Shanghai, China, Part 2: Chinese Glamour Shots

Heading back from Suzhou, I hit up Shanghai one last time before finally leaving the area for good (Shanghai and its surrounding areas sure got some quality time on this trip).  I spent a couple days crashing with Jade at her apartment (THANK YOU for being the sweetest hostess ever!), and, in my words, "living like a local."  With no "to-see's" on the docket, I totally took my time and did whatever I wanted (one of those days involved me sitting in a coffee shop with a giant iced coffee for hours, catching up on the blog. After so long on the road, that is sometimes the true, true luxury!).


Jade and I were talking my first night back, and she mentioned that she had been meaning to go get some photos done.  At first I assumed they were work photos or something, but then she explained that sometimes it's fun (and a fairly common activity) to just go to a photo studio, get your hair and makeup done, throw on a couple outfit changes, and get photos taken by a professional.  For (what appears to me to be) no reason; as in, they don't need a special occasion like a wedding or an engagement or a graduation to get photos done.  She asked if I'd be interested in joining her for a session, saying that they had packages specifically designed for friends, called "friendship shoots."  Seriously, this was the name of the photo package.  WELL OK.

In China, "friendship shoots" involve wearing matching clothes and posing on beds. Apparently.

Cliffnotes of the Day:

• So I actually also spent a day and a half in Shanghai in between Hangzhou and Suzhou, with Jesse, before he left - but I had no idea where to put those photos because they don't exactly warrant their own post, so I'm sticking them here!

My dad had been saving his points at the Radisson for FOREVER, and he asked me to help him use them - redeemable for exactly one night at the Shanghai Radisson Blu.  I made him a montage of me using every square inch of the hotels facilities, to show him that his points were being well utilized. I'm sure the Radisson loved this.

We spent Jess' last night walking down Nanjing Road

I maybe made us ride the super fun-looking tiny trolley across town

• The day Jess left, and the day before I left for Suzhou, Jade took me on her own (rainy) "political dissident tour". I named it myself. Jade has a lot of interest in history; and not just the history that the Chinese government teaches, but all of it.  For example, if there's a home belonging to a famous leader who was against the Communist party (you know, like Chiang Kai-Shek - the leader of the Nationalist Party who fled to Taiwan because he was against Mao Zedong, the Communist Party leader)(#Chinesehistorylessons) - the government today tries to hide it. There will be no information on the home or the area or the individual at all, and it will be restricted for access and hidden behind fences.  On the other hand, if there's a home belonging to a former government official, or a famous poet that supported the Communist government, the house is proudly preserved and displayed with information plaques and presented openly to the public. You really start to see that the Chinese government just shows you what it wants you to see.  Anyhow, Jade has a deep interest in all this history. She took me to see a lot of the homes and properties of former political figures that are not marked or indicated.  In fact, many of them just look like large buildings hidden behind even larger fences.  It's super interesting that you would normally just walk right by these, and not have any idea of their historical significance.

Rainy walk through the French Concession, to see some of the old houses.
At one point, we tried to enter a park that a guard would not allow us into, telling us it was private property. Jade responded with "I've studied the history of this park, and it used to be for public use. How can the government sell public property to a private individual?? Who allowed that?  Who's the owner?" #wow.  The guard admitted it did used to be public property, but now it isn't and he wouldn't answer who owned it. And he still didn't let us in. Jade let this one go, but apparently she's picked fights before. (insert big-eyed emoji here)

This was also somewhere historic that I can't remember, someone's former property or something - and now the police occupy it, but they won't put up a sign that it's a police station so people can't question why the police get to use this super swanky fancy building (you know, benefits of being government employees).  But it's fairly obvious because there's like, 10 police cars parked in the backyard.  The way China works sometimes blows my mind.

We found an art exhibit of photos from all over China; snapshots into all the different provinces and ways of life and such. And it had this old propaganda poster.

I changed my mind; the entire photo gallery was propaganda.  Look at this caption. I could not get over it.
"It's quality is, quite obviously, superior than that of other countries, such as Iran."  WHO SAYS THAT.

This was an incredibly pretty park (I think a hefty chunk of all the parks in China are named "People's Park"), with a teahouse overlooking the fountain.

Shanghai, you look so Euro sometimes!

We ended our day (and our political dissident tour) with big bowls of personal hotpot

Slumber party at Jade's = face masks and computers!

