Shanghai

We took the fastboat back to the mainland, followed by a two hour drive to Shanghai. Once in Shanghai we met up with some other friends at dinner, Susan Zhang and her husband David. I met Susan in the summer of 2007 when she taught an immersion class in Chinese language in Redding. Afterwards we took a stroll on the Bund and also in a shopping area.

Shanghai's crowds, traffic and lights were the total opposite of what we had experienced during the two weeks in remote mountainous areas of China but we enjoyed it just the same and it was nice to be able to finish the trip just the way we started - with friends.

Top Right: Right to Left: Hannah and Michel Czehatowski, Susan Zhang and her husband David.

Top Left: View across the river from the Bund.

Bottom Right: On the Bund. The skyscraper on the opposite side is like a huge television screen with commercials played out on the building.

Bottom Left: Mark Van Loan in a Shanghai shopping district.

Leaving Jiuhua Shan

We left Jiuhua Shan in the afternoon and headed to Tongling. Once there we had lunch and then headed to the train station. We took a soft-seat train to Shanghai. Fortunately for us the boarding wasn't as crazy as in Beijing. The trip was uneventful but did take a long time. We arrived in Shanghai late at night and taken to our hotel. We got up early the next morning to drive to the harbor where we could catch a fast boat to Putuo Shan Island.
Getting on the boat was a little crazy also. People like to get on all at once even when the boat is bouncing heavily at the dock. We found our seats and got set for a three hour trip to Putuo Shan. Unfortunately the ocean area was misty so there wasn't much of a view.
We arrived in Putuo Shan and were met by our new guide, Michael, who ended up being a very fun guide.