Jing'an Temple

Last week, Chris and I took the Metro into Puxi, to Jing'an Temple.  The temple is one of the major tourists destination inside Shanghai, and has a lot of history - it was built in 247 AD.  The name means "Temple of Peace and Prosperity".  When entering the courtyard, like all the other temples, there is the strong smell of incense.  People burn incense to clear the air of unwanted spirits.  Visitors toss coins into the iron pagoda to make an offering to Buddha, and hope for good fortune.

Chris

tossing coins

incense

incense holder

Jing'an Temple sits amongst modern high-rise buildings and hotels in Shanghai.  Inside the courtyard, there are three main halls. The architecture is impressive not only because of when it was actually produced, but because of all the detail work.  Two carved silver chairs are decorated with lotus and chrysanthemum flowers, really beautiful.

 silver chair

carved wooden balconies

Sakyamuni Buddha, the first Buddha

Myanmar white jade, 11 tons

Guanyin Bodhisattva, Buddhist Goddess of Mercy

Carved from 1000year  Camphor wood tree

In the main hall, there is a floor-to-ceiling marble and jade mural depicting different scenes from the life of Buddha.  It was so startling, yet impressive.  Inlaid are carvings of different colors of jade, marble, mother-of-pearl and other precious stones.  Visitors can get right up in front of it, and touch the detail.  There are no ropes or stations to keep you back a few feet.

Jing'an Temple is also a working monastery.  At noon, the monks came out and performed a short ceremony.  Then a family gathered, and burned papers and photos in a small bin.  I think this may have been some sort of funeral rite.

Jing'an skyline

Monks

This statue is in front of the main doors to the temple.  It depicts a female Imperial Guardian Lion restraining a playful cub.  Looks pretty ferocious to me.

Jing'an Park is just across West Nanjing Road from the temple.  It is ancient, with traditional stone walkways and twisting steps.  You can really feel old Imperial Chinese history here.   We walked along the paths, and came upon small tea pavilions and ponds with koi.  People bring snacks and drinks, and take a break in the shade.  Old men play cards.  It's really serene and beautiful - no sports fields or kids areas.  

park entry

stone steps

 pavilion

feeding coi

hey, get off the phone!

old rampart wall 

lotus

restaurant by the pond

stone walkway

Things I saw this week in Shanghai…

I recently went to my regular plant shop in Jinqiao.  Jeri's plant store is in a strip mall, and is packed with plants, trees, etc.  As I was leaving through an alley, I walked through a make-shift bird market.  Lots of wild and domestic birds, and trays of grubs and meal worms to feed them with.  Everything was really haphazard, and there was a woman sitting and hand-feeding a black bird a paste that looked like mashed rice and wheat.  Unexpected, and fascinating - a lot like Shanghai.
     In China, keeping song birds is an old tradition.  Emperors used to keep song birds, and the more beautiful the song, and the more colorful the bird, the more it valuable he was.  In the country, it's not unusual to see people taking their birds (in their cages) out for walks in the morning.  China is the only country where people walk their birds, and eat their dogs.

Ok,…so wasn't this Furby a trend / hot toy / fad over 10 years ago?  I saw this display at Carrefore.  It wouldn't be so strange if it weren't equal to $114.00 each.  How is that ok?

     These bottled Bacardi mixed drinks reminded me of Club Cocktails in a can from long ago (I'm totally dating myself).  The Bacardi is mixed with lemon-lime, ginger ale or coca-cola, and is $2.20 each.  I don't know why it's ok that their logo is a bat.  

rip off

with Lemon-Lime, Gingerale

with Coca-Cola

Used my new Sukiyaki pot this week - nailed it!  Back in the US, this clay pot would be around $100 dollars.  I bought it at the restaurant supply store in Puxi for around $10.  I also used the Midea pressure cooker to make dinner the other night.  Chris had asked someone at work to interpret the front of the cooker for me.  I cooked chicken with potatoes and carrots.  It reminded me of New England boiled dinners, but with chicken.  Really moist, and with a nice broth that the kids poured over their potatoes.  The Chinese like to use pressure cookers, like we in the US like our slow-cookers.  Pressure cookers are helpful making rice porridge and congee, very common Chinese breakfast items.

Sukiyaki

pressure cooker

dinner!

Fresh Mart Store

We are lucky to have a small convenience store in our residence complex.  It's similar to a Stop-N-Go, or 7-11 store.  There is beer and wine, and basics like bread, eggs, etc. The girls are allowed to go to the store on Fridays after school, and buy something with their allowance.  Usually candy or ice cream. 

    Since we live in an expat heavy area, lots of items they stock cater to us.  But some items are just strange.  I saw a bag of Aji-No-Moto - pure MSG.  I haven't seen one in years.  When I was growing up, my family used to sprinkle it on food and cook with it.  Then we found out it may cause cancer, so we stopped.  

Creamed Smoked Roe

$32.24 for (2)

Big Bag of MSG

Bag of MSG - comes w free drink 

Aji-No-Moto (Japanese MSG)

The prices are higher than in a Chinese store, but about the same or a little lower than the import stores like Olé and CityShop.  But you really can't beat the convenience.  

Emily & Katie

     A few weeks ago, Emily's 5th grade participated in the "Invention Convention".  All the students created a product and then made display boards.  They also had to demonstrate it's use.  A group of judges then rated their ideas and gave out awards.  Chris was one of the judges.  Emily created a candy bracelet.  It could be worn like a watch, and had a compartment that could hold candy.  So if you were getting low blood sugar and were on a bike ride, you could have a handy snack on your wrist.  Everyone that visited her display could take a candy sample from her bracelet.

Chris & Emily

Emily & her friend Valentina

candy bracelet

The girls got to spend the day with their favorite baby-sitter, Sirine.  They had lunch at California Pizza Kitchen, went to the Adventure Zone in Kerry Sports, and had a Happy Lemon treat.  

     The girls loved it, and they loved her.  Sirine works with Chris for Disney, and was here on a business trip for a few weeks.  She is so much more fun than Mommy, totally.

Sirine, Katie & Emily

Pizzas!

Adventure Zone

The girls are almost finished with their first year at Shanghai Community International School.  The last day of school is June 14th.  And just like back in Pasadena, the last month of school is very busy.  

Last week, the girls both performed with their classes in the SCIS Spring show.  The 5th graders also spent a day on the middle school campus.  They were given tours and saw a show put on for them by the older students.  

     They were also able to pick their "House Team" for middle school.  Think Harry Potter.  The students participate in House Team activities that combine kids from 6th, 7th and 8th grades, from all different countries and cultures. The House teams are given points for non-athletic competitions, i.e, raising money for a local migrant school, decorating for spirit weeks, participation in recycling drives, etc.  I think it's a great idea.  The older kids become mentors & friends to the younger kids.  The houses are: Monkey, Ox, Snake and Tiger.  Emily is a Monkey.  

    Katie has an after-school movie party this week with all the 2nd grade, and an Ice Cream / Bounce House Party the last week of school.  

     Both girls have made some really nice friends this year, girls from the US, as well as from all over the world.  I think this is the biggest benefit of living here in China.  Yes, their school is great - A Private International Education is something we could never manage back home.  But more important is their ability to learn first-hand that all kids are the same from all over.  Some good, some bad.  And that they can make friends with different people, and be accepted by different people as well.