Shanghai - Zhujiajiao

It was Saturday and our fourth day in Shanghai. Justin's conference ended yesterday which meant that he could join us for our day trip to 朱家角 (Zhujiajiao) today. 朱家角 is an ancient water village at the outskirts of Shanghai.

We started the day looking for some hot breakfast near our hotel. Breakfast for the past 3 days consisted of bread bought from various bakeries.

We had porridge and noodles.

I had searched the internet and looked at guidebooks on how to get to 朱家角 but never got a consistent and clear directions. The only thing that was consistent was that the place to board the 沪朱线 (Hu Zhu Line) bus was somewhere very close to the 人民广场 (People's Square). We took quite a while, asking many people along the way and eventually found it. I think if you do not speak mandarin, you will have a very hard time finding your way around. I told Justin that for the first time in my life, I truly appreciate that I can speak and understand the chinese language. It is not as good as I hope it is but good enough for me to understand signs and maps and navigate my way around Shanghai :)

Well, this is the way we went in case you are going to Shanghai soon :) We took the Shanghai Subway Line 2 to People's Square Station (人民广场站). This station is huge and has 17 exits if I remember correctly. We were advised to exit the station through Exit No. 1 and walked down Tibet Middle Road (西藏中路) towards Yan'An Road (延安路) junction. We crossed Yan'An Road using the huge overhead bridge and walked down Yan'An Road in front of the Shanghai Concert Hall (上海音乐厅) towards Pu'An Road (普安路) and the bus station for the Hu Zhu Line (沪朱线) was just there. Once we were on the overhead bridge, we could actually see the bus station across the street on the right beyond the concert hall. The buses were pink in color so it was easy to spot. We also found out once we got over the overhead bridge that the Da Shi Jie Station (大世界站) on Line 8 was just there. Had we got on to Line 8 and off at this station, we just had to walk down Yan'An Road to get to the bus stop.

Finding the bus stop was an experience and being on the Hu Zhu Line (沪朱线) bus was another. I think if you are looking for some close interaction with the locals, you will get it on the bus. It was packed but everyone got seats. There was a bus every 20 minutes so it was not really a big deal if we missed one. It was about 12 yuan each for Justin and myself and they said if Sonya and Clara sat on our laps, they didn't have to pay.

We initially sat next to this old man who was very fascinated with Sonya and Clara and had a terrible cigarette and coffee odor. He talked non-stop, giving his two-cents worth of his philosophy in life and about Sonya and Clara. I could only understand maybe 10 percent of whatever he was talking about (maybe it was because I really didn't want to!). I tried to be nice for a while but he really smell bad. I was so glad when the bus lady said I had to sit somewhere else with Sonya on my lap and the guy in front gave up his seat to us. He talked less after that and I pretended I didn't hear him. The guy next to me, who was sitting in front of the old man, got pretty annoyed when the old man started singing later.

We also noticed that the bus driver kept using the road shoulder as an overtaking lane and he sounded the horn loud and clear for the other drivers to know that he was overtaking. After about 40 minutes, we were finally at Zhujiajiao Bus Station but our interaction with the locals didn't there. A guy on tricycle (for transporting people and not the kiddy type... not sure of its exact name) tried to con us by saying that he would give us a ride to the entrance of the ancient water village for just 10 yuan and we wouldn't have to pay the entrance fee. It sounded too good to be true and despite having no clue on which way to go at all, we kindly turned down his offer. Good thing a kind lady nearby told us to which way to walk when she saw us about to go in the opposite direction. When we got to the village, we found out that no one had to pay entrance fee! Should we feel angry or relieve? Justin described him as opportunist who lies by omission (that no one needs to pay entrance fees) to get business.

We passed by a small shop with the man cooking and selling little buns. Justin was feeling hungry and I was keen to try so we bought some. But before we could get our food, the lady boss got into a heated argument with another woman who just turned up at the shop. There was pushing and shouting and it ended with smashed bowl or plates. We got our food and escaped before the smashing began.

Further down, we saw some senior ladies singing and dancing.

Finally found our way into the ancient water village.

There were lots of food stores.

