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Friends Arrive!!

We are back in Shanghai, at the same youth hostel we were at with Viv last week.
Its pretty cool, but a bit noisy at night. I am not complaining though at approx NZ $14 per bed, its a really good price!
here's the view looking down out our window (yes unused loos, not sure what they are doing there!):


Earlier in the week Ali and I walked from the French Concession to Nan Jing Rd, a long walk through the middle of the city.
It was really interesting to see the new against the old.
There are shops everywhere, and where they are not, they are building some.
here's a good example, with a French villa in the middle of the photo, modern towers in the background, and a brand new mall being built underground:


We have seen next to no street art here in China (i.e graffiti).
The one example we have found is here in Shanghai, and surprise surprise when I had a close look, it was part of an ad for a shop:


We have been joined in Shanghai by friends from New Zealand.
Today we all visited the Shanghai museum. We saw old Shang bronze castings, Ming and Qing pottery, and furniture.
Its interesting to think about how old this civilisation is, and I love to try and feel the age in the relics, and imagine what life must have been like when it was created and used.
There was just too much to see and take in. I was pretty stunned at the detail in stone carvings some big, others small.
here's a pic of some detail in the furniture carving that Ali liked:


After the museum visit, we introduced our friends to our other fav China activity, finding and sampling food from street vendors. This time we found an absolutely delicious egg pancake/wrap. mmmmmmmmm, it was really really good (and only 2 yuan, about NZ .40c!!):

posted by Paul and Alison Holmes @ 2:49 AM