![]() The happiest alley in all Shanghai! Part of Tianzifang, a maze-like district of cute little shopping alleys. He served under Mao from 1949 to 1976, the year they both died. This charming house, built in the ’20s, was for a while the home of Zhou Enlai, the first Premier of Communist China. A pretty shopping street in the French Concession. The Cathay Theater, an Art Deco movie palace opened in the ’30s. The French ConcessionĪfter the two temples, I explored the French Concession, the area of Shanghai that was controlled by the French for about a century prior to WWII. But I got caught up in the excitement of Shanghai, spent the rest of the day wandering all over the city, and never had that malaise again the rest of my trip. I thought maybe I’d go back to the hotel for the afternoon after visiting this temple. When I got to Jing’an Temple, I was feeling tired and really questioning if I could keep up this extreme sightseeing at my advanced age of 52. Seated Buddha in the Precious Hall of the Great Hero. People try to toss coins into this elaborate brazier for good luck. Yes, there’s always lots of incense burning at Buddhist temples. Golden rooftop features of Jing’an Temple. A rhinoceros in Jing’an Park, across the street from Jing’an Temple. It was severely damaged by fire in the ’70s and rebuilt in the ’80s. It suffered the indignity of being converted into a plastics factory during the Cultural Revolution. It was relocated to its current site in 1216 and rebuilt in the 19th century. The original Jing’an Temple was built in 247 in a different part of Shanghai. Having sufficiently investigated Jade Buddha Temple, I traveled on foot and by subway to central Shanghai’s second fabulous temple, Jing’an Temple (Temple of Peace and Tranquility). A very cool decoration on the exterior of the Hall of the Four Heavenly Kings. No photographs are allowed of the Jade Buddha Temple’s stunning 6-foot-tall white jade seated Buddha. No photographs are allowed of the jade seated Buddha, which is 6-feet-tall and gorgeous. Both jade Buddhas were transported from Burma. Very cool! One of the temple’s 2 namesake jade Buddhas. Elephants in the courtyard at Jade Buddha Temple. Smoke is rising from these ladies’ incense sticks. And there’s always lots of incense burning. There is always lots of praying going on at Buddhist temples. They were too big to get all 3 in one picture. Two of the three Golden Buddhas in the Grand Hall. Hall of Four Heavenly Kings at Jade Buddha Temple. The temple was built to house two jade Buddhas imported from Burma in the late 19th century. My next destination was Jade Buddha Temple, one of central Shanghai’s 3 fabulous temples. I kept a close eye on streets signs (which were in Chinese and English) so I was sure when to get off. This bus ride went according to schedule. Actually, my bus adventure in Nanjing was the last bus adventure I had on my trip. No bus adventures this time like the last 3 days. When I was done with my visit to People’s Park, it was time to take a bus to my next destination. “Where are you going?” I was getting the hell away from them. They were exceedingly friendly and very curious to know about me, where I was from, what I was doing in Shanghai. I wasn’t handing my camera over to anyone, and I know what I look like. They asked me to take their picture and then asked if I wanted them to take my picture. Walking around People’s Park, I was approached by 3 attractive young ladies with umbrellas. ![]() A small segment of a heroic socialist monument in People’s Park. A revolutionary monument in People’s Park. This was a time when most of Shanghai was controlled by Western powers and Japan. May Thirtieth Movement Monument in People’s Park commemorates an anti-foreigner uprising that began in Shanghai in 1925. Such an establishment was way to Western and decadent for the Communists, so it was demolished after they seized power in 1949. People’s Park and adjacent People’s Square, where I wandered looking for my hotel late on Night 1, were built on the former site of a British racecourse for horse racing. ![]() I started the day in People’s Park, directly across from the hotel. And full it was, a complete tour of central Shanghai. Because my arrival in Shanghai was delayed a day and I was departing for Beijing the next afternoon, this was my only full day in Shanghai. It was such a relief to stay in Shanghai for the day rather than taking another day trip.
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