Visiting Cindy in Mainland China
June/July 1987
Our next stop was Shanghai, China's largest city. On the way there
we got to see a spectacular view from a high pagoda, a garden, and "Elephant
Trunk Hill" - a curved stone arch going into the river shaped basically
similarly.
In Shanghai there was a circular overpass for pedestrians at one of their busier intersections.
The police would direct traffic from their own
"island" in the street. Often we would see over forty people waiting
at a bus stop. Many of the buses were double in length with a flexible middle
to let them turn corners.
Our first stop was the Exhibition Center. Next we saw a beautiful garden with pools and goldfish. The Shanghai Art Museum was next with many decorative bowels and pots.
Finally that day, we took a river cruise and saw many of the huge derricks used to load and unload all the many products made in China and exported to the US and elsewhere.
That evening we saw an acrobatics show where a man could juggle then balance many things on his chin.
The next day we got a spectacular show at the Children's Palace.
There some of the best trained and most flexible children in China danced,
Flexible children at Children's Palace
played cultural instruments (the Yangqin - similar to a xylophone,
and the Er Hu - similar to a small cello), sang for us and showed us their playground.
Next was Mandorin Wu's Garden of Happiness. It had many beautiful pagodas and
lagoons, trees, and flowers.
That night we saw a spectacular acrobatics show. In one case up
to SEVEN people balanced on only the rear two posts of chairs - each one on
top of the next one! In another act, a man was riding his bicycle around the
ring while a lady balance in a beautiful arabesque on a post at least four feet
above his head balanced on his shoulder!
Seven people balanced on chairs in acrobatics show
After Shanghai, we took a train to Hangzhou. After the train we took a bus in the pouring rain. The bus roof leaked right above Mr. Fred Drake, so he had to use his umbrella inside it!
In Hangzhou we saw many beautiful Buddhist carvings out of high cliffs right into the rock of the hill.
Next we saw West Lake with its many beautiful lilies, gardens, lawns, and flowers.
In China at that time (1987) in order to transport a large log, the Chinese men had to balance it on a single pair of small wheels and push it!
