The current building for the Shanghai Museum was built in 1996 and was designed with a round top and square base to symbolize the Chinese belief that the sky is round and the earth is square.
The museum has over 12,000 pieces in their collection, which includes jade, bronze, furniture, sculptures, coins, and assorted paintings and calligraphy.
One of the artifacts at the museum was a porcelain statue from the Tang Dynasty of a "heavenly guardian" that was standing on a baby. We also saw some interesting masks and pottery.
There was a very impressive model at the Shanghai City Planning Museum that was a huge scale model of the city of Shanghai.
After the museum, we took a short walk along the Bund, a waterfront walkway with beautiful views of the city. Shanghai in this area was a modern beautiful city complete with skyscrapers and traffic.
Fang Bang Road is the center of old town Shanghai and many of the buildings are typical to the Ming Dynasty. There are many small shops and antique stores in this area and also a very unique fireplug.
Yu Yaun Garden, which translates into Garden of Happiness, was built in 1559 by a son in order to honor his father. The garden has many ponds, pavilions, rock gardens, and walkways spread out over five acres.
We enjoyed a peaceful stroll through the gardens and had fun watching the koi and the turtles in the pond.
Zhujiajiao is an ancient village, located just outside of the city of Shanghai. The village is built along a river and there are many waterways and bridges in the town.
Since much of Zhujiajiao Village is on the river, transportation by boat is the best way to see the town. The boats were small and propelled by a pole, much like the gondolas in Venice, Italy.
There are 36 bridges in the village and one of the most noteworthy is Fangsheng Bridge. This 230 foot long bridge has five arches and is reported to be the largest stone bridge in Shanghai.
If you grow up with insects on the menu, then it takes away that "eww, gross" factor that makes us cringe at the thought of eating bugs. Besides, if seasoned well, anything can become quite tasty.
A look at the statistics also tends to favor the consumption of insects. For example, beef only contains 18% protein, while grasshopper meat is almost 60% protein. In addition, there is 90% less fat in the insect meat than in the beef.
As we looked on in horror at the locals enjoying their insect snacks, we tried to get the mental image out of our heads by thinking happy thoughts about things like popcorn and chocolate.
As we wandered down the streets in Zhujiajiao, looking at all of the unusual culinary opportunities the shops had to offer, we couldn't help but be impressed by the very ingenious way the shopkeepers shooed away flies.
Most stores had a large colorful ribbon attached to a fan that hung above the food that was on display. As the fan rotated, the ribbon waved above the food and flies were kept away.
