There are some 5000+ Singaporeans who live and work in Shanghai. That means you probably know someone who lives and works in Shanghai. And of course that's not counting any locals you might also know. That being the case, we did have a fairly active 'social life' while there, considering it was just a week-long holiday.
We visited SW, who has been in Shanghai for over a year and cannot wait to come back, in her lovely apartment in the Pudong area. To go back a little to the topic of housework, she pays her part-time help S$1+ per hour, not because she's a cheapskate or anything, but because that's the rate. Wow...
Then there were the meals with some locals we know, and there is such a thing as a free lunch/dinner. I had two. And rather yummy ones, I must say. Could have had more but we excused myself and the son on a couple of other occasions. The truth is I'm really rather anti-social.
We also threw in some history while we were at it. After all, for ethnic Chinese, China should be the place for history. Here we are on the steps of the Shanghai Museum:
We were surprised that the boy was actually interested in the artefacts and we spent more time than we thought we would in some of the galleries. It must have come from his watching Cantonese opera. Or maybe it's genetic. Anyhow, it was rather disappointing that the calligraphy and painting galleries were temporarily closed. I'm not really into things like bronzes, seals and costumes of minorities. I remember we had a great time years ago looking at the handwriting of different emperors at the excellent National Palace Museum in Taipei.
By the way, I know the black gloves don't really go with bright pink, but that was the only pair I had (and my other jacket is a blackish-grey), and I bought that bright pink Giodarno down jacket there. It only came in pink, orange and white. Loved the white but my husband reminded me to be practical.
Then we were off to historical Nanjing, where my husband's colleague, who lives in Nanjing when he's not here, took us around. The city, about 2 hours from Shanghai by train (more about the train another time), was the capital for 6 or 7 short spurts, the last of which was when the Kuomintang overthrew the Qing Dynasty.
This was the exam centre of ages past, when Nanjing was the Jiangsu province exam centre.
One of the many illustrious scholars who passed their exams with flying colours here was:
Tang Bo Hu, who some call a 'gifted scholar', and who is a pretty popular character for period drama and movies.
We walked about the former Kuomintang 'Istana' but gave the war memorial a miss as I just didn't think it was an appropriate place for a seven-year-old to visit. Maybe some other time.
Today, of course, Nanjing is, as are many other major Chinese cities, bustling, modern and developing fast, yes, complete with even Christmas decorations all over the shop(s).
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