• The next day, we woke up bright and early for *drumroll* the "Friendship Photo Shoot!"  I don't think that needs to be capitalized, but I'm making it a proper noun.  Let me just preface these next set of photos with 
• These are only a handful, and trust me, these are the faaaaairly normal ones. If you want weirder, I have weirder. Just ask;  
• Jade was right! Girls do randomly just go get photos done for no reason! There were two sets of them at the photo studio when we arrived.  One was getting a set with her boyfriend done (what?? What happens if they break up!?), and one was just getting photos of herself in different outfits for no apparent reason; 
• Please keep in mind that China loves themes. Jade chose all our themes. 
• Girls in China are very close - like, they hold hands in the street and stuff. So getting photos done together felt kind of like an engagement shoot to me, but here it's normal; and hey, what the wife wants, the wife gets. (The wife is Jade, btw. Keep up.)

The first theme - boudoir?!? Just kidding.  But kind of not.

Yeahhh I'm not exactly sure what the difference between this and a boudoir shoot is.

Jade was barely touching my hair, but the photog instructed me to act like I was in pain, "while still keeping my face pretty."  Uh. I'm not a magician here, sir.

Next set: Chinese traditional dresses (qipaos) - we went outside for these, and it was hot as balls. That's all.

Photo shoots in China are like acting sessions.  "Walk slowly while pointing and looking over at that tree!"

The photog was way into this fan.  I was too, but only because I got to fan myself aggressively between shots in the 100 degree heat.

I love this one of Jade! The photog sent us onto the deck of a rando restaurant for these

Oh, now we're sitting on the rando restaurant's deck. Thanks, guys.

Qipaos are super racy. Jade says they are designed to be that way - to appear demure and ladylike on the surface, but then have these ridiculous sky-high slits in the legs, and have the shape be skin-tight and form-fitting to the body.  Apparently we Americans have it all wrong, what with the putting skin out there right up front. The key is you have to TRICK THE MEN into thinking you're a lady at first.

Qipaos are racy, part 2. Unless you don't think it's racy to see all my million mosquito bites.

The lady did our hair in like, 5 minutes. So impressive.

AND THE FINAL THEME. Jade was going for "cool and dangerous."  Seriously, some of these pics (which I will not post) are the most ridiculous ones of all. The photog kept instructing us to be cool (seriously, I think I heard the word "cool" 100+ times) and I was like "I DON'T KNOW HOWWWWW"

Apparently my go-to when "acting cool" is duckface

Jade is much better at being cool than I am

Omg I'm keeping this photo small

• It was a super-fun day (SO WEIRD YET SO INTERESTING), and we had a good time at the end of it.  You know who else had a great time? Jesse. I think he could barely breathe, he was laughing so hard, when he saw these photos.  You're welcome for the day's entertainment. I hope you were entertained.  I have more, if you need.
• After the photo shoot, we went to brunch with family friends, then headed to an area of town that has a bunch of cute cafes and afternoon tea spots and (again) looks very Euro.

I forgot what this section of town is called. I fail.

But we went and had (expensive!) afternoon tea at a place that tried so, so hard to be British.

And since we still had our makeup on, we went and took our own photos in the area (DOUBLE DUTY)

This is a beautiful former convent, which has now been turned into a swanky hotel.

• And with that wrapped up the end of my (multiple) Shanghai adventures!  I loved having this city as a home base for two weeks, which would not have been even close to the same without Jade the superstar.  So thanks Jade, and thanks Shanghai, for being a semi-home for a little bit!  Also, thanks to the photo studio that made me feel like I was in a strange, very-interesting movie set for a day.  I now have photos that will last a lifetime, and will also be plastered across my wall in poster-size going forward.  I'm onto the rest of China!

Fun Facts of the Day:

• After the photo shoot, Jade and I went to brunch with family friends, where my friend Catherine's aunt commented: "You know, you can put Connie in a qipao...but she still looks American."  Jade says this is because Chinese girls are taught to be more demure - not so open with their smile or gestures or emotions (oops - fail, fail, and fail).  Apparently, in the airlines (only the prettiest and most feminine girls get flight attendant jobs in Asia), they require that you only show the top 8 teeth when you smile. And this is how Jade says she was taught to smile (Jade says when I smile, the entire rack of both teeth come out). Asian girls are taught to smile with no bottom teeth. Try it in the mirror. Only show 8 teeth. It's impossible, you will see.  
• On that note, they also measure waist sizes for flight attendants. They are supposed to be as wide as a piece of paper.  I'm going to go ahead and say that my large smile already disqualifies me as a flight attendant here.....
• I have no idea when wearing a business suit made you cool.  You wouldn't believe the range of other options the photo studio had..

