9th Apr, Atlast some Shopping !!!

Day begins with us visiting the Jade Buddha Temple. A temple which houses Multiple Buddha Statues & is definitely one of the most interesting Buddha temples of this region! The main two Jade statues are the sitting Buddha & Reclining . Interestingly , the temple now contains a much larger reclining Buddha, which is mistaken as the original by most. Apart from this, the main attraction are the golden statues representing, Buddha , Amitabha & Bhaisajyaguru ..... also representing , the past , present & future! The large golden statue of Guanyin , with Shan Cai & sculptures representing the 53 teachers of his life , are truly astounding !

The fluttering of the Red ribbons with wishes written on them & the Red lanterns swaying in perfect rhythm to the breeze , gives this entire place a tranquil festive feel !

The gift shop is a definite visit & if you don't buy some curios , you will end up buying some Chinese tea , which have medicinal qualities! J

Next is the beautiful & lavish , Yuyuan Garden ( meaning Peace & Health)  ,created by Pan Yunduan in 1559, who spent almost 20 years building this garden to please his father Pan En, a high-ranking official in the Ming Dynasty. Yuyuan's landscape is in the Suzhou style, pristine & serene. The buildings, ancient trees, zigzagging bridges, ponds glittering with the colourful goldfish, pagoda's, rock formations , dragon wall .... give this garden a different look at every turn , every angle has it own distinct chichi!

And next comes the shopping for us & Dad leaves us , takes off on his own to see the TV Tower aka The Oriental Pearl Tower, to gets a birds eye view of  Shanghai from the highest point of this tower.

Shopping begins with us browsing the maze of streets & lanes of the Bazaar , around the garden , where locals outdo each other selling their handiwork. And then there are other who are showcasing various local dishes! J

China main aa kar , not to visit a single Copy Market is sacrilege. So, Copy Market it is at Chang Ning Road.  Urri baba , we are taken aback. It totally the opposite of all that we have seen of the spic , span & hygienic China ! This reminds me of Crawford market ... ummm ... Crawford market is better ... and then walk through to a 3 level shopping arcade  with a small mall kind structure thrown in ... filthy .. takes a while for our minds to accept we are in China. And , boy oh boy , they have every designer label out here , from clothes to shoes to bags to jewellery to what nots ! Its totally a shoppers delight, if you can handle the claustrophobic surrounding!

The Shanghai Acrobatic Troupe , entertained us in the evening with their amazing stunts , gravity defying contortionism, juggling, unicycling , chair stacking, plate spinning & other acts. After the captivating performance by this troupe , we head off towards the French Quarters for dinner .

French Quarter , associated with the Ex-Pats , known as the, Paris of the East!:-)  Luwan's Huaihai Road is bussing with life when we reach. Shops & Restaurants Galore , and we head towards the Stone Grill Place , a must visit for the diehard non vegetarians! Ahem! Wish we had an extra day , and I would have spent an entire day , soaking in this multi faced part of Shanghai , with its colonial set up of mansions , tree lined avenues .......

Highlights;

During the Acrobatic show , clear announcement , that no one should use their camera or webcam, since it would distract the performers. Even so , there were people who did & most were the oh so disciplined angrez!

8th Apr, Shanghai , the Financial hub of China!

Its a long drive with Isabel, our guide , the many levels of flyovers , the diversity in the architecture (European, Modern, Traditional)  of this city ,makes it well worth the drive to the hotel. A quick freshen up , cuppa chai & we are off . The Bund, sounds familiar , well it has been derived from the Hindi word Band aka Embankment / Dam. A walk along the bank of the Huangpu River , with its beautiful historical , typically colonial buildings is striking. The sun set , makes it an ideal time to take the River cruise & see the city , near & far , shimmering in the evening lights.

Dinner time & we go to one of the most popular Malls at Zhong Shan Park, bang opposite the station. Shopping galore toh hai , however the three levels of various cuisine restaurants , is the killer! Havent seen anything like this ever !! Wow ..... we are loving it . We walk the length of all the floors , hunting for the best Hot Pot Restaurant ,till we reach the Dollar Shop. Shanghai , famous for it's Hot Pot, is an affair to remember. Hot Pot is for Chinese , what Fondue is for  Swiss/ French!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_pot

Highlight:

Inder, wanting to go back to the hotel after dinner , by hoping onto a Motorcycle Taxi instead of a Cab & if it wasn't for Dad & Mom, we all surely would hopped onto the Bikes , for a hair flying cold windy ride !!!!! Sighhhhh .... next time ke liye , else , Hire a bike at Goa shall be the call now !

