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Construction began on the $1.2 billion train in March 2001, and public service commenced Jan 2004, so it is fairly new. Made from German technology, the train can reach an impressive 350 km/h (217 mph) in 2 minutes, with a maximum speed in normal operation of 431 km/h (267 mph). It runs from Longyang Road station on the Shanghai Subway line to Pudong International Airport and takes only 7 minutes and 20 seconds to complete the journey. The cost is about $5 USD for a one-way ticket.

Our bus driver dropped us off at the train entrance & began his journey to meet us at the airport. Needless to say – we beat him. *LOL*

Here’s a pic of the inside as we were boarding…

And below is proof that we really did go as fast as they said we would!

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This was the main Chinese district of downtown Shanghai during the colonial era (1842-1949). It was encircled by a wall that came down when the last dynasty fell, in 1911. The old city wall, 27 ft. high and 3 miles round, dated from the 16th century, when it served as a barrier against Japanese pirates. It is considered the oldest district of Shanghai; its shops, the most traditional; its steamed dumplings, the best. (And I had some…so I know that it’s true!) Within this former walled city, the Old Town Bazaar is now a large pedestrian mall and alleyway labyrinth. There are hundreds of traditional Chinese craft & souvenir shops.

You can literally get lost in the alleyways (they all look the same after awhile!)

In one of the courtyards, sits this golden money tree. Each red ribbon has a coin attached and you throw it up onto a branch for good luck.

If you read my tea farm entries, you will recall the “art teas”. Here are some examples of different art teas for sale.

The main square of Old Town has two strangely familiar sights…Dairy Queen …

And of course…Starbucks!

There is also a famous tea house in the main square…

And a department store, I believe, in this beautiful building…

I picked up a few gifts (can’t reveal them here) …and then went back to the bus. Our next stop is the high speed Shanghai Maglev train!

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“The Bund” refers to a historical area of Shanghai that centers along Zhongshan Road on the west bank of the Huangpu River. Most of the buildings here were built around the turn of the century. Formerly the financial hub of Eastern Asia, the Bund once housed banks & trading houses from all over the world as well as hotels, consulates, a newspaper, and even a Masonic Club. When Communism took hold of the country, most of the financial institutions were moved and the hotels and clubs closed or converted to other uses. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, with the thawing of economic policy in the People’s Republic of China, buildings on the Bund were gradually returned to their former uses. It is now one of the most popular tourist sights in Shanghai. I have been told that it is quite gorgeous lit up at night…but here are some pics of it in the morning.

A close-up of the Customs House clock, the largest clock in Asia. Both the clock & bell were built in England in imitation of Big Ben and shipped to Shanghai in the 1920s.

The flag atop the Merchants Bank Building…

Further down the Bund are some more modern buildings…

And across the harbor is the striking skyline of Pudong.

Since the beginning of its development in 1990 when plans were first announced, Pudong has emerged as China’s financial and commercial hub. Amazing to think that only 15 years ago, this was all farmland!

Next stop – Shanghai’s Old Town Shopping area…

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Love the fountains…

And the lily arrangement…

Since we knew we only had one day left before leaving, and we’d acquired quite a few goodies along the way, it was time to do some luggage shopping. There was no way it was all going to fit in the suitcase I brought with me! Luckily, our hotel was only a 10-minute walk away from the main commercial shopping strip in Shanghai. We walked down to a department store since we had about an hour before the stores closed. I went up to the luggage department and was pretty bummed at first.

The prices were all far higher than I was willing to pay – around $100 USD+. Just couldn’t bring myself to spend that kind of money for a piece of luggage I didn’t really need except to ship a few items home. As I left the department, I ran into one of my fellow tour mates. I told her my dilemma and she said for me to go right back to the department with her. Lucky for me, she spoke fluent Chinese. She explained the situation to an associate and after about five minutes of going back & forth, the associate brought me to a large piece of luggage that was perfect for my needs. Not only was my friend able to negotiate a 30% discount, but they also took another 100 yuan off the price! All in all, I was able to purchase it for around $40 USD. Not bad for something that started over $100. It’s times like those when I wish I could speak more foreign languages. *LOL*

So the next trick was trying to get this huge piece of luggage back to the hotel. My friend Sean was kind enough to tote it back almost the whole way (since we had decided to walk instead of get a taxi). I picked up a few other items at the department store but can’t say what they were since a few folks reading this might be getting them as future gifts!

