Aside from arriving in the middle of the night, Shanghai has been great! It is another very modern city, but there is a clear Chinese culture weaved into it all. I have to admit; my first impressions of China were not that great. The procedures we had to go through to get into the country were intimidating. They are very strict with what they allow through security, so it was a fun time trying to get all 26 of us through. Also as you go through security there are thermally sensitive cameras that track your body heat. If the officials do not think you are healthy enough, they will not let you in the country without a fight. The government also blocks certain websites like Facebook and Twitter. So it has been really hard for me to talk to everyone from home, because I always use Facebook messenger. It has been an eye-opener in just the short time I have been here, but I can still say that I like China so far!
Everyone here is so nice and friendly. The whole day today people would stop and watch us while we were sketching, or motion to take a picture with us. A little girl in one of the gardens we went to watched me begin and finish a whole sketch, her father peeking over my shoulder with her. Another time a woman asked Dan and I to say Happy Birthday so she could record it and give to her friend as a gift. And my favorite moment happened as we were taking a group photo, a crowd formed around us snapping pictures. At the same time I looked to my left and saw a guy crouching behind a wall aiming his camera at us like he was in the wild. It was a very fun and unique experience! Throughout the day we visited a temple, a garden, Chinatown, a modern museum, and the Shanghai waterfront.
Today is the Chinese New Year’s traditional Lantern Festival; naturally we chose possibly the worst day to walk around due to crowds, which brings up another point. People say China is crowded, but you would have to walk in Chinatown on the day of the Lantern Festival to fully understand. It was nuts! Shoulder to shoulder crowds of people anywhere you go. I finally understand why Chinese tour guides carry a flag with them to direct their group.
My favorite part of the day was visiting the waterfront of Shanghai. Looking across the river is the perfect view of the financial district’s skyline. It is so beautiful! I walked along the river and chatted with Chin about Shanghai. Chin is a landscape architecture graduate student on the trip with us. His hometown is only a few hours drive from Shanghai. His parents were able to meet us for dinner tonight so we got to meet them. They ordered a few special dishes for us; they all ended up being pretty good. Hopefully I like the rest of China as much as I have enjoyed Shanghai.
Everyone here is so nice and friendly. The whole day today people would stop and watch us while we were sketching, or motion to take a picture with us. A little girl in one of the gardens we went to watched me begin and finish a whole sketch, her father peeking over my shoulder with her. Another time a woman asked Dan and I to say Happy Birthday so she could record it and give to her friend as a gift. And my favorite moment happened as we were taking a group photo, a crowd formed around us snapping pictures. At the same time I looked to my left and saw a guy crouching behind a wall aiming his camera at us like he was in the wild. It was a very fun and unique experience! Throughout the day we visited a temple, a garden, Chinatown, a modern museum, and the Shanghai waterfront.
Today is the Chinese New Year’s traditional Lantern Festival; naturally we chose possibly the worst day to walk around due to crowds, which brings up another point. People say China is crowded, but you would have to walk in Chinatown on the day of the Lantern Festival to fully understand. It was nuts! Shoulder to shoulder crowds of people anywhere you go. I finally understand why Chinese tour guides carry a flag with them to direct their group.
My favorite part of the day was visiting the waterfront of Shanghai. Looking across the river is the perfect view of the financial district’s skyline. It is so beautiful! I walked along the river and chatted with Chin about Shanghai. Chin is a landscape architecture graduate student on the trip with us. His hometown is only a few hours drive from Shanghai. His parents were able to meet us for dinner tonight so we got to meet them. They ordered a few special dishes for us; they all ended up being pretty good. Hopefully I like the rest of China as much as I have enjoyed Shanghai.
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