Day 18 Shanghai

Started today with a pretty good breakfast.

Met our guide Nancy and started our tour at the Jewish Ghetto, at Ohel Moshe Synagogue.  We toured the museum and learnt that China was one of the few countries that accepted Jewish refugees from Europe, mostly from Vienna. There were around 23,000 living in the ghetto between 1943-45.

We walked around the neighborhood where the ghetto once existed, now mostly residential. A few of the buildings have been restored and are now cultural heritage sites.

We moved onto The Bund area which is a large promenade along the river, each side of which reflects the old and the new, with one side being largely British and European influenced 20’s architecture and the other the new ultra modern Shanghai. Fortunately the rain was abating but the mist obscured the tops of the skyscrapers, adding an eerie quality to the view.  Old laden barges made their way past cruise ships and leisure boats, old and new jumbled into an eclectic vista.

A unremarkable blah lunch followed, and then a tour of the Yu Gardens – click on link for info.  A small incredibly well planned but extensive area of escapism and landscapes dating back to the 16th century, with a Ginko Biloba tree that was 500 years old.

On to a traditional tea ceremony with emphasis on health and well being of a variety of teas, how we can buy them and have them shipped to us!  Quite delicious.

We then requested a walk through the French Concession area as this had been recommended, and was delightful. Finally a short stroll through the ‘modern art’ area which was prepping for the July onward season.

Nancy gave us lots of the history of Shanghai, the Opium wars and so on during our days excursion.