Yao Ming

I happened to catch up with Yao Ming in a department store in Shanghai. He's a big guy. That's an understatement. I tried to give him a few pointers, but he just wouldn't listen. He just kept smiling.

Okay, so it wasn't really Yao Ming, but it was a good likeness.

I don't know the name of the department store, although I have been through it dozens of times on the way to and from the metro. It is on the corner of West Nanjing and Xizang Roads. From the People's Square, you can't miss up. On top is the name, "Samsung", in large, multi-colored letters. If you go in the second door from the corner, you will see a life sized model of Yao Ming. Quite often, in the evening, there will be a band playing jazz music and people dancing on the sidewalk near the entrance to where you will find Yao Ming's likeness.

Yao Ming, as you might imagine, is a very popular figure in China, at least in Shanghai. I have people ask me about him all the time. I even have people ask to take a photo with me after asking about him. I suppose that it is because I am American and taller that the average Chinese.

The Chinese do come in all sizes. It is not all that uncommon to see one of the youths over six feet tall. I have even seen a 14 year old girl taller than myself (I'm just under 6' 4"). Some day, someone will perform a study linking the height of the Chinese with the growth of MacDonald's and KFC's in China.

Quanjude Roast Duck Company Restaurant (aka Peking Duck)

Although the Quanjude Roast Duck Company Restaurant represents the Beijing style of cooking, it is one of the must visit restaurants in Shanghai. It is a successful chain across China and is traded on the stock market, I am told. It is commonly referred to simply as the Peking Duck Restaurant. It is one of many great restaurants along Huaihai Road, within a block or so of the Red House and Qian Xiang Ge restaurants and not far from the Grape Restaurant just off Huaihai.

To get there from the People's Square, take Metro Line 1 two stops south the the South Shanxi Road stop. Exit the station on Huaihai Road, Exit 2. Walk east until you see the address, 786 Huaihai Road.

Sometimes the hostesses are standing out front and are easily recognized by their headdress as seen in the photograph on the right. This picture was taken as we were leaving the restaurant. Three of the hostesses were bunched together at the podium. It made for a lovely picture. We asked if we could take their picture. Only one understood the question and agreed. As the picture was taken, one made a hasty exit to the left, another ducked (no pun intended) behind the podium, and the last one gave us a lovely smile.

It is a large restaurant with many tables with a large international crowd. They put on quite a display, with the hostesses and carvers dressing the part.

The specialty, of course, is Peking Duck. The ducks don't have much meat on them, so, as a general rule, order one duck per two people. That's what the Chinese say, at least. We ordered two for the seven of us. With everything else, that was a plenty. The Chinese seem to eat more that the typical westerner, especially when they eat out. (My Shanghainese friend can out eat me two to one. Don't let anyone tell you that these little Chinese girls can't eat.) Once cooked, a carver will come to the table and start slicing. First, he will slice off the skin, with very little meat attached. Then he will slice off more of the skin with meat attached. Next, he will finish slicing off the meat and take the remains back to the kitchen, where they will be prepared it as a soup.

The idea of eating the skin of the duck may not sound appetizing, but I have never run into anyone that hasn't liked it. It is very good. It is served with a tortilla-like shell and two types of vegetable strips and a dipping sauce. You pick up the shell, add the skin and a few veggie strips, and then dip it into the sauce.

The meal ends with the soup made from the remainder of the duck. It makes for a very satisfying meal. I highly recommend it as a place to entertain clients.

We were a content bunch once the duck was finished. Like Shanghai itself, we were an international group, at least by birth: Ethiopian, Filipino, Canadian, American, Romanian, and Chinese.

Jin Mao Observatory (Tower)

The Jin Mao Observatory Tower is the tallest building in use in China, the fifth in the world. It was designed around the number 8. The Chinese have a fascination with the number 8. The Beijing Olympics with begin on 08/08/08. It is associated with prosperity. The name, Jin Mao, means golden prosperity.

