SHANGHAI (Day 15 - part 1)

After a 2-hour bus ride to the airport and a 2-hour flight, we arrived in Shanghai where we were met by Ling (who also went by Johanna) and Mr. Huang.


Farmers watch the planes take off while their water buffalo graze in the background.


Taking off from Guilin Liang Jiang International Airport


A view of the rice fields


Our in-flight snack was Glutinous Popcorn, which wasn't nearly as bad as it sounds.


The Yangtze River as we approach Shanghai


The modern sprawl of the suburbs


Arriving at Shanghai's domestic airport of Hong Qiao


The Shanghai skyline looms in the background


A shuttlebus whisks us away from our plane to the terminal.

Our first stop... the Tian Hou Silk Company.

Silk is a natural protein fiber which can be woven into textiles. Silk fabric was first developed in China possibly as early as 6000 BC and definitely by 3000 BC. Legend gives credit for its development to Lei Zu, imperial concubine of the Huang Emperor.

Silk was originally reserved for royalty for their own use and gifts to others, but it gradually spread through Chinese culture and trade, both geographically and socially. This trade was so extensive that the major set of trade routes between Europe and Asia became known as the Silk Road. It rapidly became a popular luxury fabric because of its texture and luster.

The silkworm:

The best-known type of silk is obtained from cocoons made by the larvae of the mulberry silkworm reared in captivity. The larvae are very delicate and must be fed every 4 hours. After about two months, they go dormant and spin a coccoon. The thread is only one-tenth the thickness of a human hair but can be up to one mile long. After one month, a moth emerges. Unfortunately the little pupae are killed in boiling water before they emerge so that the cocoon can be unraveled in one continuous thread.

One silkworm couple can produce 400 offspring. 20% are spared to produce the next generation, but the rest are killed to produce the silk. The larvae are harvested two to three times per year.


Larvae feeding on mulberry leaves

Single cocoon processing:

It is easy to find the beginning of the thread for a single cocoon. These are then processed in the factory.


The cocoons are placed in boiling water (left) and the dead larvae are disposed of (right). To make one silk shirt requires 3,000 single cocoons.


The silk thread is run up from the coccoon floating in the water below.


The wheels rotate, unraveling the cocoon

Double cocoon processing:

About 30% of the cocoons are a double cocoons (cocoons spun side-by-side which are interlocked, making it necessary to reel them together). These are used exclusively for silk blankets.


The silk is stretched by hand over bamboo rings. After 70 layers, it is left to dry.


The resulting fabric is very very strong and can even be used to make parachutes.

The silk is stretched and placed in layers to make a blanket. The blanket is then slipped into a cover, but no stitches are required to hold it in place since it never bunches.


Maggie, Mark and Ann help pull the silk into a fine layer.


The layer is then placed on top of many previous layers.


Elaine gives a firm tug.

Next we headed downtown.

Shanghai is the largest city in China, and one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world, with over 20 million people. Located at the mouth of the Yangtze River, the city flourished in the 19th century due to its favorable port location, becoming a center of commerce between east and west. Its name comes from Shang (over, above) and Hai (sea).


Shanghai

China has changed a lot in recent history. In the 1960's - 70's, people only earned about $6 per month, received a limited number of coupons to buy food, had to make their own clothes, had only public bathrooms and shared kitchens, and rode bicycles. In 1979, China reopened to the world. People got apartments, refrigerators, air-conditioners, cars, and could travel.


All of these modern buildings are less than 20 years old.


Several buildings are built with giant holes going completely through them. Supposedly this is good feng shui.


Each building is required to have a unique design.


Completed in 1955, the Shanghai Exhibition Center is a center for important political, economic, science & technology, and cultural activities.


The JW Marriott Hotel Shanghai at Tomorrow Square has a distinct pointed top.


The Shanghai Museum (left) contains over 120,000 pieces of ancient Chinese art, including bronze, ceramics, calligraphy, furniture, jades, ancient coins, paintings, seals, sculptures, minority art and foreign art. The museum was first opened in 1952 but moved to its current building in 1996.


At the Radisson Hotel, a revolving restaurant on the 45th floor offers breathtaking city views.


Built in 1930 with the name of Nanking Theatre, the Shanghai Concert Hall has a classical European style. In 2002, the building was relocated to this spot instead of being demolished and rebuilt due to the city's downtown reconstruction project. The removal plan was the largest and most difficult building relocation project ever attempted in the country.


A construction worker takes a break high in the rafters.


A complex web of elevated interchanges


Traffic accident - This taxi ran into the side of our bus. After a heated debate between their driver and ours, they eventually went on their way with a broken side mirror.


Eventually all the small old buildings will be removed.


Laundry drying on the line alongside satellite dishes


Pedestrian walkways


A snarl of electrical wires - the price for all this modern technology