New Heights: No. 3 The Bund

Blog 15
(Uploading pictures continues to be a problem for now. Keep watching for news of when they're up for Blogs 13 & 14...)

When I last left you, I was heading out to see the wilds of Shanghai after seeing off vendors of T-shirts and 'antiques'. Well, off I went in search of old Shanghai, a part of the city I was told was disappearing rapidly, and this wasn't wrong. This was because most of the old, small buildings were being raised to the ground to make way for sky-scrapers and large blocks of flats.

Somewhat south of the Bund, I wandered into Dajing Rd to the appropriately named 'Dajing Lu Market' ('lu' meaning 'road'). I wasn't sure what to expect from this place, except that it might be similar to the indoor stalls that I'd seen earlier on that day. As it happened, what I saw was completely different. There were several streets of two and three storey buildings with little awnings extending out into the street. Under the awnings were products ranging from batteries and cooking pots to caged chickens and the seemingly ubiquitous water melons. There were large tubs of fish, too, in dubious states of well being. Unfortunately, one cage of poultry was so small and the inhabitants so miserable and unhealthy-looking, I briefly contemplated going vegetarian for the duration of my stay in China. One duck looked so particularly raggedy and worse for wear, I wouldn't have been surprised if it hadn't lasted the day and the 38-degree heat. But thankfully I turned a corner, physically and mentally, and put the image far from my mind and tucked into a steamed meat dumpling to comfort me and help me get over the horror.

Round the corner from this was the Confucian temple I was aiming for and with it, an oasis of calm and tranquility. Of the obvious highlights were a lovely pagoda and 'reflection pool', but also a large teapot collection (some square, some round, and some really big - 10 litres at least!)that must surely rival the collection housed in Norwich Castle - do go and visit it if you're ever in the area buying mustard or watching Norwich City lose.

You might think that what with all this wandering and the duck, I'd be worn out. Well yes I was, but I wasn't going until I'd gone through the Dongtai Lu Antiques Market (also appropriately named as it's on Dongtai Lu - a bit like Camden Market being in Camden, I suppose). This was a chance for me to use my newly found bartering skills to pick up a gem or two, and gem or two I picked up. One expert bit of hard-edged bargaining came when getting a present for a friend (can't say what here, as it's a secret) and the other was with a little brass Confucius I was looking for. Starting price 450RMB, final price 50. Imagine how annoyed you'd be if you actually paid 450 (30 pounds).

So there I was, looking for a Confucius. Lots of Maos in various sizes and ages and lots of little bearded men (who also happened to be selling similar items). I found a Confucius and the chap selling it was quite dramatic and theatrical with the bids and bartering. Quite a funny man who made me laugh a lot. Anyway, I wasn't going over 30 and so went to leave after he stopped at 50. To my great surprise, the stall holder let me leave, meaning I had to find another Confucius. Not difficult in a large street market, I thought. How wrong I was. I only found one more and it was a rubbish mud-clay mold which was "an antique and cost in pounds 300". After the stall holder had taken the time to root it out, the least I thought I could do was bargain a bit for it. Again, I wasn't going higher than 30 RMB (2 pounds) so I thought I could get away from this particular 'antique' pretty quickly. But this wasn't the day for things to go as I expected; after much shaking of heads and reminders of how special this antique was, it was finally offered for 30. Trouble was, I didn't even want it. So I left it, and with it, consternation on behalf of the vendor, who clearly recognised that I was a "scholar of interest", although probably had me pegged as a waste of space when I walked away under protest from him.

But what of Confucius? Well, as I could find no more, back it was to the original funny bloke and 50RMB later, I was, and indeed am, the proud owner of another Confucius to replace the one of a very similar style I bought in China nine years ago. You can see the 50 RMB note in the chap's hand.

After all this effort, what else could I do but pop back to the hotel for a quick bathe, before meeting up with one of the trainers to have a drink at one of Shanghai's premier drinking spots - New Heights Bar overlooking the Bund and Pudong. Fantastic views, even if the cocktails were at a London club price. All-in-all a successful and full day. Just the tonic after two weeks' work and two weeks about to begin. For it was the next day (Saturday 28th) that I was flying to Shandong.