A Day In People’s Square

Buffin and I decided it was high time we invested in a little one-on-one, quality time with Shanghai. After scouring our guidebooks, we decided that today would be dedicated to the area of town known as People’s Square. Our first stop was People’s Park, a bastion of vegetation amid the concrete jungle. Ahem, Central Park much? We hopped the metro and were soon smack dab in the middle of a huge park with no sense of direction whatsoever. So we did what we seem to do best – wander.

With our cameras at the ready, we strolled along a winding pathway, past green lawns, a lily pond, flowerbeds and tree after tree after tree. There were several people napping alone on benches and swings, plus a few random, old men jogging in their regular, everyday clothes. Some pretty intense card games were taking place at the tables dotting the park, which drew an inordinate amount of spectators.

After re-booting at one of the three Starbucks surrounding the park (I mean, really, three?) we headed toward the Shanghai Museum. Or so we thought. Truth be told, we kind of assumed we would just stumble upon it. But instead of finding the museum, we found something even better – a life-size replica of Yao Ming. Turns out we inadvertently found one of those Madam Tussauds wax museums. While we had absolutely no desire to actually go in, we couldn’t resist taking a picture with one of Shanghai’s most beloved sons, whose statue was stationed at the entrance. Neither could a lot of people, apparently, because we had to wait in line. Not quite as good as my little brother’s picture with the real Yao, but it’ll do.

We finally admitted to ourselves that we were lost, so Buff and I found a Marriott Hotel and asked the concierge for directions. “People’s Avenue,” he said, pointing down the road. They sure do love the word “people,” don’t they? As soon as we stepped on the museum grounds, we were besieged by Chinese people. “You so lovely! Where you from? America? What your name?” Buffin and I have been repeatedly warned to avoid these people. There is a common tourist trap known as the teahouse scam, where locals befriend unwitting foreigners and invite them to tea; afterward, a bill for an outrageous sum will arrive. So, the only thing to do is ignore them. I have no problem doing that.

Safely inside the museum, we perused the four levels of exhibits – from ceramics and bronze, to paintings and furniture. Given that China has been in the game for quite a while (they are very proud of this longstanding heritage, FYI), the museum had some pretty incredible things to see. My favorite exhibit was the calligraphy, which is done on very delicate scrolls of parchment. The room is kept dim to prevent damage to the ancient pieces of paper, but the cases are rigged with motion sensors, so when you walk by the light goes on. Not gonna lie, we probably enjoyed that a little too much.

After a full day of gettin’ cultured, we were ready to crash. And so begins the extensive process of slowly checking things of our master list of “Things in Shanghai That We Better Not Forget to Do Before We Leave”...