Post by monaliu01 on Aug 16, 2013 3:13:00 GMT -5
We had to be downstairs at 7:25 AM for our tour of the China travel water town about an hour out of Shanghai. We got picked up and taken to a central tour meeting place, where, to our consternation, we found we were the only ones who spoke English and there was no English-speaking guide in sight. And there wouldn't be either. And it was starting to rain. All this before 8 AM. We demanded to be taken back to the hotel, as there was no reason to take the tour, got a refund and then decided we would go off to find some place that did offer English tour guides. We had the address of one place and went in search of it, without luck. I was getting testy. We also needed to go back to the bazaar, as there was a problem with a couple of things purchased. Switches were made and everyone was happy, and we bought more stuff. We went into the Crown Plaza Hotel, a huge complex, and were able to book a tour there, more expensive but they promised an English-speaking guide. By this time it was starting to sprinkle (spit) with rain, so we decided to go into the REALLY EXPENSIVE shopping mall, a la Rodeo Drive, and browse. I wanted to ask a question in Piaget so I walked in and asked for China tour operator someone who spoke English. No one did, can you believe it, which led us to ask who is buying all this stuff?
After lunch we went to the Jade Temple, a Buddhist temple built in the 1800s to house two white jade Buddhas that had been carved in Burma. We were approached by a believer, as they call themselves - people who work at the temple giving tours and then take you to the room that has the expensive items donated to the temple by other believers. Many of these items are antiques, and prices are very good as they are able to take 100% of the sale for the good of the temple, and religion. Many good works are done by the Buddhists in China and around the world - scholarships for needy children, family support, etc. I was surprised to look at all the items they had and see how many were similar to items that my mother had collected over the years and were now in my sisters' and my possession. It really was a very spiritual place, in spite of the rain, and enjoyed by both of us. We then caught a cab to the "Beijing tour packages old town", called thus because it is a part of Shanghai that still has the old architecture. If this is what Shanghai looked like before the coming of the westerners, it would have been an amazing city. As Kevin pointed out, renovations were recent but at least they were keeping the neighborhood up.
After lunch we went to the Jade Temple, a Buddhist temple built in the 1800s to house two white jade Buddhas that had been carved in Burma. We were approached by a believer, as they call themselves - people who work at the temple giving tours and then take you to the room that has the expensive items donated to the temple by other believers. Many of these items are antiques, and prices are very good as they are able to take 100% of the sale for the good of the temple, and religion. Many good works are done by the Buddhists in China and around the world - scholarships for needy children, family support, etc. I was surprised to look at all the items they had and see how many were similar to items that my mother had collected over the years and were now in my sisters' and my possession. It really was a very spiritual place, in spite of the rain, and enjoyed by both of us. We then caught a cab to the "old town", called thus because it is a part of Shanghai that still has the old architecture. If this is what Shanghai looked like before the coming of the westerners, it would have been an amazing city. As Kevin pointed out, renovations were recent but at least they were keeping China tour packages the neighborhood up.
Other people like : Lhasa travel packages
After lunch we went to the Jade Temple, a Buddhist temple built in the 1800s to house two white jade Buddhas that had been carved in Burma. We were approached by a believer, as they call themselves - people who work at the temple giving tours and then take you to the room that has the expensive items donated to the temple by other believers. Many of these items are antiques, and prices are very good as they are able to take 100% of the sale for the good of the temple, and religion. Many good works are done by the Buddhists in China and around the world - scholarships for needy children, family support, etc. I was surprised to look at all the items they had and see how many were similar to items that my mother had collected over the years and were now in my sisters' and my possession. It really was a very spiritual place, in spite of the rain, and enjoyed by both of us. We then caught a cab to the "Beijing tour packages old town", called thus because it is a part of Shanghai that still has the old architecture. If this is what Shanghai looked like before the coming of the westerners, it would have been an amazing city. As Kevin pointed out, renovations were recent but at least they were keeping the neighborhood up.
After lunch we went to the Jade Temple, a Buddhist temple built in the 1800s to house two white jade Buddhas that had been carved in Burma. We were approached by a believer, as they call themselves - people who work at the temple giving tours and then take you to the room that has the expensive items donated to the temple by other believers. Many of these items are antiques, and prices are very good as they are able to take 100% of the sale for the good of the temple, and religion. Many good works are done by the Buddhists in China and around the world - scholarships for needy children, family support, etc. I was surprised to look at all the items they had and see how many were similar to items that my mother had collected over the years and were now in my sisters' and my possession. It really was a very spiritual place, in spite of the rain, and enjoyed by both of us. We then caught a cab to the "old town", called thus because it is a part of Shanghai that still has the old architecture. If this is what Shanghai looked like before the coming of the westerners, it would have been an amazing city. As Kevin pointed out, renovations were recent but at least they were keeping China tour packages the neighborhood up.
Other people like : Lhasa travel packages