Charm of China - Part 4: Wuhan and Shangahi

The last leg of our Chinese adventure started off with a three hour bus ride from Jingzhou to Wuhan.  

When we arrived in Wuhan, traffic was really really bad and there was not enough time to drive to the hotel to drop off our luggage make it to dinner and the Han Show.  So an audible was called and we went straight to the restaurant, but of course there were like five weddings going on and they were not able to seat us for like an hour.  When life hands you lemons, you go shopping!  There was a Wanda mall across the street where burned some time.  Yay black tea latte!

the mall

wedding lineup

Once we were seated, we discovered the food service here was definitely lacking and Toby did not get to eat!  We then headed over to the Han Show.  This was the second surprise event for us (not on our itinerary) and it was free because the city of Wuhan basically gave the tour company tickets as a thanks for having the tourists spend the night in their city.  Win for us!  Oh my goodness this was an incredible show.  It was like Cirque du Soleil's O, but with a story line.  We were seated in sections that moved to expose the pool area and a huge highlight for me was people diving from three times the height of an Olympic high dive.

the arena - dedicated to Han Show

 This building had a message in lights to welcome us to the show!

After a fabulous time at the show, we finally made it back to our hotel (it was really really nice) for some rest before the bullet train to Shanghai the following morning.  Have I mentioned I totally felt like I fit in size wise in China?  It was cool to be about the same height (fun sized!!) as most of the population and not come up to people's armpits.  Also, I really enjoyed the food for the most part.  Family style with the family made it even more special.  Mom would be proud because I branched out and ate different things.  The veggies and soups were my fav.  And tiny slices of juicy watermelon at almost each lunch or dinner were delicious.

Next mode of transportation was the bullet train to Shanghai.  It was extremely fast, especially compared to our train through India.  I think we were going like 250km/hour [155mph].  The ride was incredibly smooth so much so, you did not know we were traveling so quickly until we stopped to let people off/on and another train whizzed by and shook us.  Even though we were on a bullet train, it did take us about 6 hours to reach Shanghai due to the stops.

the countryside

solar panels

We finally arrived in Shanghai just in time for...wait for it....traffic!  Our local guide was Ling and he accompanied us from the train station to Hotel Eton.  We were on the newer side of Shanghai (sprang up in the last 30 years).

view from our room

After checking in to the hotel, a good chunk of the tour group took Ling's dinner and sightseeing tour of the city.  We opted out of this tour and instead walked about a mile to the financial center to check out the Google Shanghai office with the in-laws.  I really enjoyed walking the local streets and seeing the hole in the wall eateries and shops.  As you can see, the views were amazing along our walk and from the high-rise.

I made a new friend

After walking back to the hotel, we were exhausted and wanted a western meal.  All four of us ordered a burger :)

The next day was jam-packed with Shanghai sights.  After breakfast we piled into the bus and our first stop was at The Bund which is a neat wide embankment area adjacent to the international settlements along the Huangpu river.  From here, you can see the old and new Shanghai.

The Bund - see old and new Shanghai

After walking around a bit we stopped by a silk embroidery place.  I think there is a special name for this skill, but it is escaping me at this moment.  There were some incredible pieces.

weaving a silk rug - way out of my price range

this is silk thread not paint

Next up was a market with a billion shops full of cheap goodies and knockoffs.  This is also were I visited a tea house!  After we shopped we had lunch at a big restaurant in the market area.

entering the market area

freshwater pearls

pretty tea

options

Next up we visited a silk factory/shop and then Nanjing Road (famous fancy shopping area).  We learned the life stages of a silk worm and how they harvest the cocoon to use for thread.  Then we go to stretch some double pods to see how duvets are made.  I got out cheap with only buying two scarves.  A duvet and silk sheets would set you back like $3k.  No thanks dude.  After silk shopping we dropped by Nanjing Road.  Meh.  I think if you like Coach and other fancy brands you would like it there.  Personally, I would rather save my monies for future escapades.

life stages

You can't really see them, but there are tiny larvae chowing down

unraveling cocoons

stretching silk for a duvet

Nanjing Road

Next up on the busy day we stopped in the Shanghai Museum for an hour and a half or so.  I could have spent so much more time here, but it was closing time :(  They had a neat calligraphy exhibit and jade and traditional clothing and more!  Sorry, but I could not take photos in there.

pretty flowers by the museum

Shanghai Museum

After the museum closed we rushed to dinner so we could make it to the acrobatic show.  That dinner was one of the best meals we had on the trip, but the service was pretty bad.  This was where I learned one of our table mates from Colorado knows a family friend.  It's a small world after all.  The show was great and had many different acts.  There were girls doing amazing tricks on bicycles, contortionists, and a what I would call a motorcycle sphere of death (imagine like 8 motorcycles riding in a sphere together).

The show let out and we traveled back to the hotel where we packed up for the journey home.  The morning came sooner than we liked because our airport ride left the hotel at 5:45am.  I am so sad because in the rush of the night before I did not say goodbye to the Denver family members. We had fun with everyone.  This was the 3rd or 4th trip with the clan, our travel buddies.

We had to connect through Beijing on our way to San Francisco.  Our domestic fight there went smoothly, then we had to go through Chinese customs.  Oh my goodness it was AWFUL.  Chaotic and disorderly lines...  Once you made it through the guy that stamps your passport, you pretty much just inserted yourself in the security line where you were and not go to the end.  Not sure how long it took us to go through security, but it seemed like ages and was frustrating to have people that just had their passports stamped insert themselves in front of us.  We eventually made it through and found lunch.  There was still more time to kill before boarding the next flight so I walked around and around the terminal.

Our long haul flight was uneventful, just napping and watching in-flight entertainment.  Upon arrival at SFO, we breezed through customs.  Thank you for Global Entry and having only carry-ons!!  We said goodbye to the rest of the family as our flight was earlier and we made it back home (like at the house) around the originally scheduled landing time thanks to a really good tailwind.

Overall this was a fantastic trip that I would recommend for people wanting to experience China.  Hope you enjoyed reading about this escapade.