Carts in Shanghai

Nowhere in Shanghai were old customs still so visible as in the various modes of transportation. Here then is a sampling of the types of carts we saw. Some of the carts were heavily laden and pulled by men on bikes, as in the example above. Double click on the photos to get a closer view.







This short 17 second You Tube clip shows the various modes of transportation at an intersection.

When you gotta go, you gotta go

When there is not a sheet of charmin' within a hundred miles, and your only choice is these facilities, I say do as the Chinese do and just hang in there.

For the curious, click here.

We were driving around Lake Taihu at the time, and this was at the start of our journey.

Glorious Suzhou: The Venice of the East

On one of our last days in China, we visited the 2,500-year-old city of Suzhou, which sits at the head of the Yangtse delta and on the shores of Lake Taihu. Built in 514 BC, this city has remained vitually unchanged within the original city walls, making it historically important.

Situated at the Grand Canal in the Yangtze delta, Suzhou is known for its manufacture of silk. The Grand Canal is the world’s longest manmade waterway, connecting Beijing to Hangzhou and five rivers.


A drive to the old city gates through modern Suzhou (photo taken through the window of our van.)

Chinese hardware stores.


Modern rickshaw.

Even though this town is a "tourist trap, I tried taking photos that give an authentic feel of this ancient water city.


Ancient City Gate leads to a shopping street and canal.

Walking around the city, we were always led through "tourist trap" alleys.

Old canal all gussied up for tourists



Making a silver ring

Recycling cart collects cardboard.

One of the many beautiful bridges spanning the canal.

Making delicious fresh pork-filled dumplings. I ate four, and also tried a pork sate spiced with chili powder. Not bad, but a little dry.


Blue and white porcelain bowls filled with merchandise.

Peek into an alley and entrance to homes

Houses along the canal

Tourist boats along the same canal.

The Chinese just couldn't get enough of the kids, with their light, curly Western hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. Everywhere we went in Suzhou, they became the focus of curiosity and conversation.

My best photo in China. A model poses in traditional garb for a professional photographer.

A peek up a non-tourist street. Life goes on.

I could have stayed all day and sketched and soaked up the atmosphere...

Fabulous steps to nowhere.

Rickshaw driver taking a mid-day nap.


Noodle bowl for lunch. Mine came with cubes of barbecued beef.

Three grades of fresh roasted chestnuts, each different in price.

Cleaning the restaurant window at lunch time.

One of the bridges in afternoon light.

Street vendors at the gate. This city is as popular with Chinese tourists as with Westerners.

Elderly lady selling frangipani flower corsets to my sister-in-law and me. Their fragrance lingered with us all afternoon.


Awaiting tourists, these portable chairs sat all afternoon long.

Why am I reminded of a city in the Netherlands?


Embroidering cloth. Some of samples were simply breathtaking and so affordable! I was tempted to purchase one, but I had already bough some silk paintings.

The end of a beautiful visit. I looked back longingly at this lovely sight.

Food Shopping in Shanghai

During my ten-day stay in Shanghai, we ate street food. But we also shopped at Carre Four, a French-based mega grocery store in Pudong. From a distance, the shelves seem familiar. Close up, the cultural differences become apparent. The variety of food is mindboggling, the labels are in Chinese, the clerks do not speak English, and often the food is live.

Fresh seafood...

...including live eels

...and live turtles. Poor dears. In the meat section one can hear the steady chop chop chop of meat cleavers separating fresh beef from bone.

A sampling of noodles and rice. One container that fed five adults and two children cost the equivalent of U.S. $1.50.

Take away food. This is a Chinese "salad bar". You pick out the ingredients and ladle them onto a tray. Then you visit a clerk, who mixes your choices to your specification with oils, sauces, spices, and other condiments. This section is packed with well-to-do Chinese on Saturdays and Sundays.

More choices from the "salad bar."

Chewing gum aisle. The candy and chips aisles are even more extensive.

A variety of meat- or vegetable-filled dumplings, all freshly made.

And enormous amounts of fresh and dried fruit and vegetables. People are standing in line (if you look closely) for fresh eggs, which had just arrived that morning.

Prices were amazingly different from what I expected. California wines were more expensive than French wines, and Great Wall wines cost only $3/bottle.


Chocolate chips were prohibitive at $8/bag, but kroepoek (shrimp wafers common to the Philippines or Indonesia) cost only 30 cents per bag of approximately 60 precooked chips. I found American foods in the imports aisle, and spicy condiments, such as sambal, for 1/10 the price I am accustomed to paying.