The tower has the best view of Pudong and Puxi. If you can only do one or the other of the Pearl Tower or the Jin Mao Tower, the Jin Mao gives one more bang for the buck. The Entrance fee is 70 RMB. It costs 100 RMB for the Pearl Tower. The view is much better from the Jin Mao Tower, although the Pearl Tower has other exhibits beside the view.

It is possible to get to the 87th floor of the 88 story building without paying a fee if you know your way around. It is worth the 70 RMB to go to the top floor. It's amazing just how fast the elevator ride is to the 88th floor.

I've heard that everyone get a free pearl. I didn't get one, but I may have been offered one. I went by the pearl shop. I thought they were trying to sell me something (and they probably were). Oh, well, that would have been worth a quarter.

The build has great views. Internally, one can look down the center to the bottom floor. It's an awesome view.

The Pearl Tower is close by. In fact, the best way to get to the Jin Mao Tower is to take the Line 2 metro from the People's Square towards the east to the Lujiazui stop, then taking the Pearl Tower exit. There is so much construction in the area, you might be able to walk directly to it. I ended up crossing at in front of the Pearl Tower and walking towards the Superbrand Shopping Mall and around the block to the left. It was a good 15 minute walk.

The Pearl Tower is one of the first things that I noticed from the observation deck. Behind it is the Huangpu River, which separates Pudong from Puxi.

The view of both Puxi and Pudong is fabulous. But even on a clear day, the view is hazy in the distance.

The Shanghai World Finance Center will soon be the tallest building in use in China. It is right behind the Jin Mao Tower.

As seen is the last photo taken from the Bund, the Shanghai World Financial Center, the one with the opening at the top, is considerably taller that the Jin Mao Tower. The sun reflecting off the Jin Mao gives it a golden hue in this photo.

Qian Xiang Ge

The Qian Xiang Ge is another of my truly favorite restaurants. I have eaten there more than anywhere else, except the Big Bamboo, the favorite of my western colleagues. There are three of these restaurants in Shanghai. I have eaten at two of them: the one on Huaihai and the one in the Hongmei area.

To get to the one on Huaihai from the People's Square, one can walk or take the Line 1 metro south and get off at the South Shanxi road stop. Take Exit 2 to Huaihai Road. Walk to the east and you will eventually run into it on the right side of the road at 627 Huaihai. Look for the street number, otherwise, it is difficult to find the restaurant. There will be people on the bottom floor that will direct you to the elevator.

The other restaurant is in the Hongmei area. It is best to print the card out above and give it to the taxi driver. It will cost about a 35 RMB from the People's Square. If you are familiar with the Hongmei Entertainement Street, it is a 10 minute or so walk from there. There may be a shorter route, but the one I am familiar with takes you across the street toward the Hong Qiao International Pearl City building. Take a left just on the other side and walk below the Yan'an Elevated Road in the westerly direction. Walk one block to Hongzhong Road. You will see a small market on the corner. Take a left and walk to 525 Hongzhong Road. Again, look for the number because it is difficult to tell that it is a restaurant there. The area may look a little unsavory. You will pass at least a couple of brothels along the way. This is not untypical for a Shanghai neighborhood.

Both have equally great food. However, the atmosphere at the Hongzhong restaurant is much nicer and more open. There are numerous carving, artwork, and what not. It is a very nice place to entertain a group of people. There are private dining rooms upstairs. Unless you go early, you will need a reservation as the Hongzhong restaurant because it gets very busy. It is extremely popular. You shouldn't have a problem getting seated at the Huaihai restaurant anything, except maybe on a Friday night.