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And an initial ornate sculpture:

The Lingyin Temple consists of five different halls: The Hall of the Heavenly Kings, The Grand Hall of the Great Sage, Yuayan Hall, The Hall of the Medicine Buddha, & the Hall of the 500 Arhats. We visited three of these. Although we couldn’t take pics inside the buildings, I have a few exterior shots I want to share & some comments on the experience:

1) The Hall of the Heavenly Kings

This hall is the formal entrance of the temple and contains a large statue of the laughing Buddha. Arranged along the left and right are the Four Heavenly Kings. Remember the guys with the scary eyes from a previous post? Well I have since learned that they are the Four Heavenly Kings or the four guardian gods. They are the protectors of the world and fighters of evil, each able to command a legion of supernatural creatures to protect the Dharma. Guess that makes the scary eyes a requirement. *LOL* What is interesting about this hall is that it is as large or larger than the main hall of most temples, reflecting Lingyin’s status as the centre of Buddhism in south-eastern China. Here is a peak into the front door from outside…see the scary eyes?

2) The Grand Hall of the Great Sage

The second and principal hall is separated from the Hall of the Heavenly Kings by a large courtyard, featuring a raised lawn bordered with trees.

The Grand Hall stands 110 feet tall. It houses a statue of the historical Buddha that was carved in 1956 from camphor wood and coated with 60 taels of gold. (FYI – a tael is an Eastern measurement – but just know that 60 taels is a lot!). This is the largest wooden Buddhist statue in China. There were mats placed at the base of it for worship and we saw a number of people bowing down in reverence. At the back of the main statue is a large screen that features the carved images of some 150 Buddhist personalities. I have to say that we were probably more impressed with the carved wall than we were of the huge golden Buddah! The wall stands about 100 feet tall and you can stand there for hours soaking in all the details.

3) Hall of the Five Hundred Arhats

The Hall of Five Hundred Arhats faces the western side of the courtyard in front of the main hall. The building has a complex floor plan, shaped like a Buddhist swastika. Arranged along the arms of the swastika are five hundred slightly larger-than-life bronze statues of the 500 arhats. (FYI – an arhat is basically an enlightened disciple of Buddha who has realized Nibanna, the culmination of spiritual life.) Each statue is seated on a unique ornate seat. At the centre, where the arms of the swastika join, stands a bronze canopy housing statues of four bodhisattvas representing the four cardinal directions. This is currently the tallest solid bronze structure in the world.

Now – what I can say about this hall is that it was an amazing maze of very unique & different statues. Some of them were even kind of surreal…people with two heads (I’m sure symbolic of something), monkeys dangling from arms & shoulders, etc. It was extremely interesting and was another place you could get lost in for hours viewing all the details. But in actuality, you could also just get lost…because the swastika structure really is built like a maze. Once we got into the building, we had one heck of a time trying to find out way out! Eventually we did, and were able to meet up with our group prior to departure.

Here was a neat stone carved pagoda we saw on our way out of the temple grounds.

We also passed by these waterways:

And here is an outside view of one the temple buildlings from beyond the temple gates:

When we exited, we went by some of the wonderful stone carvings again, and I snapped a shot of this guy:

Next stop, Shanghai!

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The front gate had a beautiful textured gold sign

Once inside, we were greeted by a series of statues of important Buddhist prophets & historical figures:

These were followed by the amazing Feilai Feng, or commonly translated as “Flying Peak”. This limestone mountain has dozens of intricate Buddha carvings on its side, complete with dangling vines like something out of an Indiana Jones movie. It was absolutely breathtaking. I felt like I was on ancient hallowed ground. My pictures don’t do them justice…but here are a few that take you through the grounds…

We first stepped into the Cave of Golden Light. Dating back to 951 AD, the “Three Sages of the West” carving shown below is the earliest carving according to historical records.