Shanghai, China, Part 1: The Cosmopolitan Capital of China

Next, we're off to Shanghai!

By way of introduction to a prominent player in my Shanghai posts - my childhood BFF Catherine worked in Shanghai for a year back in the day: when I attended her wedding last September, I met Jade, one of her close friends/former co-worker who still lives in Shanghai today. Jade and I have kept in touch since then, and when I found out I was gonna be in Shanghai this time, I reached out to her. She ended up being such an integral part of our Shanghai experience - she's seriously the best tour guide, friend, hostess, translator, planner, etc. that you could ever ask for.

It's Jade, Parks, and me at the People's Park!

What It's All About:

Shanghai is known as the super cosmopolitan city in China - it's got the fancy high-rises, tons of shopping, and is generally known to be more westernized and hip.

Shanghai had high-rise buildings before high-rise buildings were even a thing

Shanghai was opened up to the world earlier than the rest of China, back in the 1840's.  As a port city that was governed by the British (under a treaty), it garnered influence and was shaped by its numerous governing bodies (British, French, and Americans).  In the 1920's and 30's, its heyday, Shanghai was one of the most happening places to be - it was even called "the Paris of the East." Nowadays, it's one of the most important cultural, economic, and social hubs in China.

Being in Shanghai just feels super different from the rest of China - there's sections of town that feel super-European, there's tons of ritzy shopping malls with huge brand names, and everything feels much trendier. But tucked away here and there, you can still find glimpses of very-traditional China. It's an amazing city, and I used it as a base to travel around the area for over 2 weeks.

Oh hello, giant fancy shopping mall that we walked into to use their uber-fancy bathrooms

Cliffnotes of the Day:

• Despite our 5am delayed arrival into Shanghai (darn you and your ridiculous flight delays, China!), we still managed to haul ourselves out of bed at a decent hour (...does noon count as decent?) to go exploring.  

First stop was lunch, where we had Shanghai-style dumplings. I kind of love the way this woman is staring at the camera confusedly

Shanghai dumplings have a thick wrapper, are usually pan-fried, and have much different fillings than regular dumplings. One of these was definitely spicy crawfish-stuffed.

We walked down Nanjing Road, a super-famous pedestrian street crammed with shopping

We stopped by the People's Park, which had excellent propaganda statues like this one

A pretty lilypad garden in the park

Love Chinese parks. They think lilies bring good luck, so you will always see a shiz ton of these in every park/garden

A bunch of old men congregated at the park playing an incredibly loud and animated card game. They seriously loudly sht-talked each other the entire time. It was amazing.

And then we got tickets to a Shanghai acrobat show - and wandering around before the show, we encountered a little wine store, where you basically had to purchase an entire bottle of wine to be able to sit and drink. Given I don't like reds, Parks and I each got our own bottle. Aggressive. Luckily, Parks ended up taking his half-drunken bottle to the acrobat show, and no one batted an eye when he walked in with it.

We were not allowed to take photos of the acrobat show, but I maybe snuck in just one. It was AMAZING.
There were also amazing acts with motorcycles in cages, chair balancing, ribbon hanging, hat tossing, drum rolling, Chinese yo-yos, card tricks, etc. (yeahhh describing what they did isn't nearly as fun as actually watching)

• After the (increds) circus, we headed on down to Yongkang Lu, a super-popular street filled with bars and expats and foreigners, to meet Jade for the first time since arriving in Shanghai!

While waiting, I found a baby kitten wandering the streets. Want.

And then we met Jade!! Who was the sweetest and brought me the prettiest flowers ever (which I may have accidentally used near the end of the night to unwittingly knock over everything in sight. EVERYthing).