They serve the Guizhou style of cooking, which is generally spicy. Qian is the ancient name for Guizhou. I was told that the name, Qian Xiang Ge, means the favors of Guizhou. One of the best things on the menu and a good way to start a meal is the noodles. They have some medium thick noodles served with six or seven spices in separate piles. It also has peanuts and another smaller nut. It is easy to pick out any of the spices you don't like. I did as the locals and mixed it all up. It is very favorable. It is also spicy hot. It will light you up. The only problem that anything you eat after that is physically warm with feel blazing hot. They have other selections that are not that spicy. I have never had anything bad there, but you will get your money's worth out of the traditional cakes. It has a sesame seed filling. It is so chewy that you will gnawing at it for quite a while. It is about the gooiest thing I have ever tried to eat. I couldn't eat but one. Some Shanghainese complain that the food is too greasy, so be aware of that.

One of the most interesting menu selections is the Stewing Ass in Various Allspice. I inquired. It is actually ass meat. So, if you want a little ass with your dinner, you can having it there.

Shanghai Exhibition Center

The last housing exhibition was held two years ago in Shanghai. I was fortunate to catch the one this year at the Shanghai Exhibition Center. The Shanghai Exhibition Center is on West Nanjing Road. The easiest way to get there from the People's Square is to take Line 2 in the westerly direction to the Jing'An Temple stop. From there, walk east on Nanjing Road for 15 minutes or so. You can't miss it. It is a grand old building or series of buildings. The main building has a high, narrow, golden spire with a star on top. The build has seen its better days, but it is still a magnificent building. The way Shanghai is growing, it wouldn't surprise me to see it destroyed and a modern building put in its place.

It was a weekend. I went with my Shanghainese friend. In the course of my three week stay, she leased an apartment, moved in, and moved out. She was fortunate to find someone to take over the least. She is very much interested in her own place. The place she was in before moving back in with her parents was just a little too shabby for her. It wasn't that bad. It looked like it had been re-wallpapered in the last ten years. It wasn't so bad to have to use a flashlight to go up three flights of stairs. I suppose one eventually gets use to the smell of the nearby market, apparently a seafood market. It was a very dark, eerie walk to the apartment. The building itself was solid, but it appeared as though tenants threw up a couple of poles and put tin on top to create an extra room outside on the bottom floors. You could usually see a bed through the cracks. Quite often, there was a group of men sitting around playing cards or some other game. After the first night there, her neighbors below complained that she walked to loud. It was the best she could find for 1,200 RMB a month in Pu Dong, a good chuck of an engineer's salary. She wanted to be closer to her new job so she could put in more of an effort at work than into the hour and a half ride to her parents place. The place just didn't work out for her. The area was just south of the main financial center. Apartments sold for about 20,000 RMB per square meter in that area, even the old ones. Most of the old one were slated for demolition. When demolished, the government gives the owners new apartments plus some bonus money, so that probably explains the high prices.

There must have been hundred or more developers there. There was a wide variety of price ranges, from around 7,600 RMB for a bottom apartment in the middle of nowhere on up. After deciding on one we liked, we signed up to go see it. We chose one developed by Gemdale in north Pu Dong. At the appointed hour, we all gathered around. We were given identification cards to put around our necks. Then we all followed a person holding up a sign for the developer to the buses outside. We loaded ourselves on the bus and took an hour or so ride to the development. It didn't take too long after getting out of the city weekend traffic.

We were taken to one of the apartments that they had finished. Construction was going on around it, so we had to wear hard hats. No one likes to live on the bottom floor, so we started on the second floor. We were all issued booties so we wouldn't dirty up the floors. It was a very nice three bedroom place with a wrap-around balcony and an office. The elevator was built into the apartments. It was very solidly constructed. There was a breeze way where one could put a washing machine and hang clothes out to dry without showing the laundry to the world. It was a place that a westerner would feel very comfortable living. The first three bedroom was 150 square meters. The apartments sold for approximately 16,500 RMB per square meter. The complex is about 45 minutes from downtown in the middle of nowhere. The third floor also had 3 bedrooms, but the rooms were much smaller. The next two floors were 89 square meter, two bedroom apartments. The fourth floor also had a nice balcony; however, the top floor did not have one, as well as I remember; however, it had stairs leading to the top of the building, where the owner would have a large wooden deck on top--very, very nice. It was obvious, however, that the top apartment was much warmer. The complex was a 10-20 minute walk to the Line 6 metro. The two bedroom sold for 1.5 million RMB, or approximately $225,000 for the declining dollar. Not bad for being just outside a major, international city. However, if one considers the typically salary, it is well out of reach for the typical Chinese, but there were plenty of lookers.