More than half hour of explanation , on how 2 soups for the Hot Pot have to be Veg, when Mom got her Veg Soup, the second dip into the soup & out came a crab piece ! Well , that she didn't eat anything there , was expected!!! Ouch!!!! And best is Anish ka experience , where he ate Hotpot on one of his trips & he hits upon a turtle, seems , they put a live turtle , which then emits medicinal values into the soup &  should be eaten too!!!!! Babare !!!

7th Apr , to be a part of Chinese History!

Wonder what the Warriors have in store for us ???? But first , its a visit to the Xi'an Daquin Terracotta & Lac furniture Art factory. The factory showcases how they make the warriors & also how they can mould the head of the warrior to look like yours , with the help of a photograph!!!! Sochne walli baat hai ..... imagine , 6ft warrior infront of your door ,who looks like a six pack someone ....????? or a sexy someone ....???? J

Now its time to see the original , Terracotta Warriors & Horses, depicting the armies of Emperor Quin Shi Huang, buried with him, to help rule another empire in the afterlife !!! ( What next , i wonder!! Uufff ) . We visit the three pits , where we see the life size figures, impressive & imposing array of  Warriors, Horses, War Chariots . Loads and loads of work has been undertaken to excavate this site & is still being done to restore this Eight wonder of the World ! Figures are in various state of restoration & the one's intact are lined up as they were discovered . A few of these figures still have remnants of the colours which once adorned them ! 

We also met Mr.Yang , at the Museum, who is one of the farmers who discovered this site in 1974 , with 2 of his friends, while digging a well. He was sitting with 2 officials , autographing hard bound copy of the book on Terracotta Warriors for the tourist, buying this book. We saw a few of them taking photographs with him . Deia also wanted one . So , I asked her to go stand next to him & took a lovely picture. However , the picture didn't seem so lovely , when we realized we had to give 20 Yuan! Its then that we realized , if one buys the book , photo on the house , else , you have to cough up the mullah! Which ofcourse , led to the question , what does this simple farmer , who has shot to fame on a default discovery , RECIEVE , from all thats collected on his name ???? 

The evening is an unique experience. The Tang Dynasty Theatre Restaurant , gourmet Cantonese  meal  which satiates the taste buds, while experiencing the cultural non- stop traditional folk songs and dance.http://www.xiantangdynasty.com/

Highlight:

 We were later told , that My.Yang rose to fame sometime in 1998 , when President Clinton, on his visit wanted to meet the farmer. Thats when the officials found this farmer & introduced him to the President, who then asked for an autograph. And turned out , the farmer was illiterate. Oh boy , so , the farmer was sent off to learn to sign his name & since then , the man has been signing away ....... !!!!

Xi'an , famous for its dumplings & we sure had our fill of them!

6th Apr, Xi’an ka bulawa from Hueng Tsang!

Beijing ko Bye bye , sipping the best Coffee ever laced with Dalchini, at the airports, Lei Coffee Cafe, while waiting to take our flight to Xi'an!

Local guide here , Lily , whisks us straight to visit the Wild Goose Pagoda. The drive from the airport to the pagoda is amusing , since I felt , we had driven through Dharavi onto Breach Candy!!! J

The Pagoda , an impressive structure , which was famous for housing the figurines & scriptures that Hueng Tsang brought from India and translated into Chinese. Temple of Great Maternal Grace; Da Ci'en, which is in the complex is serene. The curio shop here has some of the most beautiful porcelain objects, a must see , a must buy , and you can bargain some!Ahem!

The entire area where the pagoda is located is like a happy family outing place, with open spaces , eating places , shopping , cafe's .....  a place where one can easily spend a day with a whole lot to do or just enjoy the activities around you with a cuppa coffee !

A drive , along the Xi'an City wall , to the absolute luxurious rooms of Days Hotel & Suites. All we want to do now is chill in the room with some wine , which is exactly what we do after a lavish dinner at one of the local restaurants !

Highlight : Lunch at Papa Johns, near the Pagoda ..... sahi ! J