I have survived my first day of sight-seeing.  In the morning I was the only one on the guided tour, so I got a one-on-one experience.  It was spectacular because the tour guide kept giving me her opinion and side stories of her experiences. 

In the morning, we started out by going to the Shanghai museum.  They have great collections of where China's history came from.  They had displays on the minorities (non-Han) costumes dating back thousands of years.  The color, uniqueness, and distinctiveness were incredible, especially considering how long ago they were fabricated.  There was also a collection of the different Chinese currencies dating back from the time of the silk-road trade.  Once again, the intracasies were incredible.  It is hard to imagine how something so small and so precise could be made thousands of years ago,

Next we walked around People's Square.  It is compared to Beijing's Tiananmen Square because the area is lined with political offices.  It is hard to believe that such a beautifual square exists among the skyskrapers and the smag (I have not seen the sun in four days!). 

We then went to the Pearl Gallery.  I got to see how the pearls are obtained and what the different sized pearls are used for.  Also, the pink and lavendar pearls are unique to China.  They believe them to be some of the specialistist and best to wear.  The tour guide also showed me how to determine real pearls from fake.  It will be very exciting if ever I go shopping for pearls here.

I got to go to the Jade Buddha Temple as well.  Many Chinese still go there to worship and pray for safety (especially for those in Sichuan) to the Buddha and the four directions.  The white Jade Buddha that is displayed at the temple is one of the few religious sacrements that survived the cultural revolution and Chairman Mao's destruction of religion.  Chou Enlai, one of the leaders during this time, told the monks of the temple to wear PLA uniforms and pretend as if the temple had already been searched and occupied.  Then, they put a picture of Chairman Mao over the front of the Jade Buddha's display because photos of Mao could never be town down.  This way, the temple was able to save the Jade Buddha.  Also, at this temple, there is the Buddha Tea Ceremony.  It is one of the few places in Shanghai that you can still buy authentic, herbal medicine tea leaves.  It is truly the best tea I have tasted.  Also the way they make the tea is unique and still done based on tradition.  At the temple, one of the Chinese who was displaced from Sichuan wrote my name in Chinese for me.  The "leigh" part of my name means beautiful - so I am "beautiful girl".  That was a great ego booster - good choice mom and dad!

Starting off the afternoon, we went to the Yuyuan Garden.  The area is one of the oldest in Shanghai.  It began as a gerneral's home for his parents.  Then business bought it after the general's death.  It was absolutely stunning.  The use of unique design and tradition (feng shi, dragons, women v men) made it a serene and historical location.  Because it is one of the oldes sites in Shanghai, there are always people flowing in an dout.

Finally, we went to the silk factory and I was able to see how the silk worms matured and then how the silk was obtained.  Aside from most of the work being done manually, there still remains a key part of the Chinese tradition instilled in the process.  For example, when weaving the individual silk strands together from individual worms, it is always done with eight worms (since eight is China's lucky number).

Well that is all for now.  Hope everyone is doing well!