We went back to the Exhibition Center and found another one in north Puxi, west of the river. It was in an area where buildings had been demolished to make room for the new apartments. I really don't know where I was, but there was plenty of the old town around. There was no nearby metro, so one would have to ride a bicycle to the nearest bus stop or metro. The apartments looked nice enough, but although they were 89 square meters, the same as the ones on the top floor at the Gemdale development, they felt much smaller due to the inefficient use of space. Although not cheaply constructed, the construction was nothing like the quality of the Gemdale development. It was pretty much an updated version of a typical Chinese apartment where one hangs laundry out the window on bamboo poles. It had a small balcony with a connection for a washing machine. If one put a washing machine there, the balcony was so small that it wouldn't be useful for much else. The apartments sold for approximately 14,000 RMB per square meter. My Shanghainese friend liked this one better, because it was more affordable. It wasn't an apartment where a typical westerner might live and it wasn't in a good location, no where near her work. Although less expensive, it has less chance of appreciating in value. The Gemdale property was, in my option, a better deal.

Relative to the typical salary, even for an engineer, the housing in Shanghai is incredibly expensive. To get a place to live, one pretty much has to have a working partner and be willing to travel an hour or two to work everyday. Maybe it is normal for a big city. The wages in Shanghai seemed to be out of line with what it takes to live there. One can't help but wonder how long this can last. It's a little less expensive to eat out in Shanghai, but to buy groceries in a typical supermarket such as the Carrefour, it's at least as expensive as it is in the rest of the world. With the low labor costs, it doesn't add much more to eat out. The street markets are cheaper. Some look like good places to buy food, but others are not. Some street markets have their goods literally on the streets. I have seen meat for sale unwrapped and in open containers where shoppers shuffle through the meats to find just the right one.

Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center

The Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center is an excellent place to spend half a day, if you are interested in Shanghai's history and its future. Admission is 30 RMB. Upon entering, one will see a cheesy model of the development along the Huangpu river. You might be disappointed at having spent 30 RMB at that point. There isn't much to guide you. I thought that the first floor was all there was. I went to the second floor and there was nothing there. On to the third floor. On the third floor, it is like "Wow". There is a scale model of the entire city. It is very impressive. On the fourth floor, you can get a bird's eye view of the model.

In addition, the history of Shanghai is on display. There are many pictures on display of the old Shanghai. Then there there is a model of Yuyuan (Yu Gardens). There are a number of books with pictures of Shanghai as well. There are other displays that depict the history of Shanghai. Most everything has been translated into English, so it is easy to follow along.

Also, there is a section on the metro that shows the present and future metro lines in Shanghai. It is very important to know this if you are interested in buying property in Shanghai. I spent an entire day at an housing exhibit at the Shanghai Exhibition Center off West Nanjing Road. It impressed upon me how important the metro is to these new developments. That is a subject for a another post.

I spent about an hour and a half there. I needed more time, but I had a previous engagement. One could easily spend a half day there. It is well worth the 30 RMB.

The Urban Planning Center is located in the People's Square. It is hard to miss. However, it looks similar to the Shanghai Grand Theater at first glance. The Theater has a curved roof. The Urban Planning Center is located next to Xizang (Tibet) Road.

See the pictures and movies below of the city model:

The Grape Restaurant

The Grape Restaurant in Shanghai is truly one of my favorite restaurants. It is located beside (perhaps part of) an old Russian Orthodox church just off Huaihai Road. It the photo below, the entrance is at the green awning.

