On Tuesday, Bill, Brennan, Carleigh and I went down to Yu Yuan (this translates to "Fish Garden") to meet my friend, Andrea, and take some photographs. Yu Yuan is in the center of "old town" Shanghai and has very traditional, old, Chinese structures. It is very popular with tourists, both western and asian, and I have been there many times. This trip, however, gave new meaning to the word "crowded."
It was beautifully decorated with all sorts of Chinese lanterns and Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) decorations, and the weather was perfect for being outdoors. Needless to say, it was a busy place. I have never in my life experienced crowds like this, and Bill had to carry Carleigh to keep from losing her in the masses. Brennan clung to my side for all but one moment, and the next thing you know, he was lost in the crowd. Thankfully, only for about 30 seconds. Just enough to give a mom a good dose of "terrified!" Bill wanted to move forward a little to look for him, while I was frozen to my spot, afraid that if we moved, he would never find us. Nevertheless, it was a happy ending, and a good lesson for Brennan.
For lunch, we decided to head into one of the restaurants we like at Yu Yuan, and we had a very good traditional Chinese meal, while we watched the crowds from above. It was a nice break from the insanity below, and once we were finished Bill decided to take the kids home, while Andrea and I continued our adventure.
After our meal, we headed out of Yu Yuan to walk around in the local neighborhoods. It was great to meander through the food street, wet market, and alleys and take pictures of everything interesting we could find. This is my favorite time to take pictures of people, especially the elderly, and the very young.
One older woman we came across, appeared to have her glasses on upside down. I found this very amusing, and while showing our mandarin teacher my pictures, I pointed it out. Surprisingly, she said that the woman most likely did it to make the glasses fit better, as Chinese people do not have a large bridge on their noses like we do, and if worn the proper way, the glasses would slide halfway down her nose. So much, for my theory on the crazy old lady with her glasses on upside down!
Last night was the fifth day of Spring Festival, which is the second big fireworks night. This night, I have heard, is when the Chinese honor the birthday of the five Gods of Wealth. This year we were told that the fireworks might even be better than on the eve of Chinese New Year (last Sunday night) as China has been going through a "recession." This "recession" has caused the growth last year to be only 9 percent............ no comments from me, but I know what you are thinking.
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