The Home Stretch . . .

Shanghai High! Yeah! We arrived in Shanghai today! While I love Xian, Shanghai is my absolute favorite city in China! I love Shanghai! It actually reminds me of NYC in some ways – so cosmopolitan and hustle and bustle, yet it is uniquely Shanghai! We arrived in Shanghai this afternoon, and decided to head to Nanjing Road. Nanjing Road is the most famous street to shop at in Shanghai. There are some many stores and people from all walks of life walking up and down the street. We stopped at some food markets and the Beijing 2008 Olympics store. I picked up some Olympic key chains and cell phone charms because I am completely obsessed with the Olympic mascots. They are so cute! Of course, we stopped at the Bund to see the view beyond the Huang Pu River - the beautiful Pearl Oriental TV Tower!

Nanjing Road





Huan Huan and I at Nanjing Road



The Bund - the Pearl Oriental TV Tower is the building with the pink spheres as part of the body.







The famous Peace Hotel, which is currently closed for renovations. Bummer! It is one of my favorite night spots to watch the night lights on the Bund.



The Customs House shows the original architecture of the French Concession in 1920s Shanghai. The same can be said of the Peace Hotel as well.



The view from our hotel room at night!



The last few days in Xian were kind of a whirlwind! We made a trip to Huashan Mountain. The view was supposed to be amazing, but it was kind of disappointing because it was a hazy day, so you really couldn’t see much. It was a nice view in some ways, but having been to Tianshan Mountain, it was really lacking. At the peak of Huashan Mountain were thousands of padlocks that were engraved with family blessings. The theory behind the padlock was that your family would always be safe, happy and together. So I, being the sucker that I am for this kind of stuff, bought a padlock for about $1.50 and had it engraved with my family members’ names, and locked it on one of the chains on top of the mountain. I took a picture of its location, and kept the key. If I go back one day, I hope I can find it again!

Me at the North Peak on Huashan Mountain



My lock on Huashan Mountain. Will I be able to find it in a few years?



The last day in Xian, I had to squeeze in a visit to the site marked as the beginning of the Silk Road. A gate and a caravan monument mark the beginning of the Silk Road in Xian. Xian was integral to the Silk Road given its position as the capital city and also its relative location to the Yellow River.

The gate marks the beginning of the Silk Road in Xian.



A caravan monument built to commemorate the beginning of the Silk Road in Xian.



We also visited the Bell Tower, the Drum Tower, the Shaanxi Provincial Museum and the Wild Goose Pagoda. By my favorite place in the old city is the Muslim Quarter. I love the Muslim Quarter because it has so many cool things to see – the street markets, food stalls, the people and the Great Mosque! The Great Mosque, in Xian, is the largest mosque in China, and is still in use today. There is a large population of Uygars in Xian, though not as large as the cities in western China, like Urumqi and Turpan. We did quite a bit of shopping, but as luck would have it, I couldn’t find a prayer wheel anywhere. I did quite a bit of people watching and saw some interesting happenings in the Muslim Quarter. I passed by a few mosques and wanted to take pictures, but I couldn’t go in and it was during prayer services, so I didn’t want to intrude with my picture – taking.

The Bell Tower in the center of Xian, Old City



The Muslim Quarter









Countdown to home – 3 days!