The food has always been good. It has a large selection, from the traditional Shanghai food with its sweet taste to Beijing style food such as duck skin. I have never been disappointed. I didn't realize that there was an upstairs until the last time I was there. I was surprised to see that the upstairs was entirely filled with westerners, mostly French. The French are always a good sign that the food is good.

It is a small restaurant with seven or so tables downstairs and another six or seven tables on the split level upstairs. The staff is friendly and few even speak English. Although a simply restaurant, the atmosphere is conducive to conversation. The menu has pictures and accurate English translations. One of my favorites is the cashew chicken. Another is the duck skin. I don't think that I could quite call it Peking duck, since it is only the skin. It might not sound to appetizing, but I have never seen anyone who tried that did not like it. The skin is served with tortilla-like shells. The skin is placed in the shell, then a few strips of vegetables are added along with some sauce. There is only one other place in Shanghai of which I am aware that you can find better.

It is easy to find from the People's Square. Take the second stop south, the South Shanxi Road stop, on Line 1in the direction of Xin Zhuang. Leave the station through the Huaihai Road exit, Exit 2, I believe it is. Head west on Huaihai.to Xiangyang Road. Take a right on Xiangyang Road. Go one block to Xinle Road. The Chuch and restaurant will be on the left. Enter at the green awning.

Alternatively, it can be a pleasant 45 minute walk from the People's Square. Walk south on Xizang (Tibet) Road, cross Yan'an Road via the elevated crosswalk, and then go two blocks to Huaihai Road. Head west, away from the Pearl Tower, if you can see that in the distance (you can always look at the street signs). You will pass two metro stops on the way. After the second one, the South Shanxi Road station, go another block or so to Xiangyang Road, where you will take a right for one block to Xinle Road. It will be on the left.

You will pass many great restaurants on the way there, including Cowland, the Red House, Qian Xiang Ge, and the Quanjude Roast Duck Company. You will also come within a block of Xin Tian Di.

Why not check out Ten Fu's Tea Shop on the way back.

Buying Pearls

Shopping for pearls was quite the experience. I found myself in the Hongmei Entertainment Street area with time to kill. There was a market across the street that I had always wanted to check out called something like the Hong Qiao Handicraft Market. I stumbled across the Hong Qiao International Pearls City on the second floor. There must be 50 or more shops that sell mostly pearls.

Not knowing much about pearls, I set about to learn as much as I could by going shop to shop. They all pretty much told me the same thing about how to tell if the pearls are real. They will take a knife or a pair of scissors and scrap the surface of the pearls. If they are real, the pearl will retain its luster. One saleswoman demonstrated on both fake and real pearls. The fake pearl did not retain its luster where it was scraped. Also, if the pearls are real, if you rub them together, they will feel gritty. The fake ones will feel smooth.

Most of the pearls are freshwater pearls. They have the saltwater pearls, if you ask for them. The saltwater pearls are about twice as expensive. The reason is that they have to drive for the pearls in deep water and each oyster only contains one pearl. The one pearl, however, is always spherical in shape. The freshwater pearls are cultivated in shallow waters and each oyster can contain up to 5 pearls. The freshwater pearls are more durable, as one saleswoman demonstrated by crushing a saltwater pearl with a pair of pliers. The freshwater pearls come in all shapes, from nearly rectangular to elliptical to spherical.

In general, they will try to sell you the lesser quality pearls. One can buy these dirt cheap, if you bargain with them. To get to the higher quality pearls that are nearly spherical and with few defects, one has to ask for them. Once one starts looking at the pearls, they will do whatever they can to keep you from going elsewhere. I wanted to learn something about pearls, so I went place to place.

