First full day in Shanghai!

I spent the day seeing the quintessential Shanghai! I went to a couple beautiful parks - and was shocked to find a “marriage market” happening at one of them. Apparently it goes on every weekend. Basically, parents/grandparents gather and advertise their “eligible” family members. The sheer volume was overwhelming.

Then I went to Yu Garden - it’s more of a “complex” than a garden. It was built in 1559 as a gift. . I know I’m going to see much older things here, but the age of everything is amazing. The first recorded dynasty dates back to almost 2000 bc!

After that I headed a ways out of town to the French Quarter. The French concession happened in 1849 - 163 acres in the heart of Shanghai was given to the French as part of a treaty after the opium wars. It still maintains a very European vibe even tho it reverted back to Chinese ownership in 1949.

While I was sitting on a wall, resting my feet a group of about 8 very fun women came up and asked to take a picture with me. 😂 I ended up taking a pic myself of two of them who had attempted to talk with me. I do stand out some here. I don’t know if I’ve seen ANY gray haired women - and very few caucasians. I get a lot of stares.

And then finally I finished the night back at the Yu Garden area to see the “old streets” lit up. The lanterns were really beautiful - I don’t think the pics can do it justice.

Steps: 22,918
Miles: 9.39Read more