Shanghai Delight!!

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Our busy Saturday in Shanghai began with a visit to the Silk Factory. It was fascinating to learn about the production of silk, and Jane was especially thrilled to learn about silk duvets :). In the tour, they covered everything from the life cycle of a silk worm to single and double cocoons and how the double cocoons are stretched again and again and again to get to the desired size of a duvet. We all had a chance to pull the silk to the duvet size and realized it takes real arm strength to do it!! Hannah has lots of pictures about the life cycle to share with Mrs. L's class on her return as well as a couple of the silk worms' cocoons!

Our next stop was lunch in the bustling Temple area of Shanghai. While the previous day opened a window into a Shanghai work day, Saturday offered a view into a day off, with masses of people enjoying delicious food and fun-filled shopping. Hundreds lined up to to sink their teeth into mouth-watering dumplings. While we would have liked to try some, we avoided the long waits (long queues of at least 30 minutes!!) and had a nice meal in a quieter restaurant overlooking the busy courtyard. The girls are really enjoying the frequency with which they get noodles on this trip (even as part of the breakfast buffet!!), and Steve is just enjoying the great variety of authentic Chinese food.


After lunch, we had a quiet stroll through the beautiful Yuyuan Garden, mere steps beyond the crowds. The Yuyuan Garden was completed in 1577 by a government officer of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Yu in Chinese means pleasing and satisfying. The garden was primarily built for the officer's parents as a place to enjoy a tranquil and happy time in their old age. While at the Garden, Jennifer, Hannah & Stephanie were needing a visit to the local toilet. While this is not something overly noteworthy for this blog, it became noteworthy when Jennifer returned saying "That is not an experience I'll soon forget" - nor would Hannah or Stephanie who came back laughing hysterically. Not wanting to miss out on anything, I (Jane) decided I too had to go, and yes, you guessed it, they were the infamous squats!! Carolyn & Ann - if you are reading this, you can tell Janiecke that our "intense pose" in fusion class was great training for the squats. Apparently, us Westerners do not generally have the ankle muscles (developed since the age of 3 years old in China) to use these toilets, but yoga certainly does help in this matter. What more can I say?? Enjoy the pic!!

Our need for speed took us next to the Maglev Train which travels from the Shanghai Financial District to the Shanghai Airport (a distance of 30km) in only 6 minutes, at a speed of 431 km/hr. What a ride!! For those that are not familiar with this mode of transport, this transrapid system is the fastest commercial transport system in the world. It is designed to travel as high as 500km/h, but has a regular "cruising" speed of 430. A Maglev defined is: "an advanced technology in which magnetic forces lift, propel, and guide a vehicle". It was kind of like being on a roller coaster without the loops. We just went to the airport and back for the ride.

To cap off a great day, we witnessed an exhilarating acrobat show (similar to Cirque de Soleil). The girls really enjoyed the show - half the show anyways, after dozing off just before the intermission. They missed an amazing motorcycle stunt where 8 motorcycles simultaneously sped their way around a caged steel ball.

We arrived home at 9:30pm and got to bed in preparation for the 2nd leg of our journey. Stay tuned...