think I’d make a good writer.  I only seem to be able to write when I’m in the mood. I’ve read that people who do this sort of thing for a living will sit down at a desk everyday and will not stop writing until they’ve reached, say, 1000 words.  I’m not like that…….more

My Birthday  Originally posted on 22nd March 2015

It was a long drawn out affair, and all the better for it.  We started off the night before with a meal at a Thai restaurant on the “foreigner’s street” off Hong Mei Lu……more

 Barbarossa and Dinner at Jianguo 328  Originally posted on 22nd March 2015

After the Urban Planning Exhibition Hall we walked out and through the People’s Park to a restaurant within its grounds called Barbarossa……more

The Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Centre  Originally posted on 21st March 2015

Last Saturday Richard and I went to the Shanghai Urban Planning Museum.  It’s in a five storey building devoted to, well, planning…….more

Sunday Afternoon in the Old French Concession Originally posted on 20th March 2015

I was curious.  I looked out of the window of my 17th floor flat and saw that a crowd had gathered in Golden Street…….more

Writing, Stamping and Printing  Originally posted on 19th March 2015

What was interesting in the Gallery of Calligraphy was a bronze bowl from early 11th century BC with early Chinese pictograms engraved on the inside surface………more

A Delivery Originally posted 15th March 2015

When the children were small we used to go skiing with another family, and we would drive out to the Alps from the UK…….more

The Chinese Minority Nationalities’ Art Gallery at The Shanghai Museum  Originally posted on 14th March 2015

The next stop in The Shanghai Museum was the Chinese Minority Nationalities’ Art Gallery…….more

Readjusting to Shanghai Life I Go To The Museum Originally posted on 13th March 2015

I’ve only been out of Shanghai for 4 days, but it is taking some adjusting to come back home.  The Chinese in Shanghai appear to have little concept of personal space and think nothing of barging into you…..more

A Mad Dash Around Hong Kong Island  Originally posted on 11th March 2015

We’ve now got to Saturday, the last day of our visit to Hong Kong and Richard’s first day off work here, so we had an action packed day in store…..more

Starbucks and The Foreign Correspondents Club Originally posted on 11th March 2015

The next day I’d been invited along to a coffee morning in a Starbucks in Central, so I used the complementary hotel bus service in town and made my way to the Starbucks on Queens Road Central……more

Book in Hong Kong  Originally posted on 10th March 2015

One of my first stops in Hong Kong was a visit to one of the English language bookshops mentioned in my China guidebook…….more

A Couple of Days Away From Shanghai  Originally posted on 5th March 2015

Richard has had to leave Shanghai for a couple of days for work, so I took advantage of his hotel room and have come along too……more

The Longhua Temple  Originally posted on the 5th March 2015

I went down to the Longhua Temple during the Spring Festival break.  The office was still closed for the holiday, but Richard was working from home…..more

Garden Books and Brocade Country Originally posted on the 5th March 2015

There are new flashy mega palaces to consumerism all over Shanghai.  They are so large, new and glitzy that they can simply take your breath away…….more

Madame Zhu’s Kitchen Originally posted on 4th March 2015

We were recommended Madam Zhu’s kitchen as a place to eat some out of the ordinary Chinese food.  There are two branches  – we chose the one on Changshou Lu in Jingan district as it is closer to us…….more

The Shanghai Science and Technology Museum Originally posted on 3rd March 2015.

After visiting the Plum Blossom in Century park on Sunday, we walked out of the park and took the north west pointing promenade with the long vista down Century Avenue towards the financial district, as far as the The Shanghai …more

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Plum Blossom in Century Park  Originally posted on 2nd March 2015.

On Sunday we went in search of Plum Blossom.  I had already seen many sprigs of artificial plum blossom for sale in the run up to The Spring Festival……………more