A Walk Around A Lake Originally posted on 30th April 2015

I’m going to take you on a walk around a pond.  It’s quite a big pond by UK standards, in fact we would call it a lake and the surface is covered in water lilies which will make it look spectacular in the summer when the water lilies are in flower…….more

Food in Fujian  Originally posted on 29th April 2015

After we had been to the Botanical Gardens in Xiamen we jumped in a taxi to go to the International Ferry Terminal to get the ferry to Gulang Yu and finding somewhere to eat around the terminal building.  Our taxi driver had other ideas and just dropped us in town……. …..more

Four Dishes and One Soup  Originally posted 26th April 2015

No, for once I’m not talking about food.  Four Dishes and One Soup is the name that the Fujian locals give to this cluster of Tulou buildings that we went to see.  Why the name? –  because their shapes, square oval, circular and oval remind the Chinese……..more

To Zhangzhou and Onto TianLuoKeng Tulou  Originally posted 25th April 2015

After visiting Gulang Yu on Saturday we left on Sunday morning to travel further inland towards the company factory that is in Fujian Province (there are others elsewhere in this vast country).  Our taxi, unlike the normal ones both in Xiamen and Shanghai which are very worn out VW Jettas, was a brand new London taxi…….more

Long Dresses Amongst Decay  Originally posted on 24th April 2015

Whilst we were waiting for a ferry I noticed a bride dressed in wedding finery next to a young man who was evidently her groom eating their noodle lunch as they waited to board the ferry over to Gulang Yu.  And then another one arrived.  Both girls’ dresses were laced……more

Going to Gulang Yu and Back  Originally posted on 23rd April 2015

After lunch on Saturday and our amble around the waterfront gardens in Xiamen we headed in a taxi towards the International Ferry Terminal  – a huge building a little further north – to get the ferry to take us to the island of Gulang Yu, what was once the European enclave in Amoy………more

Xiamen Botanical Gardens  Originally posted on 22nd April 2015

The Xiamen Botanical Gardens (aka The Wanshi Botanical Garden) was founded in 1960.  It, together with Gulang Yu Island, is categorised as one of China’s AAAA scenic spots. It contains more than 6500 species in ten collections……..more

Another Sojourn From Shanghai  Originally posted on 21st April 2015

Somewhere in the depths of my mind I had heard about Amoy, but never knew where it was and I think I had even searched for it on a map some years ago, without success.  Well on Friday we set off for Amoy in Fujian Province (known as Fukien or Hokkien in English, just to confuse you), because Richard had to be at the factory…..more

The Verb to Zintiandi  Originally posted on 16th April 2015

In the exhibition about the development of Xintiandi there was a photograph of the original design concept created in July 1993, the month my daughter was born.  Xintiandi literally means New Heaven and Earth in Chinese….more

Red Tourism: The First National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party  Originally posted on 15th April 2015

The first time that we went to Xintiandi was one weekend afternoon.  Richard had been taken there for work the previous week and I had not done any research on what to expect…….more

Chinese New Year Colour Prints  Originally posted on 14th April 2015

At the end of the exhibition to see the Site of the First National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party was a display of old woodcut prints….. more

The Shikumen Open House Museum and the Fashionistas Originally posted on 11th April 2015

The Shikumen Open House Museum is in the middle of the area known as Xintiandi.  The whole area of Xintiandi was recognised by property developers from Hong Kong as having huge potential and it was the first area in the…..more

Trying to Be Sociable Originally posted on 10th April 2015

Before I came out to Shanghai I did some research on organisations I might join to meet some people, but I’ve been so caught up in seeing this vast city that I haven’t quite got round to seeking out any such…..more

Easter Sunday Originally posted on 9th April 2015

It was Easter Sunday, yesterday, but of course that means nothing here.  We had managed to get hold of some hot cross buns from Marks and Spencer’s (flown in from the UK and still frozen in parts when we bough…..more

An Award-Winning Strip of Land Originally posted on 8th April 2015

I should think you are all getting pretty fed up by now of the gardens I’m showing you, but I’m very conscious that soon the heat will be turned on and walking purposefully around large parks, rather than just sipping…..more

Rubbish  Originally posted on 7th April 2015

I’ve been meaning to write about rubbish in Shanghai for quite a while, but a spectacle we saw last night on our way back from the metro station made us laugh at the incongruity of it all. Our household rubbish…..more

Shanghai Zoo Originally posted on 6th April 2015

Shanghai Zoo is two stops down line 10 from here, away form the centre of town.  It was built on land that once housed Shanghai’s most exclusive golf club, but all that nonsense was done away with after the…..more

The Jing’an Temple and Jing’an Gongyuan Originally posted on 3rd April 2015

I had gone along to the Jing’an Temple and the Park in front of it sometime ago, but because it was yet another temple and yet another park I haven’t quite got round to writing  about them.  But yesterday I…..more

Red Town Originally posted on 2nd April 2015

A couple of stops in towards the centre of the city from here is Red Town at Hongqiao Lu metro station.  I went yesterday to have a look.   At the entrance was a man selling the skull and horns…..more

Walking Home From Yili Lu Metro Station Originally posted on 1st April 2015

The weather in Shanghai over the last couple of weeks has been fluctuating wildly.  Temperatures have gone from 12°C up to 24°C, back down to 16°C and yesterday on the 31st March……..more