We went to Shanghai's "Old Town" and went to this famous tea house (picture on far right). This tea house has received visits from many famous people, including Queen Elizabeth and Bill Clinton. Their specialty is tea made with a flower bud that opens up beautifully into a red or a yellow flower (2nd and 3rd pictures from the right). It was a great break from a day filled with walking the streets of Shanghai.
We also visited a Buddhist Temple. Each town or city in China has a town God or deity of some kind. Shanghai's is appropriately the god of money and wealth. It was a pretty temple with many visitors. We were shown there by a nice Chinese man that we met on the Bund. He was nice enough to guide us to the temple and garden area. Unfortunately, we lost him (by accident) somewhere near the tea house.
The picture on the far left more adequately displays how life is really for millions of people in Shanghai: games in the streets, laundry everywhere, and decrepid buildings that seem likely to burn at the slightest flick of a match. |