We then saw a series of incredible limestone carving grottos on the side of the mountain.

This pic always makes me smile.

This guy looks like he has a secret…

This statue was in the cave of the Goddess of Mercy…

Here is some ancient writing found on the way out of the cave…

Next came another cave with a good luck Buddha inside. Women must touch Buddha’s hand with their right hand and then place their hand in their pocket (to bring themselves money & good fortune). Men must do the same with their left hand.

After finishing the outer grounds of Lingyin, we were ready to enter the actual temple…

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Here are some other bottles as seen in a local grocery store:

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To our left was a spokeswoman for the farm. She was standing next to a worker who was hand-drying tea leaves in a large metal bowl. We soon learned that this man had been drying tea for over 50 years! His fingers were numb to the heat of the metal as he tossed the leaves around & around, constantly keeping them in motion so they would not burn. Occasionally, he would reach towards the white stick of oil and melt a small bit into the bowl, all the while, continuing to move. The muscles & veins in his arms were amazing.

Next, we were ushered into a small room where our guide taught us more about why the Longjing (Dragon Well) green tea here is considered the top in the country (and some say, the world).

Reputed to be the “Empress of Green Tea,” Longjing tea is primarily planted in the town of Longjing (a mountainous area of Hangzhou, southwest of West Lake). Endowed with lingering clouds and mists as well as abundant rain and dew, Longjing offers favorable conditions for growing tea, and the tea there has a history of more than 1,200 years.

Longjing (Dragon Well) tea is most famous for its unique fragrance and flavor and its flat, slender tea leaves which are picked very young. It can be brewed multiple times and keep its flavor. In addition, the tea is said to have incredible health benefits regardless of your age. It is used to deter food poisoning, refresh the body, stop cavities, fight viruses, control high blood pressure, lower the blood sugar level, lose weight, and prevent cancer. You could say it is somewhat of a “wonder drug”. Hence, Longjing tea is regarded as the elixir for health and is widely sold and accepted all over the world.

So why is there a “dragon well” name attached to it? It is said that residents of Longjing in ancient times believed that a dragon dwelled there and controlled the rainfall. As a result, people went there from all the surrounding areas whenever there was a drought to pray for rainfall, from as early as the Three Kingdoms Period (221-280).

Ok – enough with the history lesson. Sitting in front of each of us was a small glass containing a handful of fresh bright green tea leaves. An attendant came in and began filling each glass with hot water in 3 sweeping motions. It was amazing how far she’d get from the glass without spilling a bit of water! (Side note: it is important that green tea never be made with boiling water…it should be hot but never boiling as that removes the nutrients from the leaves.)

When they were full, here’s what the glasses looked like up close…

Now I have to say, I’m used to the kind of tea that doesn’t have floating bits in it! It was kind of strange drinking tea this way, but we learned that the Chinese not only drink the water that the tea leaves sit in, they also eat the leaves! Apparently, that just adds to the health benefits of the tea. Due to the bitter taste, it is difficult to eat many of them…but I did try a few. Since the tea leaves continue to brew in the glass – our glasses were refilled several times, and the flavor remained.

At the end of the presentation, the spokeswoman brought out a new product that the tea farm has begun selling. Art teas. And yes, they are just as cool as they sound! These teas are packaged in a decorative form along with various beautiful edible flowers. The result is that you can fill a see-through glass pot with hot water, add an art tea to it, and watch it grow into a beautiful centerpiece for your table. Just add water…and you can continue to drink tea for hours. Kinda cool! Here’s an example of what one looks like in a goblet.

After visiting the tea farm store, we took our goodies back to the bus & headed towards our next destination, lunch, which was followed by Lingyin temple (my favorite temple yet!)

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Click on “more” for additional pics.

Next comes our demonstration at the tea farm!

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