Having seen the main sights Beijing had to offer, we discussed plans to visit Shanghai and southern China for a few days. Once we arranged our flights and accommodations for the next day, we spent the rest of the afternoon going to the Xiushui Silk Market. We passed by the sidewalk vendors who, as we quickly learned, had no license to sell their wares and therefore kept all of their goods on a blanket that cleverly converted into a bag in an instant for those times when the police came by so that they could run across the sidewalk to the bus stop and look like innocent bystanders. It was as though they had choreographed the whole scene. One second they were sitting on the side, calling out to "Lookah lookah, very nice," and the next second, everything was packed up and they were gone in a flash only to return a few minutes after the police had moved away. Imagine a flock of pigeons milling about, scattering in a flurry of feathers at the sound of a loud noise, and then almost immediately coming back as though nothing had happened. It was an impressive and amusing event to witness.

We entered the Silk Market where the vendors had proper licenses and stalls and had no need to sprint away at a moment's notice. There were a lot of name-brand clothes, silks, cashmeres, and shoes to choose from and we spent a few hours there honing our bargaining skills: negotiating about 50% off of the asking price, offering to buy several items at once and getting a deal on the whole lot, and holding the money we were prepared to spend on an item in plain view so that the vendor could see it (we learned that it is harder for the seller to say “no” to money that they can see and almost touch rather than to a random figure floating in the air between the bargainers). We returned with our purchases, packed up enough clothes for a week, and got an early night's rest in anticipation of our trip to Shanghai the next morning.

Did I mention how polluted Beijing is? It was so polluted that our host almost missed our exit to the airport because the huge building he uses as a landmark was completely shrouded in thick car- and factory-emissions and was nearly invisible. At the airport, we managed to make it to the Eastern China Airways desk, paid the departure tax, and two hours later arrived in Shanghai. The airport was pleasantly clean and nice and after being greeted by a representative of the Peace Hotel, we were afforded our first glimpse of Shanghai, which was also clean and nice. It was a very western looking city with the same huge neon advertisements as in Beijing and many familiar chain stores. For you history buffs, our hotel was originally known as the Cathay Hotel and Sassoon House, so named after Victor Sassoon, a man from Baghdad who made his fortune selling opium in the 1930s. Known as the “No.1 Mansion in the Far East,” the hotel acted as a writing space for Noel Coward (“Private Lives”), a setting for Stephen Spielberg (“Empire of the Sun”), and is one of the few buildings from 1920s Shanghai that is remaining (the rest having been refurbished, polished, and built up to sky scraper proportions). The Peace Hotel overlooks the Huangpu River and the Bund, which is the wonderful waterfront promenade. The Bund is very peaceful and well kept and frequented by only a few kids with exposed bottoms peeking through the holes in their pants. After exploring the marketplace, we walked along the Bund, saw the numerous and various ships gliding by, and watched several elderly but very flexible folks practice their evening exercises of Tai Chi on the street (repeat performances were to be had in the mornings as well).

The next morning, we had breakfast at the top of the twelve-story hotel in one of the several restaurants (your choice of Shanghai, Cantonese, Sichuan, or French cuisine) with a beautiful view of the Huangpu River. We planned to make it out to the docks in time for the 9am boat tour. Unfortunately, despite our guidebook’s guarantee, the 9am tours are no longer being offered. We purchased tickets for a 2pm boat tour instead and filled our time by ambling around the Bund and discussing our plans to visit our next destination, Hangzhou. Hangzhou is “one of the most beautiful cities in China” as several Chinese told us and “the finest, most splendid city in the world” as Marco Polo is claimed to have pronounced it. In one of our more adventurous/silly moods, we decided to forgo the recommended CITS (China's International Travel Service) and went to an unnamed travel agency with offices conveniently located on the Bund with a sign was written in Chinese and in English. As it turns out, no one there actually speaks any English. While we were flailing around trying to make ourselves understood, a stranger on his way to the bank stopped by, heard us speaking English, and decided to come to our aid. Meet Mr. Bill Wu, friendly neighborhood interpreter. He was very nice and arranged for us to take the morning train to Hangzhou, get picked up by a guide with a van, go to the hot spots of the town, have lunch, take a boat tour on the West Lake, and get back to the train to Shanghai for about $45/person. We thanked him profusely for his help and after some shopping and a light lunch, we boarded our tour boat.

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