We had a lovely breakfast at the beautiful JW Marriott overlooking Tomorrow Square. Below is a view from our hotel and a view of the hotel from Tomorrow Square.

Today’s weather is a bit warm for this time of year in Shanghai (upper 70’s) and therefore more hazy than usual. Shanghai is about even with the Carolinas’ latitude wise. Our guide today says it almost never snows due to the proximity to the ocean but they did have a rare one day snowfall last year. We took a morning walk in the People’s Park across from our hotel where we saw many locals doing their morning exercises including this group near the Haagen-Dazs…

Shanghai is an amazing modern city, most of which has been built in the last 30 years. Today we booked a walking tour of Old Shanghai and wound up having a private tour from a delightful young woman Feifei. She took us to the old city which dates back several hundred years.

Much of the old city was demolished to make way for the new Shanghai. Even in the remaining areas, much of what remains was taken over by the government during Mao’s “Cultural Revolution” and most original families were displaced. In older times housing consisted of family compounds where multi-generational families lived together. This is still the case today in the old city but the density is even greater and it is not uncommon for one family to occupy less than a 30′ X 30′ space. Some only 10′ X 10′. Even today many of the apartments/rooms in the old city do not have indoor plumbing. They share common sinks located outside, use neighborhood bath houses and carry their “toilets” to neighborhood disposal areas. Feifei did not have an indoor toilet until she was eight (she was born in 1983 – 8 years after Mao’s death and the end of the cultural revolution.)

Here is a typical street view inside the Old Shanghai…

We were given a tour of an old family compound that is unrestored and pretty much as it was after the Cultural Revolution. During that time the government took over these areas from the families and turned them in mini industrial sites (metal fabrication, machine shops, etc.) Most of the wealthier families fled to Hong Kong or other parts of Asia. Many of the family who lived here went to Canada but the daughter who remained stayed to care for her Father. She was allowed to remain on the compound as she worked in the metal shop.

We took many pictures here of the intricate carvings and when we return I’ll update the blog with photo albums of each site. But here’s one with our guide Feifei…

The streets were a constant bustle of activity lined with vendors of all types and activity. Any space larger than a broom closet had a sewing machine with a tailor. Dogs, cats, pet turtles were everywhere and even a pet squirrel!

Amazingly as busy as it is, Shanghai is probably the quietest city we’ve ever experienced. Walking on streets is reminiscent of the old Frogger video game. All motorized scooters, which are omnipresent, are ELECTRIC and there is a fine for honking a horn. Requires a special kind of “spider-sense” to avoid getting run over but somehow it works.

We took a quick walk through a local indoor market…

Then Feifei stopped at one of the hundreds of food stalls along the way and told us we must try the Zongzi as she made the best in the city – yum!

We finished our tour at the Confucian Temple of Shanghai. It was badly damaged during the Cultural Revolution, but has been largely restored. Although not a God, Confucius was hailed for promoting education and family respect and was thus revered across China with many temples being built in his honor.

All in all a great cultural experience and a wonderful way to start our Far East journey. Tonight, a river tour on the Huangpu to see the city skyline at night.