May Day in Shanghai

On our way to dinner that first evening in Shanghai, we could see huge crowds had already arrived in preparation for China's biggest holiday of the year, May Day, filling sidewalks in every direction.  Fortunately, the traffic wasn't as hectic as it had been in Beijing or Xi'an, although our driver still did not have an easy time of it.

He double parked the bus long enough for us to exit at a downtown restaurant, where we enjoyed a delicious multi-course meal as part of our optional $49 nighttime river cruise excursion.

As always seems to be the case with Gate 1, it wasn't lavish but felt like money well-spent.

Our hotel in Shanghai seemed swankier in the lobby than our prior tour hotels, if perhaps less so for room furnishings.

I still don't understand the logic of having an interior window on the bathroom wall when even if you look through the open window on the other side of the bedroom, you would only see another building.  I'm not a fan of that design.

My only other small complaint about our trip was spending too long at stores, though admittedly they usually had some pretty interesting aspects before that shopping time inevitably stretched beyond my attention span.

Such was the case at the Silk Embroidery shop we visited after Jade Buddha Temple.

However, I was dazzled by the artistry, far more than I expected to be when I groaned at hearing yet another store would be our next stop, and again when I learned it was located inside a modern enclosed mall similar to the Galleria.

The embroidered art on the wall, however, often seemed gallery-worthy.

With variations in the exact colors of fine silk threads as well as in the individual techniques of the specific artists, no two pictures are identical.

The basic process begins with a cloth print which the crafts person embroiders over until the entire surface is covered.

It reminded me of the hooked yarn rug kit my sister and I told our mom we would love to do as a family summer project.

We started that picture of a red and black carriage pulled by a white horse in earnest, but by the next Saturday, I was on to something different.  Darlene might have stayed with it a little longer, but summer ended with the unfinished project in a box.  We finally finished it maybe seven years later, though I no longer remember who knotted most of the threads to tie up the project.

This Chinese silk embroidery is obviously much more involved, and the result is not a 3' X 5' shag rug like ours (and no, I don't know where ours is now, but I would guess it is not housed in the Louvre).

Our group bought a lot of silk pictures that day, and even Julie picked out a small picture of cranes for our bathroom wall, or what I like to call the Loo.

Perhaps it is the love of the artists conveyed through hours of focus adding unique textures that makes the embroidered pictures seem more lifelike, or maybe it's simply the sheen of the thread that appears to be life force that can't be contained on the cloth, but by the time the work is finished, the entire surface seems to have been transformed into something almost magical, though it doesn't come across in our photos.

Leaving the calm of the embroidery gallery, we finally entered the fray of May Day throngs.

We somehow managed to stay with the group, despite some definite choke points, until we reached Yuyuan Gardens, built by a Ming Dynasty official for his elderly parents about 400 years ago.

The gardens were lovely, but local tourists steadily streamed into the park, and by the time we left, a long queue had formed in front.

Somehow, we managed to take photos that made it seem very serene, which I'm sure it was for that official's parents long ago, but that wasn't really our experience.  Still, it's a lovely complex of ponds, cloisters, rock formations and pavilions.

To me, the most interesting part was a placard saying a mere three-story wooden building had been the tallest building in Shanghai during the Qing Dynasty, which you may recall ended in the early 20th Century.  That's truly amazing when you consider the many skyscrapers in Shanghai now.

We had free time to relax in the park, get a bite to eat or shop, with the only requirement being to meet at Starbucks at a given time.

Of course, the first street vendor stall we encountered sold embroidered silk pictures for considerably less than the nice gallery store, but as I've said, a souvenir is to remember an experience, not to get a bargain.  Then again, the couple who bought a couple dozen including some nice larger pieces lamented their earlier indulgence.  "Why does this always happen to us?"

Instead of doubling down, Julie and I bought a taste of home.  That Blizzard from Dairy Queen tasted great on this sunny day.

For many in our group, this chance to shop in Shanghai was a highlight, but Julie and I just wanted out of the crowds, so we headed to Starbucks early and managed to snag a couple of stools at a table with some other folks from our tour, who eventually left to do some more shopping.

As we nursed our iced vanilla latte, we were joined by some Chinese folks who seemed happy to have the opportunity to practice their English.

The time passed pleasantly.

When the appointed hour arrived, we of course got up to meet the group only to have the usual delays as some went to the restroom and others wandered into neighboring stores to sample candies or buy trinkets.

Our last stop before returning to the hotel was by the river for a sunny and clear afternoon view of the striking Lujiazui Skyline.