Shanghai knights

Hello everyone!

It almost has been a week since you've heard from us. As you know we are travelling through China and because we want to see a lot in the time we are here, we don't have a lot time to keep you guys up to date. Time passes by when you are having a good time. But since we owe you a full report of China, I'm going to describe what we've done one Wednesday and Thursday.

The second stop on our tight schedule was Shanghai, the most crowded city of the country.

We already had decided to visit this city in the preparations of our journey. We knew Shanghai is a wealthy city because of its flourishing economy and its industry. So we knew we were going to arrive in a rather touristic part of the country. Still, it seemed interesting to us because we hear a lot about the strong and upcoming economy of China so we needed to check that out. We hoped to have a complete view of China after our lodging there so that includes fashion and finances as well. Too bad we didn't have a lot time but we did the possible to see as much of the city as we could.

The first part of the day we decided to act like real tourists and we visited the touristic center of Shanghai. Soon we noticed why the city is one of the most prosperous in the world. The city looks very modern and even a bit futuristic. Gigantic buildings with illuminated signs, just as other enormous cities like New York. Shanghai really has a cosmopolitan character. We couldn't help it to take a look in the big shopping streets and shopping centers. Everywhere in the city, you see shops and financial institutes. Business and economy are everything in Shanghai. After a half day of shopping, we had lunch in a nice restaurant. In the afternoon, we decided to go visit some of the eccentric buildings in the financial district. The city has set up a complete financial institution including commercial banks, securities companies, insurance companies etc. A well known area in that district is the Pudong, home of several financial institutions including the stock exchange. It's also well known for its beautiful skyline with the symbolic Oriental Pearl Tower. You definitely have to see this skyline at night! Shanghai was worth the visit, too bad we already had to leave after one day.

On Thursday morning, we packed our bags and took the train to ZhengZhou, a city not that far from Shanghai. Zhengzhou is totally different compared to Shanghai. Most of the buildings are more traditional but off course there's a modern city center as well. Wednesday was all about economy, finances and the modern way of life. Thursday, we learned more about the tradition and culture of China. We visited the Shaolin center. The temple is not only a Buddhist shrine but also the ancient center of Chines kung-fu. The Western world knows the monastery from the martial arts but its also part of the UNESCO world heritage. In the past, the monastery has been destroyed and rebuilt several times. We've heard a lot of anecdotes about the Shaolin and their monks but I've remembered one to tell you guys. The anecdote is about the spreading of the Shaoling kung-fu and the martial arts in general. After one of the many attacks on the monastery, five monks had to flee. In order to stay alive and save the monastery, they needed to recruit some new fighters. In that way, the Shaolin kung-fu has spread trough the country and later on, even through the world.

After we had visited the Shaolin center, we anticipated the rest of the day to walk in one of the five sacred mountains of Taoism in China, the Mount Song or Song Shan. Mount Song is the home of the Shaolin temple and considered to be the birthplace of Zen Buddhism. In that way, the mount represents Buddhism as well as Taoism, another Chinese religious path where they focus on nature. That's not surprising of you see the nature around there.

We walked 1500 meters above sea level and the nature was really thrilling. Everywhere around the mountain, you find Buddhist and Taoist temples and tribes amongst the beautiful trees and vegetation.

Thursday was a tiring day and we were glad when we made it back to the hotel. In the morning, it was already time to leave this beautiful city as well...