The End

Nov 18 in China - Nov 17 in the USA

We left Shanghai at 6:15 pm Nov 17, flying with Air Canada to Vancouver.  Sid and I manage to score exit seats for the 10 1/2 hour flight.  We catch a few winks, Sid watches a few movies.  I lost track of time - at 4am I started to watch a movie thinking we had 2 hours left.  At 4:10 we had an announcement that we were beginning decent into Vancouver - so that was a pleasant surprise!

It is 12:50 pm PST in Vancouver.  We say good bye to Gerald and Jyl as they continue to the Canadian side of the customs line.  We wondered where we would be going through customs as we were continuing to the US but connecting in Canada.  Well the answer to that is we did not go through Canadian customs in Vancouver, we were only pre cleared for USA customs.

We have a short stay in Vancouver and board for Los Angeles, at 2:50 pm for a 2 hr 45 min flight.  At LAX we deplane into terminal 2 and find our way to terminal 5 for an 8:30 pm departure to Phoenix.  In Phoenix we are met by our dear friend Ian, and delivered safely to East Debbie Drive.  It is midnight MST when we step into our USA home.  Total travel time from Shanghai - including connections is somewhere around 26 hours!  The bed feels heavenly!

This is my last post.  We had the time of our life!

Truly Great People

Nov 17

This morning we begin packing,  repacking...... weighing...... unpacking, packing ......weighing...... repacking,  packing..... weighing.  Finally we have it together and within airline weight restrictions.

Charlotte recommends a local eatery for lunch - we have a most delicious variety of dumplings and vegetables and for desert we have candied yams.  We were unable to finish all that we had ordered, our bill was less than $5 per person!

 The dumplings must all be hand made - they look like perogies and I think are made with a rice flour.  We had pork and cabbage, a vegetable combination and a lamb variety of dumpling.  Some are boiled, some are steamed and some are fried. They are served with soya sauce and  balsamic vinegar as condiments.

After lunch we return to Peter and Charlotte's, load our bags into the elevator and head to the main level.  We say a tearful goodbye to Charlotte.

Bruce takes us to the airport at 2:30.  We have certainly come to appreciate him and would love to take him home with us.  He helps load all of our bags into the van and helps unload them at the Pudong airport.  When we say good bye to him he says to us - ' you come back next year ok?'

We have had a great trip to China.  We have enjoyed learning pieces about the people and their ancient and beautiful culture, we enjoyed visiting the oh so many sites and bits of country side.  We found the Chinese people to be warm, kind and generous.  They are very proud of their country and are eager to share their history.

When we left Lacombe we had planned to stay at the Swiss Hotel while in Shanghai.  While we were enroute to Shanghai, Gerald had a text from Peter and Charlotte Wamsteeker (Gerald's work colleague and long time friend from Lethbridge, now living and working in Shanghai) saying that we could all stay with them at their home.  Sid and I had never met them, but by the time we landed in Shanghai our plans changed, we were staying with the Wamsteekers.

To Peter and Charlotte - there are a few times in a persons life when you meet 'truly great people'.  Both of you are on our list of - truly great people.  Peter, we are both inspired and honored by your life story (ies) that you shared with us. Your generosity and desire to accommodate our brief voyage into Chinese culture .....really, I don't have words beyond a heartfelt thank you.  It is readily apparent that you walk the talk, both in your work and with your family.

Charlotte you welcomed us as complete strangers into your home.  You made us feel comfortable and anticipated our every need. You have set the hostess bar to a new level!  We now realize and very much appreciate the value of your knowledge of local 'must see' destinations, as well as having the contacts that enabled all of the logistics to magically come together!   Your kindness and patience shown to us was outstanding at every level.  Thank You.

Gerald and Jyl , thank you both for taking us with you.  When we first began suggesting (begging really!) that we 'tag along' on one of your China trips we had no idea what that would mean.  We now understand that having us join you was not as simple as we had imagined.  Gerald - that your colleagues welcomed in China us as they did - speaks to your integrity - well done.  Jyl - what a great time we had together!  We were delighted to celebrate a milestone birthday with you, and have some great (massage) lifetime memories!   

Cheers!

Peasant Painting, Water Towns and Wine Tasting

November 16

The Talsma foursome has an early departure as we meet our tour guides, Michael and Tracy, at the Marriott Hotel for a day trip to a Peasant Painting Village and the water town of Fengjing. We notice a shop across the street from the Marriott specializing in the sale of 'C' words!

 14 bodies pile into a van leaving Shanghai at 8:30 am, it is a 90 minute drive to our destination.

The peasant painting village was initially established in the 1970's as part of the Chinese 'back to the country side' movement. In this area the movement was led by Wu Tongzhang, a classical painter.  Wu realized that the Jinshans peasants had artistic aptitude and he made it his mission to teach them to paint.

