Tuesday, October 20

It's hard to even try and describe what we saw yesterday. We went on a "back alley tour" with a local photographer. Shanghai is truly a city of tremendous growth and enormous contrasts of old and new but those constrasts diminish with each day. We started our tour gathering at a very plush 5-star hotel; the flowers in the lobby were amazing. Across the street is a construction site where they are building an ultra-modern landscape of skyscrappers. In the midst of the site sits an old mansion which has been designated for preservation. In order to meet the demands of the construction, the old building will be moved, intact, to another site to save it. From the hotel we walk to the next block and it was like walking into a whole different world. The alleyways are very small, only large enough for scooters. Laundry is hanging from most upper story windows. It was part of the British Concession area from the 1920s. After 1949, the original homes were partitioned and were given to poorer families. There were areas of the buildings that were assigned as communal areas, such as kitchens and bathrooms, which could be shared by as many as fourteen families. Many of these families have occupied these homes for several generations. Some of the buildings we enter are government offices that were previously English aristrocratic homes. We proceed further through the alleyways and into several homes. This felt very intrusive but the people were likely paid and they went about their business. Some were very cordial while to others we were as much an interest to them as they were to us. We met one very sweet grandmother who offered us candy and was actually quite proud to show us her home.

We lunched at a Thai restaurant. Excellent food and atmosphere. From there to a small shopping area to experience local arts and crafts. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and playing games with the girls.