San Hang Ju Hotel

Church in Shanghai

by marciaca

Believe it or not Churches are up and running in Communist China. The Catholic Church is not quite official. The Vatican and the Chinese government have disputes about who should appoint the bishop. Churches have limited freedom of speech. Don't expect a church to stay open long if it criticizes a government policy.

Nonetheless, on the surface it look and felt the same. It is an interesting experience. For those of you who are Catholic, St. Ignatius Cathedral is an old French cathedral. Yes, I was the only Westerner there and got several wide-eyed looks. The stained-glass windows were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, but they are being slowly replace. There were TV screens along the side of the pews which has the scriptures in Mandarin and English. However, for the rest of the Mass, I was on my own.

The few differences that were noteworthy. There was no offetory, but people left money in the poor box at the end. At the "peace be with you part", people do not talk and don't shake hands. They do two quick little bows at each other and then turn and do it to someone else. At Communion, there was no queueing. Everyone just rushed forward. (Why should that be any different?)

Metro

by yumyum

The metro is quite modern and so are the tickets you get which disappear in the slot and don't come back out. Trains can get quite crowed, so keep that in mind when going to the railway station but still it's faster than a taxi. Unfortunately, there are not too many station in the center near the bund, so you may have to walk a fair distance to get to one.

Yuyuan Gardens

by Adopt-A-Tourist

This 16th-century garden is a maze of colorful pavilions, ponds, stone dragons, arching trees, and flowers, surrounding the intantly recognizable zigzag bridge. It is one of China's finest examples of Ming Dynasty gardens and architecture. We spent several hours viewing and climbing arount the upper levels and just watching mostly Chinese people enjoying this historic site.

Hang Zhou

by JUNLI

In this city, you can find the most beautiful lake of China, West Lake. The city exists and being famed because of it.

My university stage had important chapters associated with this beautiful city and lake. Among them, the most precious pieces are shared with YuanChen and FengYu. I have to admit that Hang Zhou would always be the most romantic city in my mind.

Shanghai Museum

by Yubert

"Wheelchair access!"

Yes, there's a wheelchair ramp to get into the museum. Once in, there's elevators to take you to the various floors. The elevator is not for the general public and you need to summon a guard everytime you want to use the elevator.