I ultimately decided to bargain with RuRu at the Xiao Qiu (Little Ball) Pearls and Jewelry. She has a partner called Candy, whom I never met. She was very delightful to deal with and spoke exceptional English and offered the best prices. It took a while to get to her best price. Of course, she was only willing to give me her best price because I was her "first customer of the day". They all told me this ...lol. She seemed to be popular as a couple of former customers stopped by just to say, "Hello".

In the end, I bought two necklaces of her best 10 mm pearls. I got her to throw in a pair of matching earrings for each. She replaced the string with a silk string and knotted everyone so that if it were to break the pearls would not be lost. Then she attached the clasp. Her speed and agility at putting the necklaces together while carrying on a conversation with me and managing to sell me some jade in the process was remarkable. She told me all about jade and how to tell if it is real and how to judge the best quality. She explained a lot about pearls as well, saying that the 10mm pearls were 10 years in the making. She carefully packaged each necklace and pair of earrings in a separate box so the pearls would not rub together. If you see RuRu, say "Hi" for me.

It was a very pleasant experience and I highly recommend it. It you don't like bargaining, however, you may not enjoy it.

The best way to get there is to take a taxi. The address is as follows:

Candy and RuRu
Xiao Qiu Pearls and Jewelry, G055
Hong Qiao International Pearls City, Second Floor
3712 Hongmei Road
Chang Ning, District, Shanghai

Email: Candyru@163.com

One can get close by taking Line 2 from the People's Square to the Zhong Shan Park stop, then taking Line 4 one stop south to West Yan'an Road and then taking a taxi from there. It is possible to walk from there following the Yan'an Elevated Road to the west. I've done it. It takes an hour or more. Just be careful; Yan'an Road hooks right and you have to cross a major road to follow it. Eventually, you will run into Hongmei Road. Go left. It is just a short walk from there on the right side of the road. If you run into the Hongmei Entertainment Road, you have gone too far.

The Ultimate Chinese Buffet

Image an endless buffet of the finest Chinese food and you have the restaurant in the Superbrand shopping center in Pudong, Shanghai. At 220 RMB (about $31) per person, it is expensive for a Chinese restaurant, but it is well worth it. The buffet includes food, drink, and dessert. Red wine, white wine, beer, tea, fruit juice, and about anything you can image is included in the price. Haagen-dazs ice cream is one of the featured desserts, but there are many other selections.

The restaurant is locate just across the street from the Pearl Tower. Coming from the People's Square, it is the second stop, Lujiazui, on Line 2 going east towards the Science Center. During the day, it is easy to see the name, Superbrand, on the outside of the mall. However, at night, with all the other lights, it can be difficult to see because it is not lit up. The restaurant is located on the 7th floor. Take the elevator to the 7th floor. Upon exiting the elevator, you will see the Banana Leaf restaurant. This is an excellent Thai restaurant, by the way. Head to the right and you will eventually see the restaurant. If you see the Charm Restaurant, you have gone too far. It is difficult to tell that it is a buffet from the outside. There will be a podium on the outside the restaurant. You will be asked to pay in advance before you are seated. Just one warning, there are no English descriptions on the food, but it is hard to go wrong.

The seafood is superb. I didn't try the fish, but I did have eel. There is a area that allows you to select a variety of seafood, which they will cook for you in a spicy hot broth. I had shrimp and some unidentifiable seafood. Ah, it was so delicious. Then there is pork, chicken, and beef as well as a variety of soup and vegetables. And if that doesn't suit you, then there aare bamboo worms. They are not bad really as they were fried and crispy. The buffet seems to go on for miles.

The only problem is there are so many people. It is not just the patrons but the large number of staff, including the people putting out the food, busboys, and people mopping the floor. You can stand there a minute or two waiting to cross the aisle sometimes.

It is hard to image a better place. However, there is a restaurant called the Golden Jaguar (some call it the Golden Leopard) in the Hongmei area that some say is the best buffet in Shanghai. I have seen it, but I have never tried it. It is on my "To do" list. I can't wait.