We went to Old Town, which is a modern shopping area modelled using classical architecure. It's pretty cool, because much of Shanghai is melting into western style buildings, boring skyscrapers and apartments.
Old Town is a very cool shopping experience and you can find all sorts of stuff to buy. It's a full on 360 experience, you are surrounded by these style of buildings. Very impressive.
We also went to Mr Pan's Garden. In China Gardens aren't like our western conception of gardens. They are more like landscaped areas, complexes with water and sculpted stone.
This statue has a funny story. Basically the symbol of the emporer is the dragon and no one is suppossed to use it. The emperor learned that Mr Pan had a dragon and said he was going to go see it and then kill Mr Pan. Mr Pan heard about this and chopped off the legs of the dragon. When the emporer arrived, he said it was a snake and got away with it.
These kinds of structures are common in Chinese gardens. They are rock deposits worn away in rivers, they are attached with an ancient glue mixture of limestone and sticky rice.
Old Town at night was pretty boss.
Especially as it has the bath house from Spirited Away in it.
Mr. Pan was a fucking boss.
Awesome stuff GG. I especially love the garden pics.
Mr. Pan should have just had the dragon kill the emperor.
You have to imagine how wealthy this guy was, he had stones cut from a mountainside, kilometres away and transported all the way over to build his garden. Back then, no cranes, no lorries. Just people busting their balls for a rich guy.
We actually saw a couple of other chinese gardens in a different city, they all look fairly similar though Mr Pans was the best of the lot.
Imagine an old chinese house, the garden is at the centre in a large square shape with interconnected corridors and walkways weaving throughout. The actual house structure is the outer bit of the square. It must have been very fun for kids to mess about in.
But you don't have to pay slaves much.
The garden or Old Town?
I love this pic the most as it captures part of the feeling, how it would be if you lived back then and if you could imagine people on the balconies doing washing or having tea or something. It's a full 360 degree experience, I captured a video, you can look all around you and you are encapsulated by these buildings. Sure the bottom of the buildings are touristy shops but it's a lot of fun, there is tons of stuff to buy and at night the lights come on and it looks awesome.
Did you hook up with a cute chinese girl while over there?
Featuring historical McDonald's replica.