Saturday, February 21, 2009

Photo special: Shanghai's old town





Yes, the Old town of Shanghai is a total tourist trap, however, I still find it kind of cozy, with yummy xiaolongbaos (a type of baozi with soup inside), not to mention the fact that it's a good place for people watching and photo snapping. (Note, all these photos weren't taken on the same day -as you might notice there's a bit of different season going on).

I'd never recommend anyone to go there for shopping, Shanghai has much better places for that, however, the Yu Yuan is kind of nice (but give that famous -and expensive- tea house in the middle of the garden a miss).









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28 comments:

  1. JosieFebruary 21, 2009 at 7:48 AM

    Beautiful pictures, it makes me want to visit China right this second!

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  2. bARE-eYED sUNFebruary 21, 2009 at 7:48 AM

    nice.

    hey, what are those "little people" in the last picture? is it something edible?

    i enjoyed today's post, thank you. :-)

    ..
    .ero

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  3. ColleenFebruary 21, 2009 at 8:20 AM

    What a beautiful place. That looks like one tourist trap I wouldn't mind going to.

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  4. AnonymousFebruary 21, 2009 at 8:20 AM

    Wow, I don't mind if it's a tourist trap, it's just beautiful. And as long as you don't buy anything, taking pictures is always free :)

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  5. Stories by Nigel Kip RoiFebruary 21, 2009 at 9:24 AM

    Your blog is a real treat!. here is a link to some interesting pictures re: Year of the Ox from a another site I enjoy.

    http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/01/chinese_new_year_welcoming_the_1.html

    armchair expat.

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  6. The Acolyte TaoFebruary 21, 2009 at 9:45 AM

    What an awesome place, the school of fish look so cool in the first picture.

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  7. SunJuneFebruary 21, 2009 at 10:48 AM

    所有照片都很有中国风（style of china).

    =^-^=

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  8. Lost in AmericanaFebruary 21, 2009 at 11:04 AM

    I like how little kids in China are wrapped up in red coats, wearing the symbolic colour of good luck. It adds to their adorable cuteness [also triggers memories of my long lost childhood!]

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  9. KawaiiFebruary 21, 2009 at 12:09 PM

    You have taken some absoloutely stunning pictures. Id love to visit china some day. one of my s in life is to learn japanese and then hopefully live there. and work in a japanese maid cafe lol..random i know. I find the japanese and chinese culture and history fascinating, and so in mysterious. China looks like one mystery of the orient i must explore.

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  10. AnonymousFebruary 21, 2009 at 1:37 PM

    Thanks for posting the pictures. It made me remember I went there a few years ago.

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  11. zuaaFebruary 21, 2009 at 1:44 PM

    no trap ,this is china.

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  12. TraffFebruary 21, 2009 at 3:44 PM

    I loved Old Town. But agree with your comments re the tea house... there are much better ones elsewhere :)

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  13. JFebruary 21, 2009 at 4:02 PM

    And it's a fantastic place to get lost in too...or perhaps that's just me.

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  14. boston blondFebruary 21, 2009 at 6:10 PM

    I was here a couple of days ago, and I feel like description "tourist trap" is not far off. Do you recommend any places in the Shanghai area that worth seeing, but not so packed/ridiculous?

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  15. AnonymousFebruary 21, 2009 at 6:17 PM

    i love those small porcelain doll who can pee if you fill them with water :-)

    btw jonna, put up some pics with you and friends. get personal! :)

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  16. Jonna WibeliusFebruary 21, 2009 at 6:46 PM

    Shopgirl -sorry, I don't do those sort of blog posts.. my personal life is my personal life :) I prefer to keep it that way.

    boston blond -I like to walk around in the French concession, then up towards Jing'an and get lost on small roads..

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  17. Brad FarlessFebruary 22, 2009 at 1:27 AM

    @Kanmuri,

    I've been a few places where I was asked to pay after taking a picture. Of course I told them to get real and kept walking, but they weren't happy about it.

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  18. NancyFebruary 22, 2009 at 1:44 AM

    Thank you for allowing me a glimpse into China from a very different perspective. I love your pictures.

    Are those little people in the last picture CHOCOLATE?

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  19. Koop TribeFebruary 22, 2009 at 5:28 AM

    Thank-you. We lived in Shanghai a few years ago, and this was a bit of walk down memory lane. We lived there with our 3 children then ages 4,2,9months. My children are blonde, so you can imagine the attention we attracted. We made the mistake of stopping to eat, and suddenly I was surrounded by a LARGE crowd all videoing and take shots of me and my kids eating. We quickly escaped into the paid garden(well worth the money). Not one of my best moments with cultural differences of boundaries. But I did love it there.
    Love your blog.

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  20. Brad FarlessFebruary 22, 2009 at 9:16 AM

    @Koop Tribe,

    The idea of a paid garden was something I'd never heard of until recently. A friend said they have them in UAE too. I've never been to a park in the US that was paid...

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  21. Jonna WibeliusFebruary 22, 2009 at 10:17 AM

    A lot of you have been asking about the 'little people' in the last pic... If I remember things correctly they are not edible... I think they are made of clay or porcelain?

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  22. heyjuliaFebruary 22, 2009 at 11:14 AM

    Personally I don't fancy diving into the huge crowd of YuYuan,only because there are too many people there.But I love your pictures,they are wonderful,I see beauty in them!serious:)Some of the "little people"looks like"蜡笔小新"--a naughty boy character in a Japanese cartoon...

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  23. AnonymousFebruary 22, 2009 at 1:29 PM

    china is one of most beautiful place, i always dreams to go there

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  24. Dr Sofea J.Ann TanFebruary 22, 2009 at 1:34 PM

    ITS SO BEAUTIFUL !!!
    MAKES ME WANNA VISIT THE LAND MY ANCESTOTS LEFT YEARS & YEARS AGO...

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  25. bARE-eYED sUNFebruary 22, 2009 at 7:44 PM

    Jonna, not edible? . . . *sheeesh* and here i was fantasizing about chocolate people. :-0

    they ARE cute, though. :-)

    thanks for the response.

    ..
    .ero

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  26. AnonymousFebruary 23, 2009 at 3:55 AM

    the little people are crayon shin! I used to watch that all the time when i was a kid =]

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  27. vivacemusicaFebruary 23, 2009 at 2:18 PM

    I have one of those "little people" things in that last picture! Definitely NOT chocolate.... They're clay/terracotta, and you're supposed to drop them into your pot of tea. When you take them out, they "pee" out of a tiny hole in you-know-where.... My brother brought one back from his trip to China -- just the sort of thing he would find fascinating. :-)

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  28. sheri amorMarch 2, 2009 at 7:37 PM

    cute it's crayon chin chan

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