Today I found this old funny video of Sushi when I was backing up my computer. This video was taken when Sushi was a puppy. Back in the day Sushi was very small, even smaller than a pillow. Sushi liked hiding herself behind my pillow because she was not allowed to get on my bed. However she is too big to hide from me now.
How cute and naughty was Sushi? A video says it all. Enjoy!
June 26, 2009
Early in the morning on June 26, 2009, we left Wuhan to Shanghai by high-speed train and it took us 5 hours to arrive at Shanghai. I was extremely excited because I have been wanting to travel to Shanghai for a very long time now. Shanghai is a must-go city when you travel to China, because it is the center of economics, culture, and design of the country. In case you are not familiar with this city, here is a brief introduction: Shanghai is the largest city and trading center of China. It is also the center of commerce between the East and the West starting from early 19th century. During the First Opium War, the British forced China to open Shanghai for international trade, leading the start of foreign concessions, and most of which, like the French Concession, still exist as a popular attraction to this day.
There was a count down for the Shanghai EXPO 2010 in the subway station
We arrived at Shanghai at 2PM and it took us sometime to figure out which MTR to take at the subway station to our hotel, which was near the famous Nanjing Road. I couldn’t wait to dump my baggage at the hotel and go check out the famous Nanjing Road.
Nanjing Road at night
A “giant” dummy of N97 at Nokia’s store window; The Fancl House building was “huge”; Cartier’s store at the Bund
Nike store owns a whole building at Nanjng Road
Nike has a huge advertising banner hung on the roof a building in Nanjing Rd. Kobe Bryant became Nike’s spokesman right after Lakers won the NBA payoffs 2009.The slogan was “determination will never die, determination will never die, determination will never die, determination will never die...”
Nanjing Road has been a landmark for Shanghai for a long time. It is also known as the “Number 1 Commercial Street in China.” On the street, you will see hundreds of stores sitting along both sides of the road, ranging from little local souvenir stores to world famous stores. My eyes were on the appealing store windows and showcases as we continued to make our way to the Bund (外灘) through crowds of people.
We arrived at the Bund after a refreshing rain shower. In front of us were dozens of historical buildings lined along the Huangpu River, and on the other side of the river were the famous Podong skyline. I was amazed by the artistic architecture of the historical buildings in the Bund. Unfortunately the area was under construction, so we were unable to get a perfect view of the Bund and the Pudong skyline. The street was all wet and packed with people. I was a bit disappointed but still managed to take as many pictures as I could. By the time we were prepared to leave, the buildings in front of us magically lit up one by one. We didn’t realized that we it was already seven o’clock at night. All of the buildings in the Bund and Pudong shimmered on the river and the wet floor with their neon. I was speechless watching the buildings turned into a crystal palace. It was an enchanting moment that I will never forget.
Shanghai is a dynamic city and it is well-known for its nightlife. Nanjing Road was still crowded with people at night. Stores and subways lit up and were opened until midnight. We didn’t want to go back to the hotel even though we were already exhausted. After recharging ourselves through a delicious dinner at a fancy restaurant, we made our way to Xintiandi, the most fashionable place for nightlife in Shanghai.
We spent the following two days exploring the underground(subway) malls and the famous Shanghai Old Streets, and then flew back to Macau from Shanghai on June 29. I wish I could have spent some more days visiting different parts of the city, like the Shanghai Museum, Water Town, Qibao Ancient Town, and Shanghai History Museum. Shanghai is definitely a city I will travel to again.
Below are some pictures of Shanghai Old Streets
June 22, 2009
Wuhan is the capital and in the central part of Hubei province of China
After arriving in Macau for only two days, my parents and I went to Zhuhai and then flew over to Wuhan on June 22nd. Bobo, Elizabeth’s friend, picked us up at the airport in Wuhan and took us to an apartment that has been arranged for us.
The apartment was only a few blocks away from downtown, which saved us a lot of timewhen we went out for shopping and dining, because there was a lot of traffic. We left the apartment and started checking out the city right after unpacking our luggage.
The city contained a mixture of old and new buildings. Construction and renovation were everywhere. As the fifth most populous city in China, Wuhan’s streets and roads were always crowded with people, bikes, and cars all hours of the day. However, people never follow the rules of the road, so crossing the streets in the city was extremely terrifying. If you are going to Wuhan, never ever assume that you are safe to cross the road, even when the green pedestrian light is on!
Wuhan is known as one of the Three Furnaces of China because of its oppressively humid and hot weather. In the summer, its temperature always exceeds 40°C , which is 104°F . During noon time, I could barely walk on the street without wearing my lightest outfit and using a sun umbrella. I even had to put my favorite sport shoes aside and wear sandals during the whole trip, because the weather was so hot.
The good news is that the cost of living in Wuhan is very inexpensive. We ate like a celebrity, went shopping and had foot massages almost every day. Transportation is very low in price too. In order to hide from the heat, we took a taxi to everywhere we went. The taxi ride was usually RMB 3.00 – 12.00, which is around USD 0.38 – 1.50, depending on the duration of each trip. But cab drivers don’t like dealing with short rides; a few of them gave us a bad attitude.
On the second day, we headed off to the Wuhan University to take graduation pictures for Elizabeth. I was impressed by how big and beautiful the university was. The campus was featured with hills, lakes, trees, flowers and historical buildings, which date back to the 80’s.
Student residential building
Doggie glyphs on the roof
The university’s famous blue roof tiles
The university’s library
We spent another two days exploring the Wuhan city and then headed to Shanghai via high-speed railway.
Stay tuned for our next stop - Shanghai.
Seattle – Honolulu – Hong Kong – Macau – Zhuhai – Wuhan
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