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Shanghai — City of Jade

Our smart tour guide was speaking in crisp but punctuated English about the beauty of Shanghai, which we were about to discover. I was looking through the coach window at the hundreds of buses, taxis moving past in military like precision, and didn't pay much attention. But the word 'Jade' made me sit up and take notice. We were driving to the museum in People's Square and see as many exihibits possible within the stipulated one hour halt. I decided to go in for the jade collection and forget the rest.

What a collection; Jade is not only green but even white, of many different colours. Spanning from the neolithic age through the Ming & Qing dynasties these artifacts of rich cultural heritage twinkled through the glass cases. Jade indeed is a many splendid thing: Having feasted on the priceless jade collection, I moved on to the Ming & Quing Furniture Gallery. Then it was time to leave.

Earlier in the day we had driven out of our hotel the Renaissance Yangtze, for a discovery Shanghai tour. The first halt was the Yu Yuan Garden. Which built in 1559, contained forty-eight unique scenic spots. More than the garden, which did not fit in with my concept of sprawling lawns 'en verdure', I was amused to see so many hawkers selling imitations of casio watches, digital cameras and the like for a few RMB.

Between the Bund & the Pudong flowed the Huang Po river. Pudong District was the new developing Shanghai, while the Bund with old commercial buildings could be called 'Oriental Wall Street'. At day the Bund looked like a lady resting after a late night party. If you strolled the Bund in the evening, as we did (myself and my husband), you would be amazed by the many-coloured lights flashing from the buildings on either side and from gaily illumined cruise boats. A visit to Shanghai was worth this spectacular display of lights. You didn't bother to distinguish the new face of Shanghai from the old. Everywhere lights, with people milling past, captivated by the splendour of this moment.

The Jade Buddha temple stood in a small lane and didn't stand apart from the buildings around. The Buddha was small, simply beautiful; sad, photography forbidden. You just feasted  on the features, of the Buddha chiselled out of Burmese jade. The sculpture exuded charm and peace, which could be recollected again and again in tranquility. Isn't 'a thing of beauty a joy forever?' What surprised me most was you could walk into the sanctum wearing slippers.

I was more interested in getting a feel of Shanghai, than shopping in Xiantandi. Compared New York with Shanghai. In vibrancy, colour, spectacle and light New York seemed to be limping behind.