The artists cultivated a distinctive artistic style.

  Mainly older women took to painting the scenes around them, with subjects commonly including children, animals, festivals, harvests and rural landscapes. 

The style is renowned for its use of strong colors, and at first glance seem crudely drawn, as if by the hand of a child.  

The paintings are called is Jinshan folk art and has similarities in style to Picasso.

Walking through the village

We have lunch in the water town of Fengjing. 

  The town has a history of 1500 years and boasts 52 bridges.

 We spend the afternoon walking through the town,

 visiting the museum of a local cartoonist,

the complex of what was a working commune in the Mao times

 and an air raid shelter that was built in 1969.

At 4 pm we load ourselves back into the van and what was a 90 minute ride coming out to the village turns into a 2 1/2 hour return trip.  The traffic is very heavy and it is raining.

Once again Bruce finds and delivers us to our Shanghai home and we head to an Australian

wine tasting event  held in Shanghai Tower.   

This was our last full day of being Chinese.  Tomorrow the packing begins!

At the Top of Shanghai

Nov 15

Thursday morning the Talsma's headed back down to the Bund area to venture to the top of Shanghai World Financial Trade Center. 

The uppermost portion of the building features a large rectangular opening to symbolize China's new window on the world. It looks like a bottle opener really!

  

  The building is 101 stories high and offers a beautiful city scape view.

It was interesting for us to see from on high all of the sites we visited in Shanghai.  The day is warm and sunny with great visibility. 

  We see city for as far as the eye can see.

The cost to go to the top of the tower was 150RMB.  Gerald and Jyl both got the senior discount and saved 30%.  Jyl was pleased she was asked for ID!

We had lunch at the Blue Frog at the base of the center and walked to the Pearl Tower.

Bruce manages to find us again and deliver us 'home'

We did a bit of last minute shopping (like why wouldn't you bring a tea set home from China?) and ended the day with dinner at DeMarco's, an Italian restaurant.

Always Lucky

The local acronym for the Chinese currency is RMB.  The method of payment (notice the absence of the word 'preferred' or 'choice' in the preface for the word 'method') is cash. 

 The maximum withdrawal is less than 500 CAD or 2500 RMB.... which is alot of bills.  This 'cash only' state mandates us to become 'thinker aheaders'  Each morning  we review the days activities and the amount of cash required.  Going to the cash machine has become a common occurrence and thankfully there is one in this building !

We have developed a variety of phrases about going to get cash.  "Playing the slots - three times lucky - going to the wall -always a winner....."

We are all feeling well and enjoying our trip very much. 

More Temples and Some Tea

Nov 14

This morning Gerald, Jyl, Charlotte, Sid  and I join 8 others at Yu Garden in Shanghai for a Tea and Temple Tour led by Tracy and Michael.

We visit three temples - the first one is the Cheng Xiang Ge  Buddist Temple and Tracy shares some of the Buddhist philosophies. 

  In summary they include - leading a moral life, being mindful and aware of thoughts and actions and to develop wisdom and understanding.  Buddhist teachings include the Four Noble Truths and The Eightfold Path.  

There are several male and female monks at this temple.

The next Temple is the Cheng Huang Miao Daoist (Tao) Temple.

  Taoism is a religion of unity and opposites: Yin and Yang, which sees the world as filled with complementary forces.  The Tao is not a God and is not worshipped. 

  Taoism promotes achieving harmony or union with nature, the pursuit of spiritual immortality, being virtuous and self development.  Taoist practices include meditation, feng shui, fortune telling and reading and chanting of scriptures.

The third stop is the Wen Miao Si Confucius Temple. (This is the temples reflection in the pond)

 Confucianism is a complex system of moral, social, political and religious teaching built up by Confucius and the ancient Chinese traditions. 

  Confucianism goal is making not only the man virtuous, but also making him man of learning and good manners.  Confucianism embraces not only the teachings of Confucius, but also the traditional customs and rites of the past.

Gerald and Jyl are wearing their City of Lacombe t-shirts and have their photo op

Notable Confucianism's:

"Everything has beauty but not everyone sees it"
"It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop"
"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but getting up every time we do"

After lunch at the Moonlight Tea House we are part of a tea ceremony. 

  The tea tree grows in 19 of the 26 provinces in China, there is only one tea tree.  The varieties of tea include  the growth stage of the tea harvest, the region the tea is grown as well as the processing of the tea leaf.

We taste 5 types of tea 

 Yellow, Green, Wu Long, Red and Black.  The darker teas have more caffeine and less anti toxins, the darker teas require more processing (fermentation). 

  The best quality tea comes from the spring harvest. I like the Red tea best.

