Pudong evening ride

Wednesday 2nd of August Evening ride in Pudong (向阳村). There’s a nice breeze alongside the Yangtze, and people are watching fireworks, fishing, snacking, chatting — being together. Friday 4th of August Back today, really love this place. We all come to watch the river. No matter how much money you make, which car you drive, […]

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Mountains & hikes near Shanghai

I have no ambitions to become a travel advisor or anything, but here I’m sharing some of my experiences of mountains (or mere hills) around Shanghai. Also the ones I heard about but did not go to yet. I’ve also added some 古道’s: Ancient (Merchant) Roads. These seem to become more & more popular in […]

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Two hours to Huzhou

Every hike is its own little story. Today, Luyu Ancient Road (陆羽古道) in Huzhou (湖州) with friends & ten thousand mosquitoes. A two-hour drive from Shanghai and you’re in a totally different scenery. (Two hours back and you’re surrounded by glass, concrete & coffee stores again.) We only took the 6KM trail but with a […]

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Thirty Thousand Miles From Chang’an

We went to see 长安三万里 (Chang’An), a movie about Li Bai and other poets, as well as a part of Chinese history. The movie is a beautiful animation though I’m not sure who it’s made for. I guess the cartoonish looks made many parents believe this is for kids, but the dialogue, story & three-hour […]

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Lots of history, but we’re just casually observing in Songxicun

Songxicun (嵩溪村) today, with buildings from different centuries. Lots of history here, but we didn’t really study all the plaques or Baidu, we just had a quiet day in between the rain showers. Amazing woodwork here in this temple. No visitors around, just corn left to dry. The village has two creeks coming together, one […]

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Calming down, cooling down

Cooling down near Yiwu (义乌) today, at Songpushan (松瀑山). It’s a tiny mountain with a waterfall. It has only 58 reviews on Dianping so I didn’t expect lots of people, but actually it was crowded, in a good way. Everyone’s sweaty faces full of smiles. Also watermelons are hot. Yiwu in the distance.

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Stone markings

This tiny museum has stones with markings on them that look like Chinese characters (or animals). Eighteenth National Congress (十八大): Shanghai (上海):   Divide the world into three parts (三分天下):   Also animals and the Chinese zodiac: Horse (马): I asked the baoan where these stones were found: “Just in the direct area here.” Either […]

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Old Baoshan in the rain

We visited the Old Baoshan (老宝山) in the north of Pudong, after a tip of Historic Pudong. Baoshan is also a district on the other side of the river. It has the same Chinese characters, but there’s no proof that the names are related to each other. (It’s not too weird for an area to […]

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Gaoqiao, unintentionally the best-preserved area of Shanghai

We accidentally stumbled on what might be the area with the most preserved old buildings in Shanghai: Gaoqiao (高桥古镇), in the far north of Pudong. Gaoqiao is pretty unknown and has a pretty unimpressive Dianping page: just over 1000 reviews, and a really badly picked photo on the top. The buildings (perhaps a hundred of […]

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Tiny boats and tiny crabs

The harbor in Pinghu (平湖市), with self-made cargo boats being assembled and entering the water continuously. “This type of boat is the only way”, but later I’m not sure if the shifu meant the costs or technical specs. (I regret not asking them whether they can swim! Most people in China cannot swim, unlike in […]

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