We went to a couple bars

And then we had 1AM hotpot. Because, why not

• We had an insane itinerary the next day that Jade had mapped out for us, based on what we had said we wanted to do.  First on the list was back to the People's Park - it was Saturday, and there is a "marriage market" that takes place there on weekends, where parents desperate to marry off their children sit in a market of sorts, in order to try and find their children a suitable match. Parents start showing up as early as 6AM to get the best places in the park with typewritten ads that outline their child's age, sex, job, salary (seriously), blood type, assets, etc.  And they will sit around all day, to try and market their children - either to other parents (if two parents find their children may make a good pair, they may trade their children's photos and further information), or directly with young people themselves.  They sit here all weekend. To fully understand it, parents in China are very involved (one might say meddling, even) in their children's lives - and it's a hugely popular thing to constantly be cruising for people to set up their unmarried children with. Especially once their children hit a certain age, around their mid-20s, the panic really sets in because this is seen as being "too old" to be single in China - the meddling increases tenfold. No one wants an unmarried child living at home with them. That is the ultimate failure.

Parents bring umbrellas to attach their flyers to - there are literally hundreds and hundreds of umbrellas that extend all over the park. Many parents station themselves behind their umbrellas, easily accessible for any potentials that may come along, while others will leave contact info. 

Some of the best spots parents vie for are right along the main entrance to the park - Jade says these parents are the ones that get up at the crack of dawn to secure their spots.

This lady has a daughter, born in 1984, 1.75 meters tall (sometimes they even list weight!) - the poster goes on to list her job and her salary (5000 yuan a month)

Rows of umbrellas

I could not stop looking at all the flyers. So much personal information! I've come to realize that there is no such thing as information that is too personal here in China

Most flyers don't have photos (you have to like the credentials first!), but these parents were bold enough to post their daughters' photos in their ads

• From the People's Park (WILD), we cruised on down Nanjing Road to the Bund, a fancy area of town that sits along the waterfront and houses all the major financial institutions, hotel rooftop bars with amazing views, and a boardwalk.

So much fancy

View across the harbor of new-world fancy Shanghai. Only a couple decades ago, that iconic pink ball tower (the Pearl Tower) was the only high building on that side of the river.

Jade had so many fascinating anecdotes of the buildings on the other side, most of which have come up fairly recently. It's the new hotspot for companies to build their offices.

• After The Bund, next on the itinerary was a visit to the Yu Gardens - a famous garden located near a temple.

Upon arrival to the gardens, we were reminded of why you don't ever sightsee in China on the weekends

The photo above, and this photo, are of the "Nine-view bridge" - the bridge has nine turns, which all provide a different view of the temple and gardens. All I saw were hoards of Chinese people, tbh, but it's ok because I actually remembered that I'd been here before on my 2001 China trip.

Is it sad to say that once we entered the part of the gardens where you actually have to pay, the crowds thinned considerably?  Chinese people are people after my own heart, honestly.

Some of the fancy rooms in the gardens

Surprisingly peaceful

These chairs are made from twisty trees

On the way out, Jade bought us admission to an old-timey movie. This was a form of entertainment back in the day, where a narrator tells a story and you pay to look through a lens to see drawings that they animate with optical tricks and such. I didn't understand a word the man was saying. Also, Parks and I are maybe sharing the bench with four other kids under the age of 8.

• As it was a Saturday and was Parker's last night in China before he headed home, we prepped for a big night out.  Did I mention that it POURED all night?? Jade says that people compare Shanghai's weather to a woman's feelings - temperamental and extreme, but short and easily changed (is this sexist, part 2).  They say this because it'll rain huge, but only for 10 minutes, then it will suddenly stop. Well, this night was not supporting that comparison - it never stopped raining.

First, dinner at a trendy Yunnan restaurant that Jade chose

Then, we headed to The Bund, to the rooftop bar of the Hyatt - normally, there's an awesome terrace, but it was closed due to the rain. We had to settle for the hazy indoor view of the skyline/The Bund

Still an incredibly pretty view

I'm not gonna say that Parker looks right at home in the Hyatt, but....

• Jade then insisted we go across the river to check out a series of raised outdoor walkways that wind between the buildings. If you've ever seen the movie "Her" (you know, when Joaquin Phoenix falls in love with his computer), it was filmed here - with the outdoor walkways simulating a futuristic LA.

Hello from the fancy outdoor walkways! The rain slowed to a mist for a hot second, leading to these super magical misty photos

A misty Pearl Tower and its surrounding buildings

We are in futuristic LA!