On our walk back to where Bruce is waiting for us we pass through some side streets.  No vacation would be complete without a picture of eggs.  

These are sold as fermented eggs.  The are coated with spices and left in mud for three months! 

Vegetables offered for sale

and of course fresh duck

We see this puppy (with better grooming than some of the locals!)

and I think of our sweet Maxine at home....

The Bund and The Fray

Nov 13

In the morning Jyl, Charlotte and I join 8 other women and attend a two hour make up demonstration held on the 8th floor of the Shanghai Tower.  I learn some new things to be sure.

In the afternoon Bruce takes us to The Bund area of Shanghai.

The word 'bund' means embankment, levee or dam.  It is on the west bank of the Huangpu River and winds nearly one mile in length. Standing by the railings, visitors have a snap shot view of the Pudong Area and Huangpu River.

The Bund was initially a British settlement, was established as a trading port in 1846 and as a UK concession the Bund became a major financial hub of East Asia. It was the location of most countries consulates, many banks, businesses and newspaper offices settled there.

The victory of the Communist Party in the Chinese civil war led to clubs, hotels and financial institutions being closed in the 1950's.  With the thawing of economic policy, buildings on the Bund were gradually returned to their former uses.

2008 saw the beginning of major (re) construction and in March of 2008 the Bund was re-opened to the public.

We have lunch at Mr & Mrs Bund

 and spend the afternoon walking the area and enjoying the many vistas and celebrations.

Bruce delivers us home where Charlotte has prepared a delicious dinner for us.

In the evening Mr. Li takes us see The Fray in concert at the Shanghai Expo site in the Mercedes Benz arena.

The Fray is a band from Denver Colorado, I had only just heard of them before we left our Canada home.  Our kids knew about them so we hope our attendance at the concert may have elevated our level of antiquity in their eyes.  

The concert was good.  For me music is all about the words, and as usual in large venues the words are tough to understand, I will look forward to downloading some of their songs.  Their hits include - How to Save a Life, You Found Me, and Never Say Never.

Temples, Yarn and Burgers

Nov 12

Today dawned the clearest day so far, the sky is an azure blue, the temp rises to about 18 degrees, with an ever so slight cool breeze.

This morning Team Talsma

 join a walking tour group led by Spencer Dodington

  Spencer has lived in China for over 17 years.

The Jing'an Temple (which is about 4 blocks from the Shanghai Tower where we are staying) is one of the most famous temples in Shanghai and in 1983 was put on the list of national protection.

  It was originally built in 247 AD, in 1216 it was moved to its current site.  The temple as it exists now was totally rebuilt in 2004.

There is alot of activity in this temple this morning.  The square is bustling with folks participating in a variety of activities.  Some look as if they are praying,

 holding incense and bowing in all four directions.

 There are paper horse effigies

 intended for a burnt offering in an effort to honor the dead and comfort the living.

Everywhere people are visiting and folding squares of gold and silver colored (Joss) paper which also will be used as a burnt offering to ensure the comfort of the dead in afterlife. 

The Joss paper may be folded into specific shapes which are meant to bring on good luck and people tend to burn lavish amounts to ensure that the offering is well received. 

  The event appears to be quite social!

As in any temple there are many Buddhas. 

  One of the halls houses the biggest pure jade portrait of Sakyamuni in China.

  The jade Buddha has a height of 12 feet, width of 9 feet and weighs 11,000 kg.

Part of a large stone carving:

From the temple we do a walk about of the Shanghai Exhibition Center grounds and notice the abundant greenery street side.

 On our way to the center we walk through a park that Spencer tells us used to be a cemetery.  Burials are no longer allowed in the city of Shanghai as the land has become too valuable.

The Exhibition Center was completed in 1955, it embodies a post-war communist optimism that hadn't yet hardened with the Cold War.  

It was the first international exhibition space to be built after the founding of the Peoples Republic. The building provides a beautiful counterpoint to the surroundings of modern glass towers.

After lunch Bruce drives Charlotte Jyl and I to the yarn markets.  The yarn market consists of rows and rows and rows of open front sheds.  There is yarn of every imaginable color,

 the yarn itself is offered for sale as are garments of every style and size. Custom orders are welcomed.   I am puzzled as to the target market of these vendors, there are very few Caucasians, the area didn't seem to be very busy with customers. 

  Maybe the shops are vendors for buyers of larger shops?

We eventually find our way home and have burgers for dinner at the Gourmet Cafe restaurant downstairs, offering a two for one promotion on Monday evenings. The menu burger choices included items like: The Lamburghni - with lamb tenderloin, The Salmon Rushdie - with grilled salmon, or The Bun Laden with falafel, pita bred and hummus.  I settled for The Blue Moo - black angus beef, blue cheese and balsamic onion jam, it was outstanding!