Some were selling all kinds of candies and snacks while a lot were selling tamales and braised pig trotters. My dad would love the food I think!

There were many rivers that run through the village and even more bridges across the rivers. I think the boat used to be one of the main mode of transportation but now, there are mainly just tourist boats.

We took a ride on the boat :)

It was amazing how the boatman was about to move and maneuver the boat with just one oar at the back of the boat.

放生桥 (literally translated meaning Release Bridge) in the background. It is the largest bridge in the few water villages in Shanghai.

阿婆茶楼 (literally translated Grandma's Teahouse) where we had our lunch after the boat ride.

Big chinese temple opposite the teahouse.

Entrance to the teahouse.

We got off the boat and went to visit a temple just steps away from the boat dock. There was a very small entrance and we thought that if it was an ancient temple, it was worth taking a look.

There were two trees loaded with red wish ribbons.

All went well until we went into the hall of the Goddess of Mercy. The guy handed us incense. We prayed and then he got us to draw a fortune card each. He then directed us to "masters", one each for Justin and I to interpret our fortune cards. The "masters" went on and on about our fortune and when they were done, they whipped out supposedly guestbooks. But what was suspicious was that the last column in the guestbooks was for amount to be donated to the temple. The previous entries were all at least 200 yuan. I put down my name and wrote down 20 yuan and the "master" gave me a lecture on how a kind person like me would only give so little. I replied with how kind a person is is not judged by how much he/she donates. He grumbled some more but I stood my ground. Firstly, I do not believe in places of worship asking people for money and secondly, we were running low on cash. I walked off. Justin in the other corner donated US$8. He had no yuan left on him. It was yet another interesting experience.

八仙过海

We walked some more and saw another woman selling tofu and other stuff in front of her house. I took a photo and got scolded as she didn't like having her photo taken while she was eating.

Next was a Qing dynasty post office and mailbox.

I think these were salted chicken.

The woman in the photo below was selling chicken eggs and brought some chickens with her as well. Those poor chickens had their feet all tied up and could not move at all.

Finally found our way to 放生桥 (Release Bridge). There were actually woman there selling live goldfish in little plastic bags for you to release into the water. We thought we would just be releasing those poor fishes to their death.

Finally got to the teahouse and ordered our food. The view was great but because the windows were all wide open, it was still very cold and we had our lunch with our jackets on.

Very good tea!

Saw some guys casting their nets into the river.

We ordered fried eggs with whitebait, a local vegetable (kind of root vegetable I think), tamales, and glutinous rice balls.

Clara had to poop and while I changed her diaper (it was really cold and the owner was kind enough to offer me their office to change Clara's diaper), 3 performers came to play music and sang for Justin and Sonya. Good thing Justin had my camera :)

After lunch, we found a guy selling 麥芽糖 (malt candy). I was the only one who have tried it before so we got one. It came with a pair of chopsticks. We were supposed to "knead" the candy with the chopsticks, twisting and turning, and after a long while, the candy slowly turned from yellow to white in color!

It was not really tasty but fun for the kids. Justin actually got his hands pretty tired playing with the candy :)

Sonya and Clara took their naps on the bus ride back to People's Square. We took the subway back to Pudong and visited the Shanghai World Financial Center which boasts the tallest observatory deck in the world.

At the 100th floor, we got a very good view of all the building in the area, mostly all lit up in the night.

Ended our night with dinner at the Crystal Jade restaurant.

Early next morning was our flight back to Tokyo where we were to catch another flight back to Newark and then Boston. Our flight with Air China was canceled without reason. They put us on a later flight on Eastern Airline flight instead. Firstly, there was a gate change. Later, they told us the plane was broken and they need to get a replacement plane from Hongqiao airport! Time was running out for us and we seriously thought that we would miss our flight in Tokyo. Lucky for us, the Eastern Airline staff informed the ground crew at Narita airport and the japanese lady ran with us and helped us get through the queue and even got us a private shuttle bus from one terminal to the other. We were very lucky to be able to get on the Continental flight back to Newark. Unfortunately, Clara got very sick on that flight, throwing up yellow bile when there was nothing else to throw up in her stomach :(