A terrible pano

Looking up at all the fancy new buildings

We ended the night at The Shelter, an underground club Parker had heard about and wanted to go to - it's in an underground bunker, so it's pretty eerie, but also kind of a cool setting. I swear that Jade was there and that Jesse came and joined as well, but I have no photos because I possibly dipped out early. Because I'm decrepit.

• Parker's last day in China - we took it easy and went to visit the 1933 Slaughterhouse. It's a former slaughterhouse (surprise!) that they've now repurposed into fancy shopping and retail.

Here is the building. It's actually quick pretty and art deco-looking for a slaughterhouse

Inside the slaughterhouse, a series of winding concrete pathways

• Parker left for the airport afterwards as it was the end of his two-week China vacay, and I left my fancy life staying in pretty hotels. Moving to a hostel was the saddest moment ever.  Especially as I walked into the hostel room and was immediately accosted by a Chinese girl who wanted to know every pertinent, prying detail of my life and didn't hold back at letting me know hers. Seriously, all I did was walk into the room to drop off my bag, and I walked out 10 minutes later knowing that she recently had a skin disease and really wanted to know if it was true that American guys like Asian girls better and hey, do all Americans sleep around? (I told her yes and yes, of course. Just kidding.)

Went with Jade later that evening to a little jazz bar she loves - it was really, really lovely. I need to go to jazz bars more often.

• As I mentioned above, Jesse had arrived in Shanghai!  He ended his teaching contract in Beijing and was headed back to Australia - so had an extra week or two free to travel around before going home.  Shanghai has recently opened its own Disneyland (June 16th), which Jess really wanted to check out - he's only been once in his entire life as a child (I wish I could say the same for myself.....in my defense, we used to have annual work conferences in Florida, what else was I supposed to do while I was there except go to Disney every year??).  So I was a good friend and accompanied him to Disney.

We are at Disney!!  Pooh is excited. I had to basically explain every episode of Winnie the Pooh to Jess before we got on the ride, because he apparently didn't have a childhood. 

I'm not sure if China is ready for Disney yet. See all the previous posts, where I mentioned that they don't seem to know how lines work. Seriously, even when you're standing in line - if you're not blocking the entire passageway, they'll attempt to weasel past you when the line starts moving.  It's not a rude thing, they just don't seem to know the foremost rule of lines.

Jesse had made me watch the Star Wars movie while we were in Africa - but I forgot all the finer points. I think I forgot if the First Order was good or bad, which Jess could not get over.

The princess castle in Shanghai Disney is apparently the largest one ever.  Because China has to do everything bigger and better, obvs.

You know what was bigger and better?? The evening fireworks show. It was seriously, seriously magical, and I may have shed a tear.

Bye, Disney!

Fun Facts of the Day:

• As China has been on this crazy rapid growth trajectory, there is this overwhelming sense that new is better.  It's incredibly common to see old blocks of apartments or cities completely razed into piles of rubble, with new construction and new buildings constantly being built. There was a city that Parks and I drove by in Yangshuo that no kidding, looked like the entire city had been knocked down to be completely rebuilt.  It's kind of a shame.
• Did you know, China's one-child policy changed about a year ago?  It's especially evident at Disney, but I've noticed (as a huge generalization) that families that only have one child heap all their hopes and dreams and effort and attention into their one child, and their child can do no wrong - even when it's screaming and running up and down the subway car like a maniac.
• That personal bubble that exists in the US?  Nonexistent here. You will get used to people constantly poking their nose into your business - and it's not rude, it's because they're generally curious and want to know about you.  It's quite common to meet someone and ask their salary, or other such questions that we would see as invasive in the States. I walked into another hostel room in Shanghai, and one of the girls goes "why is your bag so large?".  Someone I didn't even know.  But she wasn't being rude, she was being curious. I've learned the difference. Kind of.
• On that note, the number of times I've been told that I look "healthy" here.....maybe a million.  I've now learned that "healthy" means both "incredibly dark" and/or fat.  Because Chinese girls are TINY (Jade says most of them are on diets and it's quite common for girls to skip dinner altogether most days......all I ask is, where is my innate Chinese willpower on these fronts??), and they are obsessed with being white.  I'm sure I look like a complete heathen to them, because I'm a million times darker than they are, and they can spot instantly that I'm not one of them. And maybe also because I don't carry around an umbrella to shield the sun like they do.  I definitely get at least one comment on my skin color daily. Sorry, mom.